Would a Nordic forum about survivalism be a good idea?

[Armed Hippie]

There was a project once called Swedish Urban Survivalists that was good but died from lack of interest. It was a forum that kind of derrived from Flashbacks survivalist members. As I said, it died pretty quickly from to few people posting.

I'm thinking maybe a nordic forum would be better if you want the forum to live longer. So I'm asking the nordic members on this board if they are supportive of a nordic survivalist forum?

Also, any ideas about how it would be and look like?

I think it should not be a public board because most nordic countries lacks a sense of humor in regard to firearms and might react in a bad way. But that's about what I've been thinking so far. I desire feedback!

/ The Hippie

[Lucretius]

http://swedishsurvivalist.egetforum.se/forum/

Isn't that active, sorry to say. But maybe we can get it going?

[Jacob Creutzfeldt]

Skall vi skriva på svenska här?

No, writing in Swedish would be rude.

The "problem" with yet another forum is that you need "critical mass" to make it work. I have looked at the forum Lucretius linked to, it's pretty slow. We could of course take part of the discussions there.

What would the purpose be? A lot of the discussions are applicable to Nordic countries as well. We buy the same gear as people in the US (and they buy and like "snuskburken"), we have similar problems getting clean water and food etc. We have the same climate as parts of the US and Canada.

The differences would be discussions about law and firearms.

Lucretius mentioned the idea of a Nordic chapter to me, is that a better option (if that is possible). I haven't looked into what a chapter is supposed to do, though.

It's a good initiative, but does it accomplish anything beyond what's available here?

Edit: http://www.alternativ.nu/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is big on the self-suffiency part. Not PAW, just general self suffient living.
For gun/hunting questions I guess there must be Swedish forums for that as well. But the guns are (mostly) the same as in the US, from a technical perspective.

[Armed Hippie]

I know some swedish survivalist, but it's hard to get them to be active on this forum because they don't go for the whole zombiething. (It's sad but true that we are a boring people.)

The reason I don't write in swedish is that I don't want to be rude to the people from Finland who might not understand swedish and alos because I can't type the swedish letters on my romanian keyboard...

How does a chapter work? Maybe we should ask someone that's been around a while.

[Jacob Creutzfeldt]

An active Swedish forum regarding guns and hunting:
http://forum.robsoft.nu/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And for general discussions about outdoors activities:
http://www.utsidan.se/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It'll be hard to create a new forum to do everything. It will probably die a silent death from lack of activity. The main purpose of a forum is to discuss and also to get help. If there is noone around to discuss with or answer your questions, it's not much use.

A single place to discuss everything would of course be the best, but for now I think the best soluton is to visit the specialized forums for different subjects.

I hope I don't sound too rude, killing your ideas.

[Armed Hippie]

Well, I know there are good forums. But a lot of the time I find that the survivalist perspective on things aren't appriciated...

[Lucretius]

Hey, there's threads for some of the chapters over in the US. Why don't we ask the moderator for a scandinavian thread right here? Of course, it would be silly that we'd have to communicate in english instead of our mother tongue...

[Jacob Creutzfeldt]

Yes, everyone in the Nordic countries should write in Swedish. I'm sure they'll appreciate that.

[Genithos]

I think that to keep an activity going you need some social platform as well. A Nordic forum I think would be a good idea, but that forum could as easily (I even think 'should') be here like the chapters 1-5. I would think positive of having our own organization and forums to discuss local laws and terrains but also to meet up and practice together once in a while.

I have experience of NGO's and can consider to be member of some kind of board for the Scandinavian region.

[Lucretius]

Yes, everyone in the Nordic countries should write in Swedish. I'm sure they'll appreciate that.

Well, I personally could totally grok danish and norwegian....

But, of course, for the finnish, I'd have to resort to the wifes expertise!

[Genithos]

Todays thought on the matter: United States has a population of 300 million, the 8 Nordic countries are 25 million. There for logically a Nordic chapter should require 1/12 as many members that one in the states to be recognized.

Have any of you e-mailed ZS about rules and regulations for starting up a chapter?

[Armed Hippie]

Todays thought on the matter: United States has a population of 300 million, the 8 Nordic countries are 25 million. There for logically a Nordic chapter should require 1/12 as many members that one in the states to be recognized.

Have any of you e-mailed ZS about rules and regulations for starting up a chapter?

Not me anyway, I have restricted acess to the internet (my workplace after work). So I vote for electing you for that task...

[Armed Hippie]

Bah, det ar ju bara svenskar som skrivit i traden vad det verkar. Var ar alla finnar jag hade trott skulle invadera traden?

[invicta]

I would greatly appreciate a channel to discuss localized survivalism techniques, skills and gear, as we happen to live in a quite a different environment than most of our fellow americans. Sure, there are similar conditions in USA, but many times there are very little people from those parts discussing the subjects.
Also, localized information on getting material, economy, local events etc. are much easier to grasp, when you don't have to google every brand, name or chemical.

I am especially interested in localized information and discussion on self-sufficiency, as especially that area does differ greatly from that of Americans.

But I must say, the universal language of bad english should be used. Using swedish would turn down lots of possible Finnish participants, including me. True, swedish is the second official language here still, but for most of us it has been forgotten, if ever learned properly.
For my part, at school I was reluctant to learn it because it was mandatory - it would not have been the case if it was not.

[shrike]

Bah, det ar ju bara svenskar som skrivit i traden vad det verkar. Var ar alla finnar jag hade trott skulle invadera traden?

We finns are just quiet and slow. =) A nordic thread or two would be nice, just write in english so that everyone understands.

We could discuss stuff specifically related to our climate (it's a wee bit colder here than in the midwest), equipment (carrying guns 24/7 is pretty much frowned upon here) and purchasing of said equipment (Customs & taxes outside of the EU suck and are hard to prepare for)

(And invicta posted at the exact same time as I did =P)

[Genithos]

I have e-mailed ZS now about guidelines for starting our own chapter and getting our own forum here. I also agree that 'bad English' should be the official language as I have trouble understanding both Finnish and written Norwegian

I also see a point of discussing local regulations and vendors as the rules do differ from the states. Do we agree in general that staying on zombiehunters.org are the best? Or should we set up our own operations with homepage and forums for example in Denmark that have cheap web hotels?

[Jacob Creutzfeldt]

As I mentioned before, you need "critical mass" to make it work, otherwise the community will just fade away. A chapter or "Nordic thread(s)" on ZS would have the benefit that you would check out the other parts as well. There will always be some activity. But if a community is too slow, you might just stop reading and posting altogether.

Previously I wrote that we use the same gear, but discussion on how to obtain that gear in a cheap and easy way is always helpful. Shipping (and customs+VAT) from the US can get expensive.

[sheddi]

As I mentioned before, you need "critical mass" to make it work, otherwise the community will just fade away. A chapter or "Nordic thread(s)" on ZS would have the benefit that you would check out the other parts as well. There will always be some activity. But if a community is too slow, you might just stop reading and posting altogether.

You'll also get non-Nordic types following your threads and chipping in with ideas (probably bad ones, but that's always the case).

[Genithos]

I think that is good, valid and sufficient arguments to stay here on this forum. So we will look no further into other alternatives.

[Saunterer]

No eiks kaikki vois opetella suomea?

Jeah, like Invicta said, Finland is tvåspråkig, but that's just a historic relic... even though all Finns have to learn some Svenska at school, most don't know more than a few phrases. So, let's stick to English?

The idea of a Scandinavian chapter is great! I agree that a new forum is not necessary, a ZS chapter would be perfect.

[Saunterer]

Todays thought on the matter: United States has a population of 300 million, the 8 Nordic countries are 25 million. There for logically a Nordic chapter should require 1/12 as many members that one in the states to be recognized.

Heh, I just realized that there isn't even an European chapter yet...

[invicta]

I must say, I fully support the Nordic (or European) chapter, an external forum might not work. I've been around a Finnish survivalism forum, and seen it almost die after a promising start. You simply have to have enough participants to keep it going, and an external forum might miss just that.

ZS however does not seem to be going anywhere.

[invicta]

BTW, Saunterer found some info on starting a chapter:

To start a chapter you first need to organise and run a charity event to show that you can work together as a viable chapter. Then you need three members to act as officers of said chapter on the paperwork. Then you need to have a public meeting every other month.

Are we really up to this, as we are so scattered?

[Genithos]

First a comment on Europe versus Norden, I don't actually feel that much in common with the people around the Mediterranean. Nothing against them but not much in common either.

I though feel that initially it must be a Nordic Chapter to gather enough members to make it vital. In the future it is highly possible that sub chapters will break loose and form their own identity and should be encouraged to do so also.

6 meetings a year isn't that hard. It cost me around 50$ to get to Stockholm and back, which should be the logical center between Sweden and Suomi. Hopefully they accept virtual meeting rooms as well. With web cams and audio link I don't really see the need to meet in person that often, but having a chapter should also be about meeting each other!

I have also this morning had a quick meeting with my zombie hunter associates and they accept, if necessary, to form a shadow government here in Gothenburg that have the formal meeting with three physical members present and officers from other countries joining in with earlier mentioned links.

I see a time for strong and focused action. I hope that I don't seem too totalitarian because this is not the case. I am highly democratic and humble and have work will several NGO's in Sweden. I am a strong PA (Producer/Administrator) according to Adizes personal profile test and if any of you feel that it is going to fast please shout out. I want as many people aboard as possible to make this happen.