Are you a pro skier?

[splat]

Don't be coy, GM....I'm calling it.

Party at Gold Member's house tomorrow night!

[GoldMember]

Wouldn't be any fun at my place. We have indoor plumbing.

[My Pet Powder Goat]

[glademaster]

Hugh Conway is the primary reason I continue to read this forum. There's an awful lot to hate on around here, and there's little doubt that HC is a zen master of the hating arts.

I find his scathing observations to be funny as hell. Clearly some people can't take a joke.

[HansJob]

Hugh speaks the truth with no compassion. Sack up..

I'll bring the SuperSoaker to GM's houseparty. Always need to spray some piss to go along with the shit slingin'

[splat]

Those TED talks are really getting bold.

[east or bust]

It really is tgr420's place and business to operate. However, as the numbers demonstrate, the inmates running the asylum in the name of free speech is a noble notion but, in reality, if you're having a house party and a subgroup of invited guests endlessly decide to take a shit on the carpet, a certain number of the more desirable guests will take leave and probably not come back for your next party. Of course, everyone has an opinion that counts but, when the smell of shit overwhelms the entire house, the party typically takes a turn for the worse. There's always going to be people with a fetish for smelling shit but are those the only people you want to hang out with next time you have a party?

I shit you not, last fall someone took a shit on the floor at a house party on Loomis St. in Burlington. Now that was something I'll never forget. Could smell it from the sidewalk.

The party was pretty good before that.

[bigAK]

I'm just some asshole who posts on a messageboard. Mostly, I think it's a bunch of silly filler here, good for wasting time and shits and giggles.

This.

Seeing what and how quickly happened to this place when it was suddenly no longer at powdermag you'd think that threatening bans for "tone of voice" or "cut of your jib" infractions would be a little less hastily tossed about.

And this.

No dog in the fight - I appreciate the space ons and todd have provided off (mostly for me) and on over the years. It's a generally entertaining and informative tool. Banning folks like hugh, jer-bear, or even rog seems pretty weaksauce, but whomever owns the sandbox is free to decide how much pee is too much. I can think of only very few folks over the years who "deserved" it in my eyes. Hell, the hugeairdog wouldn't have lasted very long under the apparent standards.

At its core, "the community" started as a place for folks with similar experiences to communicate and pass time and grew eventually to share stories and photos of their shared days adventuring. I'm happy to read the documentation of someone's adventure (whether it be a deeper-esque trip or a meadow-skip through deep snow with the pooches) and relate it to my own experiences just as I'm happy to read someone's thoughts on a sporting match or movie that we've both watched. Less interesting than anything is the "stoke" that comes off as some self-promoting look at me/my facebook/my blog/my instafuck bullshit done to attract spancers or fulfill promotional requirements. A fine and hard-to-define line, but the old phrase "you know it when you see it" applies. As the internet and this place have changed (thanks Rob!), so has the output.

Finally, to pretend the purpose of this place as a stoke factory whilst ignoring the page clicks and ad revenue devoted to political bickering seems a bit disingenuous. ramble, ramble ramble...

[AdironRider]

A bitch thread bitchin about someone bitchin about someone bitchin. I think hugh is the rain man of TGR, smarter than most by far when it comes to what the industry really is like and his insights are usually pretty damn spot on. But I can understand the frustration of tgr420 and others who feel like hugh's bitchfest is kinda like tourette's dude's never-ending tirade of discontent. Used to be that people here found far more creative forms of expression, be it joy or anger, to say how they felt. And that was awesome.

It really is tgr420's place and business to operate. However, as the numbers demonstrate, the inmates running the asylum in the name of free speech is a noble notion but, in reality, if you're having a house party and a subgroup of invited guests endlessly decide to take a shit on the carpet, a certain number of the more desirable guests will take leave and probably not come back for your next party. Of course, everyone has an opinion that counts but, when the smell of shit overwhelms the entire house, the party typically takes a turn for the worse. There's always going to be people with a fetish for smelling shit but are those the only people you want to hang out with next time you have a party?

The artistic, insightful, awesome, creatively expressed individuals who first populated the forums here are what made it so appealling. Utopian, perhaps, but it was quite real. Criticism was the art of sarcasm honed with humor and the place was an addictive kick in the ass; in the best ways imaginable. Many of those people have gone because the endless bitchfight of people picking at each other just wasn't worth reading. I don't think wanting that awesome vibe back is a bad thing. The world is chock full of people overreacting to every little thing other people say. I think our political and multiple belief systems and they way they are portrayed in the media/on the interwebz has made acting out this way la raison d'être for so many people that a backlash against it is inevitable.

Not to say I fully disagree with you, but to imply that people left just because of a lack of stoke, sarcasm, or whatever I would consider being a bit full of oneself. It is a message board after all, there are a myriad of better things to do, and some people take that option. Not because this place sucks, but because they move on.

Surely some have as well, but to think you guys are awesome just because you made the board doesnt mean you should be threatening to remove one of your most prolific posters. This is a business and your page is filled with ads. This holier than thou slant seems a bit bullshit.

And this is coming from a guy who HC constantly seeks out and calls a slumlord. I couldnt give a shit because its just a message board and I dont make any money off of it. Todd does but not just for being fucking skier bro awesome, but because people like Hugh spend their entire day here creating "content" of some form.

[Ted Striker]

so it's summer huh? fuck, this thread is funny.

@ spook, yeah HC made some nice surf boards. IIRC a wooden boat too. Back in the day, and under a different user name, he posted a lot of pics from his fairly extensive travels too.

[Swine]

Finally, to pretend the purpose of this place as a stoke factory whilst ignoring the page clicks and ad revenue devoted to political bickering seems a bit disingenuous. ramble, ramble ramble...

Yep.

And this is coming from a guy who HC constantly seeks out and calls a slumlord. I couldnt give a shit because its just a message board and I dont make any money off of it. Todd does but not just for being fucking skier bro awesome, but because people like Hugh spend their entire day here creating "content" of some form.

Uh huh.

so it's summer huh? fuck, this thread is funny.

@ spook, yeah HC made some nice surf boards. IIRC a wooden boat too. Back in the day, and under a different user name, he posted a lot of pics from his fairly extensive travels too.

Even though I'm pretty sure HC has called me a fucking idiot at some point, 90% of the time I'd rather read his or Creaky's posts than almost anyone else. Hell I've become much more acerbic over the years, and I was too scared to start an account until '08 after lurking since the powmag transition (which means I get all giddy when Iceman posts in my threads...) I think that is inevitable, if you've been around the block, you can spot stupid real quick; some do a damn good job of calling it as it is. It takes all types and it keeps things interesting. If this place was filled with idiots like NS or Epic, well, no one worth a shit would be on here anymore.

Too generalized? Fuck you. I've got nothing to sell, and no spancerships to seek or maintain. And that, friends, is a beautiful thing.

[spook]

so it's summer huh? fuck, this thread is funny.

@ spook, yeah HC made some nice surf boards. IIRC a wooden boat too. Back in the day, and under a different user name, he posted a lot of pics from his fairly extensive travels too.

cool. bump your thread hugh

[spook]

Hugh Conway is the primary reason I continue to read this forum. There's an awful lot to hate on around here, and there's little doubt that HC is a zen master of the hating arts.

I find his scathing observations to be funny as hell. Clearly some people can't take a joke.

i don't think they're usually jokes.

[DJSapp]

IMHO, this place started the downhill slide when people started bashing TR's for not being gnar enough. Whenever posting TR's of another good day at the resort with friends fell out of favor was the day the music died. Yeah, I have a day job and kids now and I wanted to show off some less than perfect shots from a weekend warrior at a resort. I used to do that but now I don't, because the flaming kills the fun I had.

We shouldn't be shitting on people who want to post the stoke that they're capable of making themselves, and Hugh isn't shitting on the stoke. He may be a turd in many other regards, but I'll leave that to you to decide for yourself. We should be shitting on Splat's floor. That's where it's at.

[abraham]

I thought we were all here for the downward slide.

Except maybe jonathon s. and a few others who are about the uphill crawl as well.

[cat in january]

Fucking entropy

[raisingarizona13]

IMHO, this place started the downhill slide when people started bashing TR's for not being gnar enough. Whenever posting TR's of another good day at the resort with friends fell out of favor was the day the music died. Yeah, I have a day job and kids now and I wanted to show off some less than perfect shots from a weekend warrior at a resort. I used to do that but now I don't, because the flaming kills the fun I had.

We shouldn't be shitting on people who want to post the stoke that they're capable of making themselves, and Hugh isn't shitting on the stoke. He may be a turd in many other regards, but I'll leave that to you to decide for yourself. We should be shitting on Splat's floor. That's where it's at.

I really like the real world family people's posts. Just sayin.

Bashing someone's skiing or pictures is sort of them just saying that they aren't happy about their penis size.

[splat]

Not to say I fully disagree with you, but to imply that people left just because of a lack of stoke, sarcasm, or whatever I would consider being a bit full of oneself. It is a message board after all, there are a myriad of better things to do, and some people take that option. Not because this place sucks, but because they move on.

Surely some have as well, but to think you guys are awesome just because you made the board doesnt mean you should be threatening to remove one of your most prolific posters. This is a business and your page is filled with ads. This holier than thou slant seems a bit bullshit.

And this is coming from a guy who HC constantly seeks out and calls a slumlord. I couldnt give a shit because its just a message board and I dont make any money off of it. Todd does but not just for being fucking skier bro awesome, but because people like Hugh spend their entire day here creating "content" of some form.

I only chastise hugh because I don't want him to go.
He asked me to delete his account and his posts and, out of respect, I won't.
I'll leave his ritual suicide to him because I consider him a good dude.
I won't argue the evolutionary aspects of the board, things change, whether tone or membership.
I also agree with DJ Sapp and Raising Arizona's posts.
Except letting y'all shit on my floor.

[TahoeJ]

This place was extremely hostile a few years back and I actually think it's lightened up a bit over the past year or two, perhaps the result of all of the localized threads (Tahoe, JH, etc.).

On the Hugh note, I've found myself agreeing with him a lot lately - a disturbing amount, actually. Booting him would be lame, putting aside all of the shit he's called me from time to time (it's the internet, grow some thicker skin - right?)

[Tri-Ungulate]

Wow this thread did go pretty far afield, though there is some strange kind of consistency to it. tgr420, I can see flushing out tiresome turds like la roj, but HC actually does bring a strange kind of stoke to the forum, in his own semi-misanthropic way. And he does know his shit. I've been honored to raise a beer with him, and he's helped me out immeasurably with beta and resources for my ski trips abroad.

So I guess TGR strives to be the board where only "pro skiers" and wannabes can rehash their gnarliciousness in an endless circle jerk of bro brah-ness. Count me out if that's the case.

[hapenstash]

I really just wanted some free skis back in the day as a form of recognition for how hard I was killing it. I don't ski anymore. But if they had GoPro back then god damn would I have been getting some youtube hits. I never got any free skis because I didn't let anyone follow me around with a camera.

[DasBlunt]

This shit is strange and hostile.

funny that you mention hostile…..

[AlexC]

(Disclaimer: I only read about three posts before posting this)

In Revelstoke we call it "practically pro." Meaning you're good enough (or connected enough) to get a discount at a local store, but that's about it. It comes from a post on a local classified site, where some kid bitched about getting stopped by ski patrol for going too fast in a slow zone. He claimed to be sponsored by a local shop and was "practically pro," therefore beyond being stopped by patrol.

You can buy a t-shirt: http://list.thestoke.ca/posts/104707

[klar]

So I guess TGR strives to be the board where only "pro skiers" and wannabes can rehash their gnarliciousness in an endless circle jerk of bro brah-ness. Count me out if that's the case.

The community stuff could work if people would actually use it, but I doubt the old-timey forums users will. A subforum for TRs might be better received.

Ryan Dunfee contacted a random(?) selection of people from the boards before the change and wanted to discuss ways to improve the overall experience, which I thought was nice because he made the effort to get at least some personal opinions from users and did seem to actually listen. He mentioned increased moderation of truly offensive racist, homophobic etc comments and the way he presented it in our conversation, I figured it might not hurt. If banning people like HC (or even the more asinine regulars) routinely becomes part of this increased moderation, I'm with Tri-U. Then again, if the forums become boring, new people may be more interested in the community features. At the end of the day, we are only guests in TGRs sandbox.

[freak]

Not to say I fully disagree with you, but to imply that people left just because of a lack of stoke, sarcasm, or whatever I would consider being a bit full of oneself. It is a message board after all, there are a myriad of better things to do, and some people take that option. Not because this place sucks, but because they move on.

this. its how it always is... things just change.

freak~[&]