The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

[from Captain Midge]

Now, about everything else... where to start? First of all, the NCFFB is not Greg's board. Greg provides the server space and keeps the software humming along (all at his own expense, BTW), and that's about it. He doesn't make any decisions about the board's contents, or take any action for or against anyone who posts on the board. It's probably a bit of a burden for him to maintain his neutrality, and I commend him for his ability to do so. For all practical purposes Greg is just another board "member" like anyone else.

And that's the main difference between the NCFFB and Blanton's board (or just about any other board, for that matter); there's no one person or entity that can claim any rights to own or influence the NCFFB. It is a truly democratic (or perhaps anarchic) virtual community, totally without political agenda or commercial interest. Dan Blanton's board *is* a commercial endeavor, and Dan runs it with that in mind. More power to him; he's got an impressive list of contributors. Too bad he doesn't post his rules somewhere so that those who would post there could know what's expected of them...

Yes, there's a lot of non-ffing content on the NCFFB. But most of it is touching, interesting, or flat-out funny. Some of it's B.S. Very little of it is commercial spam. And hardly any of it is flame. But I think most people enjoy the freeform nature of the board. And let's face it, for sheer volume of quality NorCal ffing info (particularly freshwater), the NCFFB probably can't be beat. That's because there are a lot of quality folks who enjoy the "personality" of the board and feel comfortable sharing their wisdom there. Stifle the informality and you risk losing the board's most valuable assets--its contribtors.

I could go on and on, but I'll try to wrap it up by sharing a bit about my experiences w/ the NCFFB...

Like you, I can't get out fishing nearly as much as I'd like. I got just one day of fishing last year, and so far this year I've managed to get out just a few times. So I don't have the expertise to be a really valuable contributor to the board. But I give what I can; the graphic at the top of the board, a bit of programming help for Greg, some insights here and there, and the occasional humorous (I hope) post. Yet I know I have the respect of others on the board for no other reason than that I care enough to participate. I've received numerous invitations to go on fishing trips, but unfortunately I've been unable to accept any but one of them (more on that later). I've learned so much from the folks on the board that my frustration level has significantly *increased* because I can't get out there and put all that knowledge to use...

The first NCFFBer that I met was Ukiah Charlie; I chatted with him for 10 minutes at the San Mateo ISE show and he gave my daughter a fly that he tied. A little while later he sent me a supply of surgical tubing for me to use in my rod building endeavors...

[some stuff about shad fishing w/ Charlie deleted]

...The point is that while perhaps Charlie can be a bit more generous with his time than others, his attitude is shared by a great many of the NCFFB posters...

[some personal stuff deleted]

-chuck o.