Squattheplanet is to crusties as facebook is everyone else

[Matt Derrick]

Yeah I definitely am wishing the best for thirtydollarbillyall's website, and trying to help where I can. I'd like to hear constructive ideas on how to make StP better, but maybe a new website entirely is in order? I dunno, I'm awfully busy with other things besides StP now.

 

[eclipse]

i like his ideas too. hey $30bill- when you get it going, let me know...facebook.com/eclipse

 

[bryanpaul]

Yeah I definitely am wishing the best for thirtydollarbillyall's website, and trying to help where I can. I'd like to hear constructive ideas on how to make StP better, but maybe a new website entirely is in order? I dunno, I'm awfully busy with other things besides StP now.

in my opinion stp is awesome, people are always like "yeah it used to be better" and "wheres the train stuff".......... but i think it's a good website.....it would be nice if more people shared their knowledge and opinions and information..theres always like 30 "guests" on the sidebar......i dunno, i mean whats your opinion of StP, matt?.......is it what you wanted/want it to be..... as long as you enjoy the site enough to want to keep paying for it.....speaking of, whatever happened to the donation bar/thread.....might be worth throwing out there...... yeah.be neat to see what 30dollarbillyall has in mind...i think this is the first site like this for folks in the "traveler" scene and so if someone were to make another one similar and geared toward the same crowd alot of the stuff would seem like beating a dead horse if it were the same message board format, like starting a new thread on sleeping bags...well shit there's a couple already on stp...or "shit i already told this story on stp".............................i hope this wasnt just rambling..... ....oh and one idea that would be neat if it's possible would be an interactive map type thing for posting your location so others could see where yer at (if you wanted to share that knowledge).make it easier for folks to meet up i think

 

[180 Degrees]

Yeah no question! I have been using digihitch since 2008 and just learned the other day about this site. I already like it a million times better. Cheers!

 

[180 Degrees]

in my opinion stp is awesome, people are always like "yeah it used to be better" and "wheres the train stuff".......... but i think it's a good website.....it would be nice if more people shared their knowledge and opinions and information..theres always like 30 "guests" on the sidebar......i dunno, i mean whats your opinion of StP, matt?.......is it what you wanted/want it to be..... as long as you enjoy the site enough to want to keep paying for it.....speaking of, whatever happened to the donation bar/thread.....might be worth throwing out there...... yeah.be neat to see what 30dollarbillyall has in mind...i think this is the first site like this for folks in the "traveler" scene and so if someone were to make another one similar and geared toward the same crowd alot of the stuff would seem like beating a dead horse if it were the same message board format, like starting a new thread on sleeping bags...well shit there's a couple already on stp...or "shit i already told this story on stp".............................i hope this wasnt just rambling..... ....oh and one idea that would be neat if it's possible would be an interactive map type thing for posting your location so others could see where yer at (if you wanted to share that knowledge).make it easier for folks to meet up i think

I agree on the interactive map idea.

 

[eclipse]

good idea on the map thing

 

[thisisme]

Yeah, I hear you. Getting a new site up and running with a trainhopping forum, and Matt Pist has been kind enough to hook me up with all the downloads previously available in the "Resources" section. I'm also concerned about maintaining a good atmosphere, i.e. more informative discussion and genuine conversation, with a minimum of elitism and shit talk. I'll keep you posted, trying to make something good happen here.

i wish you luck with this venture, but just keep in mind that theres always going to be shit talkers and elitists no matter what you do. Your site will attract the same crowd as this site does and the members are really what ends up making it what it is.

 

[saje2u]

good idea on the map thing

Already has been, When you edit your profile, filling in interesting facts about your self you have the option to name the location you are in: Seattle, Little rock, your moms box, hell etc, etc,.

Each member takes it as seriously as he or she feels is safe for them to.

 

[Raging Bird]

Appreciate all the support, guys. If it is successful, I don't expect it to be an STP knockoff. As I said, I want it to be more content driven, and it seems likely that this will take the initial form of a webzine with an active forum and downloads section supporting a trainhopping community. The most important part is that I want it to be a catalyst to collective creativity.

I am approaching this as more than just a new website; I want to collectively start making tangible acts of creativity come out of the traveling community - writing, photography, and music that are not isolated events. Everyone I know is capable of more than bouncing around the country spanging and drinking, but at least in my case, that is what I do when I travel. We just need a model of how to do something bigger, because (in my opinion) this is what the identity of "trainhopper" means today. I believe that knowing other people are using the skills they have gained in the travel community as a means of pursuing projects and interests and having them all in the same place will encourage everyone to experience life more fully.

So, I am brainstorming here: The site will return a trainhopping forum, provide the resources previously available on STP for download (e.g. rail maps, timetables, train symbols, a shitload of zines, etc...) and ideally have an active front page, where articles will appear to showcase exciting people, places, and things in the American vagrant underground. This could range from looking at contemporary hobo musicians, to covering fests around the country, to a greatly detailed and expanded, article-based "Destinations" section. I have been moving in this direction in my posts on this forum (ex: the Richmond posts) and always wished there was a genuine database of interesting locations around the country. So this is what I've set out to do.

The traveling community is an active community, and I want it to be documented. I'm trying to get others involved and want the whole thing to be a collective effort; I'm trying to be an "Editor" of everyone's work more than a "Webmaster" of my own. The forum will be up shortly, with a Suggestions section on what you all think would be cool. Stay tuned for more details; I am going to start researching how to do that map thing immediately.

 

[bryanpaul]

Already has been, When you edit your profile, filling in interesting facts about your self you have the option to name the location you are in: Seattle, Little rock, your moms box, hell etc, etc,.

Each member takes it as seriously as he or she feels is safe for them to.

yeah, but it would be neat to see a google maps ("powered)? thing where you could visualise where folks are and update it when you change locales....that way folks dont have to look at everyones profile to see where they are, they could just look at the map and be like "hey, i seen your in lawrence KS, i just got here, wanna hang out"

 

[Raging Bird]

Let me know what you guys think. At the very least I want to get myself out of creative stagnation, and I think a lot of people feel the same way in the community. I want to see more real shit coming out of a very real group of people. At the same time, I can see how I'm gonna have to walk on eggshells not to blow up a happily underground community, so give me your thoughts.

 

[bryanpaul]

,,,

 

[bryanpaul]

Let me know what you guys think. At the very least I want to get myself out of creative stagnation, and I think a lot of people feel the same way in the community. I want to see more real shit coming out of a very real group of people. At the same time, I can see how I'm gonna have to walk on eggshells not to blow up a happily underground community, so give me your thoughts.

definitely is a lack of music art and stories on here.....i suck at stories and art and music sooo....not much to offer here.....but that would be a cool way to do a website, to focus more on the stories and culture and pictures and ideas and whatnot ...than on the actual specifics on how to go about it..seems like between digihitch and StP and travelershq there's enough threads about how to hold your thumb out and what the best tent/tarp/boots/sleepin bag is//........................i dont fuckin know i'm sorry....ramble ramble

 

[Raging Bird]

You apologize too much man lol, it's good feedback. The map idea is fucking brilliant too, I'm looking into it right now.

 

[jake4569]

definitely is a lack of music art and stories on here.....i suck at stories and art and music sooo....not much to offer here.....but that would be a cool way to do a website, to focus more on the stories and culture and pictures and ideas and whatnot ...than on the actual specifics on how to go about it..seems like between digihitch and StP and travelershq there's enough threads about how to hold your thumb out and what the best tent/tarp/boots/sleepin bag is//........................i dont fuckin know i'm sorry....ramble ramble

I loved your story about your first time train hopping i think it was you atleast lol.. You started in northen cali and went south i believe, how you left your pack behind and you came back and some girl set it up like someone was sleeping in those bags. A good read just sayin.

 

[saje2u]

yeah, but it would be neat to see a google maps ("powered)? thing where you could visualise where folks are and update it when you change locales....that way folks dont have to look at everyones profile to see where they are, they could just look at the map and be like "hey, i seen your in lawrence KS, i just got here, wanna hang out"

Whats wrong with facebook and google +? they in tandem work like that. only these kids left here on StP will be intrested in that, these kids fresh out of highschool and college, having reciently read into the wild or seen the movie, did a google search for train riding or dumpsterdiving . . .

 

[bryanpaul]

Whats wrong with facebook and google +? they in tandem work like that. only these kids left here on StP will be intrested in that, these kids fresh out of highschool and college, having reciently read into the wild or seen the movie, did a google search for train riding or dumpsterdiving . . .

dont know what google plus is.....and i aint talkin about facebook or google i'm talkin about www.squattheplanet.com...... it would be neat to look at a map and get a idea of where folks are..... yeah..... "into the wild"...starry glazed over eyed high school kids who read evasion...yeah.... blahhhh...... same conversations since STP started..........yup, by the time last years brighteyed and bushy tailed romantic freedom seekers become jaded alcoholics there will be a whole fresh crop of new travelers for them to put down on the internet.........rambleramble

 

[Matt Derrick]

Hey 30, just curious what software you plan to use for the site? xenforo has a plugin for a wiki system that looks very user friendly, and would be a great resource for the kind of static information youre talking about. I just haven't had the time to set it up on StP yet.

The stories and stuff you're talking about is very similar to my new project punknomad.com, but just as a personal blog. I've always thought it would be really cool to have our own blog network using a combination of WordPress MU, buddy press (social networking plugin), and bbpress (forum software), which all integrate with each other really well. It would let people have their own blogs like mattpist.squattheplanet.com and the front page would aggregate all the latest posts from those blogs (and forum, etc) giving you a pretty good snapshot of what's going on in the community. Also, all those plugins and software are free. Just a thought.

 

[bryanpaul]

Hey 30, just curious what software you plan to use for the site? xenforo has a plugin for a wiki system that looks very user friendly, and would be a great resource for the kind of static information youre talking about. I just haven't had the time to set it up on StP yet.

The stories and stuff you're talking about is very similar to my new project punknomad.com, but just as a personal blog. I've always thought it would be really cool to have our own blog network using a combination of WordPress MU, buddy press (social networking plugin), and bbpress (forum software), which all integrate with each other really well. It would let people have their own blogs like mattpist.squattheplanet.com and the front page would aggregate all the latest posts from those blogs (and forum, etc) giving you a pretty good snapshot of what's going on in the community. Also, all those plugins and software are free. Just a thought.

are you sayin that on top of being a message board forum thing...stp could also be a host website for peoples blogs?......that would be awesome because you could visit this site and it would still be the forums but there could be a whole part/list of peoples own personal blogs all in one place?.....that would definitely make it easy to share your own personal shit with folks.....then in your own blog or whatnot you could have stuff like specific train info or picture albums or whatnot that isnt really on the message boards...

 

[flashinglights]

Cool idea, but just keep in mind maintaining security patches and updates for all those bits of software can become a real pain in the ass, especially once you start customizing the code and integrating things that weren't designed together. I maintain a few websites (when i can, lol) and they're constantly out of date with latest component releases, keeping ahead of the vulnerabilities and the script kiddies can be a full time job.