Gentlemen,
I’ve been hesitent to make this post but it’s quite obvious I may have waited too long in doing so after catching up on some posts here in the bass forum. Before getting into this I want to make 2 quick points to hopefully avoid a rash of questions by PM.
1) – This post is NOT directed at any one person or individual.
2) – We’re all responsible for the quality and content of this forum.
This site has always been about the sharing of quality fishing information. No differentiation or preference has ever been made based on skill level or experience. In fact, many experienced anglers have gone well out of their way to provide the most help and assistance to those that need it most; the young and those new to the sport looking to expand their knowledge and enjoyment of fishing. This willingness to help and share is at the heart of why this site and specifically this bass forum has been so successful. Most members still conduct themselves by these basic principals and their contributions are of great value and we do them a disservice by allowing a small minority to “muddle the works.”
But I see some of these things slowly falling by the wayside in favor of criticism, oneupsmanship and even disrepectful behavior towards other members of this site.
I understand raw nerves, bad days at work and rough days on the water, really I do. But IDA has always been a refuge from “bad days,” the place where people go to forget troubles associate with their every day lives and talk about their favorite “waste of time”… fishing.
If we can’t get back to this mindset, there is no justification for this place. If people continue to leave here less happy then when they arrived and if they can’t get answers to simple fishing related questions, those visting this forum, including myself, have failed to care for and nuture something of great value to many.
I’m not one to make this persuasive “why can’t we all just get along” type of post and I will not do so again. If things don’t change I’ll just start weeding out the bad apples behind the scenes even if that means we’re left with many fewer participants than we have now.
I said this some many months ago in another forum and perhaps it begs repeating… “Be patient, be helpful, be considerate and even humourous… or be VERY DAMN QUIET.”
I’m off my soap box now. You will be returned to your previously scheduled programing. 
