Soulful DetroitSoulfulDetroit Club House � Conditions & Decorum on this Forum Previous Next

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Lowell (admin)
Board Administrator
Username: admin

Post Number: 59
Registered: 1-2004
Posted on Friday, June 25, 2004 - 11:57 am: ��Edit PostDelete Post���Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Dear SD forumers,

I am writing to clarify some standards for the future of this forum.

I have spent way too much time trying to heal recent interpersonal disputes by creating this club house section, through behind the scenes off-forum emails and more.

I hope it has been worth it, but this latest episode had been most painful. My pound of flesh in this dispute was to quarantine the poisoned Mallactraz [sp] thread and a followup thread �Please Remove� started today. So, please, let it be understood that it is I who have done the removals and done it on my own with no prompting from anyone.

I am basically a lurker on this forum, one who has interest, but not enough knowledge to meaningful contribute the core discussions. Admittedly I do not know all the nuances of the recent dispute that exploded �up in here�. But it does not take long to pick up some basics.
1-It has nothing to do with the core discussion that thousands enjoy.
2-It has been hurtful to all involved and painful to all who have watched from the sidelines.
3-It goes on and on in a downward spiral with unreasonable accusations and demands which doom it to deeper depths.

My request is therefore simple. Please drop it and drop it now. Everybody, please step back, swallow whatever pain you feel, and move on. Let�s get back to what makes this forum great. It does no good to continue on the present path. Put away the pointed fingers and remember than when we point our finger, three fingers point back at us.

I am sure there is plenty of finger pointing to go around, volumes have been written already, but no matter how aggrieved any of you feel, I find most hurtful the attacks on my partner in this enterprise, David. David needs no one to defend him and I do not write at his or anyone�s behest.

Let�s start with the first brick. I would not be writing this and none of us would be here if it were not for David. It was he who sought me out, as a then participant on the Discuss Detroit forum, to create this wonderful venue. David has spent countless of hours, indeed a life time, on this project and I have spent hundreds of hours in the background. Thanks to the generosity of Ron Murphy, and many others of you, we have received enough donations to cover the real dollar cost of keeping this site alive. Yet, as for our time spent, it has been, financially, a total loss. And, with the time I spend on this issue, the loss deepens and it isn�t even fun anymore.

We have never measured our rewards in money, or occasional recognitions. We have done it because we love the project, history and topic. It has been a joy. As I have often said about my painting, the reward is in the creation. Any gain made after that is certainly appreciated, but in the vast sweep of a life time, money is far away in second place. Right now even making this painting is very unrewarding.

This Club house section was put here to provide an area for interpersonal discussions, so as not to detract from the core forum discussion. It was not put here to club each other to death.

So let it be known now -- if threads arise with nasty exchanges, I personally will step in and arbitrarily toss the entire thread out � without notice without explanation, good and hateful posts alike � I don�t have time to sort�em out.

I hate to quash anything, but I am telling you now � it anyone has dirty linen to argue over, fight it out somewhere else. Use email, make phone calls, but do not hang it here and burden the rest of us with your problems. If anyone doesn�t understand that and persists, I will regrettably deny their further entry. I have managed forums long enough to know that it better to cut off a hopelessly poisoned toe than to lose a leg.

Participation here is a conditional invitation. It is very simple; discuss the topic and be nice. If anyone dislikes the rules and management of the forum, he or she is FREE to leave.

Relevant excerpts from CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS FORUM:
"This site is privately owned and maintained. While free discourse will be allowed as much as possible, all participation in this forum and any decisions regarding the removal of offending messages or blocking of participation is solely the decision of the site owners and moderators."

�This forum is for polite, thoughtful discussion and inquiries only. Entries that are abusive, off subject, silly, containing personal attacks, threats, libels, illegal activities, or hate group messages will be removed as quickly as possible.�

�These conditions may be subject to change and additions without notice. Please periodically review these conditions.�