Wow....... Was a long time member before and a few months back got tired of about 5-6 posters who thought they were better than everyone else and bullied most everyone who posted on this board.

I predicted they would drive others away from posting on not only reports...but any other subject that was discussed.

These handful of posters are long time members and think because of that they are entitled to judged and slam anyone who they don't agree with.

I was a long time member going back to when Hombre founded this site from the remains of another site.

I just got sick of these 5-6 members who attack new and old time members alike with name calling, flaming and most of all their arrogance that they think they are better educated than anyone else.

It looks like many others have decided that they too.... do not want to participate in posting in any capacity on this site for fear of being attacked. I hope they are still paying members for Hombres sake......but there just doesn't seem to be much current value in new postings that are current with new information.

There also seems to be no entertainment value on off topic subjects that used to have members logging in on a daily basis to see the discussion on current events that were not mongering related.

These 5-6 members always seem to attack anyone who did not share their views.

New members who post new reports or information are attacked by these 5-6 members for some reason or another.

This site used to have a regular flow of new information weekly for both on and off topic subjects.....and because of that members would check on a daily basis.

I just think over the past couple of years these 5-6 members have slowly hijacked and driven members away from posting because of their arrogance.

Maybe I am wrong....only Hombre knows about his site traffic and and if the lack of regular, current postings have declined his membership base.

It will be interesting what kinda response that will come with this posting.

How many members were there?

Hawkeye20 brings up some good points, but once I saw who it was I had to question his motivation. We received lots of complaints regarding his most well-known account because his postings were almost exclusively off-topic with the majority of them being political. Based on a quick calculation of his posting statistics, 90% of his posts (468/521) were in the Off-Topic section. If we include off-topic posts in the on-topic sections, that percentage is even higher. While there is some truth to his claims about some veterans being unnecessaryily harsh on other members, in his particular case the "name calling, flaming, and arrogance..." stem from his political posts and lack of activity in on-topic sections. Of his 521 posts over many years, only 1 (yes, "one") is in the Trip Report section, and it's off-topic.

The irony of Hawkeye20 bringing this topic up is that for years we provided him free access for his posting activity despite the fact that his posts appeared intended to elicit flaming. A couple of members have even reported inconsistencies in his writing style with some posts rife with spelling and grammatical errors while others were more cleanly written. They've believed this was convincing evidence he was trolling, intentionally trying to provoke flaming and arguments for his own entertainment.

As for current activity and upcoming plans, although it's not where I would like it to be now, I feel comfortable with ClubHombre's future. I was hit with a number of concurrent issues over the past nine months (a forced server move, a serious security breach on one of my ecommerce sites, an incredibly intensive message review to comply with our payment processer's policies, and other things) that forced me into a "maintenance only" mode, but I've gotten over the hump and have been in the process of transitioning back to a ClubHombre focus. I have some good plans, but that is another topic to come.

ClubHombre will continue to be a place where you can speak more freely relative to many other sites, although I have recognized the need to temper some of the more aggressive postings and just do away with those that abuse our light moderation policy to troll the site.

I had started to write more regarding ClubHombre's unique strengths and advantages, but that's really another topic that belongs somewhere else. Here it would just be a reply to an off-topic post by someone known for only posting off-topic posts.

Thanks Hombre!

I know who the 5 or 6 posters are and they still persist in flaming everyone else. I understand the "off topic section" you'll get flamed, but in posting about bars gogo giving advice why flame them, its what people pay for on this site.

If I wanted to go on a site to get flamed I'd go on one of these Pattaya forums, which by the way is free.

The majority of flaming, back and forth arguing definitely take place on political/off-topic posting (Remember election time?). It is pretty easy to see why those posts go into flaming when so many stark different opinions are posted with many (what I consider crazy) comments.

I think Roadglide is one of the pompous attackers Hawkeye was reffering to.

OK...so now I'm curious?

What was Hawkeye20's earlier handle? KidCisco? Beachman? Who was that putz who claimed to be a lawyer from Beverly Hills and couldn't spell?

Inquiring minds want to know...

I was thinking it was either Portege or Beachman, but Portege has a valid account and has more posts than that. Beachman's profile has been completely removed, but if memory serves me, he only had off-topic posts the whole time he was on CH.

So Beachman, what have you been up to? Florida real estate never did pick back up, did it?

No, Hawkeye20 is not me. I login from just a few locations and this is easily verified. For the record, I disagree with Hawkeye20's post. The hard truth about Clubhombre, and most other mongering websites, is that many Hombres simply dont have the cash or time to monger anymore. Back in the ole days there was lots of disposable cash and lots of time, but thats not the case anymore. I rarely login to Clubhombre not because of obnoxious members, but because I simply dont have the time and there are no trips scheduled for the future.

There are, and have always been, a few obnoxious members here, but that has never stopped anyone from posting or participating. What stops people is a lack of time and cash. Right now, Im getting up to tend to my business and Im probably working the hardest I have ever had in my life having little free time. Ive never had to put this much time into working to make a buck, but thats how it is right now. I would love to go on a trip to somewhere even if its to the flawed Dominican Republic, but like most Hombres, Im simply not in a position and that may also be the case for the foreseeable future.


(Message edited by Portege on August 06, 2013)

I can travel and do. My next trip will probably be to Colombia or other parts of south america. I am looking at late september.
I also want to hit some spots not well traveled.
Usually now when I go I stay at least a month or more.
If all the uneccessary negative comments stop, I think a lot more trip reports would be posted.
Trek

If someone has pictures of good looking chicas and had a great trip, they are going to post it up regardless of what the peanut gallery has to say. In fact, the negative commentary on reports with great looking women looks like sour grapes posting to me.

You have some guy back in the states sitting at a computer making bold obnoxious statements about a trip they didnt take and about women they didnt fuck. That is 100% pure sour grape posting. Some guys just get jealous and insecure and they display it with the negative commentary. The fact is that these same guys with the negative comments would jump at the opportunity to be on that trip with you. They would go if they could, but they couldnt so they sit back on the computer at the home base taking cheap shots.

Dont worry folks. Your report doesnt look bad when that happens. These guys look bad because its just sour grapes posting.

Profiles do not get deleted unless the username is changed (not including a new username purchase), but they will not appear in the regular lists if they are inactive. To access them you would need to search for a message they posted and click on their username to see the Profile.

I'm also a little puzzled regarding what some of you are saying are negative comments. Are you referring to posts in on-topic sections like Trip Reports or Off-Topic sections? We've been monitoring the Trip Report section more carefully and asked some people to tone it down some time ago. I do not recall seeing much flaming in the Trip Report section anytime recently. Can anyone identify anything that's recent?

A lot of it really isnt negative commentary or even negative for that matter. There are some people who read the English word different then others. Some people view any commentary which isnt outright positive and friendly as negative. So lets say Hawkeye20 posts up a picture of a woman and he gets a few comments which are not outright friendly then he views those comments as negative, but thats not the case. Some people write and talk the English word a certain way and its just misconstrued by others.

Less activity on the website isnt because of a few jackassish posters, but because of the economy. I would certainly have more trip reports up if the option was open to me.

I am waiting for Dr J's next report. He is one of the few with balls to post photos.