Been kind of quiet. How about the skywagon facebook group, anything going on there?

I keep getting emails from "The Club", regarding their various local (and national) ] conventions.
The two skywagon FB groups I'm on have some good discussions, entertaining & informative,
but not usually to the level of "anything going on there".

Despite my extreme reluctance not to mention antipathy towards FB I thought I would join just to keep up w/ the Skywagon goings-on. Come to find out that FB requires a video of one's face and copy of photo ID to join. No friggin' way. Hell no.

C180_guy wrote:Despite my extreme reluctance not to mention antipathy towards FB I thought I would join just to keep up w/ the Skywagon goings-on. Come to find out that FB requires a video of one's face and copy of photo ID to join. No friggin' way. Hell no.

That seems very intrusive, can't say as I blame you.
That must be new-- I got onto FB maybe 5 years ago,
they didn't have that requirement then.

C180_guy wrote:Despite my extreme reluctance not to mention antipathy towards FB I thought I would join just to keep up w/ the Skywagon goings-on. Come to find out that FB requires a video of one's face and copy of photo ID to join. No friggin' way. Hell no.

Rant inbound. Facebook is the death of this website. Everyone who used to post here just posts there. Perhaps they like that their posts and contributions disappear into the mist, or maybe they enjoy being tracked by the big tech marketing machine who also knows your favorite Pornhub categories and insists on remarketing shit to you that you’ve already bought. They’ve won and independent websites have lost. I basically reply to myself here these days. If you stopped posting here because you had a problem with my heavy handed moderation, well congrats, now you have a version of me in every one of your FB groups and Indian click farm scammers to boot. Antipathy is an understatement. I use it to drive traffic back here but that’s flopped too. Sometimes I long for 2004.

To anyone still here to read this: live long and prosper.

^^^. Hear hear!! FB is for the ADHD can’t focus longer than 15 seconds crowd. I hate it, yet I’m semi forced to use it for local aviation schtuff. I do like marketplace a bit better than Craigslist but that’s another discussion.

Zzz wrote:Rant inbound. Facebook is the death of this website. Everyone who used to post here just posts there. Perhaps they like that their posts and contributions disappear into the mist, or maybe they enjoy being tracked by the big tech marketing machine who also knows your favorite Pornhub categories and insists on remarketing shit to you that you’ve already bought. They’ve won and independent websites have lost. I basically reply to myself here these days. If you stopped posting here because you had a problem with my heavy handed moderation, well congrats, now you have a version of me in every one of your FB groups and Indian click farm scammers to boot. Antipathy is an understatement. I use it to drive traffic back here but that’s flopped too. Sometimes I long for 2004.

To anyone still here to read this: live long and prosper.

As I've entered middle age I find it harder and harder to resist the "get off my lawn" mentality. This feels a bit like it, as we're evolving in some very strange new ways these days with the digital environments we've created.
I'm beyond grateful I grew up in a time before social media. At least in my case, doing some really dumb stuff was inevitable - I'm not the sharpest or most emotionally intelligent dude. The like and subscribe(tm) culture is powerfully addictive(especially for kids) but I am so glad that my life has not been recorded and digitally farmed for content. Probably a good thing AI isn't based on my stupidity too...
All that said a forum such as this feels a bit more like a digital campfire. Sure we're faceless here and trolls can troll, but it feels a bit more connected than a fleeting medium such as FB or instagram.
I'll remain hopeful that this format can persist, and those that want something closer to genuine connection and sharing of information and ideas will still seek this out. I can't afford the time to fly and camp every day so I truly appreciate this place.
Fight the power Z.

PS - no real news on our Wagon, doing pretty well. I will take some pictures before I get the sling seats and cowl steps installed to share in the mod thread though. Face picture and ID not required.

I feel the same way!

DreadPirateWill wrote:..... no real news on our Wagon, doing pretty well. I will take some pictures before I get the sling seats and cowl steps installed to share in the mod thread though. Face picture and ID not required.

I installed boot cowl steps & handles on mine several years ago, very handy.
Although I've already got BAS jumpseats in my 53,
I'm looking forward to seeing & finding out more about your sling seat mod.

Zzz wrote: Rant inbound. Facebook is the death of this website. Everyone who used to post here just posts there....

I still check BCP pretty much every day, in addition to surfing FB.
IMHO it's not an either/or.
I usually peruse BCP (and the supercub.org site) in the morning along with my morning coffee,
while FB is more of a "oh I've got a few minutes", sitting in a waiting room kind of thing.
I enjoy both venues.

Honestly nothing interesting on any of the Facebook sites I watch. I use it for small ads, but watch your back, and for things like HSF. Waiting in Truckee right now for the Playa to dry and Facebook gives me live updates. But for content BCP and Supercub.org for me.

daedaluscan wrote:Honestly nothing interesting on any of the Facebook sites I watch. I use it for small ads, but watch your back, and for things like HSF. Waiting in Truckee right now for the Playa to dry and Facebook gives me live updates. But for content BCP and Supercub.org for me.

Same goes for me. FB for marketplace. But I rarely post anything, and find it too easy to start doom scrolling, so I'm most likely gonna dump it again. Love it here though. Thanks for keeping it running Zzz.

Yeah, I admit, I use Fakebook for information and entertainment. But I haven't posted anything there in years. It's like a dumpster fire that I can't look away from.

But the Skywagon Club... I joined when I bought my wagon some years ago but quickly left because the wheel pants crowd wasn't my crowd and I wasn't interested in landing at some paved strip, staying at the Best Western, and getting a bus tour. But I've mellowed/aged, become more tolerant or maybe more lonely (!), and have rejoined. And, the club has evolved too. I went to a Wagon fly-in at Ryan Field Montana last year and enjoyed the experience. This year, I went to Oshkosh and was welcomed into the Skywagon parking area even though I didn't meet their entry parameters. It was a well-organized and enjoyable experience. So I say give those guys another shot if you've wandered away from them. Not much traffic on their web forum but there's some good info there.

I'd love to see Zane's project here increase tenfold, but I'm part of the problem. I lurk but don't post much.

slowmover wrote:I'd love to see Zane's project here increase tenfold, but I'm part of the problem. I lurk but don't post much.

Would you say it's a social issue or a technical issue?

My marketing helper Class E has been posting periodic topics in the forum, most with some coaching from me. I'm just not sure if it's an activity/momentum issue or a technology platform issue. Or a general fatigue among people who are kinda hungover from social media inundation.

I long for the exciting days where we thought we were a small crowd and wanted to share our trips and knowledge. I think we have the decorum thing down.

I personally enjoy the format hobby forums provide where it is broken down into various topics. The most active appears to be beechtalk, but not a whole lot of taildragger discussion. Once in a blue moon supercub has some skywagon conversation. Not sure why BCP activity has fallen off, ZZZ. I check in a few times a week.

I considered rejoining the Skywagon club, but that would just provide access to a fairly dead forum and the real action is on FB, but not providing my biometric info to zuck.

Zzz wrote:

slowmover wrote:I'd love to see Zane's project here increase tenfold, but I'm part of the problem. I lurk but don't post much.

Would you say it's a social issue or a technical issue?

Fair question. It isn't a technical issue. The website works well, looks good, and the only semi-odd thing that I mastered is how to load pictures into my photos and then use a link to put them in my posts.

So it must be a social issue. There are probably three reasons:

1. While I have a lot of aviation experience, it mostly isn't backcountry stuff. So I feel like I don't have that much to contribute.

2. I have a job, a wife, a kid, and several other hobbies competing for my time. If I'm going to hang something out there with my name on it, I want it to be worthwhile. It takes time to construct that.

3. And then there's the whole issue with social media in general. First, what I want is a social connection that comes from in-person stuff. I want to sit around a fire or a coffee pot and talk about this stuff. It's hard for me do that since I don't live in McCarthy or McCall and because of #2 above.

It was great to meet you and Class E at Oshkosh. I have great respect for what y'all are doing and Class E's recent involvement here in asking leading questions has been good. Go get that Maule you were talking about and we need to have a meet-up here!

Richland Creek, Arkansas. 4AR9. Thanks RAF!!

slowmover wrote:3. And then there's the whole issue with social media in general. First, what I want is a social connection that comes from in-person stuff. I want to sit around a fire or a coffee pot and talk about this stuff.

Agree, but for me you need the internet/forums to get to technical info., knowledge, etc. and chase down parts so you keep the plane flying and then go do the in-person stuff.

I detest Facebook, I was a regular to forums such as this long before so much traffic moved to FB groups and I long for the old glory just like Z. The days of vibrant enthusiast forums you could frequent without signing your life away to big tech. This is the only aviation page of any kind I frequent.

I'm another of the older guys that still prefers these type of forums. Usually the very first page I open in the morning is BCP, well, after I check the weather anyways. I also check it in the evening as my body is shutting down for the day. I also miss the days of heavy activity with trip reports, and other tidbits of info. I like absorbing knowledge, but am not the best at relaying it in a public forum. Not a wordsmith by any means and mostly feel like I come across as a 'know it all', which I am far from being in my own mind.

FB is generally the last place I visit before logging off. Mostly to check for messages from the kids or friends that seem to think it is the only way to communicate these days. What ever happened to a phone call?

Anyways, Zzz, keep up the good work! This site is a savior to many of us, even though we don't post as often as maybe we should.

Oh, as for the Skywagon, always loved them, but not in the cards.

BCP has gifted me some of my closest friends. Over the last decade and a half its been a constant. I too long for the days where BCP was hopping and we are were posting. From time to time I've tried to do my part to inject life back in, but... Hoping it gets a boost with some young blood.

As for Skywagons... logs of cool stuff going on in my hangars, but life, deadlines, and task saturation has kept me from sharing.

Oh... and F FB.