X Marks the Scot has changed

[Arlen]

I have to agree that the forum has changed and evolved since I joined about 2 years ago. And in some ways it is less fun for me but in many ways it is more fun.
The last few months I haven't been able to get on nearly as much as I wanted to because I have been so busy trying to get my life in America all sorted out. But Xmarks, for me personally, is a place online I love and enjoy being a part of whether it is in its ebb or flow.

Alan, I do hope you can continue to enjoy the forum in spite of the few you have had to add to the ignore list. (I've been contemplating putting a few people on my ignore list lately.)

[Kiltman]

I am a member of various fora - this one is by far the best maintained and moderated. But this forum is the same as all others in as much as it is a living thing - it will change and evolve, grow and shrink as the membership changes. I am sure that the 'older' members of the forum have heard all the questions before; all the replies; all the daft ideas. In fact, there is probably nothing substantially new here at all. Except for us newbies - we need a site like this - and we need the old'uns. Who was it that said "Change is the only thing that remains constant".

Regards

Chas

I couldn't agree more. But, I'm still proud to be a member of this forum and know enough history to realize that the pendulum swings both ways and seldom come to rest in the center.
I wear both kinds of kilts and appreciate the openness of this forum to both (all) kilts.

[Douglas]

This seems to be much ado about nothing very important. I just reached middle age (80) in November. I normally wear a kilt seven days a week and pay very little attention to the Kilt Taliban. While I do appreciate learning about traditional kilts from the vastly more knowledgeable members I still wear what pleases me. I do have 17 kilts (4 UKs, 6 SWK standards,6 SWK heavyweights and 1 WPG. The diversity and varied point of views make this an interesting forum for me. I do not always agree with the posters, if I did I would find a different forum.

[Rob Wright]

I was part of the first wave of members and it is interesting to see some of the changes. I've taken sabbaticals for various reasons and admit that at times it can be a teeth grinding on some things but it is easy for one to not read a thread.

Now I personally would like to see a third option explored more. The kilt as regular attire, business casual if you will. Hamish as numerous examples of kilts that do not fit the traditional mold per se, yet also do not fit the non-traditional style. I absolutely adore the the pin stripe kilt suits he owns and several of his other kilts and I have to say that they fit in perfectly in todays world and yet are not a poke at the traditional kilts meanings and customs. The in-between equilibrium has yet to be reached and understandably so. I think the increase in non clan tartans is a great thing, there are times when more options are a good thing and I feel that non-clan tartans take nothing away from those with more history behind them. Possibly one day we will have the non-traditional, followed by the everyday business casual, and then the traditional in its various forms.

Rob

[Marshal Moroni]

Fellow X Markers,
I have truly enjoyed being a member of this community. I have not been around long enough to have seen changes. But have seen a great deal that I like and enjoy. It is a wonderful clan, or family... do families sometimes squabble, yep (at least mine does), but we stick together.
I have "met" many wonderful people, seen acts of charity and kindness, been directed to marvelous vendors and DIYers.

I am glad to be here, change is one of the few constants in life. And its great when we can change together.

Please everyone stick around and enjoy the fun!

Cheers,

Marshal Moroni

[SteveB]

I am a relative newcomer to X-Marks. I have found it to be welcoming of all things kilt related. The typed word has no inflection as the human voice. I have found that reading posts should be done with an open mind, as some posts are intended to be viewed as "tongue in cheek". Hard to tell without seeing the expression on the poster's face.
Contemporary vs traditional? ... I do not see a contest or a need for a contest.
The search engine can take you to old posts about the Steve Villegas revolution in menswear. The early version of the Utilikilt as a cargo short with only one lower hemline.(no pleats, no front aprons, closed by a standard trouser zipper). The Utilikilt has changed, as has kilt wearers and wearing. I have many kilts. For the "Traditionalists" I have four kilts (A.K.A. Tanks), for my purposes in what I wear every day, I have twenty-seven kilts. There are many threads that I read everyday that I find interesting, but have nothing to add, so therefore I do not leave my mark. There are threads that I feel like posting to, such as this, where my opinion is wanted.
X-Marks has changed as some members have aged, but will change even more as the many teenagers/early twenty's members contribute to the general direction of X-Marks. As an older member of the forum, I enjoy reading what is posted by many of the younger members.
The economy has had a very measurable effect on the forum. An example is the prospects of Gunner being able to get kilted, and that another member, Robin, stepped up to the plate and gave what he was able, so that Gunner is now kilted. The family support such as this is what I come to X-marks for. Right now Berserk Bishop is not posting due to his service in the U.S. Navy. He was the target of the random acts of kindness of this board twice. Once with the Mawgli contemporary kilt, and later with a USAK Navy tartan kilt. This is what makes us, squabbles and all, a truly unique clan.
I have had posts pulled by the Mods because they were not within the rules. I am happy to say that this is as it should be, as it was my mistake, and their sound judgment is what keeps this forum going in a peaceful manner.
You may wish to say X-Marks is changing, but X-Marks is really evolving in time.
Off the soap box. End of rant.
Alan, please start a thread, I always look forward to your posts here.
I do not know of this "Ignore" function. The only thing that happens when one ignores something is that one fails to learn from it.
Slainte.

[Aldisimo]

I've never gotten the feeling that a discussion about contemporary kilts wasn't welcome here; it's just that [maybe] there isn't much to ask/talk about. For that matter, I feel that almost any discussion is welcome here, even if it's only remotely connected with kilts. So if there's been a shift in the emphasis, I think it's only because people have shifted in their thinking. I'm also a member of a Utilikilt group [although I don't like them very much] and the discussions there don't usually have much to do with UKs per se.

One thing here that does annoy me ... is ... people responding to a post by saying that they have nothing to add! For example, someone will ask whether someone else recognizes a tartan, and I'll go into the thread to find out what the tartan is, only to find a page of "Sorry, can't help you" replies. Or someone will post a sewing question, and ten members will respond about how they don't sew, so they don't know the answer. Grrrr!

Alan, very often you seem to be the conscience of this forum. I recall your thread of a few weeks ago, and I thank you for always thinking of others.

[Alaskan Kilted Guy]

I've been here since 2007. At the time I joined I was brand new to kilts. I learned alot about kilts here, and got alot of good advice about where to find kilts.

I have found however, that I am more at home at BotK. While some look at a web forum as a place to talk about kilts and how to properly wear them, I prefer to have a place where I can talk with other people who choose to wear the kilt, however they choose to wear it. I enjoy the different personalities and their opinions on a range of topics, including religion, politics, and yes... the weather.

I have had my opinions belittled and minimized here, which I did not appreciate. It was by a member who is in the "in" crowd here. I do not feel that my opinion is wanted by some of the members here, or that some of the members feel their opinion is more valid than mine because of seniority, birthright, or some other unknown reason.

So, instead of flaming them and making a scene, I chose instead to make myself scarce. I still lurk, and make occasional posts here, but it is not home for me.

Is this a bad thing? I don't think so. As mentioned by others, forums will ebb and flow. Members will come and go. That is how things work. The powers that be can choose to run their forum the way they like. I can also choose to not be as active here.

Alan, thanks for bringing up this topic, as it is something that has been on my mind for a while.

Mods, thanks for allowing this discussion to go on and letting folks voice their opinions and feelings. I was honestly and pleasantly surprised to see it continue.

[Zardoz]

I've stayed up past my bedtime to read all the posts, and I have some thoughts.

I'll start by saying that I like our forum fine, and yes, in the 4 or 5 years I've been here I've noticed the forum change. Not so much jarring change as evolution. The forum evolves like any large viable living organisation does. For whatever their reasons people on forums tend to come and go, and the collected and changing likes and dislikes of our 3500 active members change the face of the forum. For example, there seems to be less discussion of "contemporary MUGs" these days. I don't think that is because this is a "traditional kilts" only forum, it is because at this time, there might be fewer members interested in them vs. more trad stuff. And there's a lot of details in the traditional arena that folks want to cover, anyone who followed the extensive kilt hose and headgear discussions this year should agree!

Who knows how it will be in a year? Like we say about the weather in Texas; Don't like it? wait an hour or so, it will change!

The members evolve too. I know there are a few guys who started out here in Utilikilts, and are now quite the traditionalists, and a few "Wool tank or it's crap" guys who now own contemporarys. Guys who only wore the kilt at weddings and Burns suppers, who are now full timers. Guys (like me) who came on here ignorant and looking pretty woefull, who have cleaned up pretty well thanks to all the great info and advice there is to be found here.

The moderators and rules seem to be a issue that some folks rail against. People here that know me personally know I generally don't like a lot of rules. And they will ask how I handle such a "overmoderated"(in their words) forum. I find I handle it just fine! I am on several forums, Sci-Fi, Kilts, Politics, Renfaire, Cars, Bikes, Firearms, etc... and I find the forums that I enjoy and view the least are the ones that are not moderated enough, or at all, and can waste a lot of bandwidth and my time on tangental subjects that while obviously important to the folks discussing them, can get pretty far off topic.
I recall a discussion on another kilt forum about concealed carry with kilts, an interesting topic to me, but after several useful posts the thread degenerated into a us vs. them gun debate, and it went on for days!
So while I do occasionally feel need to censor myself here, and have sometimes had a warning (or two) from the mods, overall I can't complain about our mod squad keeping the kilt forum on kilt topics.

Just my 2 cents, and 2 hours of tedious two fingered pecking, your mileage may vary!
I enjoy our forum and all my clansmen here, even the ones who don't like my hats.

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

Interesting thread indeed.

I discovered this forum by a simple search for "DIY KILT" in my quest to learn how to make one as opposed to outright buying one online.

What I found at XMTS was paradise. A alphabet soup of all things kilt related. READ: the most comprehensive source for kilt related information on the net.

So I happily joined. I have no idea how this forum started, where its going, where it's been. I've found it to be GREAT EXPERIENCE.

fwiw, I hope that I'm not on anyones ignore list. ;-)