Why do people think it is the person that is first up? is this just long boarders, kooks, how did anyone start thinking this?

It does, & u should follow that rule & u will go so far. anyways, yep longboarders almost always get the wave because they're farther out & start paddling earlier. This is why shortboarders hate longboarders. Shortboarders can snake & snaking is not good - it is like lying about something u did wrong. Kooks just do not know & should be told (does not have to be harshly) the rules. People started thinking this because we all want waves! But it is more important to share the ocean.

The rule is the person closeest to the peak or who ever stands up first. l shortboard and longboard. Whenever l longboard l always share waves and do not take all the set waves. l see many longboarders tke ever wave and that is just plain rude.

The Surfboard Man
http://thesurfboardman.com

people dont take the time to really learn the ways of the line up and proper surf ettiquite. l see some guys just taking every wave they can and not sharing them and it really pisses me off sometimes too.

The person on the peak closest to the lip -or- the first person up. It is generally subject to some interpretation. Mostly, it becomes a matter of courtesy. On a really big day, l find l get very few rides, because the young bucks just out & out 'out paddle' (and sometimes snake) me. And, not wanting to ruin their rides, l sometimes pull back & let the young guy outside of me off the lip get the wave. Of course lots of young guys do not share the courtesy, but what the hell. l was out two weeks,ago & everybody was really spread out. No crowd scene at all, & it was just a little bit overhead. In the summer, l would have spent most of my time just sightseeing, but because of the reduced crowd scene, l got some neat rides.

Okay, that was a really long answer, & all l really mean to say, is please be courteous & respect each other in the water, & we will all get our share of waves. Some of us do not have as many rides left as others.