The long awaited and overdue post is finally here, for better or worse, it has to be said!
Over the years, I've watched a lot going on this site as well as behind the scenes.
It makes me wonder sometimes why I and others even bother to keep these sites up for others for free!
In one breath, your applauded for doing a good job and in the next your bitch slapped for trying to help the people that keep it free for everyone else. If you search the vault, and I have, you will find no less than 200 references to other parts suppliers that are not sponsors.
Long before I had anything to do with this site internally, I touted up the sponsors at every turn and post. Only because they are the ones that do way more than most ever see or think about to keep this hobby going.
I see post here and on other sites complaining that the forum is way to strict with it's rules.
Structure is the back bone of any forum or civilization and without it, it turns into chaos and confusion and then into oblivion.
I take attacks on the site very personal. I probably shouldn't, but in my eyes, the forum is and always will be the premiere website for Cub Cadets. Even with it's/my faults, no one will ever take that away.
If anyone reading this would like to step up and commit to a long term commitment in helping to run/police the forum, feel free to send me an email telling me why you would want to get hate mail everyday from people bitching that they don't like the format of the site, why the don't like the answers they get or the speed in which they get them, why I'm such an ass for declining a membership because they didn't bother to read simple instructions, why the forum is not set up like the Registry, Only Cub Cadets or any other GT related website. Why it's to much of a hassle to do search to get information they need, and why we won't tell them why their Cub acts funny on a cloudy day.
I could go on for another 3 pages on why I'm such a jerk as could several others on here, but I see no point and it would fall on deaf ears anyway.
We are NOT here to spoon feed anyone! We're here to give help, guidance and advice to the best of our ability, and if it's not to your liking, start a forum of your own and let us come play on your side of the street as it's called.
I take attacks to the forum personally. I took the forum on to keep it from being shut down when our founder Bob got to the point of saying all the crap just wasn't worth it.
Not until recently did I understand Bob and Bryan's frustration in trying to keep something going for the world to enjoy and learn from, without having to weed through trivial post about everything other than Cub Cadets.
I realize that after so many years, that it's tough to keep things fresh and the old guys (Including myself) get frustrated at the lack of initiative from the new guys and some of the old on finding the information that we have all over the place.
I've been in business for myself since I was 23 years old and had 100's of employees over the years, and I have to say that this has been the hardest job I ever had, bar none!
As far as post getting moderated/edited/poofed.
If I or others have issues with someone and the word gets around and we all know it does! LOL
There's TWO sides to every story and even if your so called friends tell you one thing, there's the other guys side to hear before judgment is reached.
I have that honor/duty to preform the moderating duties on a daily bases and if that job offends the person that made the post, I'm the one that made the decision to do it, for one reason only, and that reason is to keep the forum in line with the original guidelines/rules and to protect others from getting hung or taken advantage of.
This is NOT MY FORUM!
It's OUR FORUM and in order for things to run smooth, we have to get along. From time to time there's a hitch in the get-a-long, but all in all, I'm proud to be a small part of one of the GREATEST no little to no nonsense websites on the planet. Many may not agree with that statement and that's your right. But it's still a fact, LOL.
On a side note and since it's in the WTH happened to the Registry thread.
I sent an email to the powers that be and others for the Registry offering a helping hand by offering up the Cub Cadet group on Yahoo as a backup site and got no reply from 5 of the 6 I emailed and the one reply was "Mind your own F'n business".
Which is the same reply I got from Mark years ago after a 3 hour phone call where we talked about bridging the gap between forums and the next day my User ID and over 10,0000 post were permanently removed from the Registry.
The funny thing is, they all forget where they came from, as well and forget that 90% of the manuals and information was given to them by Kraig M. and a few others for FREE!
And it took a threat and then Marks attorney getting involved to even get Kraig's name mentioned on the manual section as a contributor, which the last I looked had been removed.
Even Byran has offered a helping hand from time to time to the Registry and also got snubbed for his trouble! And we all know how hard that was for Bryan to do in the first place!
The thing is, I hold no grudge or ill feelings for anyone on the Registry, I figure it's their website and they can do with it what they wish. And I for one wish them all the luck in the world.
But to say one thing in public or online and do something contrary behind the scenes is not the way to operate in this small world we live in, IMHO. But then again, I may be wrong. I've been wrong many times before.
I will have to say that is really saddens me to think that so many good people have to put up with a few bad apples in order to prove what they think is the ONLY right thing to be done to benefit their master plan, what ever that may be.
The comparison is no to berate or belittle, it's just a comparison, nothing more, nothing less.
In fact, you can click the link and put in Weekend Freedom Machines and find that the forum surpasses even them which floored me!
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/ihcubcadet.com+ihregistry.com/
Notice the month of July.
And the funny thing about what's transpired in the last day or two is, The guys that feel picked on are now posting on the Red Power Registry thread on how badly they have been treated.
I'll close this totally forgettable trivial post by saying something said by someone many years ago.
"It's just a damn garden tractor for god sake!"
