Per my last post I was getting close  to pulling the proverbial trigger, however several recent posts have me wondering what is happening.

Not looking to get anyone specific into trouble, but in general what is happening that is causing people to leave the board, etc?

Most of the posts deal with the importance of safeguarding personal info.  Draw your own conclusions.

Is perhaps a term that is not widely used in the hobby, however if there is even a remote chance of a trust being violated, then I am going to have to leave before I ever started. Hope that all works out for everyone else.

The board(s) are not the problem here! I have two choices as the moderator, keep these things quiet on the board so nobody sees the problems out there and knee-jerk their way to their own percieved safety (which if you think burying your head in the sand is "safe" then good luck to you!)
 Or, I can let this information through and do my best to provoke a response from the trouble makers, so we can see who they are! That sounds safer to me!

Having had no experience at all with the hobby, I am certainly guitly of placing alot of weight on what I read here. I greatly appreciate the fact that you are not glossing anything over. It is simply that without knowing "who" is doing "what" it is difficult to know with whom to start the hobby with without wondering if she is the person that is being referred to. Sort of like being in Japan and someone saying "don't eat the fish" and leaving it a t that.

I have to agree with your sentiments here, and I even have a fair amount of hobbying experience.  I have never had any problems, but I can say that I do get worried when I hear about "problems" in the Twin Cities.  I think that if a guy is being blackmailed via email or in any other way, he should just come out and say who it is.  I get a little irritaed by the attitude that we should all just "know".  Many of the posters here like me use this board as a resource for providers while others also use it as a social outlet.  While thats fine and all, those people are doing everyone else a disservice by either keeping the info to themselves or assuming that everyone should just "know".