Posted: 4/9/2008 1:25:52 AM EDT
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not to start a flame war or anything, but it seems we've gotten WAY off topic lately. I've trolled this forum for many years, but just recently registered. I remember when almost every topic was related to the MEANS of surviving shtf. lately though it seems like the only thing we talk about is the economy tanking. how many times can you cover the same material as far as the economy goes? i for one would like to see more discussions on self sustaining life styles. Gardening, Hunting, securing your home or bol for shtf, stuff like that. the economy is going to tank. we all get that. move on. |
bah then we end up with threads like " withis better for zombies ak or AR" "shtfs hould i store 68gr or 73gr" " what if i was stranded on gilligans island ,naked......." IMHO the forums change monthly,,bi monthly etc. it's better than some of the lesser SF out there for that reason. There are only a few out there that i know of that have this amount of traffic and diversty. Most others are copypaste(2-4 days behind when its posted here) or are so slow you only need check back once a week. Those forums that are that slow are normally full of newbs or med sized fish in a small pond acting like sharks(if ya get my drift)  so post up some stuff and we'll chime in....
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In case you haven't noticed, we are in the Outdoors area now. The forum was split. We have a gear forum, a food forum (which covers gardening, ect) and a radio/comm forum. This is now kind of a general SF area. People are worried about the economy and there isn't much you can do to change that fact. Like others have said, feel free to start a survival topic that's more to your liking. |
| I personally think that a big benefit when it comes to survival would be being able to see the shit approaching the fan rather than just reacting after it hits. If others see signs of it that I don't and can give me a heads up than I am all for it. There are topics on this (are any other) forum that I know don't interest me when I look at the subject. I simply don't click on them. Simple. |
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economic survival is a very real and important consideration. a lot of folks who could hold off a horde of zombies for months dont know what to do about the fact that we are possibly in the direction of a collapsed economy (read ferfal's blogs .. it aint pretty).. Its just as real as bird flu (as in - it might happen and if it does, it might happen fast, but it aint happening right now).. so why not discuss it? How do you prep for a collapsed economy and hyperinflation, for bread costing $35 a loaf.. |
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When the forum forst opened up, we got dozens of excellent "How do I prep" posts as well as a lot of well thought out answers. The gear, food, and camping sections are still like that for the most part. What has happened is that many of us who posted heavily in the early days have progressed up the learning curve. While there are many details still to be discussed, the learning curve for prepping is steep but not long. Sooner or later, you'll realize that a secure shelter, food, water, and means of defense are all that is necessary for 99% of SHTF. BO vs BI, generators, food storage, etc are to an extent situation dependent and this is where much of the discussion takes place. Unlike most other forums, a good number of folks here have attended campouts, and have gotten to know each other. I have not camped out with some of the SE crew, but I have camped with TJ, who know most of the SE crew and vouches for them. We are in much closer contact than any other fourm of any type I have seen on the Net. We are FAR more likely to actually know the folks here personally., and it shows. Back in 2002, FrankSquid and I were discussing runnng him thru a map and compass course, which son led to the first NorthEast Campout. We were able to put some good people and useful training together, and the SE guys soon followed suit. Other areas have held campouts with mostly great success, and we all have different apporaches. We tend to run fieldcraft skills and shooting drills. The SE guys work on backpacking campouts without having time for shooting drills. These were BIG topics 4 - 5 years ago, much less so now that the regulars here know what each group does and knows where to go to seek information. Part of the reason that the educational posts have fallen off is the fact that a LOT of us are extending our training past the basics and are getting into different stuff that may be beyond someone who's already had some training and experience. Don't take that wrongly, everyone here started somewhere and I think that is one of the stron points of this forum is that most of us have the patience to help out a new guy with basic questions. We tend to self moderate to a great extent and I remember the consternation I felt when we had our first thread lock. Some topics get done half to death. We seem to have our share of gear guys and then some, so the "What backpack?" threads get done to death, while soe of the more important stuff like food storage gets glossed over. It all settles out in the wash.. I once said here that the best way to determine how serious someone is about survival is not to count guns and gear, the best way is to check out their food storage.. Anyway, calicojack, as others have said, feel free to start a post in any survival related topic. If you don't like the problem, then do something to be part of the solution. Ops |
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The economy is the life engine of "normalcy" as we know it. Getting an advance heads up from posters about economy issues and then following closely as one can, one can gain valuable information on many fronts and stay well ahead of the curve when it comes to preparing not only financially but enhancing your ability to anticipate cascading and spill over situations. This way you can prioritize purchases of gear, food and supplies. The economic situation is what is getting the price of fuel up and trucker's tempers as well. Truckers strike, people riot for food and burn cities, in the worst case. The economy is an excellent prep barometer. Other "barometers" can be used to track the economy. I don't think we run it into the ground here. But some might. There is usually a surge in discussion when events break or something attention grabbing inside the news or elsewhere surfaces. I think tracking the economy allows you to see months into the future, prep-wise. |
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I often think in a fluid forum format it is 50% information exchange and 50% entertainment. What that means is topic matter will ebb and flow with what is happening in the world today. If you were reading the forum during Katrina, that was sure an interesting time. Our subjects archive after a period of time so subjects do repeat especially through newer members. The archive is available as a tool to Team Members so that they can reference the older topics. Still those topics though covered many times do repeat and I like to think the guys here do their best to welcome everyone we can to the lifestyle. We purposely keep religion, politics, and race issues out of this forum treating it like a technical forum. This isn't to make moderation easier but to welcome as many folks as we can to the lifestyle. You know what we like/do in life or things in common is what creates friendships and this lifestyle is a heck of a lot of common with someone. You meet someone in person and you compare subject matters all day with diversity and never touching on those topics that separate people. Tj |
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we've always gone through waves of subject materiel. there are peaks, such as happens right after an incident that we can dissect and learn from, and then valleys when we're all off working on our own. i think the point about "progressing up the learning curve" is a good one--the bulk of our useful information is given when new people are asking questions. this forces us to think about our approaches, argue them, and rethink them based on the discussion. as more and more SFers progress beyond the "what should i put in my BOB" level, discussion falls off until we get the next batch of junior preppers who need questions answered. what i would suggest is that people with knowledge actually post primer lessons. the best example i can think of at the moment is ar-jedi's radio thread. it contained wonderful information, was easily accessible to neophytes, and was still useful for the older ham hands. protus on building tarp shelters is another good one. do you know something? then share it. you don't have to be a professional or anything--hell, there are probably people that know more than you about it, so you can learn while you're teaching. the trick is just to get the conversation started. but everyone knows something useful. can you cook? then sit down and tell us how to assemble a chuckwagon--the fewest ingredients that will make the widest variety of stuff. put a limit on it--say, a standard GI footlocker that you can fit in a truck. yuo don't have to know it all beforehand--just think out loud. are you an engineer? then tell us about how structures might affect us. can we use that damaged bridge or should we ford the river? that kind of stuff. an accountant? tell us how best to diversify and protect our SHTF bankrolls. a waiter? tell us about reading people, or food sanitation issues. the point is that if you want to get good info, you have to give, too. every person on this board has some sort of knowledge that will be useful in an emergency. and just as it would be in an emergency, you have to figure out how to apply what knowledge you have. so think of it as mindset training. what do you know? |
Wow! Excellent post there Mr. Song 
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