Going to be a LONG Winter - PLEASE READ

[az1103]

In the short time I have used this site I must admit to never having felt in any way offended. Thanks for running it the way you do, and mostly, JUST THANKS FOR THE SITE!!!!

Sertainly hope I have not, nor will offend anyone.

[DragonRider]

Don well said as always................UDAMAN!!!!

[thumper1]

Don, well said, and I will probably cheese someone off with this but who cares. Many of us are over the hill emptynesters or whatever, but we all made a choice to become bikers again after raising our kids and following all the rules and there is an inherant rebellion connected with the biker mentality. We all have different views and beliefs and I am sick to death of political correctness. There is never any excuse to purposely try to hurt someone else but sometimes you just cowboy up and get over it. Let's face it we're all here cause we're not all there anyway so have fun and don't be stupid.

ride safe and be cool. Thumper1

[vicco27]

Cool Man!

[chrisboggsfmc]

I’ve been in the public service business for more than 25 years, and you hit the nail on the head. You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. I personally have enjoyed this site very much. Great bunch of people, fantastic source of information, great technical assistance with pictures! Freebird, keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing. You’re doing a great job!

[slipstreamer]

I have not checked in here in a long time but only because I am too busy with other things. So, I was blown away to see this post. My impression of this site has always been what Don has asked it to be in his post: Peaceful, friendly, helpful, non-confrontational etc. I had never noticed any of the behaviors that Don has referred to but, I guess some crap has crept in along the way. Sorry to hear that, I guess the human condition had to manifest itself here sooner or later. Having said that, I am not going to search the site to determine the extent of the problem for myself but, I will bet holes to doughnuts that, if I did, I could count the number of offending items on one hand! Well maybe two! Oh what the heck, maybe I would need to take my shoes off too. Even at that though, I would say that this site still has to be the greatest spot on earth to chill out and feel that one is among friends. I take your point though Don, and your reminder of what is good behavior and what is not is appropriate. At the same time, while it is no excuse, the times that we live in are stressful times and some people are always sub-consciously looking for places to vent. So, it is good to be reminded every now and then that venting always hurts a friendship while biting ones tongue only results in a sore tongue. The bottom line Don is, well said, and you may need to say it again periodically, the human condition being what it is. In the meantime, this place rocks and always will because you made it what you wanted it to be, and I remember why.

[RoadKill]

I have not checked in here in a long time but only because I am too busy with other things. So, I was blown away to see this post. My impression of this site has always been what Don has asked it to be in his post: Peaceful, friendly, helpful, non-confrontational etc. I had never noticed any of the behaviors that Don has referred to but, I guess some crap has crept in along the way. Sorry to hear that, I guess the human condition had to manifest itself here sooner or later. Having said that, I am not going to search the site to determine the extent of the problem for myself but, I will bet holes to doughnuts that, if I did, I could count the number of offending items on one hand! Well maybe two! Oh what the heck, maybe I would need to take my shoes off too. Even at that though, I would say that this site still has to be the greatest spot on earth to chill out and feel that one is among friends. I take your point though Don, and your reminder of what is good behavior and what is not is appropriate. At the same time, while it is no excuse, the times that we live in are stressful times and some people are always sub-consciously looking for places to vent. So, it is good to be reminded every now and then that venting always hurts a friendship while biting ones tongue only results in a sore tongue. The bottom line Don is, well said, and you may need to say it again periodically, the human condition being what it is. In the meantime, this place rocks and always will because you made it what you wanted it to be, and I remember why.

 

You may not find any at all as our moderators do a fabulous job nipping things in the bud.

[kenw]

Don,

I just quit my job, and although I have never met you folks in person, consider you my best friends. If you need any help policing the site or monorting its contents please call on me...... I would be lost without you folks!!!

Kenw:bighug:

[Hugbare]

Well said Don .. Sometimes ya gotta pound on that nail a little harder as we both know ..

Happy Holidays ole friend .. May the new year bring you joy and happeniness knowing

you have done well in your search for the true AdVenture..

[FJR Rider]

Well said Don .. Sometimes ya gotta pound on that nail a little harder as we both know ..

Happy Holidays ole friend .. May the new year bring you joy and happeniness knowing

you have done well in your search for the true AdVenture..

 

At least you don't have to drop and give him 20!

 

Curt

[Highwayman]

Don I was at the other place you spoke of and am proud you invited me to join this group, you are doing an outstanding job.

[cowpuc]

Don, well said, and I will probably cheese someone off with this but who cares. Many of us are over the hill emptynesters or whatever, but we all made a choice to become bikers again after raising our kids and following all the rules and there is an inherant rebellion connected with the biker mentality. We all have different views and beliefs and I am sick to death of political correctness. There is never any excuse to purposely try to hurt someone else but sometimes you just cowboy up and get over it. Let's face it we're all here cause we're not all there anyway so have fun and don't be stupid.

ride safe and be cool. Thumper1

 

Sometimes in life you run across a person who IS you and IS able to say what you want to say and just dont know how to say it..... THANK for this post,, it means alot to me!!

And Don, YOU are da man and these Moderaterators are an awesome bunch of fellow contributors who make this board a very special and safe place to hang..

In the spirit of THumper1's quote - MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!

'Puc

[Red1]

Don,

When I joined up here in the fall of '04, there were about 100 members and at that first VentureRider get-together, May '05 at Potato Creek - we all had a blast putting faces to screen names and chopping off Owl's hair. I left impressed with what a great group of truly genuine & friendly people had assembled here with your help. I have always found the members here to be helpful and some are even reasonably funny. Many enduring friendships were forged that weekend and at Vogel that first year.

 

For a variety of reasons, I haven't been around here in while, so I don't know the specifics about what caused you to write this post. But if I know you, you wouldn't have written this if there wasn't just cause. You have done a great job with this site and a great service for all of us that enjoy riding motorcycle and especially our Ventures.

 

The hypersensitivity & defensive posture of which you speak seem to be endemic in our society these days. Added to that is impersonal nature of e-mail and texts and posts. There is no voice inflection or facial expressions in written commentary. And because we don't really know the person making the post, the e-mail post is often taken out of contex or misconstrued. We need to keep that in mind BEFORE we jump on our keyboards.

 

Too often, we allow ourselves to be polarized by our differences and fail to see the bigger picture. We gather here because of what we have in common - a joy of riding a great bike, a need for a little information and a desire to associate with people that share our passion. Perhaps if we kept the focus on that and had a little more tolerance for those that don't think exactly like we do, or express themselves precisely right - posts like this would no longer be necessary.

 

It's great to check in and see many of the names that were there in the beginning are still here now. When I had to change my shock last summer, one of the members I don't know responded to my post and offered to call me and explain to me exactly how he had changed his. With his help, I got it changed with no problem. It's still a great group, Don. There are people here from all walks of life and backgrounds, different religious beliefs, political persuasions, education and status. But the thread that stitches us together is the Venture and this site that you built. That's an awesone thing that you've done, my friend. You're definitely worth whatever we're paying you.

 

BTW - It's comforting to know that in my absence, some one else stepped up and was stirring up trouble. My dad told me when I was just a little red-headed troublemaker- "Don't dish it out if you can't take it, boy". Seems like good advice even today.

 

Wow, that got longer than I expected.

 

Oh yeah, my dad also said - "Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how STUPID it is". He said some other stuff, too - but that's probably enough for now.

[slipstreamer]

Good post Red1, my sentiments exactly. I hope that small minority who have misunderstood others' intents or who have used this forum to exorcise their frustrations will now have second thoughts and return to their normal civilized, happy, prozac-induced, laid-back personas so Don can put the zantac away.

[Guest Palimino]

No pun intended but I agree completely!