They call me Bearman

[Bearman]

Actually, I guess I just call myself Bearman.
I was a late addition to the official ZS forum and signed up when the pandemic hit. I was mostly a lurker.

I'm here now, and will probably mostly be a lurker again, but happy to meet everyone.

How do I find the official ZS discord? I've seen reference to it, but not sure how to actually get there. do I need to be invited?
I'm a member of other discords, so I'm not a total newbie there, just not sure how to get to this one.

[EBuff75]

Welcome aboard!  The ZS Discord link is:  https://discord.gg/n3hEGnn  but I will warn you that it's not particularly active (I only see 2 posts in the past week).  Feel free to do some posting here though, or just poke around and find some topics which interest you to keep an eye on if you're not as keen to post.  I only racked up 194 posts in 10 years on the old forum, so I was mainly a lurker there too.  I've been trying to participate more here though.

Hope you enjoy your stay!

[RoneKiln]

Even if you mostly lurk here, thanks for speaking up in this section. It's encouraging to many of us to see more people trickling in from the previous site.

Any particular reason you prefer not to speak up more in the other parts of the board? I'm curious if there's ways we could help people feel more comfortable speaking up and being more active in discussions.

[Bearman]

Thanks, all! I am also hoping this will become an active, thriving community!

I generally wasn't saying much in the old forum, because I'm very much still a learner around these parts. For example, my wife and I are attempting to put together first aid kits for our cars, and would get a lot of our ideas from either the old forum, or from various YouTubers we follow. So reading a lot, but not much to contribute yet.

Many other areas of prepping are similar so far. Maybe one day I'll be part of the "Old Guard" and be able to start spreading all the knowledge I have soaked up, but that is likely still many years away.

[Raptor]

 Welcome to the forum

[EBuff75]

Thanks, all! I am also hoping this will become an active, thriving community!

I generally wasn't saying much in the old forum, because I'm very much still a learner around these parts. For example, my wife and I are attempting to put together first aid kits for our cars, and would get a lot of our ideas from either the old forum, or from various YouTubers we follow. So reading a lot, but not much to contribute yet.

Many other areas of prepping are similar so far. Maybe one day I'll be part of the "Old Guard" and be able to start spreading all the knowledge I have soaked up, but that is likely still many years away.

Feel free to ask questions about this sort of thing.  There's a lot of experience here and people are generally happy to make recommendations and share their own experiences, both good and bad!

[RoneKiln]

I generally wasn't saying much in the old forum, because I'm very much still a learner around these parts. For example, my wife and I are attempting to put together first aid kits for our cars, and would get a lot of our ideas from either the old forum, or from various YouTubers we follow. So reading a lot, but not much to contribute yet.

This version of the community is new enough that just posting in the chats and community focused threads would make you "old guard" in just a few months. 

You might be surprised how helpful it is for beginners to see someone discussing their process of figuring out what they want in a car kit and what resources they watch and read while sorting it out. That can often be as good or even better than some "expert" just posting a list. I hope you can spare the time and energy sharing that.

I want to significantly upgrade my car medical kit. I've been thinking about how to help minimize the temperature swings in my car from degrading bandage adhesive and messing up other materials. I've been thinking of using a thermos to store some of the bandages. Am I overthinking this?

[CG]

Thanks, all! I am also hoping this will become an active, thriving community!

I generally wasn't saying much in the old forum, because I'm very much still a learner around these parts. For example, my wife and I are attempting to put together first aid kits for our cars, and would get a lot of our ideas from either the old forum, or from various YouTubers we follow. So reading a lot, but not much to contribute yet.

Many other areas of prepping are similar so far. Maybe one day I'll be part of the "Old Guard" and be able to start spreading all the knowledge I have soaked up, but that is likely still many years away.

Pffft.  Show us what you got!  Part of the process of both the forums and building better kit is sharing info and receiving constructive feedback.  Helps you make YOURS better and helps the next newbie make THEIRS better. 

[woodsghost]

Thanks, all! I am also hoping this will become an active, thriving community!

I generally wasn't saying much in the old forum, because I'm very much still a learner around these parts. For example, my wife and I are attempting to put together first aid kits for our cars, and would get a lot of our ideas from either the old forum, or from various YouTubers we follow. So reading a lot, but not much to contribute yet.

Many other areas of prepping are similar so far. Maybe one day I'll be part of the "Old Guard" and be able to start spreading all the knowledge I have soaked up, but that is likely still many years away.

Hey! Welcome!

As others have said, positing up is a perfect way to learn. And it's ok to not be perfect before posting. I have posted up bug out bags and gear and got lots of great advice on things to do or change. People saw holes I never would have seen on my own. And frankly, it's fine to say "thank you" and ignore advice too. Sometimes stuff does not fit your context because of space, weight, expertise, money, or values differences. That is ok. Just take the time to really understand what people say and why they say it.

So yeah, welcome! Glad you are here!

[echo83]

This is the internet. I never let my lack of knowledge about something keep me from expressing my opinion of it. 

Seriously, Bearman, welcome aboard! I'm not the most vocal here or on the other site either, but I got some really valuable feedback when putting together a GHB after I posted up a few photos and a list of contents. Glad you're here!