It seems to me that everyone has had ample time and an equal opportunity to express their concerns about Forum etiquette in this thread (and I certainly want to thank Griff and the moderators for their tolerance in allowing that to happen). I do think that it is time to put this to rest and move forward. I know that many of you view this as an extremely negative post/thread. I, on the other hand, don't. I have learned a lot listening to everyone's comments and concerns. My hope is that all of this can be turned into something positive. For that to happen, I think that we all need to step back, and take a few deep breaths. If we truly want to keep this the best forum on the planet, we all need to put our emotions aside and [glow=yellow,2,300]objectively[/glow] internalize what everyone has said to this point (whether we agree or disagree with their point of view). If I have personally offended anyone on this forum you have my sincere apology.
Steve
Thank you for chiming back in, Steve. I know I echo the sentiments of all when I say that we've always enjoyed having you here on this forum and we would hate it if you decided to leave for any reason.
The last couple of days have been really hard for me. I told Laura it's like watching my children fight and not knowing how to calm them down and teach them to be good to one another. Not that you all are children, but I feel the anguish much the same way.
I haven't even known what to write the several times I've sat down to try and chime in... I just looked at a blank screen not knowing how to collect my own thoughts.
You all have become like a family to us (and when I say "us" I mean Laura and I) and like with many families there will be ups and downs. But at the end of the day, whatever it is that comes between any of us subsides and we reconnect on our common footing.
I realize that a lot more has been said in this thread than we would normally tolerate from a moderator standpoint and that was on purpose. I figured if everyone got a chance to say whatever they need to say and really get it out then we can move on... I hope that's the case.
Our community is much larger than it used to be and, yes, it has changed over the years. And when changes occur they seem to come in waves, not steadily and that can be unsettling. This isn't the first time this has happened and it likely won't be the last.
The one constant is that I am here, our moderators are here, and there are many good people here. All of the above have your best interest at heart at all times. Remembering that no one wishes you ill will when you see something that ruffles your feathers goes a long way towards realizing that you may just be misinterpreting it.
It's a text based medium, there will be issues. But I hope that from this point forward we can deal with any new issues outside the magnifying glass of old ones. When we do, neither will seem so bad.
Thank you to everyone who posted their thoughts and feelings here, I can promise you they won't go unnoticed even if you didn't get some sort of reply. We, the moderators and I, take those into consideration on a daily basis before and after taking any sort of actions.
My hope is that this thread can now scroll off the bottom of the page and become part of our history and not our future... and we can all get on with playing the blues.
