A Humble Plea to the ECF Community

[UncleChuck]

Hi ECF,

I've been a member here on ECF for nearly 4 years now, and one thing that keeps me coming back is the positive atmosphere and sense of community. There are many helpful, knowledgeable, and kind people here that go above and beyond when it comes to helping out fellow vapers, and for this I am extremely grateful. Unfortunately, for some time now I've noticed an increasing trend of being judgmental and condescending towards other people's vaping style and preferences.

Whether vaping with an eGo battery at 7 watts or a .2 ohm build on a 150 watt box, we are all still vapers. We all made an extremely positive change from smoking cigarettes (well, most of us) to the fun and enjoyable world of vaping, but it seems some people are forgetting our common interest and accomplishment and instead focus on the differences, and use those differences to deride others.

Not everybody needs a high-powered device, plenty of people are perfectly happy with a more moderate vape and they aren't any less of a "real vaper" than those with high power or high-end setups. Alternatively, not everyone is satisfied vaping at lower power levels or with cheaper gear, and it does not make someone an immature showoff because they seek out higher performance and/or higher end equipment.

I have seen more examples than I can even begin to remember of thinly veiled insults aimed at people looking for bigger clouds or more power, just as I have seen plenty of useless suggestions when people pressure someone into a piece of equipment that they have made perfectly clear they have no interest in.

So I make a humble request of my fellow vapers here on ECF:

Please show respect towards the vaping style/preference of others.
​

Thanks for your time

 

[Mailablemage]

I've noticed this too. There seems to be a lot of animosity here towards people that use mech mods and cloud chase these days. Sometimes I outright don't feel welcome here. It's gotten to the point where I have seriously considered abandoning ECF a few times.

 

[Ryedan]

Great post Uncle Chuck. I agree with you.

Kudos for posting this and vape on my friend

 

[Ipster]

Excellent post!
Many thanks for being the voice

 

[plehem12]

shut up and get out






Just kidding. Although I'm new here too, you're absolutely right. We can't forget why we are all here and started vaping. Because cigarettes were killing us.

 

[RamShot Rowdy]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. It doesn't matter if you vape a cig-a-like or a mech and RDA, we're all still vapers. We have plenty to worry about from the anti-vaping crowd, infighting isn't going to do us any good.

That said, I do see some people do foolish things with mech mods, like building without an ohm meter, and in my opinion those things need to be pointed out for safety reasons. I have no issue with mech mods, I'm using one right now, they just require a higher skill level and people need to educate themselves before using them.

 

[Ou2mame]

Wow that's a lot of writing to basically say "I wish people were better."

Its the Internet. It sucks. 15 years ago you kinda had to be smart to get on forums and usenet groups, but with smartphones and ipads and Tapatalk, the average got in, and the average is stupid. That's just what it is. I ignore it. You can't get offended by everything you see, and you can't assume everyone else is going to get offended either. Most people know to ignore the idiots. It's like spam, or that obnoxious person in front of you at the super market that wants their pasta price checked because they could have sworn they saw a sign that said 9 for 99 cents.

 

[Ahoy]

As anything gains popularity you get the bad and the good. We will never be able to stop everyone from being d-bags to people. This is actually an extremely tame community compared to some other communities out there.

 

[Rickajho]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. It doesn't matter if you vape a cig-a-like or a mech and RDA, we're all still vapers. We have plenty to worry about from the anti-vaping crowd, infighting isn't going to do us any good.

That said, I do see some people do foolish things with mech mods, like building without an ohm meter, and in my opinion those things need to be pointed out for safety reasons. I have no issue with mech mods, I'm using one right now, they just require a higher skill level and people need to educate themselves before using them.

You know there is that. And some times it's hard to be respectful of a vaping style that sends someone to their Doctor, to report back that the MD has diagnosed a bruised lung condition, that was secondary to lung inhaling that caused a coughing fit so bad the resulting pain sent them to their MD. There are times when I can't be blindly open minded about the direction vaping goes in to the extremes with a naive perspective that all things vaping are "safe". As with most activities extremes don't always produce great outcomes.

 

[plehem12]

Wow that's a lot of writing to basically say "I wish people were better."

Its the Internet. It sucks. 15 years ago you kinda had to be smart to get on forums and usenet groups, but with smartphones and ipads and Tapatalk, the average got in, and the average is stupid. That's just what it is. I ignore it. You can't get offended by everything you see, and you can't assume everyone else is going to get offended either. Most people know to ignore the idiots. It's like spam, or that obnoxious person in front of you at the super market that wants their pasta price checked because they could have sworn they saw a sign that said 9 for 99 cents.

Off topic, but good lord do I miss the internet pre-myspace and pre-youtube. I called it when those were invented, this is the end of the internet as we knew it. Back then it was a haven for the sad, angry, friendless, and/or people who wanted to be anonymous to just be themselves, or be who they really wanted to be but "the man" wouldn't let them. You could be at one place and go off on a completely disgusting racist rant for no apparent reason and then on another window donate to charity or have a very smart and informed political debate. You could say what you wanted, and be who you are without fear. When myspace and youtube came along, it became easier to use and more flashy. Inviting in the kewl dudebros to show the world pictures of their rims and new jordans. The real net nerds were once again cast out, in favor of those who already had more than enough real estate in society. Now your "net" worth if you will is decided by how many "friends" you have, or how many likes you can get. Well I don't have any friends, and no one likes what I say. That's why I got on the internet in the first place dammit.

 

[Ou2mame]

Off topic, but good lord do I miss the internet pre-myspace and pre-youtube. I called it when those were invented, this is the end of the internet as we knew it. Back then it was a haven for the sad, angry, friendless, and/or people who wanted to be anonymous to just be themselves, or be who they really wanted to be but "the man" wouldn't let them. You could be at one place and go off on a completely disgusting racist rant for no apparent reason and then on another window donate to charity or have a very smart and informed political debate. You could say what you wanted, and be who you are without fear. When myspace and youtube came along, it became easier to use and more flashy. Inviting in the kewl dudebros to show the world pictures of their rims and new jordans. The real net nerds were once again cast out, in favor of those who already had more than enough real estate in society. Now your "net" worth if you will is decided by how many "friends" you have, or how many likes you can get. Well I don't have any friends, and no one likes what I say. That's why I got on the internet in the first place dammit.

Yup. I'm 33 and I've been online since, before Google. MySpace was the end. The average came and they ruined a good thing. They started spelling things all stupid, ending every sentence with a smiley.. Cause we had 3 at the time happy sad and wink. Now there's dogs and pizza..

Anyways, you can't get bent out of shape about how people act on here. It's terrible because that's the true nature of people. Sad but true. The old days of the repressed coming online to escape those people are long gone.

 

[johnnyboro]

As anything gains popularity you get the bad and the good. We will never be able to stop everyone from being d-bags to people. This is actually an extremely tame community compared to some other communities out there.

It's a bit strange to find a place where everyone's polite and nice to each other, the other forums i visit are the complete opposite of this place. I guess people are mainly here for information.

 

[UncleChuck]

Wow that's a lot of writing to basically say "I wish people were better."

Its the Internet. It sucks. 15 years ago you kinda had to be smart to get on forums and usenet groups, but with smartphones and ipads and Tapatalk, the average got in, and the average is stupid. That's just what it is. I ignore it. You can't get offended by everything you see, and you can't assume everyone else is going to get offended either. Most people know to ignore the idiots. It's like spam, or that obnoxious person in front of you at the super market that wants their pasta price checked because they could have sworn they saw a sign that said 9 for 99 cents.

It's not just a rant about people being jerks, it's an active request for people to think about how they interact with other members here. I don't believe everyone who behaves the way I described does so because they enjoy belittling others, but because they just don't really put much thought into what they are posting unless someone brings it up. Hopefully at least a few people will think quietly to themselves and say "hey, maybe I'll just keep quiet next time that snide remark pops up in my head"

The internet in general may suck, but ECF does not, and I'd like to keep it that way. It's us, as members of the community, who need to demand higher standards to avoid things devolving into something akin to YouTube's comment section.

 

[Ipster]

It's a bit strange to find a place where everyone's polite and nice to each other, the other forums i visit are the complete opposite of this place. I guess people are mainly here for information.

Here here! I Hear Hear ya!
Myself, I couldnt be more grateful for ECF.
Ive been thoroughly convinced since my very first visit (which was perhaps a year or two prior to my
official "joining" or posted date... )
that ECF more than any other instrument is responsible for my quitting smoking tobacco.
can I say THANK YOU?
Through the generosity of other members here, I learned to find the correct substitutes for
my cigarettes.
Through the generosity of other members here, I learned what I needed to know to be an informed
vaping consumer.
Through the generosity of other members here, I learned what I wanted to try, and try to avoid.
Through the generosity of other members here, I gained the support, the knowledge base to continue forward
into the world of e cigs, further and further away from tobacco.
Through the generosity of other members here, I learned of the legislation effecting my local areas, my county, my states, my countries, finding direction to resources for the tools to fight for our rights to vape.
Through the generosity of other members here, I have managed to sustain a healthier new lifestyle choice.

Thank you ECF, every founding mod, and every noob member!

 

[NordicStag]

Certainly agree with OP. We're getting enough 'divide and conquer' from companies that would like to see Vape-devices banned so they can keep selling analogs, thus turning sometimes even our own friends and family against us for vaping. We shouldn't have to have and D&C going on here where we're all vapers, for sure...

 

[Mailablemage]

It's not just a rant about people being jerks, it's an active request for people to think about how they interact with other members here. I don't believe everyone who behaves the way I described does so because they enjoy belittling others, but because they just don't really put much thought into what they are posting unless someone brings it up. Hopefully at least a few people will think quietly to themselves and say "hey, maybe I'll just keep quiet next time that snide remark pops up in my head"

The internet in general may suck, but ECF does not, and I'd like to keep it that way. It's us, as members of the community, who need to demand higher standards to avoid things devolving into something akin to YouTube's comment section.

This. 9001 times this

 

[Ou2mame]

The only reason ecf is any different is because vaping is just beginning to go mainstream. When the average people start using it, like the Internet in general, they will make this place suck too. Sure I'd like to have this place remain informative and respectful, but look at YouTube comments... That's the majority. And eventually they will find us. Maybe this is just the beginning of the end. They have opinions, they just aren't fully thought out, intelligent, or useful. They will use their right to share their opinions to make this place suck.

 

[SuperTaz]

. Vape and let vape

 

[roxynoodle]

I vape many different ways, and diversity is what makes life interesting. If everyone were like me, I would probably be very bored.

However, if I think someone is doing something that has the potential for injury, I'm going to point it out. I can't help myself. If I ignored it and something bad happened, I would feel terrible Now if the member told me go stick it, well, at least I tried. I'm not a gifted writer either so I can come off as blunt. I don't mean to, but it happens. I'm much more eloquent expressing myself artistically or musically than I ever will be with language.

 

[Robino1]

The only reason ecf is any different is because vaping is just beginning to go mainstream. When the average people start using it, like the Internet in general, they will make this place suck too. Sure I'd like to have this place remain informative and respectful, but look at YouTube comments... That's the majority. And eventually they will find us. Maybe this is just the beginning of the end. They have opinions, they just aren't fully thought out, intelligent, or useful. They will use their right to share their opinions to make this place suck.

Not if we can help it from getting to that point
People complain about ECF's "rules" and that they are too restrictive. Those rules help keep this place from becoming a cesspool.