You make some good points Flyfisher. Lets go over them.
First , no one has sent me any emails or private messages that have been ignored. I don't know who you have asked but if you want a place to catch fish in the areas we know , John or I will tell you somewhere to go that is productive. No we won't tell you everywhere that is productive but we will send you somewhere to get a pull on the end of your line.
Next , people will share spots much better if you get together with them and fish. Come to the four legs. meet up and invite someone to you spot and when they know you , they will share more. If you a beginner , just say so and people will meet you and take you fishing. No they won't bring you to the best secret spot the first trip but eventually , they will get to know you and share spots.
next ,
Yes , I plead guilty to complaining about someone spilling the beans on a very private area. I had my reasons. By name , a former attorney general and the president of the largets bank in the state were mentioned. I'm all for fighting for access but think its dum to start the fight by pissing off these extremely influential people who already are good to the fisherman. Its just a question of determining what startegy allows the most people to fish the most areas. Its my opinion that sharing certain places by publishing them on the message board will mean people who fish certain spots will be banned rather than allowing new peole to share the spots. Write all you want about the state fishing areas like Deep hole or the Charlestown Breachway , but don't say that someones back yard is striper heaven.
I believe we should help to get everyone into fish when they ask. I do not believe we are under any obligation to tell all about every spot. There is a good reason why over the years , people have always said you must pay your dues. Real simple , suppose the bunch that got the URI Bay Campus closed to fishing read the post and decided to all relocate to the guys back yard. I garantee you the area would be closed in a week and you will need a good lawyer and $100K to fight these people over it.
Don't piss off the people who are already good to fisherman.
Another point I want to make is that you are mixing apples and oranges. You complain about your PM's getting ignored but then further down complain about public posting of spots. That's totally different. I think coutesy requires a response to a PM or email , even if the response is "I can't tell you but if you want to meet me I'll fish with you". However , Its up to every individual to weigh the pros and cons of the info they give up in private or on the boards.
I also want to clarify a point. I never asked anyone to remove a post about a spot where I thought access was in danger. I simply pointed out reasons why I thought the info was sensitive. Perhaps based on my opinion , the original poster decided to remove his post. I never pulled it and I never asked that it be pulled.
I also would add that maybe you need to give more before you get more. maybe you need to come to the four leg gatherings and make some friends face to face. Take a couple guys fishing.People get to know you and feel they can trust you , they will help you more.
That all said , I do agree with you that we (fisherman in general) should be more involved in publishing and protecting public access. I'm thrilled to hear someone else mention it. Everybody will jump on the fish conservation efforts but few will even bother reading about access. I post regularly on another board as everyone knows. I see a post about banning pogie boats and the thread gets 100 responses. I post about a concern for access and i get one response from the Anti Pogie boat Committeee saying yes we think access is important but we are busy trying to ban the pogie netting. I'm not critisizing the conservationists. I 'm just pointing out that access is also an important issue. Maybe you should have Ken come over here and post about what is being done about shore access and how the average fisheman can help.
Lastly , you show me any board where people are more helpful than here and I'll eat hat! (actually the hood on my sweatshirt)
Everybody draws the line somewhere. Smokey and I are as good as buddies can be. We share everything we have but there ain't no way we will share our girlfriends!
You get the point! Everybody gets to decide just what they will share and what they won't. reciprocity is a universal principle of human behavior. Maybe you are just a little short on the giving side so far.
This is a very giving group of people and I'm surprised that because everybody doesn't give up everything , someone implies we are selfish.
Sorry if I rambled but just as a post being deleted pissed you off , someone implying that this great bunch of people are selfish got my dander up too.