Biologist wants to increase doe harvest in region 3 units

[ismith]

90% of this place is Feds.

 

[MTMOOSE]

I will come clean. MTMOOSE is one of my best friends. I actually just got back from his daughters birthday. I created the user name and wrote those posts directed towards him to get his blood pressure raised. And it worked. I knew each of those posts was going to strike a nerve for him. I am sorry if i took it too far. I will drop it.

And this reminds me why I don’t have social media and why I like monitoring the discussions on hunt talk, but not posting myself

 

[Big Fin]

90% of this place is Feds.

Your post got me interested, so I did a search this morning of 2025 activity.

Probably less than 1%, when sorting by IPs. In fact, it took many pages of scrolling through the results to find an IP related to a Federal agency for visits in 2025. And that was earlier this month, from DC.

The largest lurker IP so far this year is "State of Montana - Helena." With many different derivatives of that. Lurkers being non-registered users.

I can sort IPs by registered user, by lurkers, match IPs to see if there are multiple registrations. I can sort them by VPN, by geo location, by (insert here). Actually to the point of feeling a bit greasy if I dig too far.

I've had criminal investigators request me to do activity searches based on IP, email, user name. I've had to ask my attorneys for legal advice to guide me as to what I can release or not release. Summary of that experience - if you have any criminal activity or are the subject of an investigation, you are a fool to be participating in online discussions in any manner or to have any social media accounts.

Even at a cost of now over $1,000 per month for software and the platform, we still have a ton of crap that gets through. The least of my worries is if a .gov IP address shows up.

 

[SwaggyD]

Actually to the point of feeling a bit greasy

This made me lol

 

[SwaggyD]

Your post got me interested, so I did a search this morning of 2025 activity.

Probably less than 1%, when sorting by IPs. In fact, it took many pages of scrolling through the results to find an IP related to a Federal agency for visits in 2025. And that was earlier this month, from DC.

The largest lurker IP so far this year is "State of Montana - Helena." With many different derivatives of that. Lurkers being non-registered users.

I can sort IPs by registered user, by lurkers, match IPs to see if there are multiple registrations. I can sort them by VPN, by geo location, by (insert here). Actually to the point of feeling a bit greasy if I dig too far.

I've had criminal investigators request me to do activity searches based on IP, email, user name. I've had to ask my attorneys for legal advice to guide me as to what I can release or not release. Summary of that experience - if you have any criminal activity or are the subject of an investigation, you are a fool to be participating in online discussions in any manner or to have any social media accounts.

Even at a cost of now over $1,000 per month for software and the platform, we still have a ton of crap that gets through. The least of my worries is if a .gov IP address shows up.

So you could potentially see where we are hunting if we’re on hunt talk while in the field?

 

[Big Fin]

So you could potentially see where we are hunting if we’re on hunt talk while in the field?

I don't think that would be possible when using mobile. On our end, it just comes up as "Verizon" or "ATT." It doesn't give geo location as we get with a VPN or static IP.

 

[mtmuley]

I don't think that would be possible when using mobile. On our end, it just comes up as "Verizon" or "ATT." It doesn't give geo location as we get with a VPN or static IP.

And all these years I thought you were snagging spots that way. mtmuley

 

[cgasner1]

And all these years I thought you were snagging spots that way. mtmuley

It’s on the internet must be true

 

[SwaggyD]

I don't think that would be possible when using mobile. On our end, it just comes up as "Verizon" or "ATT." It doesn't give geo location as we get with a VPN or static IP.

This season for me my location would just say “back deck hoping to get a dome shot on a yard deer”

 

[mtmuley]

It’s on the internet must be true

Well if it is I am digging in to Greenhorns stuff. mtmuley

 

[FAIR CHASE]

So you could potentially see where we are hunting if we’re on hunt talk while in the field?

Committing a murder will divulge that info.

 

[SwaggyD]

Committing a murder will divulge that info.

I’m clear there.

 

[mukbowhunt]

View attachment 371138

R3 pop history (gray) going a little further back.

Montana's mule deer population, harvest success, and hunter trends revealed // GOHUNT. The Hunting Company

If you're thinking of hunting Montana for mule deer, this giant data story is a must read to help you narrow down where to hunt! Access region by region breakdowns that take a look at harvest, residency and much, much more

www.gohunt.com

Region 3 has been stable during that time frame. Above 40k each of the past 10 yrs.

 

[peeshaunn]

They should transplant them into 7 so they can die a traditional death, lol..

 

[WildWill]

I've had criminal investigators request me to do activity searches based on IP, email, user name. I've had to ask my attorneys for legal advice to guide me as to what I can release or not release. Summary of that experience - if you have any criminal activity or are the subject of an investigation, you are a fool to be participating in online discussions in any manner or to have any social media accounts.

 

[Cap’n Crunch]

Your post got me interested, so I did a search this morning of 2025 activity.

Probably less than 1%, when sorting by IPs. In fact, it took many pages of scrolling through the results to find an IP related to a Federal agency for visits in 2025. And that was earlier this month, from DC.

The largest lurker IP so far this year is "State of Montana - Helena." With many different derivatives of that. Lurkers being non-registered users.

I can sort IPs by registered user, by lurkers, match IPs to see if there are multiple registrations. I can sort them by VPN, by geo location, by (insert here). Actually to the point of feeling a bit greasy if I dig too far.

I've had criminal investigators request me to do activity searches based on IP, email, user name. I've had to ask my attorneys for legal advice to guide me as to what I can release or not release. Summary of that experience - if you have any criminal activity or are the subject of an investigation, you are a fool to be participating in online discussions in any manner or to have any social media accounts.

Even at a cost of now over $1,000 per month for software and the platform, we still have a ton of crap that gets through. The least of my worries is if a .gov IP address shows up.

Are you able to sort through the VPN right to the source or is it just to the VPN given?

Honestly I feel a bit greasy hearing about this . We all know it’s happening but until it is revealed, life seems so simple and safe….false perceptions abound!

So, what I think I draw from this is…right now 99% of the less than 1% crowd are making the most “noise” and therefore it leads to a wrong perception. I can work with that going forward. Thanks for this!

 

[Forkyfinder]

Region 3 has been stable during that time frame. Above 40k each of the past 10 yrs.

Right. According to fwp - between 35k and 65k ish. I think the biological carrying capacity is a lot higher (or at least maybe 65k), so I wish the population reflected something closer to that. Perhaps im wrong.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Are you able to sort through the VPN right to the source or is it just to the VPN given?

Honestly I feel a bit greasy hearing about this . We all know it’s happening but until it is revealed, life seems so simple and safe….false perceptions abound!

So, what I think I draw from this is…right now 99% of the less than 1% crowd are making the most “noise” and therefore it leads to a wrong perception. I can work with that going forward. Thanks for this!

Im not sure what you expected. All your data is for sale - if youre using something for free - the data being mined is the payment.

 

[Big Fin]

Are you able to sort through the VPN right to the source or is it just to the VPN given?

Honestly I feel a bit greasy hearing about this . We all know it’s happening but until it is revealed, life seems so simple and safe….false perceptions abound!

So, what I think I draw from this is…right now 99% of the less than 1% crowd are making the most “noise” and therefore it leads to a wrong perception. I can work with that going forward. Thanks for this!

Depends on which VPN is being used. Some are not as "confidential" as others. I laugh when I hear/see VPN commercials and know a lot of people spending money on it.

As to the highlighted part, I guess you can draw from that what you want. Who "makes the most noise," which I assume you equate to making the most posts, fluctuates daily, weekly, monthly. Most often when I get complaints about posts, on all sides, it's when something doesn't provide confirmation bias. I never get moderation reports when someone agrees.

A few points for all, not just you, that your comment got me thinking about. It's related to using VPNs, which is about anonymity, which allows for certain human behaviors that guide why/how we interact the way we do.

The point of this forum is not to be an echo chamber. It is to provide a place for people to think, to absorb information, and as a place for folks to come together and advocate for public land hunting. To force all of us to go outside our comfort zones of ideas and perspectives. I hope everyone who participates or lurks ends up having their mind pushed to new places it otherwise would not been, if not for what they learned on this forum.

I've spent most of the last year studying group think, why we rationalize our biases even in the face of obvious facts to the contrary, the need for confirmation among humans, tribalism, and a host of other ideas around human behavior. It has helped me immensely, in every platform we have and in all of my advocacy work.

I've come to understand that tribalism is part of our genetic code. Simplistically, the people who survived over early periods of our evolution were those who formed groups/clans/tribes. It was a better way to advance, rather than be a soloist who got killed by the tribes who wanted the fire making tools the soloist had. Eventually, those inclined to form tribes or communities prospered and that is part of our innate genetically coded behavior today. One of the features of tribalism is group think, which includes a lot of need for confirmation bias and virtue signaling to reaffirm our relationship with the tribe. We're all guilty of it. And social media has tapped into that tribalism in ways we can all see.

Knowing that tribalism in part of our default need for comfort, my challenge here is to provide a platform that forces us to think as individuals. I've identified changes to this platform that are known to reduce tribalism and echo chambers.

1) Get rid of virtue signaling options. We will be getting rid of the "like/dislike" buttons. I tried these buttons when we converted to this new platform. I have assessed it to be a net negative in terms of getting people articulate their own thoughts. It's mentally lazy and just adds to tribalism. It's easy to hit the like button and virtue signal with "Yeah, what he said!"

Expect that to be gone soon.

2) Get rid of User Names and require using your real name. This one is harder. We've done an export of how many users are employing VPNs for supposed privacy. It's a crazy percentage. Given that percentage, it seems very unlikely people would comply with the requirement to have their real name available.

So, for right now, I'm not going to require such, rather encourage such. I reserve the right to change my mind on that one.

Why would I want that? Because all of the data/studies point to the differences in how people interact when anonymous versus how they interact with the same people, on the same topic, if they know it is another person. If I want people to exchange ideas, sometimes make themselves uncomfortable by considering viewpoints outside their bias, that happens more when it is real people talking to real people, not a bunch of user names and avatars being unaccountable for what they've said.

I get that social media allows those anonymous profiles. IG allows people to make their profiles private. As much as Hunt Talk is a social media platform, I'm not here to grow it to the biggest platform possible. I keep it here for the purposes it is designed for - make more/better advocates for the resources essential to hunting. Since my purpose is different than other social media platforms, I need to think about different rules, guidelines, and ways to create that outcome on Hunt Talk that are different than other popular social media.

This is a long dissertation that probably deserves its own thread. All of the items above are incorporated in the moderation we employ. As are some other things I've learned about communities, communication, our human tendencies and needs for comfort and belonging. If you would have told me that studies of human behavior would be this appealing, I would have laughed. Yet, Hunt Talk is a very good testing sample for me to compare those studies to what occurs here.

 

[PoleX]

Depends on which VPN is being used. Some are not as "confidential" as others. I laugh when I hear/see VPN commercials and know a lot of people spending money on it.

As to the highlighted part, I guess you can draw from that what you want. Who "makes the most noise," which I assume you equate to making the most posts, fluctuates daily, weekly, monthly. Most often when I get complaints about posts, on all sides, it's when something doesn't provide confirmation bias. I never get moderation reports when someone agrees.

A few points for all, not just you, that your comment got me thinking about. It's related to using VPNs, which is about anonymity, which allows for certain human behaviors that guide why/how we interact the way we do.

The point of this forum is not to be an echo chamber. It is to provide a place for people to think, to absorb information, and as a place for folks to come together and advocate for public land hunting. To force all of us to go outside our comfort zones of ideas and perspectives. I hope everyone who participates or lurks ends up having their mind pushed to new places it otherwise would not been, if not for what they learned on this forum.

I've spent most of the last year studying group think, why we rationalize our biases even in the face of obvious facts to the contrary, the need for confirmation among humans, tribalism, and a host of other ideas around human behavior. It has helped me immensely, in every platform we have and in all of my advocacy work.

I've come to understand that tribalism is part of our genetic code. Simplistically, the people who survived over early periods of our evolution were those who formed groups/clans/tribes. It was a better way to advance, rather than be a soloist who got killed by the tribes who wanted the fire making tools the soloist had. Eventually, those inclined to form tribes or communities prospered and that is part of our innate genetically coded behavior today. One of the features of tribalism is group think, which includes a lot of need for confirmation bias and virtue signaling to reaffirm our relationship with the tribe. We're all guilty of it. And social media has tapped into that tribalism in ways we can all see.

Knowing that tribalism in part of our default need for comfort, my challenge here is to provide a platform that forces us to think as individuals. I've identified changes to this platform that are known to reduce tribalism and echo chambers.

1) Get rid of virtue signaling options. We will be getting rid of the "like/dislike" buttons. I tried these buttons when we converted to this new platform. I have assessed it to be a net negative in terms of getting people articulate their own thoughts. It's mentally lazy and just adds to tribalism. It's easy to hit the like button and virtue signal with "Yeah, what he said!"

Expect that to be gone soon.

2) Get rid of User Names and require using your real name. This one is harder. We've done an export of how many users are employing VPNs for supposed privacy. It's a crazy percentage. Given that percentage, it seems very unlikely people would comply with the requirement to have their real name available.

So, for right now, I'm not going to require such, rather encourage such. I reserve the right to change my mind on that one.

Why would I want that? Because all of the data/studies point to the differences in how people interact when anonymous versus how they interact with the same people, on the same topic, if they know it is another person. If I want people to exchange ideas, sometimes make themselves uncomfortable by considering viewpoints outside their bias, that happens more when it is real people talking to real people, not a bunch of user names and avatars being unaccountable for what they've said.

I get that social media allows those anonymous profiles. IG allows people to make their profiles private. As much as Hunt Talk is a social media platform, I'm not here to grow it to the biggest platform possible. I keep it here for the purposes it is designed for - make more/better advocates for the resources essential to hunting. Since my purpose is different than other social media platforms, I need to think about different rules, guidelines, and ways to create that outcome on Hunt Talk that are different than other popular social media.

This is a long dissertation that probably deserves its own thread. All of the items above are incorporated in the moderation we employ. As are some other things I've learned about communities, communication, our human tendencies and needs for comfort and belonging. If you would have told me that studies of human behavior would be this appealing, I would have laughed. Yet, Hunt Talk is a very good testing sample for me to compare those studies to what occurs here.

Tried to "like" the post but couldn't...so:



I hope these changes ultimately help your website better serve its mission of improving conservation and creating advocates. If it does, then it's a solid change even if you lose some interest (IMO). I've often gone back and looked at some of the OG's initial threads and things were a lot different back then (more authentic, less posts for the reaction factor).