|
Post by Diane Merkel on Nov 30, 2016 14:40:17 GMT -6
All,
When I created this board for off-topic threads, I had no idea it would be hijacked for seemingly endless posts about Pearl Harbor. I've let it go -- probably for far too long -- in hopes that the posts will stop next week.
I think it sad that I have to pin this post and the one about the passing of Elisabeth Kimber to the top of this board so they won't be torpedoed by Pearl Harbor notes.
I was going to create a poll to ask everyone how they felt about the Pearl Harbor thread, but I've changed my mind. ProBoards is a free service, folks. If you want to write endlessly about a non-Little Bighorn topic, please start your own message boards rather than destroy mine. I've been working on mine for a dozen years, and I do resent the intrusion. Needless to say, the policy for this board will change on December 8.
Diane
|
|
|
Post by jodak on Nov 30, 2016 15:47:25 GMT -6
Well, the I guess "your board" will die, as Pearl Harbor (and me) are the only things keeping it alive. I'll go away and leave it to the ilk of Montrose and Crzhrs to pop in occasionally with their snide comments about anything that is being discussed at the time, or generally insulting comments about southerners. A couple of sad old men on a sad old board.
|
|
|
Post by tubman13 on Nov 30, 2016 17:58:38 GMT -6
Jodak,
If Diane can't tolerate this thread for 7-10 more days shame on her. I have only met Diane once, she did not seem like a my way or the highway dictator. While I admit my meeting was brief, but, she was a cordial individual. She is obviously responding to a few crybabies, who have nothing to impart on other areas of the board.
Diane also has a fine Native American Board, I have rarely have posted their, but I doubt if she would cut someone off at the knees if someone asked about the current pipeline issues and some discussed it from their point of view.
Finish your thread!
|
|
|
Post by Diane Merkel on Nov 30, 2016 21:44:08 GMT -6
jodak, your posts have stopped the conversations here. Every time I've looked recently, the new posts are all Pearl Harbor. I have found that, when one person dominates the boards, new discussions stop and people leave in droves. At the risk of bruising your ego, I must point out that you are not the star here. The boards survived before you, and they'll survive after you.
I'm a Southerner and welcome montrose and crzhrs any time. They have always been gentlemen to me.
tubman, I did not say I was cutting the thread (jodak said he was) and I am not responding to complaints from anyone. Comparing a pipeline discussion on the Indians board to a Pearl Harbor discussion here is not a good analogy, but I appreciate your trying to make peace.
Diane
|
|
|
Post by AZ Ranger on Dec 1, 2016 7:18:50 GMT -6
I don't see the cause and effect of the Pearl Harbor posts. No one has to open them and it is clear what they will find if they do.
I think we lost the daily debaters. Some were banned and some passed away. There is nothing like someone posting outrageously false statements to get a response. I see those that are remaining still posting just on different boards.
There is a wealth of material posted here and it would take a long time reading for someone new to see how this board evolved.
The loss of my friend DC was a huge blow to daily discourse. He made things happen.
Regards
AZ Ranger
|
|
|
Post by Diane Merkel on Dec 1, 2016 13:11:08 GMT -6
AZ, I agree about DC but, as Fred pointed out in the Elisabeth Kimber thread, he drove off some good posters. All in all, I think the good outweighed the bad, and I miss him a lot. You are correct about people not having to open the Pearl Harbor posts, but that doesn't solve the problem. I've heard from many people over the years that they check the recent posts in the Forum Info section when they come to the boards to see what's going on. That's why I believe the Pearl Harbor posts have curtailed discussions. The past few times I've come here, all 15 recent posts were Pearl Harbor posts. It was enough to keep me from looking further, and I'm sure it had the same effect on others. I've built the boards up before and I'll do it again. I hope you will stay with it as you are one of the sane ones. Diane
|
|
|
Post by fred on Dec 1, 2016 14:46:07 GMT -6
I believe only "crzhrs" has been on these boards longer than I have... though I dropped off, stupidly, but came back.
I also joined what used to be the LBHA's boards, but which is now known to be Bill Rini's. For a short period of time, I was on Beth's boards as well, but couldn't stomach Treese's snide, back-biting commentary after each post I put up, so I decided to drop off Beth's boards-- nothing against Beth; she is a lovely young woman-- and because of some two-bit troll trashing my work on Amazon, I decided I had had enough of Bill's boards as well. My fighting days are now confined to things that interest me and I pick and choose my battles.
That means this board, the venerable Old Lady of Little Big Horn Message Boards, remains my one true love and I shall remain here until one fine morning I reach up and fell only dirt. I also putter around with my own "personal" site on Facebook, dedicated solely to my in-print work.
Would I become more active here?
In a heartbeat... with enough interested, non-confrontational, intelligent people, both those who provide information and those with enquiring minds.
Diane Merkel runs and has always run, the best boards in town. She allows virtually anything you want to say and she never interferes... though she used to comment a lot more than nowadays; but she never changes posts; never deletes; never edits... she allows you to be you.
Do I miss Elisabeth? Damn right I do. And I have for years. But I also miss my old friend Dark Cloud, too. If you dig deep enough here, you will find Elisabeth and you too will see her brilliance. She is gone, however, and we are not. The giant only sleeps; maybe someone will wake him up.
Best wishes, Fred.
|
|
alanw
Junior Member
Posts: 74
|
Post by alanw on Dec 2, 2016 3:58:51 GMT -6
I believe only "crzhrs" has been on these boards longer than I have... though I dropped off, stupidly, but came back. Fred, your post got me to check when I joined the boards - October 2006. How time flies! Only 73 posts in all that time too. Destined to remain a 'Junior Member' on here.
|
|
|
Post by fred on Dec 2, 2016 6:22:20 GMT -6
Fred, your post got me to check when I joined the boards - October 2006. How time flies! Only 73 posts in all that time too. Destined to remain a 'Junior Member' on here. Alan, Yes, but the boards need more people like you... and in reality, people like you need to contribute more. These boards have gone through stunning changes over the years. When I first joined-- again, September... maybe even August 2005-- this op was in its fledgling days... months. It was something new and exciting for me because I was now in an element with others having the same burgeoning passion. I had done some reading, note-taking, but had not really gotten as deeply into things as later. Suddenly, some clown named "George" popped up and blasted my butt all over the place. Well, generally speaking, I give a hell of a lot better than I take and "George" got several very full salvos in return. Diane got involved-- remember, Diane?-- and soon "George" departed for others waters. I had no idea there were other, similar venues out there-- the Delphi boards seem to be one; another called "Against All Odds"... and who knows? there may have been others-- but things seemed fungible and people rather "geomorphic," fitting in all over the place. Newcomers popped up here all the time, but the leading lights were people like Elisabeth, "George Armstrong Custer," "Layton MacLean," "crzhrs" (who led everyone in his number of posts), and a number of others. Tempers flared, things would get nasty, feelings hurt, but generally it was a rather good time and a lot of good discussions ensued. A lot of it was really surprising to me: I learned ol' "Layton MacLean" was really an aspiring writer named Tricia: a woman!!!, and there was a whole underbelly involving the boards and people actually heading to the battlefield and meeting there periodically... a real interesting sub-culture. Battles here raged on, but no one thought much of it, despite hurt feelings... and then one day Dark Cloud showed up and made this his permanent home. He changed things dramatically. He attacked, but he did so with an unassailable style that at times even had me on the ropes. Things began to change: Perry Baker suddenly died; d. h. harris died; Tricia died (she was very young: less than 50, I believe); Elisabeth had enough of DC (he went after her passionate interest isn Myles Keogh... and there were reasons for it, but he wasn't nice about it); I got nasty with people I shouldn't have... and dropped off. The boards changed, as well. Really good posters were leaving: the Dark Cloud Effect, unfortunately. Worse, however, was a tiff between the "parent": the LBHA as an organization, and Daine and her husband. Diane's husband is one of the real good guys you would ever have the pleasure of meeting and he was one of the-- I would say, top-5 most respected people in this whole :LBH' business, but there were severe disagreements that affected the Merkels personally, and so there was a split. To this day, senior people in the LBHA regret Chuck Merkel's leaving... as do I, quite frankly. Unfortunately, I have something of a character flaw and I parted ways with people I once really cared for. In my defense, however, I can take criticism and I do try to always see both sides and to see if, in fact, part of the problem is me. When I saw the sensitive side of people like Dark Cloud-- not easy to have picked up, I'll tell you!!!!-- I realized what a fool I had been, and I came back here with humble apologies. Both DC and Diane were/and are better people than I, and they graciously accepted those apologies. I consider Diane Merkel and very good and a very close personal friend and I will defend her any way I can. A message board clone then popped up, a clone everyone came to believe was "owned" by the LBHA (as an organization), but subsequently turned out not to be. Its administrator and Diane are not friends-- or friendly-- which is unfortunate, but reality. I, personally, do not know what it is that changes things here... or elsewhere. I think the fighting has a lot to do with it and people simply get tired of the shrill attacks, though on this board, with the forced departure of that blowhard "George"-clone, "quincannon," things have quieted down. They remain vituperative on the other boards however, although I have made a point of not looking over there since I departed. (Once the attacks leave the boards and become personal in other venues, I draw the line, and that is what happened with me over there.) Anyway, we still have "alanw," "crzhrs" from time to time, the old faithful AZ Ranger; Carl, from time to time... and the occasional intercession/interdiction of that British clown, "herosrest"... is that enough to re-build? The nastiness has departed; has the interest? Real good guys like Tom Tubman, Dan Sheehan, are here too... or do we all seem to "know" too much? The Delphi boards struggle on; "AAO" is dead in the water; DC, to my great chagrin, has died, misunderstood and not appreciated for what he really was. And now, Elisabeth, too, has died. I wish some how, some way, there was a way to bring back my original "join-date," rather than showing me as something of a newcomer, but that is minor. What is important is that there remains a small core here, a core that can rebuild this into those halcyon days so many of us enjoyed... the days when we learned and taught so much about the Little Big Horn. This core needs to make this site a welcoming place to teach others who want to learn, who want to participate. I believe "jodak" was very unfair in his characterization of Will Bender ("montrose"). These boards have never had a kinder person than "montrose"; he has tried, numerous times, to be a peace-maker, to halt the insults and the name-calling. People like Will can make this a great place to visit... all the time. Best wishes, Fred.
|
|
|
Post by tubman13 on Dec 2, 2016 9:33:21 GMT -6
Fred,
Two things:
1. I find Will/montrose to be stand up guy, a teacher, and a leader. He did have issues regarding jodak's thread and addressed in a somewhat rude way, at least that is how jodak interpreted it.
2. I thought you left the other location,in part because of so much focus on Ford D and the belief that Ford B was downplayed militarily.
Regards, Tom
PS the new Maclean is well done.
|
|
|
Post by fred on Dec 2, 2016 14:46:37 GMT -6
1. I find Will/montrose to be stand up guy, a teacher, and a leader. He did have issues regarding jodak's thread and addressed in a somewhat rude way, at least that is how jodak interpreted it. Tom, I agree with you about "montrose," though I did not see his post directed at "jodak." Again, however, as Diane wrote, check the name of these boards. I do not like using the word "hijack," but there are places to put threads of that nature. I just do not know that they are appropriate for this site, regardless of intent. And in my opinion, enough is enough. No. If you take a close look at the few posts I put up, every single one of them was followed by a condescending and contrary-- though subtle-- sniping. Nothing was directed at me, per se, but the intent was absolutely clear. I just do not need it. One of the more revered characters on this board used to do the same thing. He has subsequently died, however. It is an extremely annoying habit because you get the usual fake innocence act when you confront that sort of person: the lying denial always takes place; they have neither the character nor the capital to confront you directly. And of course one cannot speak ill of the dead so I will let that one ride. As for this north-south business, it always seems to be taken out of context or distorted or misunderstood. If you are talking about a battle flow where the troops are checked at the northern-most point, i.e., Ford D, and the battle flows south from that point, culminating in Keogh's destruction, I reject that scenario categorically. It did not happen that way at all and eye-witness/participant accounts tell us the same thing. Only by moving those accounts out of chronological or topographical context can you make them work. If on the other hand you treat north-south as I did in Strategy, i.e., Custer moves back from Ford D (the northern-most point), back onto Cemetery Ridge, then Last Stand Hill (the southern-most point), well then, I buy that scenario, just as I wrote. The Keogh-Calhoun-Harrington fight was completely separate. Anything else is sheer speculation and wishful thinking and unsupported by any rational reading of Indian accounts. Clear? Best wishes, Fred.
|
|
|
Post by AZ Ranger on Dec 3, 2016 8:54:14 GMT -6
AZ, I agree about DC but, as Fred pointed out in the Elisabeth Kimber thread, he drove off some good posters. All in all, I think the good outweighed the bad, and I miss him a lot. You are correct about people not having to open the Pearl Harbor posts, but that doesn't solve the problem. I've heard from many people over the years that they check the recent posts in the Forum Info section when they come to the boards to see what's going on. That's why I believe the Pearl Harbor posts have curtailed discussions. The past few times I've come here, all 15 recent posts were Pearl Harbor posts. It was enough to keep me from looking further, and I'm sure it had the same effect on others. I've built the boards up before and I'll do it again. I hope you will stay with it as you are one of the sane ones. Diane Marines don't run. I tell the young officers that I work with that I am their best back up. I don't run and I know that I will shoot. I think this board is harder to find now. I will always stick around. It was great to meet you in Montana at my favorite restaurant near the battlefield. Regards Steve
|
|
|
Post by AZ Ranger on Dec 3, 2016 9:01:08 GMT -6
I moved to this board with DC. We were both on the Against All Odds board for years and moved here around the same time. Wild was with us on the AAO board.
Regards
Steve
|
|
|
Post by tubman13 on Dec 4, 2016 19:02:59 GMT -6
jodak, your posts have stopped the conversations here. Every time I've looked recently, the new posts are all Pearl Harbor. I have found that, when one person dominates the boards, new discussions stop and people leave in droves. At the risk of bruising your ego, I must point out that you are not the star here. The boards survived before you, and they'll survive after you. I'm a Southerner and welcome montrose and crzhrs any time. They have always been gentlemen to me. tubman, I did not say I was cutting the thread (jodak said he was) and I am not responding to complaints from anyone. Comparing a pipeline discussion on the Indians board to a Pearl Harbor discussion here is not a good analogy, but I appreciate your trying to make peace.
Diane I knew 4 days ago, congrats NA's
|
|
|
Post by Yan Taylor on Dec 5, 2016 9:55:18 GMT -6
Fred, who is the other person who has died, I only really know about DC, has someone else passed away recently?
|
|