Gullible troll in action

Probably doesn't matter one whit that if you actually read the site you pasted this from you would have learned it was a hoax. Why waste a good talking point just because it's a lie?

Take it to rec.liberals-are-bastards and come on back when you want to talk boats.

(Is the Corvette forum really as f*'d up as this? Wow, that's too bad as well).

Dan J.S. wrote:

On our yearly fishing trip to Lake Cumberland, went to Grider Hill marina where we rent a house boat and launch our bass boats. Well, they drain the lake down a LOT in fall, and the ramp goes down forever. I swear, you look down this ramp that is several hundred feet long, but wide. You could easily launch four bass boats at once. Well, this little old man and his wife had been out on their jon boat, and were attempting to back the little trailer down the ramp. So, he tries, jackknifes a few times. We ask if we can help, he's determined, says no thanks. So, wife gets in the truck, backs down until it jackknifes, husband then picks of the back of the trailer, and skids it over straight. They repeat this about ten times to get the trailer to the water!

BUT, the initial impression sticks - calling yourself a pedophile. Weird.

That says it all, but I changed for you - feel better?

The key words are rational and polite - some can't take a rational viewpoint on most things and once the name calling and emotional appeals start, it's hard to cap.

As a whole, I am slowly coming to the opinion that despite attempts to lighten things up and have some fun with off-topic, there is a remarkable lack of self-deprecation and ability to laugh at the follies of themselves and others.

Despite Chuck's protests to the contrary, there is a place for polite and rational discussion - just not here and it may be that I'm on the wrong side of this issue - I'm open to it and would be willing to put some words behind a discussion of what is or isn't appropriate. Just saying that it's boats, boats and more boats isn't the answer. A set of agreeable rules to everyone as to what is and isn't acceptable may be in order - not that I hold out any hope for that to happen as there are some here who just don't care.

So perhaps it is time to knock off the off-topic and just get on with my normal web activities and using other forums to have some fun.

I'll give that some serious thought.

There must be a million more out there. I know Larry has a few; some of them may even be true. :-)

There must be a million trailer ramp stories out there. Everyone I know has at least one, usually involving themselves if they are willing to admit it. My most embarassing ramp incident (so far) was hauling the boat and trailer cleanly up the ramp with the engine still running. Oooops. Bring on another new pump impeller.

Pull up to the dock and tie my boat off, fixin to go get my truck and trailer. There is an elderly gentleman with three grand kids and an aluminum fishing boat taking up both sides of ramp. He backs his boat in and the back goes under water, he pulls the boat back out. Unhooks the rear straps and proceeds to fish around inside of the boat around the transom. I ask him if he needs help, he was trying to put the bilge plug in from inside - the boat was clearly designed for it to go in from outside. Suggested that he put it in from outside but he wouldn't listen to me. Finally backs the boat in - sideways - and struggles with ropes to get it off of the trailer.

He finally gets it off of the trailer, I help the kids get it out of the way of the ramps, go get my truck, back it in, drive the boat up on the trailer, pull the bilge plug, tie it down and leave before he even gets his boat away from the dock......

And this is just the last one that I ran into!

The WORST one was on a busy holiday weekend, three ramps with a dock down one side. Wind blowing and a ton of people all trying to get out at once. Waited my turn, it took a while due to a guy with a pontoon boat taking up two lanes and not knowing how to get his boat on the trailer. Traffic is REALLY backed up now. Back my truck into the ramp, my wife is driving the boat - she is excellent at launching the boat. Some guy pulls up with about a 35 foot boat, ties it to the end of the dock from his bow, and the wind blows him straight out from the dock blocking ALL traffic in and out.

I'm standing there next to my truck along with another guy, and no one can get past this boat. The driver of the boat went to get his truck. I walk down the dock and there is a gentleman watching the big boat and I ask him politely to pull boat close to the dock so boats can get around - I don't remember exactly what he said but it was not polite and he did not move the boat. Walk back to my truck and I recognize the driver of the boat, he is waiting in line with his truck and approaches me in a very gruff tone asks me what the hell is taking so long. I look him square in the eye and say "the asshole that owns that big boat there has all of the ramps blocked so no one can get in or out". Well he got the message. I HATE holiday weekends!

Chuck, while I admire your efforts, it's pretty wide spread across Usenet and yes, I suspect it's probably infected the Corvette group.

The thing is Usenet is an open forum - open to everybody in the world who has access. Which kind of means that anybody can post anything at any time on any subject. The fact that Usenet has all these little sub-divisions isn't relevant.

Usenet is mostly obsolete as an open source for information. Where once when it was new, informative and filled with denizens who lived to impart their wisdom, easy access to web tools, cheap storage and the ability for anybody to put up a page on their favorite subject has pretty much put paid to Usenet.

The dynamic is simple. The longer you hang around a newsgroup, the more you begin to see the same old same old. Eventually boredom sets in resulting in, well, off-topic or emotionally charged posting. At that point it becomes as much as a social club as it is a purpose group true to it's name.

Every single newsgroup I've participated in over the past 10/12 years of Usenet use has done this and it will never stop.

It's not hard to understand the motivations of those who would keep the newsgroups "pure" to their intent. And I appreciate that.

The problem is you are pissing upwind in a hurricane.

It's your choice to continue getting wet or turn around and go with the flow.

Constant harassment about off-topic posts is just as bad as some here who object to anything and everything that doesn't fit their narrow world views. In short you become them by trying to do the right thing.

Perspective my friend - perspective.

I've also been quick to slap a kill filter on the most blatant offenders, especially if they *never* seem to have anything to say that is boating related. If everyone did that, or at least stopped replying to the trolls, the problem would begin to go away completely.