"J the Trout" wrote in message
...


As a self confessed lurker, I take the view that I will only contribute
when I have someting useful to say - unlike the "usual suspects". I
suspect that they simply like the sound of their own voice (or the on-line
equivalent).

I can't recall ever having seen a post or reply from a "J the Trout," until
Mike Cs latest return to ROFF. "As a self confessed lurker," have you never
had anything *useful* to say or contribute before Mike's most recent return?
Defending Mike's honor doesn't constitute a useful contribution to fly
fishing, as far as I can tell. I suspect that Mike posted his disdain for
ROFF to several of the forums that he frequents and his pal decided to come
to his aide. Mike is big on recruiting supporters, when he has gotten
himself into another virtual fracas.

Quite a few of us "usual suspects" are not fanatical fishers, and we simply
like to fly fishing for its many attributes beyond the technical realm.
Therefore, we have come to enjoy and tolerate ROFF for what it is, and not
expect it to become some utopian fly fishers dream. It is possible for two
or more mutually exclusive cliques to associate in one NG wihout ever
interacting with one another. If you lurkers, Mike C., and all of the past
regulars that have been "run off" got together and made a list of offensive
ROFFians and then filter them, you could retake ROFF and make it into
whatever you want it to be.

Also, if you look back through this group, you will see many occasions
where newbies, or others, have asked sensible questions, only to be
derided or insulted, again, by the "usual suspects".

As someone who has been a regular at ROFF since 2000, I can say that the
above is an over simplification of one reasons that folks don't stick around
ROFF for an extended period of time. The majority of us regulars were
*newbies* at one time. People come and go for various reasons, one of which
might be that they couldn't deal with controversy or particular ROFFians.
Some people like others to tell them how they should *properly* fly fish,
others like mysef, don't necessarily care to be, or need to be, told how we
should fly fish.

Please, answer me this: Why do you lurk, if ROFF is so distasteful to you?

I do contribute to other forums where I know that constructive information
is accepted, even if it's queried or discussed, it's done in a civilised
manner.

And the same is true of ROFF. Join in, block those ROFFians you find to be
instigators of trouble and see what happens. Yes, a find discussion on the
merits of knots, leader lenghts, rods and reels, casting techniques, and a
plethora of other topics will degrade; sometime in very short order, but you
will also find that varied opinions lead to much useful information
concerning fly fishing. You will also have those who are bombastic in
nature and who declare themselves to be the true arbiters of fly fishing.
Those are the people I can't take, so I block them. No harm, no foul.

Op

J