Purpose of this Forum

[#59]

The field of "research" in context to this yet to be identified entity (aka; Bigfoot, et. al.) is filled with charlatans, hustlers wannabes, armchair "experts" and other assorted con jobs.

On this website we're attempting to bring a new approach to the effort of positively identifying this animal.

We will not be selling tee shirts, coffee mugs or velvet paintings of BF.

I believe we can be brutally honest with each other without letting ego's or other agenda(s) get in the way.  There is no room for those types of individuals here and they won't be tolerated.

To that end, we hope this site becomes a resource for those with something to say or something to add that will be of benefit to the whole community.

We have individuals with professional investigative backgrounds (law enforcement & governmental agencies) available to follow up on reports and put together an analysis of the event/sighting that not only makes sense of the situation but will stand up to the rigors of professional scrutiny.

So, I say to everyone with a story to tell.....start here and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised with how things are handled.

Washanee,
TG

[Ruthie]

It seems to me this forum is relatively new. I don't know that any researchers are using it as of yet. Although I like it and wish they would.  I have seen some great topics that could/should be discussed here. I find this much more peaceful than GBO's BFRG No offense intended. Its nice not to see all the flamers at work.

I would love to hear TG how your research is going and what your goals are. Perhaps others will join you here.

[Public-Enemy]

Some posts are from 2006, so its been around a while 

[#59]

Some posts are from 2006, so its been around a while 

As Public Enema stated some posts have been around since 2006 however, this forum has only been in the general public domain since April of this year.

[#59]

This is from the following website owned/run by Bobbie Short of whom many people regard as one of the few sane people involved in this endeavour...

I have tried very hard to provide plausible solutions to the prevailing tendency of journalists to treat the North American sasquatch or bigfoot as a near surreal phenomenon. It is unfortunate that tabloid journalism created a pattern that has driven the entire subject of these creatures into disrepute. This website attempts to offer relevant data in an effort to inform and perhaps educate those who have not seen, set foot or delved into ancient manuscripts for information.

Several pertinent factors regarding my orientation should be mentioned: An unaided woman runs this website, this is not an organization, club or group; I am not an affiliate of any group or bias, but study independently by preference. I do not advocate or support multiple person expeditions, even birds flyaway from such nonproductive endeavors.  (emphasis added)

This website came together through the years with the help of many wonderful people including scientists, friends, forestry, fish & game, loggers, USGS workers, Native Americans, First Nation Canadians, the Chinese, Mongolians, Russians, Tibetans, Indonesian scholars; trackers, guides, coolies, porters, translators and skilled laymen. It is primarily put together for the benefit of placing easy access information out there for those who have an interest. This website is not here to persuade, only to place information for the perusal of the interested.

This is not a free website of mine, there are no annoying pop-ups or banners but I do pay a hefty fee that you might be able to gain knowledge from what you read on this site. Bigfoot Encounters is not about specific persons or organizations; the website (unlike others) is not about me! (emphasis added) It is strictly information from the hard work of locating it for you and uploading it for your convenience. *

* http://www.bigfootencounters.com/



D.G. and I had mused about this ~3 years ago as to how pertinent and accurate the above statements are and still relevant to this day.

[#59]

Perhaps, you should first consider going to the referenced website and educating yourself?

[Ray Ford]

Perhaps you should first consider going to the referenced website and educating yourself?

I don't know how much I, or Powder, need educating, but I am going to look in on Bobbie's site.  Might be interesting even if it doesn't prove educational--which it probably will.  Few things are totally devoid of educational possibilities.  I'll let you all know if I find something interesting.

[Lefty]

It would be nice if this Forum collected info via its members and could be referenced. I think hunters and fishermen can provide a wealth of first hand experiences, largely a population untapped by other Bigfoot Forums, for reasons unknown to me.

[Bill]

It would be nice if this Forum collected info via its members and could be referenced. I think hunters and fishermen can provide a wealth of first hand experiences, largely a population untapped by other Bigfoot Forums, for reasons unknown to me.

Once upon a time that was the plan but the parties who were to head that up took off on a totally different trajectory.

[Ray Ford]

It would be nice if this Forum collected info via its members and could be referenced. I think hunters and fishermen can provide a wealth of first hand experiences....

That would be nice.

In my thread, "Hunting for Bigfoot," I worked off the premise that the best way to hunt for bigfoot was to be observant while in the woods and fields engaged in other outdoor activities:  hunting, fishing, camping, hiking....  A lot of my posts on that thread were deliberately a little less than serious, but the premise is definitely serious.

What I would like to see is a number of other people/a lot of other people starting similar threads.  Each one could be headed as "Lefty/Hunting for Bigfoot" or "Nonya/Searching for Monsters."  In those threads, the posts could inform the rest of us about hunting or other outdoor activities with occasional references to the presence, or lack of presence, of the big hairy guys.  At least, as far as bigfoot hunting is concerned, it would let people know where they weren't!

And I'll say again something that I've said before:  If a bigfoot is ever bagged, it may be by a kid with a .22 rifle out squirrel hunting.  The only way I'll ever bag one is to protect myself; otherwise, I plan to leave them be.  (My statement "I'll say again what I've said before." is deliberately redundant.)

[Lefty]

OK Ray, will do.

[Lefty]

OK, that effort failed me. A tribute to trolls under the bridge. But  will continue to be observant.

[#59]

It would be nice if this Forum collected info via its members and could be referenced. I think hunters and fishermen can provide a wealth of first hand experiences, largely a population untapped by other Bigfoot Forums, for reasons unknown to me.

Once upon a time that was the plan but the parties who were to head that up took off on a totally different trajectory.

Lefty,

There is one (unnamed) forum that maintains a (original) database of so-called Class A & Class B sightings from a variety of sources including the ones you named. 

The problem with eyewitness accounts is basically they are highly unreliable in the sense that people often simply cannot accurately remember details post-encounter from a stressful/traumatic event.  We would have LE would do bank safety training classes and show a video of a simulated robbery and then ask the room of employees to write down (within 60 seconds of the viewing) specific items from the video.  The error rate was 80-90% with almost as many versions of what happened as there were observers. 

That is why (which apparently never happens) the observer of a BF type event should immediately write down every detail they can recall and do so in private so as to eliminate potential bias from any other observers (who should also be doing the same thing) to the incident.  This process will likely render the purest form of recall and withstand the tendency to second-guess, embellish or extra-appropriate "facts" later on.  The lack of such a process in 99.44% of all so-called BF "sightings" leaves me with the indication that while this type of information is certainly interesting to read/hear, the reliability of such is highly suspect at best.

Of course, those simply interested in campfire stories will literally "eat it up" as evidenced by the sale of CD's about such tall tales.

Be vigilant when you're afield as I've found excising the "concrete world" (aka: the bias of preconceptions) from my mind and opening the third eye to the world found going on around us (which usually we're totally oblivious to) has proven to be most illuminating.

[Lefty]

Thank you TS. I have alot of work to do then, to hone my observation skills in a new way.

[Bill]

OK, that effort failed me. A tribute to trolls under the bridge. But  will continue to be observant.

You are correct of course and I guess as much as I hate to do it I need to put a stop to his practices this year. It is detrimental to the welfare of the site. I do enjoy reading Nonya's tales of his hunting exploits and seeing his photos and perhaps I have allowed him to go too far as a result.

So I'm putting Nonya on notice as of this post to either calm it down and stop the trolling practices or I'll be forced to ban him from here just as Matt did at GBO. I really don't want to but I guess folks who cannot or will not play nice in mixed company really shouldn't be allowed in mixed company.