The Online Outdoor Community; Are We Really Battling Each Other?

I was doing my usual cruising of other hiking blogs around the internet to see what other hikers are doing and talking about when I came across something that was a little concerning for me. Apparently within the Outdoor blogging community people are attacking one another in comment sections and social media sites. 

Over at Arizona Day Hiker site boss Jason Cleghorn(@JasonCleghorn) talked about a couple of members of our community that have been berated and humiliated by other members of our community for reasons unknown, or reasons that amount to basically nothing.



In his post, Cleghorn lays out some clear way to address another blogger that you might not quite agree with, and attack them in a public forum isn't one of them.

"Now... If I post a picture, or write something that is just flat out factually wrong, or worse, unsafe (I've stated publicly that I don't like to wear a life preserver while kayaking, and kids, that's wrong...) let me know.  But let's do it in a kind way, send someone a private email.  Less blast, more compassion, more constructive and/or private criticism." he explained.

It all begs the question, why?  We're a community of people who love the outdoors.  People who love adventure and exploring and being one with nature. Why are we battling each other. We should be sharing our experiences and encouraging others in their own exploration. I haven't been part of the Outdoor Blogging community very long but in the time I have I've come across some great people, who have their own unique ideas and come with their own experiences.  The difference in one another should be cherished and used as motivation, not at a reason to tear someone else down.

Jason put it simply. He said we are all passionate about what we're doing and we do it for the fun of doing it and to share with people who enjoy the same things we do. Let's continue to love the outdoors, and like we do with nature, we should also be treating one another with respect.

Be nice out there!