Slow death of a forum

[east tx skier]

Some times, mostly out of guilt, I log in to the old Nicholl's forum. I call it that in this post mostly to let you all know that I was logging in there for the latest in slalom skiing information back before internet forums were much more than tree'd threads. Today, that forum is a shadow of its former self. Familiar names post only occasionally and the page is divided by the week; so it is plainly evident how low the traffic is over there. Don't get me wrong. I bailed on the place around the same time as a lot of us did. I don't regret the decision. There was little moderation and the angst was just too high. This is a better place. Still, many of you know me (or at least know of me) because of my participation on the MasterCraft forum (among others). But I am ever mindful that I was a member of the Nicholl's forum first by a long shot over any of the boating forums. And even a year or two into my MC member stint, I always checked Nicholl's first. I found out about my current ski club because a member of the Nicholl's forum saw my boat on the water and yelled out, "East TX Skier"?!? I got pumped up about slalom skiing based on the discussions on that forum. And now look at it. I think I always figured that Skifly would implode. But not Nicholl's.

 

Not much of a point here, but I'm pouring a little on the curb for what once was. I'm a Baller. I'm happy with the present and the future, but mindful and contemplative of the past. Long live, BOS!

[Ham_Wallace]

SkiFly is still a viable website. Especially for jumpers. If you aren't a jumper, it is probably not for you. After competing for 46 years, I am still trying to figure it out. Am I a jumper that wants to be a slalom skier OR a slalom skier that wants to be a jumper? If anyone has any input it would be greatly appreciated.

Ham Wallace

Original Baller

[Jody_Seal]

Ham! your a three event skier that includes tricks.

[A_B]

I had been on the forum for a long time. Met some neat people from there and continue to exchange emails and calls with them. I think it really fell off a cliff, nothing really slow about it. Too bad, I would be an "original" member at least somewhere...

[jdarwin]

I've known Kent for many years (South Louisiana resident and former Nautique Promo) - he created as a service to the water ski enthusiast and it has probably run its course. It was never meant as a revenue stream. I'm grateful for his passion and dedication.

[Horton]

The strength of and success of this site is the Ballers. Without you guys I am just an obsessive skier with a computer.

[Drago]

Way too much yelling over there. I used to post and check things out there. Between Thomas Wayne and that other guy who was lecturing on the only way to ski, pages and pages of babbling.... Had to go. Went back after a few months, no change.

Drago, original lurker

[Ham_Wallace]

Thanks Jody.

[RichardDoane]

@hamwallace - I learned to jump at age 40, it's actually @krlee 's fault, and had to learn to trick as well

[Ham_Wallace]

I still trick on 2 skis. Never waste perfectly good boat gas on tricks. Surfing is more fun.

[Not_The_Pug]

@richarddone, just think how much fun you have had doing 3 event instead of just showing up for slalom. :)

[jimbrake]

I, too, started on the old Nicholls forum and I sincerely thank Kent for his efforts over the years. The reason that forum is dying on the vine is that it relies 100% on input from skiers. Water skiers - a relatively small group of people practicing mostly slalom, a small sport. What BOS has over other water ski forums is that it offers other content (thank god) and not just skier input. John does a great job giving us a front page with fresh content almost every day, the skier tweets can be interesting from time to time, the polls, etc. It just feels like you're connected to a bigger sport on here. Yeah, the skiers provide a good chunk, maybe most, of the content as it is a "forum", but if that's all we had, we'd run out of stuff to talk about here, too. Basically, we are "S--t skiers say", regurgitated frequently. So, thanks, John, for all you bring to this place and keep the other content coming!

 

I realize most on here like the enforced decorum we have, but I miss TW and even good ol' Robert Marking, the N. Dakota/Florida dude that was so bent on preaching his technique (I did actually learn something from him and I'm on the opposite end of the slalom technique scale from him). Drago - that's a bummer that they actually caused you to leave for awhile. I noticed that because I really liked your input. Glad you are here. On the one hand Skifly is kind of like being on a short bus with no supervision - maybe a little too loose and unsupervised. On the other I like a little diversity on occasion - it can be entertaining as hell. You guys do realize how clique-ish it is here, right? We kick out those that don't fit in.

[east tx skier]

Thanks for joining my little trip down memory lane.

 

Thanks to Kent!

 

Thanks to Horton!

[RichardDoane]

@jimbrake, no one has ever been banned for "not fitting in", @horton asks to just keep it clean and show some respect for others viewpoints, the only "clique" I'm aware of, was when some dude was wearing a bee suit long ago......

[east tx skier]

Horton also checks your ID at the door. But any club that would have me as a member . . . .

[jimbrake]

Yeah. Yeah they have. I'm mostly OK with it, though, because it's Horton's place, so he gets to make the rules, and he does an excellent job with the site as a whole. Seriously, when I come here, though, I check the front page for new content, a few of the tweets and their links, then the forum last, then I usually yawn and leave to check out a snow ski or surfing forum. I just don't mind a little dissension among viewpoints. I wouldn't go so far as to say let the inmates completely run the asylum, but if someone is getting out of line, let the crew handle it initially. A little self-policing usually works.

 

On other forums where the forum input is more free-wheeling you get a mix of the rational, the left, the right, the idiotic, the weird, the funny, the wtf? - you know, like real life. Threads start, threads run, threads die. I'll let it go now because I know it won't change here. Go adjust your fin and remember, keep your speed up through the turn.

[east tx skier]

So, has anyone typed the URL www.thewaterskiforum.com in a while? I did it today. Guess where it took me.

 

All hail Horton! :)