Enough is enough, please!
I believe I am entitled to a voice regarding this farrago.
Hopefully, my words comments will be read and not summarily deleted.
My reasons for retiring from this forum are, by and large, personal. Quite frankly, I believe the forum has been splintering into factions for some time. There are those who wish to share knowledge and learn. There are also those who are frustrated comedians and respond to virtually every post with labored and pointless jokes.
There is no reason for the forum to be a humorless place. However, it should not be a trivial one either. These are my opinions.
Regarding the furor over fake or f-a-k-e (oh, I see; now that I'm officially gone so is the coding), I would like to say that the context of the word, any word, should be the governing factor of its acceptability; not the word itself. Gus, spare me your First Ammendment civics babble.
Since there is a specific accusation to answer, permit me to address it.
When I learned I had unintentionally hurt "dragon's" feelings. I apologized both publicly and through a private message. This apology was accepted. I also wrote the following for dragon's benefit and placed it in the Pickelhaube Discussion Forum so that it could be read by the world:
http://www.pickelhaubes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1003
Please read all the comments following my post and decide for yourselves what my intentions were.
For the record, and I wish to make this absolutely clear, I never ridiculed dragon, or any member, new or otherwise. The object of my "mockery" has always been the fraud helmets on eBay.
One final word on this issue. What has become of ridingroanhorses? I seem to recall a nameless moderator who addressed this gentleman as
"rhinogroaninghoarse." Would anyone care to comment on this, and speculate as to why he left the forum?
Much has been written lately regarding my thoughts and actions. Some of it appears here and some, I understand, may only be accessed by a select few. These are opinions, not facts. I am weary of this pop psychology. If you want to know what I think, ask me or quote me, but don't put words in my mouth.
If anything positive is to be gained from this sorry episode, consider the following. Much has been written regarding possible litigious action by eBay sellers or by eBay itself. I'm sorry, but this is simply ridiculous. There is no legal precedent for such action at all.
If we keep silent about the frauds and shams that can be readily identitfied and exposed, who benefits? Because the eBay forum is invisible to visitors, who benefits? To my way of thinking, the only beneficiaries are the fraud and sham sellers. This is my opinion.
I'll spare you my feelings regarding libel. However, I have read comments about me that are false and detrimental to my reputation. I caution those responsible most earnestly to cease and desist.
In response to what I had hoped would be a private, dignified exit, I have received supportive messages and negative, threatening ones. Those responsible for the latter, please cease and desist.
I will not rejoin this forum. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I agree with Tony, there is a surfeit of moderators on this forum and a dearth of moderation. Perhaps you should consider putting your house in order rather than dwell on this story.
Chas.