Forum Restrictions

[Cal]

There has been a recent hue and cry over the restrictions on our discussion forum regarding links to external websites and our policy on self promotion.

We created this discussion forum as place for the tackle afflicted to gather and share their affliction through discussion, sharing of images, etc.. The site is kept alive through the paid advertising of the companies and manufacturers whose banners you see at the top of the forum. It is free to all who join - free.

In the past half decade to a decade, the explosion of social media has enabled personalities to gain notoriety through narcissitc behavior and actually generate income through these channels.

We recognize not everyone has these intentions, but our members must also recognize it is impossible for us to distinguish who does and who does not, and it is very simple for people to bump their number of likes and followers by posting links on discussion forums such as ours. We do not appreciate people taking advantage of our forum in this manner without just compensation.

We were the original tackle review site - how many are there now? How many individuals "reviewing" tackle had their roots established here either with their following or "borrowing" our ideas and approach?

We also recognize it's difficult to post photos sharing your passion for all things tackle and fishing on this forum. The bottom line is our servers are bursting at the seams and we're strategizing how to relieve this burden either by purging old content, or expanding storage - all of which takes time and careful consideration.

There are many who send us PMs asking if it is ok to post this link or that, or even just pre-checking if their content is ok. We appreciate you very much. There are those who feel privileged to do as they please here. This topic is directed towards those individuals. Understand, we will continue to monitor the forum and moderate it in a manner that is fair to us while keeping the information and discussion flowing.

So... this is the reason for the restrictions and why we enforce them so ardently. No one likes to be taken advantage.

Thank you,
Cal

[GOOD YEAR 71]

Brother, no need to explain or apologize for what you do. It is what it is, and if it isn’t what another wants then so be it.
Speaking as support, for my part, if TT was filled with sales influence and promotion I’d be gone. That’s not why I’m here.

[Houndfish]

We also recognize it's difficult to post photos sharing your passion for all things tackle and fishing on this forum. The bottom line is our servers are bursting at the seams and we're strategizing how to relieve this burden either by purging old content, or expanding storage - all of which takes time and careful consideration.

Have you guys thought about setting up a Patreon/other donation site to help offset server costs? The Photobucket "crash" killed so much amazing information and content out there, esp reel repair/mod images. It was super annoying and I would 100% be willing to throw some money at keeping all the amazing stuff that gets posted here "safe". I bet others on here would throw in as well.

[Cal]

Have you guys thought about setting up a Patreon/other donation site to help offset server costs?

That's an interesting strategy, thanks for the thought.

Right now, it's more a matter of getting together and deciding how best to increase capacity before worrying about costs. I personally don't like relying on third party services for just the reason or scenario you brought up. They're just not reliable long term. I will add your suggestion to the brainstorming list though for when we have a chance to sit down and work out a solution.

[spencerinstl]

Have you guys thought about setting up a Patreon/other donation site to help offset server costs?

That's an interesting strategy, thanks for the thought.

Right now, it's more a matter of getting together and deciding how best to increase capacity before worrying about costs. I personally don't like relying on third party services for just the reason or scenario you brought up. They're just not reliable long term. I will add your suggestion to the brainstorming list though for when we have a chance to sit down and work out a solution.

My suggestion to bring in more money for more servers is to sell another Tackle Tour Calendar or Tackle Tour T-Shirts or something, I would definitely buy one of each to support TT.

[Cal]

My suggestion to bring in more money for more servers is to sell another Tackle Tour Calendar or Tackle Tour T-Shirts or something, I would definitely buy one of each to support TT.

another calendar.... ... those weren't quite as popular as you might have thought. I may be remembering incorrectly, but I think we barely broke even on those.

Something always interferes with our plans for new TT Gear (shirts, hats, etc..) ... some of that has to do with people claiming they're part of the team and trying to bum free tackle off of manufacturers. A lot of it is logistics and sourcing. It's easy to find a place to make shirts... it's not easy to find a place with shirts you'd be happy to put your name on. But we continue to work on this. Appreciate the call for gear to rep the site. Means a lot.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

Mining for bitcoin is popular.

For real, I imagine you guys have worked most avenues to create a sustaining income to support the site. I'm not sure how it works but, what about using another forum engine or other ways to cut down on storage? I know changing an interface is not usually taken well but, either is paying to use a site.

Maybe have a paid content section. Idk how it would work but, it may bring something in. Also, ask forums from other categories how they stay afloat, I'm sure the same principles could be used.

I hope the best for you guys. I have learned so much from this site and plan to learn much more.

[Cal]

To be clear... we’re not planning on going anywhere.

Just trying to resolve the issue of posting photos and it is admittedly taking too long.

The point of this post was primarily to address those complaining about our restriction of posting links to personal social media accounts, primarily YouTube and Instagram. We are not in the business of helping others build their followings via free advertisement on our forum.

[reason162]

In the past half decade to a decade, the explosion of social media has enabled personalities to gain notoriety through narcissitc behavior and actually generate income through these channels.

We recognize not everyone has these intentions, but our members must also recognize it is impossible for us to distinguish who does and who does not

Cal,

This is your forum, and I appreciate your explanation. Just a couple of questions:

Wouldn't the content of any particular video/channel speak for itself, whether it's good/bad/narcissistic/irrelevant? Is this a blanket ban on links to any personal youtube video/IG post? Are negative reviews of tackle allowed in any form on the forum?

Thanks.
Roger

[Cal]

Cal,

This is your forum, and I appreciate your explanation. Just a couple of questions:

Wouldn't the content of any particular video/channel speak for itself, whether it's good/bad/narcissistic/irrelevant? Is this a blanket ban on links to any personal youtube video/IG post? Are negative reviews of tackle allowed in any form on the forum?

Thanks.
Roger

Hi Roger,

If a member begins a discussion topic or responds to one with a link to a tackle video or their instagram page, that pretty much raises our collective suspicion. Doesn't matter what else is in the channel. The direction and content of these channels are easily changed. There have been more accounts in the past than I can count where someone claims to have no interest in developing a following, coming up with a competing site, etc., and next thing you know that's where they go. These are the individuals that have spoiled it for others with altruistic intent.

Regarding negative reviews - we do not moderate any of this sort of content unless there's foul language or distasteful comments, etc.. If someone doesn't like something, we welcome the shared experience! If you've been following our site, we have plenty of negative editorial. The positive certainly out numbers the negative, but there are several instances where we haven't liked a product and shared our viewpoint.

Heck, one large manufacturer won't even deal with me anymore because they think I'm too critical. So Zander talks to them instead.

Thanks,
Cal

[aquaholik]

To be clear... we’re not planning on going anywhere.

Just trying to resolve the issue of posting photos and it is admittedly taking too long.

The point of this post was primarily to address those complaining about our restriction of posting links to personal social media accounts, primarily YouTube and Instagram. We are not in the business of helping others build their followings via free advertisement on our forum.

The photo thing is still not fixed. You can't expect us to contribute and make in depth reel review tear down by downsizing everything to 800x600. Linking pics from external site is getting old.

[Slazmo]

The photo thing is still not fixed. You can't expect us to contribute and make in depth reel review tear down by downsizing everything to 800x600. Linking pics from external site is getting old.

How clear / large do the pictures need to be? All I've been doing is screen shooting what I want / cropping (the non necessary / prohibited* stuff) and uploading straight to here and I think the pic's are adequate?

[Cal]

The size limit is 400tall by 600wide @ 72dpi... you can't expect us to host photos of unlimited size if membership and access to the forum is free.

That being said, I just tried to upload a screen shot and it didn't work, so I pinged JIP to make sure something didn't change.

[aquaholik]

The photo thing is still not fixed. You can't expect us to contribute and make in depth reel review tear down by downsizing everything to 800x600. Linking pics from external site is getting old.

How clear / large do the pictures need to be? All I've been doing is screen shooting what I want / cropping (the non necessary / prohibited* stuff) and uploading straight to here and I think the pic's are adequate?

Most smartphone resolutions are greater than 800x600, and Cal just said 400x600 is the size limit. Even if I screenshot and crop those image on my note 9(or anything smartphone the last 5 years except Apple!), it's still too big. Yes I can batch upload to my dropbox and then batch image resize with irfanview but come on man, this is 2019! You don't have to host the larger file. Just have an algorithm to automatically compress and resize those uploaded image. Look at Stripersonline for example.

[Slazmo]

I'm just working off my Huawei phone and it works fine?

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