Poll: How Has Your Time On The Bff Influenced Your Level Of Belief In Bf

[dmaker]

LOL

 

 

Something like that..  You can always trust Rock to put a fine point on something. Perhaps you could be my editor?  

Edited November 7, 2015 by dmaker

[Rockape]

Brevity is your friend, not getting jiggy(potomus) with it.

[dmaker]

See, that is why you can be of benefit. 

[Incorrigible1]

Brevity is overrated.

[JDL]

I picture this little black book.....

[Terry]

I'm hopeful but find it more and more difficult to believe due to the number of unbelievable people.

 

t.

[Trogluddite]

I don't believe in bigfoot.  Being confronted by one kind of puts you past that stage.

 

Great! Now where do I go to ensure a confrontation in my lifetime, which is growing shorter by the minute?! :-)  

Even allowing f/a 4-to-1 ratio of unreported to reported encounters, the # of encounters/square miles/time = a very small number.  

 

JDL, I'm not crazy about the term either but I decided in the polling questions to use common language.  I'm primarily interested in how the middle three categories fall out...

 

So, some of us have to deal in "belief" or, if that word is anathema to some, with weighing the evidence and determining if probable cause exists to believe that Bigfoot exists.  

 

I really do not get the convincing part based on a website discussion.....

 

 

For me, it's not "convinced based on a website discussion" so much as its my belief/probable cause meter is moved this way or that by consistencies between and within individual reports, information gained that allows me to assign a greater/lesser amount of weight to types of evidence, and in many cases, individuals who have graciously provide additional information in response to pointed questions (almost always by PM) about their claimed encounter.  An imperfect solution, yes, but until you shoot one or I run over one, the only one we have. 

 

 

"My time on the BFF coincides with my time spent researching BF online ..."

 

Same with me. I had no real interest in bigfoot for most of my life..... 

 

That matches my experience almost to a T.  Did not even think about Bigfoot until stumbling across a Legend Meets Science re-run and the publicity about the DNA review that was going to settle the issue f/all time.  

 

And like Terry, directly above, I am cautiously and optimistically coming down on the "exists" time, but if anything, the amount of at times outrageous claims and stories that populated this forum really put a heavy weight on the negative side of the scales.  

 

EDITED TO ADD: Not sure why the quoted posters aren't showing up, but the appear when I use the editor. Sorry. From the top its JDL, 1980squatch, norse, and dmaker.  Edited Anew: Freakin' computers.... 

Edited November 7, 2015 by Trogluddite

[Guest DWA]

I'm hopeful but find it more and more difficult to believe due to the number of unbelievable people.

THIS...AND...

Great! Now where do I go to ensure a confrontation in my lifetime, which is growing shorter by the minute?! :-)  

Even allowing f/a 4-to-1 ratio of unreported to reported encounters, the # of encounters/square miles/time = a very small number.  

 

So, some of us have to deal in "belief" or, if that word is anathema to some, with weighing the evidence and determining if probable cause exists to believe that Bigfoot exists.  

 

...THIS...are the best reasons I can come up with to get seriously read up on this topic.  They're real; oh, yeti and orang pendek and almost certainly yeren and almas, and probably one or two in Latin America, and yowie too, count on it; I'll meet one when and if I do; and ...haven't met a wolverine or a mountain lion either, and they're no more real than sasquatch.  Tellin' you; the frustration factor can be eliminated.  I've done it; you can too.  Address this the way a scientist does; and "I'll believe when I see one" is NOT how science works.

 

 

For me, it's not "convinced based on a website discussion" so much as its my belief/probable cause meter is moved this way or that by consistencies between and within individual reports, information gained that allows me to assign a greater/lesser amount of weight to types of evidence, and in many cases, individuals who have graciously provide additional information in response to pointed questions (almost always by PM) about their claimed encounter.  An imperfect solution, yes, but until you shoot one or I run over one, the only one we have. 

 

This.  Right there.  Folks!  It is possible - scientists do it all the time - to be absolutely convinced of a scientific certainty without one's own direct experience!  (The next scientist I meet who has been crisped by a red giant or sucked through a black hole - or run from a T. rex - will be the very first.)  Does it help that I have encountered two very persuasive pieces of evidence, and one possible?  Seriously?  NOT A JOT.  I'd feel the same without them, and if P/G were proven a fake tomorrow.

 

GET.READ.UP.

[Patterson-Gimlin]

No change in my belief or lack there of. I am 99.9 % convinced Bigfoot does not exist. I enjoy the fantasy and mystery of it all. I have researched, read and spent many hours in the woods of Florida. I remain hopeful and wish I were wrong,but reality sets in and I know I am not. There is simply no hard evidence for the creatures existence . Lots of speculation, mistaken or less than truthful eyewitnesses ,foot prints that could have been faked ,hoaxers, etc. does not make the mythical beast a flesh and blood animal.

I agree with dmaker and am amazed that people actually think they do exist in the real world. I do respect their dedication.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Patterson-Gimlin

[gigantor]

When you say "belief", it suggests faith, as in a religion. I don't belief in BF.

 

I think the original post meant to say "how has the BFF influenced your confidence level that BF exists".

 

Sadly, I must admit that the more attention I have payed to the subject matter, the more attention I have put into it, that I have become more skeptical because of all of the implausible claims. Over and over again, there are claims that are proven not to be true, fabrications and so on.

 

After a while, you realize there is a pattern for people that make extraordinary claims....  and one must credit the BFF for allowing us to recognize them via open discussion and questioning of the subject matter.

Edited January 1, 2016 by gigantor

[Guest OntarioSquatch]

My time here has made me more skeptical of claims overall, but my confidence level in the existence of Sasquatch is a lot higher thanks to research on reports and the PGF. IMO, if someone's using discussions on forums as their only source of information, then they're going to be seriously misinformed.

[Guest Crowlogic]

The BFF influenced my belief by being something of a clearing house for the comings and goings on in bigfootism.   I was gradually losing belief in bigfoot for a few years but the major nails in the coffin of my belief were Todd Standing, Georgia freezer foot, Melba Ketchum and the general video debacles that litter youtube.  Compounding these was  the bigfoot conferencing lack of vetting (or lack of caring) of Todd Standing and giving his fakery a pride of place was one of the final nails.  Being able to predict that the Ketchum affair was going to be another bunch of nothing sealed the deal.  I never even raised an eyebrow about Sykes, I was already done with belief when he published.

[hiflier]

Hello Crowlogic,

 

All strong points supporting your position and well noted.

[JDL]

One has either encountered a bigfoot or one has not.  If one has encountered a bigfoot, the belief debate is moot.  If one has not, the belief debate is everything.

 

This forum is not dominated by either proponents or skeptics.  It is dominated by believers of both camps who argue their respective belief systems.

 

But there is the occasional nugget of significant information....

[Yuchi1]

"Love is blind, it's marriage that's the real eye opener".

 

Believer, non-believer, then the encounter with something that's several sets removed from your paradigm.