Thanks for the reply, TTG.
I was gonna say that I find it difficult to imagine what the members of such a forum would fall out about…
Out of curiosity, what is the interest in horse racing? Is it the gambling side, the social side, the spectacle…? My dad is very much into it (mainly for the betting), but, despite having attended a few race meetings, I’ve never really felt an attraction myself.
Cheers.
I think fall-outs come about as with all hobbies/interests the forum members are so passionate about it and can take it personally if someone has a different view of a certain aspect within that interest, can't always see past their own opinions and passions to see the bigger picture... for example with tickling you get the feet/upperbody rows and the m/f , f/m rows, renfaire rows etc
Which other forums are you a member of?
On the traction engine forum, without wishing to bore anyone too much, the fall-outs most commonly stem from the differing opinions of what owners of these engines choose to do with them.. for example some restore them to original specification and original colours..... others choose to convert (for example..) a rare vintage steam roller into a standard 4 wheel traction engine and add blinging lights etc so that it appears to be one of the more glamourous steam engines that were used to power vintage fairground rides. Opinions differ on the responsibility of owners to maintain originality/history versus their right to do whatever they want with something they've just paid a six-figure sum for.
Meanwhile, horse-racing fans tend to fall out if someone is perceived to be boasting about a particular win, or saying "knew that would happen" after the event rather than before, or criticising someone's research methods etc.
My personal interest stems a bit from betting (early visit to a point-to-point horse racing meet) and a bit from first watching the Grand Nationals on TV and having work sweepstakes. Gradually started following the same jumps horses each season and get a real enjoyment from researching the form of horses and different courses/different weights/jockeys etc and trying to find the winner. (I've no interest in betting randomly on a horse for the sake of it).
It's mostly the jumps, but this year I've been dabbling in the flat a bit more, with moderate success. Attending the Cheltenham Festival next March for the first time, can't wait.
Although, I do often feel torn between this interest and the whole debate over horse welfare and it's clear from stuff I've read that there's still a lot to be done in terms of looking after horse welfare ahead of looking after the punters. So I do feel guilty sometimes - the protestors definitely have a point on a number of issues, but there's plenty of ill-informed protestors who are wrong on certain matters too.