I miss ol' cantankerous Bill.
He gave and got hell on that trainwreck of a holiday forum on guns, and now I'm worried we really pissed him off or offended him or something.
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I miss ol' cantankerous Bill.
He gave and got hell on that trainwreck of a holiday forum on guns, and now I'm worried we really pissed him off or offended him or something.
I was thinking the same about both Bill and Joe Lerch. They both have a lot to offer in the razor community and I think it would be a shame if we lost their expertise.
I asked both of them to stay here. Joe had a good point about his reasons for leaving. In any case I don't expect to see them back any time soon which really is a double huge loss for the community.
Did I miss something over the Christmas break??
If Bill has gone awol his knowledge will seriously missed (not to mention his sense of humour) :cry:
Well, I can respect their decisions for leaving. I just hope we'll see both of them again someday.Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
Ever since the first forum, we have seen people come and go. We have seen disputes over what many of would normally never pay attention to get very emotional, personal and destructive. In every situation, new people continued to learn and help out other new people and as more people learned more, they helped more and as more people were being helped and learning people still have come and gone. One nice thing is that over the years, we have also seen many people who are gone for awhile, for whatever reason, show up with some great new stories, adventures and even more new straight razor shavers.
Have fun.
Lynn
Hope to see them both back here at some point. After reading throug the sagas, all I can see is Michael Douglas in Falling Down screaming, "That's what makes America great! We have the freedom to disagree!"
Opps, just read the thread. Up to speed now.......:oQuote:
Did I miss something over the Christmas break??
Gentlemen, I think it's time to put some shackles on Randy, Nenad, Vlad, Gary, Jason, Lynn and a few others :w
That really is a shame. They were very beneficial to this community. I like both those guys even though both were the sort I would respectfully disagree with fairly regularly. It's a shame then that what sent them away wasn't disagreement, but disrespect. I wish everyone could check such attitudes at the door, but I guess some folks just get a hate on. *sigh* :(
X
I was going to suggest horse blinkers. Just look straight ahead and focus, all these distractions just detract from what we are here for.Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
And I'm pissed cause I missed the end of an eBay auction because I was reading that other post!! :rant:
I knew Bill had taken leave, but I had not realized that Joe had done the same. Joe has gotten quiet on the other forums as well. While I may not always agree with them, I do have the utmost respect for them. Unfortunately, forums have a revolving door. It's rare to find members who are very active for extended periods of time. Seems like every forum I've participated in has had a "core" group that stayed while others passed by.
RT
Yeah, I think it's a real loss to the community that they left, and, I certainly hope they do come back. Seeing as I got so into restoration, it was certainly very helpful having Bill around to fill in with his experience and knowledge, not to mention his razor sharp wit :)
Say anything you want. As long as there's no sticks and stones, I'm staying put :)Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
I have seen this before on the Sumo forum, where one respected member got into an argument that turned into a flamefest.
He was an amateur Sumo champion who knew a lot of A level wrestlers on a first name basis, and trained with them.
Unfortunately, the heat from the flamefest drove him away and turned him hostile to the rest.
These things happen when discussions become personal. There is little you can do about it, short of narrowly restricting what can be discussed, and enforcing those rules. And that of course also turns people away...
Well bugger...!!!!!!
I never followed the threads and didn't know about Bill, I thought he was off enjoying his holidays etc... A real gentleman for sure and someone who really deserves a place on this planet.
Gone is a man that was saving our backsides before most of us were born, in a country most of us had never heard of. And after that lot he kept us safe from the scum in prisons. Darn it.. Then he goes and shares his knowledge to all of us about straight razor restoration etc..
Well this news has ruined my year and it's only a few days old. We need to cherish these characters and learn from their wisdom. RESPECT
Gary
Yes I can only agree,I sent him a pm to wish him and his family a happy new year and didn`t receive a reply ,I just assumed he was on holidays, this news has put a dampener on things. I cant speak for any one else ,but he will be sadly missed by yours truly, May be we should start a sticky come back Bill thread,even if you dont agree with his views he is certainly needed,I for one would not be making the progress that I am with out his help,but not withstanding that I like the old bugger and I would like to see him back:cry:Quote:
Originally Posted by garythepenman
Kind regards peter
There is little point in doing that if he is not on the forum to read it. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by bg42
May be he is not just answering ,but keeping a watchful eye on proceedingsQuote:
Originally Posted by Bruno
Kind regards Peter
In that case he'd get PMs as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by bg42
And I haven't seen him in the active users list for a while.
may be may be not ,but I think its worth a tryQuote:
Originally Posted by Bruno
Kind regards Peter
Well, I'm not. I know the 2nd Amendment forum ended badly, but I don't remember Lord Lerch and Wild Bill walking off the set for good.Quote:
Originally Posted by drsch3
This is a calamity.
Was there some other thread?
This is really a shame - in my brief time here, I've learned much from both of these guys.
I think there's a lesson to be learned about starting overtly political threads on sites like this.
Its almost never the shaving-related threads that end this way, but the ones people start to spice things up. I have no idea what went on as I deliberately avoid political threads for this very reason. I've got no problem with debate or other's views, but its so easy for these sorts of things to go off the rails.
I've been on other fora relating to specific interests and have seen the same thing happen before.
I hope that Bill and Joe decide to participate on the forum again, but respect their decisions - regardless of whether we hear from them again.
I believe there was a thread where Bill stated he was off the forum. Joe took some heat for his involvement in the thread and didn't like the level of heat he was taking. Both of them contributed a lot to the forum, but they were the ones who decided to leave. Polite requests from quite a few of us did not work. Begging, other than being pitiful and humiliating for the community either does not work or works for a price too high for us. Therefore, I think that thread would be a terrible idea.
Something like, 'if I can't change the channel I'm gonna turn off the TV'? Was that it?Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
I can't find where he said he was leaving (might have been deleted), but then he withdrew himself, withdrew quite a few pics he had links to and edited quite a few posts to say "Yesterday was the best day to find another something to do..."
I've been around the net since it was called arpanet (I've still got a working Symbolics computer at the house - symbolics.com was the very first .COM domain ever registered). Once you've participated in your hundredth flamewar you start to realize there's no point in arguing because neither side will ever change their mind, and once you've read your thousandth flamewar you realize that there aren't any interesting insults anymore, and the whole thing is just kinda boring, like watching your thousandth slow-motion train wreck.
Back in my day the topic was usually text editors or programming languages, but it doesn't really matter, they're still all minor variations on the theme.
That seems true mparker.
I think there should be a virtual taboo on political topics here. I say that while fully acknowledging that I participated in that guns forum as much as anyone.
But a site that brings together conservatives, liberals, libertarians, Europeans, Americans Canadians soldiers lawyers knife makers college professors prison guards bohemians barbers actors and computer programmers etc. etc. –
–into real comraderie–
is pretty rare. And it seems like politics is the nitroglycerin in the mix. Let's avoid it.
Well I vote that we settle the vi vs emacs debate once and for all.Quote:
Originally Posted by mparker762
vi is clearly superior, as are its users.
:roflmao
No offense. I just couldn't resist this one. I couldn't care less who uses what, as long as everyone follows the syntax guidelines.
Spaces vs tabs. Now there is a topic. :D
ESC : wq
VI users are clearly delusional is what they are. I never could figure out how they could be so mentally retarded as to fail to grasp the innate superiority of ctrl-alt-meta-cokebottle commands over modal editing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruno
michael
(who still thinks GNU Emacs was a ripoff of EINE (Eine Is Not Emacs), thinks emacs editors peaked at ZWEI (Zwei Was Eine Initially) (even though he himself uses Epsilon), and whose days on the lisp machines has left him entirely too comfortable with nested parentheses).
Oh yeah!!! Well was that in Octal or Hex? The first computer I did any serious programming on used a 48-bit word, so there! No wonder I'm so confused these days :roflmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by Bruno
The thing about vi is it ships standard on every Unix distro. I think every sysadmin-type person should have a basic ability to use the vi editor. Do I want to write a book with it? No.
You might look at some of the crossover editors, such as vile (vi like Emacs). It has some of the neat color-coding capabilities of Emacs.
So does ed.Quote:
Originally Posted by sensei_kyle
I have a basic ability to use vi, I just don't enjoy it.
ok, bored now...
48-bit word? :thinking:
I started on a 16-bit paper tape system in 1977. Vi was a great improvement.
Whenever I do any heavy repetitive mods in Word, excel, etc, I really miss the repeat command function of vi.
WTF are you guys talking about?! :roflmao I'm like the monkey at the monolith when it comes to understanding my computer. There's much to be said for civility in threads, and there's much to be said for not making us computer tards feel like mongoloids, either. :roflmao
Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
Don't do the thread. Just do what's right. Give users the ability to ignore moderators in non critical forums.
while I agree that moderators have the right to voice their opinion, I also agree that if you're going to exercise that right you should also allow other users the right to block your opinions by putting you on ignore. I've been on a few BBS where the block feature worked on all forums except announcements, etc. and private messages from moderators, etc. The Administrators of those bbs generally ended the membership of any moderator who harrassed a member through PM when said moderator realized s/he was on "ignore". It's a good setup.
If you're going to refuse the right to ignore your opinions then you shouldn't be entitled to voice them. If you're entitled to voice them I should be entitled to ignore them. You can argue all you want but "moderator" doesn't mean "power" It means "responsibility". I understand the job is for gratis but gratis doesn't mean the privilege of forcing yourself or your opinions on someone else. It means you do it without expecting or asking anything in return.
P.S. Disagree all you like. Argue all you want. But some moderators confuse their responsibilities with authority and power. Moderator should "serve" the community, not force authoritarian brutality upon it ;). voice your opinion all you want. just give me the courtesy of turning you off in the forums where you can voice them.
pps this doesn't mean I don't like you I'm simply stating the facts. Personally I try to keep ignore for extreme cases. You haven't reached that level for me . . . . yet :D
Hear, hear, Gary!! Well said!!Quote:
Originally Posted by garythepenman
Last I saw them was over in 'restoration'.....
:thinking:
Did I miss something?
C utz
Oh yea!Quote:
Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
I recall reading that reply, repeated a number of times by Bill, but I could not figure out what it was in referance to.
You know, I suppose that was the last time I heard from him.
So he and Joe left, huh?
Where was that thread?
I too usually miss most topics (hones, strops, off Topic, and almost anything political or religious) here unless it's about razors.
Huh.
I'm not quite sure what to say, other than I wish they did not leave....
C utz
Glen,
1) The reason this ability was turned off was so moderators could perform their duties like warn people and issue announcements.
2) As the site is being re-done, this issue will be addressed if it hasn't already (sometimes I fall behind on my admin corner reading lol)
3) It wasn't something Ilija the Terrible inflicted on poor lil' Bill. This was the way the site was set up way before I asked if I could contribute.
4) He did not have to read our posts.
The bottom line is that Bill and Joe chose to leave our community. We asked them to reconsider and they decided to stick with their original decisions. As Lynn said, this is still a great community and just because 2 guys left doesn't mean that there isn't a bunch of great guys left to keep contributing and new people coming in all the time.
Those guys were the kids who, after having not getting their way on the playground, would steal the ball and announce, "Fine! I'm going home!" (Yeah, I'm big on the schoolyard analogies these days.)
I think everybody's got to relax a bit.
*Exaggerated stretch*