Please READ! Especially Gmail Users

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

Moderator
Staff member
All messages sent by this site to gmail accounts are being blocked. Gmail thinks duckboats.net email is spam. I am getting TONS of blocked email notifications in my inbox. If you have gmail please edit your profile and turn off all notifications. These notifications end up in my inbox and I'm having to delete twenty or more a day.

If you are trying to register for the site and use a gmail account, you will not get the email verification this site sends to your address. In other words the membership verification process breaks. I don't have an answer to this other than to email me direct, ep@duckboats.net and I'll verify your account manually.

Sorry folks, but this antiquated forum needs to be sunsetted. But I do not have the time to bring another system online. That will take many hours to accomplish, and I don't have the time for it at this juncture. I've been hoping I could kick the can down the road until the day I can really dive into relaunching the site with current software, but that day just isn't coming.

I'm pretty discouraged right now because the site is broken in areas and needs to be fixed. Especially in terms of mobile devices. But participation has left for FB, IG and other social media platforms and I don't know if the herculean effort it will take to relaunch the site is even worth it. With complete transparency I've had thoughts of shutting the site down, but I can't bring myself to it because I'd miss the folks that are still here.

Eric
 
Eric,

I have had another forum board talk to ending for similar lack of participation. I like a corner of the internet without being profiled and mined for data. Facebook and Google really did capture the Internet. Gone are the days of finding new websites using Google or even older Netscape and Yahoo.

Rick Lathrop
 
Eric Patterson said:
All messages sent by this site to gmail accounts are being blocked. Gmail thinks duckboats.net email is spam. I am getting TONS of blocked email notifications in my inbox. If you have gmail please edit your profile and turn off all notifications. These notifications end up in my inbox and I'm having to delete twenty or more a day.

If you are trying to register for the site and use a gmail account, you will not get the email verification this site sends to your address. In other words the membership verification process breaks. I don't have an answer to this other than to email me direct, ep@duckboats.net and I'll verify your account manually.

Sorry folks, but this antiquated forum needs to be sunsetted. But I do not have the time to bring another system online. That will take many hours to accomplish, and I don't have the time for it at this juncture. I've been hoping I could kick the can down the road until the day I can really dive into relaunching the site with current software, but that day just isn't coming.

I'm pretty discouraged right now because the site is broken in areas and needs to be fixed. Especially in terms of mobile devices. But participation has left for FB, IG and other social media platforms and I don't know if the herculean effort it will take to relaunch the site is even worth it. With complete transparency I've had thoughts of shutting the site down, but I can't bring myself to it because I'd miss the folks that are still here.

Eric
Click to expand...

Eric, the duck boats platform and knowledge is not equaled anywhere.

But participation has become divided among other social media accounts.

The Decoy carving forum faced just such an issue about five years ago.

The owners decided to close the message forum portion of the site and reopen it as a Facebook group.

I was not on board with the decision. However the group has retained nearly all of its original membership plus grown Quite well.

It would relieve a lot of the burden from you yet still allow members to remain connected.

I know it is not a great option but it is an option.
There are definitely drawbacks to doing this but it also streamlined the process and removes a lot of the work burden from you
 
What Jode said. A fantastic Maine Flyfishing meassage board that started in the late 90's and ran until a few years ago hit the same wall. They transitioned to a FB group, but it's just not the same. When it was a message board, we were all friends--and sometimes enemies, but it was like sitting around the campfire where you could agree to disagree and still go fish together tomorrow. Some of my most long-lasting Maine fishing and hunting buddies were folks I first met on that message board, then ran into on the river, and have since fished and hunted with from Montana to PEI, and all over Maine.

Same here, except I've never hunted with any of you except Troy--who we booked a few years back to hunt in a hurricane ;)--and Chris Hutchins, who I met first over on the Maine FF site.

If it will take money to keep this place what it is, let's pass the hat so you can pay someone to do that. I'd hate to see all the content here go down, and have it turn into another FB group I occasionally glance at.

What would it take?
 
Eric,

Have you talked to Keith Rucker or Keith Bohn at OWWM? That forum seems to be going well. I think he outsources the management of the board.

Rick
 
Jode and Jeff, thank you. Facebook is not an option for me. I can't stand the format and lack of a decent search function. Submitting content there is like trying to write a book with post-it notes. Have you ever responded to a post and want to insert pictures? Replies are limited to one picture. A worthless roadblock policy that is a pain in the ass for participants who are trying to contribute. I belong to a few groups there but seldom post because it seems like a waste of time to contribute. There is little "community" within a group and the same questions are posted by transients a million times because there is such a poor mechanism for searching prior submitted content. Here today gone tomorrow seems to be the philosophy. Not interested in that.

Richard, yes, Keith and I have had several conversations about OWWM. The demographics there make his site less susceptible to participation decline. OWWM is something done by older folks, the same that are comfortable with old school forums and desktop computers. Duck hunting is largely a young man's pursuit with a lot of turn-over. My son's age group does not look to join a community like this, at least not one that isn't mobile device friendly. However, having said that things are declining at OWWM as well. Keith's post rate is on a downward trend and there are now OWWM groups on FB.

More immediate are the tech issues with this forum's software. Keith's chosen platform did not go out of business and cease support. This forum's original developer ended support and sold hosting services. It's just me trying to keep her going and it is a pain in the ass. The move from the old server to the new one was time consuming and exhausting. The recent changes at Gmail that block emails from this site in one example. There are other problems. I don't have the time to figure out the root cause and modify this site's server. Well, let me put it more accurately, I don't want to take away time from my shop and hunting property activities to try and fix this forum when the participation has dropped to all-time lows.

So I'm left with either 1) Running a broke forum that results in folks constantly reaching out for help, getting frustrated and giving up, or me never knowing they needed help. Plus a lot of bounced emails in my mailbox which is a constant reminder of issues that need fixing. 2) Shutting it down and doing my own thing and bumping into old friends on other platforms. 3) Finding a new forum platform that is mobile device friendly, yet won't turn away current participants, encourages growth, and offers hope that the effort to locate such a forum system (which must allow for a lot of the current content to migrate), install, configure, and help folks transition, is worth the possible giant expenditure of my time and your money.

Folks do you see where I'm at??????

Eric
 
I'm sad to hear this Eric. Wish I had suggestions, but the FB group discussed above would have been it. And I am no lover of FB. It really sucks that the internet is dominated by a platform that discourages intelligent discourse. Hope you're not throwing in the towel just yet, maybe someone else has a bright idea.
 
Eric, only you know the level of frustration, and effort required to maintain this site. Know that those of us that have been longtime participants appreciate it. I am willing to financially support what is needed to keep the forum alive, and would follow to a new site/provider.

Is there a service/contractor that can be utilized to make the transition and field the help desk? We could gauge the interest to support that financially.
 
I would be very happy to contribute to help fund having someone do the work for Eric of transitioning from this format to a new one.

I don't like the facebook world. I don't have facebook or IG or twitter or any of those other accounts out there. It would be much easier to keep in touch with family if I had facebook but I really don't like that format. There really are only two places that I frequent for hunting forums. Here and the upland journal forum. Like Eric said, the format for facebook is not really conducive to how I enjoy interacting with folk and sharing my stories. So, if there is someone that can do the work for Eric of transitioning everything over, I'd be happy to contribute to that to keep this place alive.
 
Agreed with the commentary above. Perhaps we know someone who can help. My father used to work in IT at CBS, I will see if any of his former contacts may have any ideas. Not much of a promising road, but worth checking
 
I see where you are at and appreciate what you have always done here and the fact that this site doesn't just run on it's own.
 
Definitely see where you are at, Eric. And very glad to hear that FB is not an option. If money would help let us know what's needed. I pay a fair chunk every month to be able to read several newspapers, and get more value out of this site. Not sure you can hire out the skills that are needed, but if you can, just ask.
 
Jeff Reardon said:
Definitely see where you are at, Eric. And very glad to hear that FB is not an option. If money would help let us know what's needed. I pay a fair chunk every month to be able to read several newspapers, and get more value out of this site. Not sure you can hire out the skills that are needed, but if you can, just ask.
Click to expand...

I'm on board with this also
 
Eric Patterson said:
3) Finding a new forum platform that is mobile device friendly, yet won't turn away current participants, encourages growth, and offers hope that the effort to locate such a forum system (which must allow for a lot of the current content to migrate), install, configure, and help folks transition, is worth the possible giant expenditure of my time and your money.
Click to expand...

Just a thought... But after doing a little search I have found https://cms2cms.com/how-it-works/ They migrate CMS and Forum type web sites to new platforms. They have a huge list of platforms they migrate to and from. Not sure if duckboats.net site is in the list. But at the very least it might be worth contacting them to see if possible or get any advice of what can be done.

Like others on here, I am willing to contribute to fund a migration or whatever you think seems fit in our dire situation.

I am on Facebook but would not like duckboats.net to move to that platform.
I belong to many FB groups and find it very disorganized when used as a forum type group. It is hard to view, post with images in replies, and search when it comes to forum type groups.
 


If paying dues will keep this going I'm all for it. This is as high tech as I get, no facebook, Gmail, etc.,way to much BS that takes away from daily life and creativity. I realized when Field & Stream went digital it was pretty much over for folks like me. Duckboats is the shinning light that should be kept going. Way to much responsibility for one person to shoulder.


my 2 cents
 
Eric I'm in for my share financially of whatever it takes to stay going. Can't help with tech stuff and also understand your situation re the time involved to keep it going. I understand completely if Duck Boats fades away but would sure hate to see that happen.
 
This group and forum is the best place for sportsmen and sportswomen on the internet in my opinion. The information, the knowledge, the stories, and the decorum are all what the internet should be about. I have learned here and enjoyed speaking with people who post here. I have a duckboats.net tee shirt, and if a subscription fee should be required, I'd pay it gladly.

But I understand and respect your position.


I hope things work out.
 
Hello Eric, I appreciate all the effort you put into the site and can appreciate that you need an easier solution to keeping the site running. Hopefully you can find something like Linhardt's post # 15 in this thread. Even if you had to make a decision and cutback
on older threads to get the site moved and we could continue on. I would also be willing to contribute or pay dues as others have suggested. JK
 
Very much hope that the site can continue. Like others, I'd be willing to contribute. I do not think dues are a good idea as it would cut back membership significantly and likely create a situation where no new members would join. Don't be afraid to ask for a bit of financial help if necessary in keeping the site afloat.
 
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