Uncle Toys

I have come to really enjoy this board and depend on it. That is why I would like to add my 2 cents to the discussion in the hopes of improving our group.

The information I have reviewed and the people I have met on this board are invaluable to me. The confession here is, I am the quintessential "more money than brains" performance boater. Let me explain. Back in my day, Beechcraft airplanes were known as "Doctor killers." They were the Mercedes of the single-engine planes, and typically what the doctors would buy. Doctor's, as a group, had the money to buy higher-end airplanes, but not the experience, or the time to learn properly. Too often, this had tragic consequences.

This board has been my method of not getting caught in the above doctor trap. I have been able to ask questions, read responses, lurk on others threads, and search the archives. Along the way I have developed a couple of friendships - another plus - and I look forward to meeting many more of you.

It was with heavy heart that I read of Too Olds departure. Although I didn't get to know him personally, I always considered him one of the individuals who's posts I wanted to read. Very quickly, I came to value his opinion. At first I was a bit surprised to read of his departure - he had not struck me as a quitter. But, the more I thought about it, the more I thought he had probably worked this issue behind the scenes for some time and all I got to see was the tail end.

I believe Too Old is on to something very important to the long term survivability of our board. Racism is a very hot topic in our society today - and will continue to be an important issue. Read T2x's response, I believe he is spot on! The moderators of the board are going to need to step up on this issue. T2x is right, the bad people will not self regulate. We are going to need someone to handle this for us. And don't hid behind the "censorship" curtain. There are exceptions to the 1st amendment, e.g. you can't yell fire in a theater, you can't use the "n" word, etc. I am more than willing to sift through the fraternity talk and questionable pictures to get to the stuff I want to read and the people I want to communicate with, but if we get a reputation for allowing the venting of racism, we are done! This is not an issue for us to be pacifist on. If in the future we look back and decide we errored in handling this, I would rather look back upon an error of activism than pacifism.

This board is a commercial enterprise - as it should be. There is a cost associated with additional services and I am more than willing to pay my share. If it ends up as a monthly, quarterly, annual fee - so be it. Although I am hoping the advertisement etc will more than make up for it. The income per capita on this board is off the charts, someone should be willing to pay to get exposure to this. In the mean time, I am personally going to help support the cause by routinely ordering merchandise. I don't know what I'll do with it, maybe just give it away to friends. But at the least, I want to put my money where my mouth is.

Moderators - any logical suggestions as to how much additional merchandise I should purchase to defray these costs I am advocating?

Crazyhorse

Well said. I too feel fortunate to have met many knowledgeable, as well as friendly, people here. It saddens me to see the very core of this board leaving because of a difference in opinion of what this board should be about. Uncle Toys, nice analogy about the forked-tail doctor killers. I'm a Tomahawk man myself.

spitfire1

Uncle toys.......you are obviously not alone in your feelings on too old's departure.....I too enjoyed reading his posts although I never met him personally.......I dont believe he left for one particular reason but many.....as far as racism on this board....I am sorry but I dont really see it......what I do see is some members posting pictures and views that are obviously objectionable to many......but that is what you are going to get on any open forum......anywhere.....It is everyones responsibility to try and keep this board on the up and up.......and not rely on "moderators" to step in unless absolutely necessary.....I think the membership as a whole will hold much more sway in holding someones feet to the fire for an over the line post as any moderator could.......I think the majority of the board appreciates how OSO has handled this issue thus far......trying to let us get our act together and deal with the changes.....but the bottom line is...you are never going to make everyone happy...and some people will choose to go elsewhere......I think he will eventually return......and I look forward to when he does......MHO...Rich

Philip

U T,
I am not in the habit of posting to OT threads, but I feel you are dead on, and after reading the Too Old thread and T2x’s reply I would like to add my .02. I have replied to some of your posts that have asked for advice, and in my limited knowledge have always tried to offer any help that I can. I will sorely miss too Old “Fred”. He always was very quick to offer any help or advice, when we were looking for a 24’ Skater for “Skaterfest” Fred offered to bring his Skater to the event even though he was driving from SC to upstate NY and then back to SC all in one weekend. He was always willing to jump in and contribute wherever he could. When I saw the thread about his Daughter Joy unfolding I started to cringe. I hoped that the board members would conduct themselves in a respectful and honorable way, but I imagined there would be problems. We all hold our children in the highest regard, much higher then GF or Wife. Some might say that the pictures Joy posted were an invitation for good natured joking around, but Joy is young and wasn’t aware of the open season attitude of some board members. T2x is right on target, if there is not some type of decorum exhibited by our members there has to be moderator intervention. The racism that I sometimes see is totally unacceptable. The nudity should not be allowed to be posted on the regular board. This is a Boating related board, not a porn site. These pictures and threads should be posted in a password-protected area; this way there will be no accidental entry. I have logged on to OSO from my daughters computer and the address is stored in the “Favorites” feature. I must now go and remove the OSO address so she cannot get in; she is only 12 and not 18 as in Joy’s case. Her computer has all of the parental controls set to prevent any porn sites being accessed, and now OSO has become one of those sites. Racism and Porn don’t belong on the OSO site. We are all about High Performance boating,
Philip

Uncle Toys

Spitfire1 - Help me here, if it's my responsibility ("everyone's") to keep the board on the up and up, how do I do that? Post a moral-persuasion argument? If we are not going to rely on the moderators, why have them at all? The fact that other boards have similar problems doesn't stop me from wanting to improve ours. Honestly, how do I do this?

Sorry, guess I am up to 4 cents now.

spitfire1

How did everyone put pressure on shorgasm to remove the offensive photo of travis......by other posts showing displeasure and requesting that they be removed .....or by personal msging.....Or maybe by not even responding when an offensive post (i.e. bashing or a deliberate attack) is put up.....My point was this.....I dont expect a moderator to be reading over my shoulder and deciding whether every post is acceptable.....I think a moderator should step in when 1. requested to do so..or 2. when it is painfully obvious to do so......Most of us on this board are adults.......the majority of the offensive posts have been put up by a handful.........when I stated that it was everyones responsibility to keep this board on the up and up ...I guess I meant by being aware of what we post....I too am guilty of posting a questionable photo at one time and after thinking about it for about thirty seconds I deleted it.......a little common sense goes a long way........my other 02 cents......

vagrant

Here is my 2 cents again,
Here are my two cents since this is a open forum,
I may not comment alot on this board but i have been here since the beginning and have seen
changes some are good some are bad. I dont always
agree with everything that goes on here but I have learn that when you have this many people
together
you cant please everyone. To ban or block someone
who has been here since the beginning makes me wonder? I realize Fred said to remove his
membership, is that in the best interest of the board or is it to prove that his membership here was
of no value, or is it to teach him a lesson. I'm sure the moderaters realize that the statement could
have been made out of anger or frustration.
I have never met Fred personally. The bad jokes and bad comments do nothing but put down this
board. I hope Fred comes back and this subject is
dropped and we move on! Hopefully we have learned something from this. I know there will be
comments
over this and thats fine, its my opinion. ATTACK ME PERSONALLY, THAT'S DIFFERENT!
David Ledford
Charlotte, N.C.


__________________
Champagne taste on a beer Budget

Uncle Toys

Spitfire1 - I hear you! I believe we only differ in a slight degree. It's possible, the only difference is my laziness. I don't change my boats oil, I pay to have someone else do it. It's not that I'm not capable, it's just I don't have the time or the inclination. When it comes to this board, I don't have enough time to post on the threads I'm interested in, much less try and moderate my fellow members. So I would just as soon pay someone to do it for us. There's only two things I would want taken care of: racism and porn. In a perfect world I wouldn't have to deal with unthinking people or IT departments worrying about me viewing women's breasts - unfortunately its not a perfect world yet. Unlike many on this board, I didn't join for intellectual freedom (the fear of censorship). I only wanted to talk boat stuff, learn, share, and meet other like minded, over testosteroned, A.D.D.'d boaters.

I wish I had more time to spend on this board - I truly do! But unfortunately I have this habit that must be fed (see display name). Yesterday I ordered $70 worth of t-shirts for my girls. Don't know if they want them, but I will continue to put my money where my mouth is. If others follow my lead - great. If not, I believe strongly in majority rule!

spitfire1

I am with ya 100%.....I am all talked out on this subject too.....Lets get on with it..........

Uncle Toys

Amen brother!