BootsnAll Travel Network



BootsnAll :(

Back in the fall of 2007 when I was thinking about travel to places with palm trees in hopes of finding a retirement home. I was still finding my way around the internet but had stumbled across a couple travel forums, Trip Advisor’s Cuba forum & Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree.

Back then TA was 99% AI resort travel, TT was geared towards independent travel. Then at the end of ‘07, the BBC, that had purchased LP, pulled a ‘fix what ain’t broken’ stunt, reformatting it which made it so slow that it was impossible to use on dial-up.

As a result other dissatisfied users started a ‘hate TT’ site where I heard about forum for independent travelers called BoostnAll BootsnAll I checked it out & joined on Jan 12, 2008.

It was a great forum & a big help in planning both my 08/09 CA/Cuba trip + my 09/10 RTW.

Times change, forum traffic has slowed to a point that about a year ago there was a topic posted http://boards.bootsnall.com/is-this-forum-dying-t47691.html where possible reasons were discussed over 4 pages. It was lamented in a post on that thread a year ago that only 77 posts had been made in a 7 day period.

Now I am not politically correct (and proud of it) & have a problem with Canucks who wear rose coloured glasses, which has gotten me banned from forums before. 🙂

A couple weeks ago there was a thread in the infamous subject of TIPPING  in which a couple Canucks said they only tipped 10% for poor service! Needless to say they were told, in no uncertain terms, what I thought of that, especially since one was from Ontario, where on my trip last August, I tipped a grand total of NOTHING due to lousy service! This unsatisfactory service is encouraged by those who tip for such lack of service IMO!!!

Fast forward a week & I find I am unable to log in on http://boards.bootsnall.com

An email to BNA brings the response that I have an unspecified time out because of my “posting style”!

Now I have been a member of BNA for over 5 years, have submitted an article + 2,026 posts to the boards. I have seen the article section go from a good selection of general interest articles to a bunch of garbage 10 best list postings that are of no interest to a traveler.

Forums have gone from lively discussion of differing ideas by experienced travelers with valid information, to a mishmash of garbage info posted by newbie’s who love dredging up long dead threads, whom one dasn’t  dare challenge for fear of sanctions! The new postings have dropped to 28 in the past 7 days. 🙁

The new section called Indie Travel is only useful to those too lazy to plan a trip themselves, the hostel section does not list the cheaper accommodations in most high traffic boarder areas, useless really. 

Almost forgot, during my 11 month RTW with One world One World Alliance (would use again) I only had 2 disappointments, the first in Beijing when the owners of GLC that I had done charters for over a period of 11 years, couldn’t be bothered to meet me, the second when during the final week of my RTW in Portland, it wasn’t possible to contact a rep from BNA. Kind of brings the chickens home to roost on the class of people one has been dealing with, EH!

All I have to say to Chris aka Hydro, the moderator/Sean, the owner is that your

site IS DYING and as long as you cater to the uninformed,

naive cruiser with 24 posts, by banning a long time experienced

backpacker member, then BootsnAll the forum

IS NOT FOR ME!!!

 

BYE   -     ADIEU   -    ADIÓS



Tags:

19 responses to “BootsnAll :(”

  1. Sean says:

    G’Day David,

    Sorry it worked out like this mate. You are and were an\ active poster – but it’s a free country/world. Start your own message board and you can act/post/write any way that you want on your own message board. I’m serious.

    Cheers mate and good vibes,

    Sean

  2. Chris says:

    G’day David,

    No doubt this comment will never get published, so it is more for your eyes than for anyone else. You have not been banned from BootsnAll’s forums. You said it yourself – you have been told to take a break, a time out, due to the number of complaints from the rest of our community.

    When asked, multiple times personally by me, to treat other members with respect and take the higher road if you felt like others were stirring the pot, you failed. I understand you take pride in being politically incorrect, but I refuse to let that be an excuse for poor behaviour in a social environment. There are many ways to get your point across and contribute to a discussion without devolving it into name-calling then stepping back and claiming innocence.

    As you said, you have been banned from other forums. Have you been allowed to be a part of any forum as long as you have at BootsnAll? Have you been given as many chances to continue as a member in any other forum, despite warnings?

    The picture you paint of BootsnAll as a failing business, with dying forums and poor content quality, makes me wonder why you would even wish to continue as a member in this community. Yet you obviously have strong feelings about it as you have decided to publically broadcast your displeasure (on a free BootsnAll blog you’ve maintained for 5 years), while again, claiming no responsibility in the matter.

    One of BootsnAll’s core values, that we have published for all to see, is ‘make meaningful connections’. When faced with tough decisions (like suspending a long-time member), a core value helps us see the best course of action. Your behaviour on the BootsnAll forums over the course of years indicates you are not aligned with our core value. BootsnAll is not an open forum. You don’t simply register an email address and are allowed to start posting. You have to put forth some (small) effort in order to be accepted. This, in turn, has slowed the growth of the forums over the years, but has also kept out the vast majority of spammers and trolls that plague so many other forums. It has allowed our forum to be a place where folks feel welcome and less likely to be trolled if they are simply an “uninformed, naive cruiser with 24 posts”.

    I realise that emotions are probably high right now. If you have further frustration to vent, I would be more than happy to jump on the phone with you and discuss it in real time in person. You have my email so feel free to leave me your number and a good time to call.

    cheers,
    Chris

  3. Dave says:

    Chris I guess if BNA’s ‘core values’ include allowing posters viciously attack me, as eppboy did on the tipping thread, where I was merely pointing out that the irresponsible actions of the ‘princess’ directly affected me by encouraging poor service in Ontario restaurants, then as I said, BNA isn’t the place for me.

    BTW nowhere in the blog did I ever say I was banned from the forums.

    You sadly misjudge me by thinking I would not allow your comment to be published, I had my say, you’re free to give your side. I have only barred one person (other than the spammers) from commenting on this blog & that was one posting comments in the vein of eppboy.

    So we agree to disagree & I shall no longer compromise the ‘core values’ of BNA by posting my opinions.

  4. Chris says:

    Sorry, mate. I assumed you were talking about yourself when you said “by *banning* a long time experienced backpacker member”.

    You also seem to forget the attacks that you launched on other members of our forums. This lack of accepting responsibility for your online actions in our forum and belief that you are somehow an innocent victim only reinforces the decision.

    I wish you well, and am still open to that chat.

  5. Dave says:

    My bad, I somehow missed that when I reread the blot this morning.

    Any ‘attacks’ were just rebuttals for comments directed at me!

    That doesn’t alter the fact that I was having a debate with an Ontario, cruiser princess when eppboy launches an unprovoked attack on me!

    I get sanctioned, the princess & my stalker get off scott free, that’s NOT the type of forum I want to be associated with.

    As ‘Dirty Harry’ would say “¡Hasta Luego Baby!”

  6. Dave says:

    Hmmmm I see there’s a thread on BNA by a 1st time poster, asking advise on a road-trip from Vancouver to CR. 51 views but no response.

    Nothing from the garbage mouth that stalked me nor from the high-n-mighty princess who throws money away on lazy waiters/eses.

    Ah well guess the poor guy’ll have to wade through the BS on TT to find an answer! 🙁

  7. Dave says:

    I see the wing-nuts are out in full force on BNA. 🙂

    I pity anyone looking for realistic info among the posts of CIA TROLLS! 🙁

  8. Dave says:

    He – he the newest CIA troll poster is hilarious with his decades old misinformation, pretty sure it’s the same moron that vanished from TA’s CA boards after I set him straight on a couple things.

    Great traveler info on BNA keep it up, you’ll be history 🙂

  9. Chris says:

    CIA trolls? Really? Wow.
    Anyway, thank you for your continued page views, Dave. They all keep us from becoming history.

  10. Dave says:

    Have you actually read any of the BS based on decades old info posted by the old fool (greyeyedman) who thinks El Salvador is still in the civil war, knows absolutely nothing about Cuba or anything else?

    I pity anyone foolish enough to follow his advise, really glad I chose to pack it in with BNA, gives me a chuckle on a slow day though.

    Oh thanks for adding to my blog reader count.

  11. Chris says:

    I’m sure I bumped your numbers by a significant percentage. *You chose* to pack it in with BnA? I love it.

    And for the record, we would LOVE for you to be able to point out inaccuracies and provide current information on our forum in a constructive manner. Your inability to do so is evidenced by your being shut out of multiple forums.

    My offer still stands for a face-to-face conversation if you are at all interested in resolving matters and moving on.

  12. Dave says:

    Sure I’m open to a face-to-face, when will you be in El Salvador?

  13. Dave says:

    See the offer is bogus (as I figured)!

    The grey fool & T_T spreading lies again but that’s the direction the powers that be at BNA want the dying forum to take 🙁

  14. Dave says:

    News Flash from BNA’s travel guru: Once upon a time (decades ago) after crossing into Costa Rica by wading through a stream, my (US?) passport got damp & mouldy, the Nicaragua border officials gave me a hard time about it.

    WOW!!!! 🙁

  15. Dave says:

    busman7 still lives on BNA http://boards.bootsnall.com/1-month-to-see-vietnam-laos-and-burma-t48372-15.html?sid=3adba8608d66d3155a8488f42e45e4d0 seems longtime poster Whistler with 3298 posts appreciates my advise even id the pc ower & mod don’t!

  16. Chris says:

    I asked you to face to face on Skype, or even to talk on a phone call. You ignored those requests and decided that me physically coming to you was the only way you were prepared to be open (which is not really open at all). So while the offer was not bogus, your obvious disinterest in anything but trolling our boards and finding people who may have agreed with you at least once, makes it not worth my time to visit El Salvador for the sole purpose of meeting with you, Dave. No one at BnA ever said your advice was poor, just your attitude and your delivery. I see nothing has changed.

  17. Dave says:

    Well Chris, I see you don’t recognize sarcasm, which was the intention of my “–when will you be in El Salvador?” comment.

    Of course if you or any one on the BNA staff ever did make it to El Salvador, I would be pleased to meet with them, even though when I stopped in Portland on my RTW no one was available, even for a phone call, c’est la vie.

    A “face to face on Skype” is not possible as my dial-up internet connection won’t support Skype, a call on my cell (landline not available) would cost me minutes, so rather than “disinterest” it’s a matter of economics.

    Since when is perusing a board considered “trolling”, sorry I didn’t realize that reading forum posts was only allowed by registered members.

    Actually on a slow day I find it entertaining to see the new posters pushing their websites or the ‘greyeyedman’ the exCIA dude posting his 30 yr old info from the Central American civil wars, who FYI has been banned multiple times from both TA & TT, now that’s my idea of a troll!

    “Attitude” is a 2 way street!

    Dave

  18. Chris says:

    And perhaps this is a perfect example of how the written word does not convey tone very well. You may have the best intentions, but you have a very poor way of expressing it with the written word. Your ‘sarcasm’ and the follow-up “See the offer is bogus (as I figured)!” is in no way conducive to a productive conversation. As I am slowly learning, such a conversation is not one you are interested in having.

    ‘Trolling’ was a poor word choice. Substitute ‘trawling’.

    You keep mentioning the fact that no one from BnA was able to meet with you while you were in PDX like it’s a personal slight against you. I don’t recall the specifics, or the time you were in Portland, but sometimes we’re just not available. Just as I’m sure there are times you would not be available to meet people who happen to be in your area of El Salvador. It happens. Try to reconcile that it’s not personal.

    I always felt that attitude was a personal responsibility.

  19. Dave says:

    @Chris No comment!