Most of you will have guessed why we've introduced this new forum category, 'Bait Box'. It's something we've been thinking about for some time but just lately the sheer volume of banter and chat made it a priority.
FISHINGmagic (and that's me, with sole responsibility, where editorial content is concerned) has always prided itself on being the friendly site, going along with, if not actively encouraging, banter, chat and irreverence, and leaving the nastiness and personal insults to those sites that want it.
Of course, now and again the distasteful side creeps in, which is bound to happen as FM continues to grow at its present rate. And that's fine too, occasionally; after all, as much as we would like every day to be full of flowers and harmony, some days have to be full of shit and acrimony. That's life.
Banter, chat and piss-taking are all part of life too, probably moreso with anglers than most others, but like anything else, you can have too much of a good thing. Too much banter and chat has invaded too many threads, to the point where those who want to seriously discuss a topic are getting well and truly fed up.
In an ideal world we would have a brief injection of banter/chat within a serious thread and it would then return to topic, but it does seem lately that the banter has made a totally overwhelming hijack of too many threads to the point where the original thread has been lost. We're all guilty of it occasionally, including me, so I'm not pointing a finger at any one person.
Which is where 'Bait Box' comes in. It's not a new idea, they have 'Soap Box' on BIKEmagic, but FM had to call it something and 'Bait Box' seemed appropriate for anglers, a place where you can introduce some bait to get a reaction, etc, etc.
Have a drink on me - only virtually of course……
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It doesn't mean you can't still throw the odd off-topic remark into a serious thread, for again, that's life, a reflection of normal conversation, and every issue has a funny or irreverent side. But when this off-topic remark begins to grow into a full blown debate/discussion/chat/piss-take, to the detriment of the original topic, move it across to a new thread, to whichever category it belongs, and especially to 'Bait Box' if it's chat or the like.
All you have to do, and anyone can do it, who thinks it's time to get the off-topic stuff out of the way, is make a comment, like, 'Okay, I'd like to discuss this off-topic remark more fully', or even, 'I want to carry on taking the piss on another thread.' And then say where you've started the new thread, ie, 'go to the 'Bait Box' section and click on the 'You're a prat' thread. Put a link to it if you know how to do it.
If we do that then most of us (not everybody - that's impossible) will be happy. Those who want to discuss a topic more seriously can do so, and those who want to have a laugh, or whatever, can do just that. All without upsetting anybody else.
So have a drink on me everybody, to start off this brilliant new era where all we forum users never upset anybody else ever again…………..
Graham Marsden
