Facebook salmon conservation group

[Juniah87]

Hey all!

I thought I'd jump over here and invite those who haven't heard of this new group on facebook to come over and join a great cause. It is called "PNW Anglers Preserving Fisheries." This group has stemmed from the facebook page eastern washington fishing, and has grown to over 400 members in less than 2 weeks. I will warn you, this group is NOT for the feint of heart, or easily offended. This is a group of mainly a few dozen people bouncing ideas and information off of eachother to hopefully navigate the brackish waters of law and ethics in order to try to bolster our salmon numbers. There are a lot of heated arguments here, but the information shared by those who are very passionate about the sport fishery side of salmon angling has been a great resource for me personally, and with it's continued development and organization I believe this group has great potential to make an impactful change on the way Washington handles salmon. I'm just a member there, I'm not an admin, and have no pull or sway in what happens with the group, but the admin there are very quick with applications and all of it's admin and most of it's members want to see the numbers and interaction grow to give us the biggest possible chance of making a difference in maintaining this incredible resource. If this sounds up your alley, head over to https://www.facebook.com/groups/2165492467005635/ and join the ranks. Make sure you mention Jeff H. sent you so I can say hey when I see you over there! Earnest warning, there are no language filters or censorship in this group, and there are a lot of passionate people in this group, if you do not wish to see vulgar language, do not join! Hope to see some of NWFR members over there to help us figure out how to get to where we want Washington fisheries to be!

I hope I didn't put this in the wrong spot, I kinda figured this is a club notice, but since it's concerning fishing I didn't think it would qualify for off topic, of course feel free to move it if it belongs somewhere else!

[hewesbob]

I see this facebook page as being nothing other than a place where folks can hurl insults at each other, degrade tribal fishing and act like total jerks all from the anonymity of the key board. Most folks that engage in forums such as the one you are referring to have no idea there is a difference between debating and arguing. If a person can not state their opinion without using vulgar language and hurling insults they will never help solve any problems. Eastern Washington Fishing was a great family oriented facebook page until their population blumed to over 6000 and now even Brandon admits it has become out of control and I believe that is why he created this new page with hopes of getting some of the immature behavior off his main page. If a forum such as this is for you then I wish you the best but for me it's just not my cup of tea.

[spokey9]

What anglers are losing at in the salmon fisheries debates is the public perception. Most assume we all hate the tribes on racial basis and that we're predominately beer drinking cavemen. In my opinion any group that devolves into cursing and such just hurts our arguments. The tribes have public perception on their side,the state of WA won't risk hurting anybody's feelings so we need to make our voice heard in a clear calm manner. Unfortunately it's usually not. I pretty much quit talking about the issues with peopke because it devolves so fast that we never get anywhere.

[Onmygame]

I see this facebook page as being nothing other than a place where folks can hurl insults at each other, degrade tribal fishing and act like total jerks all from the anonymity of the key board. Most folks that engage in forums such as the one you are referring to have no idea there is a difference between debating and arguing. If a person can not state their opinion without using vulgar language and hurling insults they will never help solve any problems. Eastern Washington Fishing was a great family oriented facebook page until their population blumed to over 6000 and now even Brandon admits it has become out of control and I believe that is why he created this new page with hopes of getting some of the immature behavior off his main page. If a forum such as this is for you then I wish you the best but for me it's just not my cup of tea.

Yeah..spot on.

I've been involved in various forums over the past 20+ years, most of which have been e-commerce related, and have witnessed some of the best trolls in the business as well as the the worst society has to offer.

One thing I've gleaned from my time spent, is that the presence of insults, off color comments, venom, or otherwise vitriol is that these things equate to exactly ZERO valid arguments being presented by the offending party. These people resort to such tactics when they have absolutely NO position that makes even the slightest amount of sense, and I'd bet it is just a matter of time before one or more of these conversations devolve to include the 'Nazi' reference.

It is THE go to sign that a thread has completely gone to compost.

Cheers.

onmygame

[Juniah87]

It's not my intent to discuss the merits of the group, only to spread awareness of its existence. The simple matter is, every situation you partake in, you can learn something from. Some are not as articulate as others, but that doesn't invalidate their frustrations, nor does it make their opinion obsolete. Some folks need an outlet, and that's the only reason they joined, and that is why I put the disclaimer in my post. Who hasn't covered their face with a pillow and screamed in frustration before? I know I have. That is what this page is for some, but I stress that that is not what that page is for everyone. Whether we want to admit it or not, everyone is a part of the voting public and deserves to be heard. If they want to squander that opportunity with racial slurs and derogatory remarks, they are more than welcome to do so. it's unfortunate that you have to wade through this to get to the ideas that will make change possible, but that is what it takes. If we don't take an interest in wading through the quagmire to fix an obvious problem, who will?

This is also a big reason the group is private. The intention of the majority is clear, but needs to be refined in a more presentable fashion. This can be the grass roots project that grows into something very beneficial for a resource we all hold dear. The members and comments may not be polished, but I think the end product will be, or at least that's the aim of those who want to see this project through.