On Monday, March 30, 2020 at 4:24:59 PM UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Monday, March 30, 2020 at 2:41:52 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Flubber, the discussions here usually end up in controversy n crap. But this place is mostly populated with old codgers who like me, have been in the sport for decades, are not going anywhere( not going to leave the sport) and are all of strong opinions including yourself. When I am out at the field or visiting another field flying, this stuff rarely comes up and reasonable conversations can be had because we have the time face to face to present our points of view in their totality. I don’t know of a single potential glider pilot who has been run away from a club via political opinions. I have however seen guys move on due to the clickiness of old time club members.


When you treat RAS as a private conversation between an in-group of buddies, you overlook that RAS is a public forum on the internet. People who're curious about the sport stumble in here for a first impression, and some hold unflattering preconceptions about old men (aka most soaring pilots). Search on any soaring related topic in the USA, and RAS pops to the top of the results.

The people that are turned off by this first-impression never make it to the airport.

Good. If snowflakes stay away so much the better for soaring.