Desert Hunter

In coming months you can expect to see a few of the articles you may have read elsewhere on calling and hunting coyotes here in California, Nevada, and Arizona. You can read the current e-call comparison that I finished right after Predator Monster went on hiatus. Maybe I'll post some of the current news and views out of the predator hunting community and some of the club events. As everyone knows, with the Monster hibernating, there isn't much place where you won't be banned for speaking any profane truth or asking honest questions. It appears no one else has the guts to do what the Monsters did.

Predator Monster is currently offline by choice. If you heard otherwise, you were told lies. I read some of the comments on other sites and it was just spew. It's pretty obvious someone can't help but brag about what they think they did. They didn't actually do much of anything except scare some computer nerd in Boston. Almost anyone can scare a computer nerd in Boston.

Anything gets easier with experience, including moving a website. The first time the Monster's web host got cold feet about profanity, the move took two days. This time, the shutdown just happened to occur on the same weekend as the Station Arson Fire. Everything around me for miles burned to the ground. The outbuildings, the utilities, the landscaping, most of my trees, gone. It looks like this place was hit with napalm. Relocating Predator Monster ended up low on the priority list. Since then, I've been preoccupied with a variety of other things to do, both by personal choice, and forced upon me by a criminal and mother nature.

I heard through many channels that a lot of folks in the industry didn't like the Monster. It distracted them as much as it entertained them. As we now know, a lot of people wasted a few hours every week catching up on the latest insults and nonsense. It was the site no one wanted to admit that they read every day. However, in some minds, it also interfered with the exchange of money for goods. So those people were quite happy to see things cool off a bit and let business get back to normal.

I set up the Monster board for a couple of very good reasons. Most of those were never fulfilled. It was originally conceived as a hunting blog, political action nexus, and a place for those who had been banned by other sites. Without word censors, a feature some may falsely claim at their own forums, like a child at Christmas, boys will be boys. During those months, the Monster's mission changed. It evolved. The Monster took on a new life. The mudslinging free-for-all took the lead and the other higher motives fell by the way. A few of the Monsters didn't hide behind a keyboard. They used a keyboard like an axe handle and took on any perceived grievance with a vengance. For 13 months they pounded the shit out of crumby equipment, crumbier people, Predator Masters, puppy killers, bullshit artists, and self-inflated blowhards nationwide. We gave anyone and everyone a chance to take their best shot, to defend themselves, or to just make asses of themselves. And they did. We made a few enemies. So what? Waking the Monster is a few clicks of the keyboard away. There are plenty of godless places that are happy to take money for hosting a website. It's a big easy-to-reach world now. Logistics aside - I'd bet there are at least 50 disgruntled Ol' Monsters who'd pile right in if the joint opened tonight, pick their target, and open fire.

If you're one of those who think they can do it better, you're invited to set up and run your own site. It's cheap and hosting can be had for less than $50 a year. It takes a dose of smarts to do it all yourself - interface with a LAMP or Windows server, load and maintain site software and content, and deal with the various personalities with whom you will inevitably encounter. Just so you know, there are reasons why the jobs of installation, configuration, and upgrade usually get contracted out to the geek squad. There are reasons why some sites are featureless, drab, and downright boring. They use old school software stuck in the last decade just like their administrators and one wouldn't expect that to change. There are other reasons why the actual websites consist of a few ignored pages and most folks are limited to a simple "forum only" format. It's the way they've always done it and the way they plan to do it forever. Feel free to start up your own site and rediscover those reasons for yourself.

Desert Hunter is another kind of beast.