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Re:no, no you got it all wrong (long)
Ptman69 10 Reviews 15533 reads
posted

I agree with just about everything that has been said concerning the "good old days". There was a time after I moved back to MN from New York(mid 2000) when I looked forward to checking out TBD when I got home from work. It wasn't just the info that you could get, but there was a certain comaraderie(sp) between almost everyone on the board at that time. I remember reading posts by Chuck and Smurf and Big Kahuna and Trying Harder... the list goes on, on just about any topic and even if I didn't agree with what they were saying there were always interesting viewpoints being discussed.It was like being in grade school when everyone was playing nice together. Then came the dark times, problems with TBD, LE, provider disagreements, hobbiest disagreements yada yada yada. It was such a drastic change in such a short time that it was hard to believe. I don't believe that private boards are the answer either though. They can be fun for a while, but in time they can turn into kind of incestuous little mutual adoration societies if you aren't careful.I think things are finally  starting to get back to a more even keel as of late, although it would be nice to see more conversation here. Just because we may never meet doesn't mean we can't be friends or at least friendly. Always remember that we will all get out of this board exactly what we put into it. And also remember that things can always be worse. Have you ever read the Chicago board on TBD. If you want to talk about petty, vindictive, back-biting, its almost like watching the Jerry Springer Show. Anyway I've rambled on long enough, but lets all try to keep this a friendly place. One more comment, I think Misty mentioned the lovely Jewel in one of her posts and I must say I remember her well, and quite frankly my **** still gets all sweaty just thinking about her. Anyway I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday season. Peace.

fatmanmn14192 reads

As new person to the hobby (less then 1 year) I want to thank all of the people before me that had to endure some of the nightmares I have read over the last couple of days. It seems before the net it was drivers sitting out in front of your house with ram music -  rip offs casing your home  and I can look like what ever you want me too honey!!!

Because of what you have done, others can benifit. I know I have.

Don't know quite how to say this so I am just going to blab on... but it seems when you are lamenting about the good ol days, in the early stages of the net etc, that that was the time. Now it seems you want to go back to that and you want to limit participation to a very select group of people. It seems some of you don't want new participants.

What is stopping you from doing this? You can have your own friends. You can set up your own chat rooms etc and limit participation. You can protect this through passwords and moderations.

But, more importanantly, it seems you want someone else to set this up, pay for it, host and moderate it. But you still want to limit participation somehow. It appears you want all of the best with no responsability or work. At least that is the impression I have taken from these postings.

I have said before I don't partake in the local hobby scene very much other then through the boards and on the occasion when "the window of opportunity" presents itself. Because of this I imagine I would be one of the ones "excluded" by a private set up.

I would miss the dicussions from some of the more common posts - I would miss learing about new issues and gotcha's.

My point in this is things will never be the same. You can't go back you can only move forward. The good ol days for some of you are just the begining for more of us. The population is growing and you can help more as they start this great hobby. You have a great insight into the hobby and you can let the rest of know. You can be "Obi Wan theHobby".

If you decide to move on and start a private group - again - I thank you for all you have done for us. My larger hope is you stick around and I get the opportunity to meet more of you. If we ignore our history we are doomed to repeat it - you can help us avoid this.  

IMHO

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MrBlueEyes12390 reads

i hope you don't think i am advocating a private group to go back to the old day. no, i was just thinking about times past with nostalgia.  

truth be told, wsg.org was, I believe, hosted by a university which was in turn funded by, I believe, the NSF.  so taxpayers were footing the bill.  (well they still are to some extent, but it gets complicated to explain).

for the record, I am for Free Enterprise and Free Speech, the boards can get as sleazy, high-brow, or whatever ever their owners feel like doing.  so, I'd like everyone to know the smurf doesn't want live in the Past, Nor does he want to reinvent the wheel, exclude others, or stop any kind of free speech or free enterprise.  He just likes present the the options.

And you sir, have said it well.  Those who want to be high-brow can get off their bums and ante up the time and money it takes to start a "selective" board. truth be told, most people don't want pay a red-cent for participation and when the groups get too incestuous, they getting boring anyhow.

So cheers to free press, free boards, and open participation. That's where theSmurf stands.  God Bless America too. :-)

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Ptman6915534 reads

I agree with just about everything that has been said concerning the "good old days". There was a time after I moved back to MN from New York(mid 2000) when I looked forward to checking out TBD when I got home from work. It wasn't just the info that you could get, but there was a certain comaraderie(sp) between almost everyone on the board at that time. I remember reading posts by Chuck and Smurf and Big Kahuna and Trying Harder... the list goes on, on just about any topic and even if I didn't agree with what they were saying there were always interesting viewpoints being discussed.It was like being in grade school when everyone was playing nice together. Then came the dark times, problems with TBD, LE, provider disagreements, hobbiest disagreements yada yada yada. It was such a drastic change in such a short time that it was hard to believe. I don't believe that private boards are the answer either though. They can be fun for a while, but in time they can turn into kind of incestuous little mutual adoration societies if you aren't careful.I think things are finally  starting to get back to a more even keel as of late, although it would be nice to see more conversation here. Just because we may never meet doesn't mean we can't be friends or at least friendly. Always remember that we will all get out of this board exactly what we put into it. And also remember that things can always be worse. Have you ever read the Chicago board on TBD. If you want to talk about petty, vindictive, back-biting, its almost like watching the Jerry Springer Show. Anyway I've rambled on long enough, but lets all try to keep this a friendly place. One more comment, I think Misty mentioned the lovely Jewel in one of her posts and I must say I remember her well, and quite frankly my **** still gets all sweaty just thinking about her. Anyway I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday season. Peace.

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MrBlueEyes16162 reads

I noticed you've contributed 12 reviews.  That is AWESOME. That is the kind of "take on for the team" spirit we want!  Thanks for the insight and the adventuring! -theSmurf

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cleavers13419 reads



-- Modified on 3/15/2004 10:17:32 PM

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