When I first came to this site, I felt enveloped with warmth. I had finally found a group of people who could understand my continued resentment of the WTS, and didn?t think I should just ?move on?. Although there were some strong disagreements and personalities, for the most part people seemed to respect one another. I realize this is simply my perspective, but it was indeed MY feeling. I hate to name names, because I know I will leave someone out who I admire, but to list just a few have touched me: Lady Lee, Nilfun, Nickey, AlanF, Big Tex, Cruzanheart, Mulan, Brummie, Teenyuck, Zeena1998, Blondie, SheilaM, Frannie Bannanie, LDH, StinkyPantz, and TJ. ( Please forgive me if I have forgotten to use a specific name, as there are many that have brought a lot to me and to this board.)
Then something seemed to change. Suddenly, there were more mean spirited remarks, and less compassion. And, possibly because of this, there seemed to be less tolerance on the part of those ?in charge? for any thread that seemed headed in a less than positive direction. To my possibly jaundiced eye, there seemed to be far less tolerance for certain posters than others. Some posters, be they ?favorites? or whatever, seemed to get away with a lot more than others who were just not ?in favor? at that time.
My opinion is Teejay was one of those posters. I have never met him personally, but I have spoken to him many times. We do not always agree, but he always presents his arguments in a solid and concise fashion, one that I respect. He does not let go of issues because his opinion is unpopular, nor does he back off when he feel strongly about something. This is an admirable trait, and yet he was punished for it by being deleted. I do not recall him ever calling names, or using foul language, and yet, somehow he was given the ?ultimate? punishment by being deleted.
Is he the only person who was ?unjustly? deleted? I sincerely doubt it. But he is the one whose deletion has affected my enjoyment of this board most (ok, well, him and StinkyPantz, but she asked to be deleted, which is a whole different can of worms).
I don?t know what it?s like to be a moderator or owner of a DB. I am sure it is fraught with irritations, frustrations and outright anger. I am sure no one in one of these positions believes that they are showing bias, and could give many rational explanations for their actions. But to me, little old me, it appears that there has developed an ?off with their head? mentality, if someone disagrees, kick them out.
I don?t pretend to know the ?whole? story, and I don?t mean this to sound as though I believe I could be a mod without error. I just need to express that I believe the board is a little less than it was before with the loss of TJ.
For those of us still here, thanks for the many times you have been motivating, understanding, and shared my pain.
Happyout