duckboats.net Needs Your Support

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

Moderator
Staff member
I recently received an overdraft notification from our bank after paying the monthly ISP bill. As most of you know duckboats.net is a community funded website with no advertisers nor corporate sponsors. Periodically I ask for financial support to keep the site going and the time has come again.


This past July the site turned 24 years old. Hard to believe that much time has passed. Some of the original members are still here while others have moved on. I think anyone that has been here very long knows site activity has declined in recent years. The new generation of hunters do not use internet forums, preferrring FB, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms for their daily duck hunting fix and those platforms have become the new gathering place for duck hunters. Therefore as members leave the site new members are not joining at a rate to offset the loss so our ranks are shrinking. I won't go into my critique of those outlets here, but I will say despite the decline in activity I believe this website still serves the purpose of giving folks with the common interest of waterfowling a place to gather, discuss, and share. The collection of friends, experience, and expertise makes this community a special place and despite the decline in activity I still believe has a lot to offer its current and future members. One only need to ask a question or search the forum to uncover a wealth of information. I know I've shared many stories about hunts with my son over the years and the search function allows me refresh my memory of good times and recall details that would otherwise be lost.


So with all that said I hope you will help keep the site moving forward. As I've said in the past if duck hunting forums are going to die off I want this site to be the last man standing. I think the quality of membership and content here leaves no other choice.


Thank you for your past and continued contributions and I look forward to another 24 years of duckboats.net. Support can be mailed to the below address or simply by clicking the "Support duckboats.net" link near the top of your browser.


Eric Patterson
109 Featherstone Lane
Owens Cross Roads, AL 35763
 
Done, thanks for the reminder.

I echo your sentiments. Yes, the cross section of knowledge among our membership is outstanding.

Eric, thank you for the time it takes to keep this site up and running. A cash contribution is the least I can do in appreciation of the "family" we have here on Duckboats.net.

PS; as a side "benefit"??? DHBP has made me aware of things I never knew I needed, until finding out about them here. Having a thinner wallet is better for the spine, so says my Doctor.
 
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Eric: Done. Don't hesitate to remind us. Typically, I am remiss unless I receive a notification like this.
Best.
 
Also done.

This site has cost me a duck boat full of money, but it has paid off with duck hunting happiness.
I've also meet some great people from this site. The information shared by you guys here is top notch, and you don't need to sift through a pile of BS to get it. Priceless
 
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Eric while I've already contributed I would ask that you not hesitate to inform us again .. in the short term if necessary ... if this current request for financial support falls short of the necessary funds to keep DHBP up and running. I would be more than happy to contribute more as this group of folks is the best that is left on the internet system. I and probably many more here don't participate in the other forms of social media so if DHBP goes away I'm done!! Keep it going please. BCF
 
Eric,
My check is in the mail today. Thank ou for keeping this great site going. I check in everyday.

Rod VanZile
 
Also done. I wouldn't have found any of the info on the social media platforms on how to tinker with my boat and other rigs, nor met some great folks. Hell I talk to two of them daily!
 
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Eric: Thank you and everyone else that help keep this site running. I'm sad to say I don't have a lot to say as a contributor but I value this site more than I can express. As it was previously stated, please keep us advised of the monetary needs. We all have become so strapped for time we forget. Thanks again.
 
Done.

Here's a thought as an idea to help fund the website...maybe we should have another auction? If members here have a decoy or old but still useful gear they might be willing to donate and have an auction? I don't know how much of a headache that is for you and Chuck, but it was a thought....
 
Dani said:
Done.

Here's a thought as an idea to help fund the website...maybe we should have another auction? If members here have a decoy or old but still useful gear they might be willing to donate and have an auction? I don't know how much of a headache that is for you and Chuck, but it was a thought....
Click to expand...

Especially if it was set up for some of us to come up/and or make an Item or twp
 
Eric and everyone else,
Done! I don't frequent duck forums as I once did but this forum and its people are still dear to my heart. As someone else said, "Here's a Ben Franklin to help the coffers."

Don't be afraid to ask if we need more Eric,

Larry
 
Done. Thank you, Eric, for keeping this going for so long. This site has so much more useful information and so much less BS, than any other platform I've seen. And nothing beats the sense of community here.
 
Thank you all for the generous support and kind words. They mean a lot to me, I mean A LOT. I had no doubt there would be more than enough to keep us moving forward.

I want to share a story I was just told yesterday. One of my closest friends from high school, Chris, and I got together for lunch yesterday. He comes in to town a couple times a year and we talk for hours when he does. One of those rare friendships that time has no effect on.

So after high school Chris went to college and into the ministry. A few years after he earned his degree in English and was the pastor of a small church he decided being a minister really wasn't his calling after all. So he went back to school and got his masters in English. With that behind him he began teaching at a state university. A few years went by and that too wasn't his calling. He ended up taking a job at a public library to pay the bills as his wife was pregnant. That wasn't his calling either. By now it is the late 90s and I have started duckboats.net. Chris read the site and saw all the activity and interests in duck boats and duck hunting. Being a turkey hunter who made his own turkey calls he wanted to build a similar community to duckboats.net, but for his interest in turkey hunting. So he set out to teach himself web development and build his own community. Turns out he was quite a natural at it. He began developing websites for other people and eventually left his job at the library to pursue freelance web development. As time went on he continued to study and pick up skills valuable in today's IT market like JAVA and Ruby to name a few. He spent the next 20 years doing freelance work as well as working for several companies as a full time employee. He was a co-founder of his last company. At 55 he is now retired and only takes on projects that pique his interest. He told me at lunch this website set him on the path to discover what he could do with his life. The buzz of activity here and his curiosity of how to build his own community spring boarded him into a successful career. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

So thanks goes to the folks here past and present for making this community a place where people can get and share ideas. You just never know when something will have a profound positive impact.

Eric
 
Eric Patterson said:
Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

So thanks goes to the folks here past and present for making this community a place where people can get and share ideas. You just never know when something will have a profound positive impact.

Eric
Click to expand...

That is cool.

The positivity exhibited on this web site, is unlike any other web page I frequent.
 
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