That was my first thought, but then I remembered the tiny campgrounds I've stayed at. Now I'm imagining this guy only like 7-8 feet away from the family

Nah, got to use wax, and stick it to something like a 40k purity seal

The bar is set hilariously low, and a lot of people still don't make it.

That's right, you didn't see me hit her 😏

Absolutely. And I'd remember it forever.

I once had someone tell me on discord that they stopped cutting themselves because of me just being nice to them, when they had trouble making any friends. I'll never forget that.

Good men are real; I've met many of them. It isn't some impossible ideal, but a process of self improvement that anyone can jump on.

I agree that that is what it should be, but my experience has been that I've heard a lot of man=bad messages. Maybe it's the bubble I've been in, but it's hard for me to shake that off. I try to be a good person, but I don't know what it means to be a good man. Any personality trait that is good for a man to have, I also think is good for a woman to have, so it's not specifically a good man trait.

Compliments are hard to take for some, and it sounds like you find it patronizing and creepy. This is for this very reason that I was really hesitant as a woman to compliment men, I'm more or less the same generation.

One time late at night, I had no makeup on and was very frumpy, going to buy a six pack at 7eleven. There, a gorgeous gigantic drag queen told me "Giiiiiiirl, look at your faaaace, you're so gorgeous". It was so so so cool and made me feel like a queen. So from then on I thought fuck it, I don't get compliments often and when I do, it makes my day. So now I do whenever I am sincerely impressed or enjoy something.

At some campgrounds you can't not hear your neighbors. I understand there's a social expectation of pretending privacy but surely this is just a wholesome gesture?

Why?
Seriously, it seems like a genuinely nice note. No harm was done and everything that was said was validating and positive. It didn't need to be said, but that just makes it all the more special. That guy going out of his way to give that validation when it obviously wasn't necessary just shows that he isn't just being a good dad. His parenting is at a quality at that at least one other dad admires. He doesn't need to be told that, but I'm glad he was.

I suppose I don't understand your perspective. If you know you're a good dad then getting validation on top of that is just good, right? If it's obvious you don't need it and someone else is still compelled to tell you then you must be doing an even better job than you thought!

It's good you don't need validation. In fact it's a great level of confidence in your ability. So if someone validates that confidence. That's good? It's not needed, but it's still good.

Or at least that was my takeaway, I was curious about yours.

ETA: I had a thought... What would your opinion be if the feedback was negative? What if he was aggressive and mean? Not loud, or drawing attention, just a dickhead to his kids and family.
I'm not looking for any particular answer here, I'm just curious if your opinion would change at all.

the weird part to me is writing such a long note and putting it on the car.
if it was delivered in person (and then there's still a lot that could make it weird), or the note was just "hey man, couldn't help but notice you seem to be a great parent, props from a fellow camper", i'd be more comfortable with it.

Let the man brag. Good dads are underappreciated.

Kids