Public Apology

[Robert81]

I never intended to make you leave, Bluesman Mark.

I'm not know how much of a roll I played in you leaving but I know I was the instigator.

I came here to get away from the rivet counters on SA forum, as many have.

My builds have never been well liked here. I don't use aftermarket parts or do highly detailed builds. I will never win any contests. I don't expect that to change. I keep posting, as should you.

I may have seen insult when they where not intended to be, but that is not the point. There was harm done, and I apologize.

I'll let you take the next step.

[RodBurNeR]

This is one of the reasons I like you Robert. It takes a real "human being" to swallow their pride , especially in public.

I don't think it was all about you , in the reason he left.....I think he is actually still here , but is not posting.

As far as your builds....I see a lot of potential in you. I think your models are great, because you are having fun with them! Don't shoot your bottles before drinking the soda....Keep building and don't tell yourself things that only hold you back.

[chris coller]

Okay I don't understand why some people are so sensitive about everthing. I come on here and post about things I like ,that interest me and catch my eye. Trying to cover all posts here. I don't know Bluesman personally just what he posts. Why so sensitive? I have read some of your posts. You arent always the most positive about things.

I think it is great when people voice their opinions. It's your right to speak your mind. Granted things on a public message board should be within good taste. But all the politcally correct "oh dont say that cause you hurt my feelings" type stuff is just crazy. I know there are many differnt trains of thought on this. For example you can say the same thing three different ways and it will have three different meanings.

I of all people know the truth hurts sometimes, but take that and turn it into a possitive. Do you think people who are successful never heard negatives in there life? I dont know why you guys had a disagreement but this a great place to be and I am just voicing my opinion. So I hope you guys can work things out and keep contributing to the board. Have fun and keep building! And most importantly build for yourself.

It's OK WE ALL NEED HUGS FROM TIME TO TIME!

[Eshaver]

Okay I don't understand why some people are so sensitive about everthing. I come on here and post about things I like ,that interest me and catch my eye. Trying to cover all posts here. I don't know Bluesman personally just what he posts. Why so sensitive? I have read some of your posts. You arent always the most positive about things.

I think it is great when people voice their opinions. It's your right to speak your mind. Granted things on a public message board should be within good taste. But all the politcally correct "oh dont say that cause you hurt my feelings" type stuff is just crazy. I know there are many differnt trains of thought on this. For example you can say the same thing three different ways and it will have three different meanings.

I of all people know the truth hurts sometimes, but take that and turn it into a possitive. Do you think people who are successful never heard negatives in there life? I dont know why you guys had a disagreement but this a great place to be and I am just voicing my opinion. So I hope you guys can work things out and keep contributing to the board. Have fun and keep building! And most importantly build for yourself.

It's OK WE ALL NEED HUGS FROM TIME TO TIME!

Chris , well stated sir ! I don't care for anything S A has done in years . I sent them a manuscript only to find where their previous editor took the plans on building a Roll-Back wrecker and simply handed them to one of their Resin caster buddies . From that point onward I never had a thing to do with S A . I remain steadfast in my convictions , I hope they rot !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ed Shaver

[sdrodder]

Ok, as I had a couple of PM's listed in my email I replied to, I'll say a few things here. Nothing bad, & I'm not mad at anyone.

Robert, as you should already know, (or will, once you read my PM to you), I appreciate & accept your apology, & I apologize for any perceived slight I may have inadvertently made.

Bob is correct in that it wasn't all about you, in any way, it was just kind of the catalyst for me.

I may rub some people the wrong way with these comments. I don't mean to, they aren't aimed at anyone in specific, but I want things to be aired out, so they're understood.

I've been a member here for two years now. In everything I've posted on different aspects of modeling, I have always been very sure to say that though I may not be into a certain style or genre of modeling, I have always championed whatever type of building anyone was into. Building models is what brings us together here, not what building styles or genres we enjoy.

Lately though, there have been more & more "knee jerk" reactions to innocent comments made here, (& not just by me). People seemed to go out of their way to take offense at nothing, & were quick to be hurt by things that were not meant, (& couldn't be interpreted, no matter the differences between written & spoken expression), as hurtful. It was like, "Well, if you don't like to build donks, 48 hour builds, rat rods, billet rods, replica stocks, exotics, customs, Nascar, etc., etc., etc., you don't like me & are insulting me, thus I'll get offended." ad infinium. Merely expressing one's opinion that differed from someones else's, even if it didn't address that person directly, or say anything bad about their work, was cause for people to get upset for nothing.

I've seen this type of attitude in nearly every forum, board or online group I've been a part of, (on a myriad of subjects, not just car modeling), save one, for eight years now, & when it gets to become an overwhelming part of said forum, board et al, I move on, but usually not in such a public fashion. The one I mentioned that doesn't have this problem is the only one I've been a member of consistently for these eight years. In that group, we disagree, occasionally argue, but don't take every difference as a personal affront. There's a level of maturity in perception there that seems to keep such things from happening. People there tend to read what is actually posted & contemplate it before firing off a reply.

I guess one reason this was such a public display of leaving, is this forum had been my car modeling "home", & many things, (not just this), over the past few months had contributed to it feeling less & less like home. I didn't like that feeling, but was powerless to change it. This wasn't just a spur of the moment deal. I had been thinking long & hard for several months now about no longer posting here, & as I said, this was just kind of the catalyst for everything.

There are other issues in this forum I'm not going to go into detail on which lead to this, (none of which involves Gregg or how he runs things, I want to make that quite clear. I still support him, his work here & the magazine 100%). Suffice to say, I freely admit they are my issues, & not any one other person's affecting me, & for me it's best I move on to & explore other avenues involving model cars & the online community. It had just gotten to be time for a change, for myself, if nothing else.

Again, I am not mad at anyone, nor am I leaving in a huff, (time to reflect on everything has ensured that), nor do I dislike anyone here. It's just time for me to move on.

I still consider all of you my friends, wish nothing but the best for you & appreciate the times we shared here. Our paths will certainly cross again.

Take care everyone!

Bluesman think i need to say i am sorry too. Think i overeacted little and said somethings i didnt mean too. I have nothing against you and wish you wouldnt leave this forum. You have lots of knowlage that would be sad to lose. I hope you have no hard feeling with my and i am sorry bout what i had said. I think that i just realy misunderstood what you wrote and guess combined with what i have seen in the past on the 96 hour builds it kinda boiled over. Sorry again

[RodBurNeR]

[DR Dubois]

Come on guys! ...Can't we just get along?! =)

I love seeing any kind of build whether good, bad, sloppy or pristine. It's all in fun!!!!

And if someone wants to make a comment just keep this in mind, (as my grandmother always said) "If you don't have anything good to say, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL".

[FloridaBoy]

Mark,

Until I read this thread, I knew nothing about what happened, and right now I don't know, except that you are vacating this forum for awhile. I personally hate to see you go, as I look forward to seeing what you write, as I consider you a brilliant colleage and fellow modeler, as well as a person who has gone through the ditches and trenches in this hobby back from the old days. You have given me a lot of history of this hobby I love so much and filled a lot of gaps and opened my eyes a lot. Plus, this forum has widened my horizon of building, and very very soon I will be showing off some completed work.

I participate in many forums and like you, I devote some thought, emotion, effort and length to make sure my point is completely articulated, and often people react in ways that I feel is totally unproductive. Even on this forum, I stated my point of view straight off and was called an idiot and a nothing old man with nothing to do.

Years ago I participated in family counseling of some relatives who just couldn't get along with anyone, and the therapist said the problem was that people never stuck to arguing the issue, they took the issue and personalized it by attacking the spirit of the character and nature of the person, and ignored the issue. How dare someone disagree I'll show them!!! That observation changed my life - I learned to respect the opinion of others, and their right to have it, even though I think their opinion is pure poppycock. It is not acceptable human behavior to attack a person or their character just because they have a differing opinion.

Mark, if you want to take your hiatus from this forum, that is your perogative, but you will be missed. In my opinion, your differing opinions strengthen me - first your stuff is lengthy, well articulated, backed up and the point it strong - you are a definite asset to this forum, second, as such, you will generate some emotional response, and even from me, and I revel in it as your stuff is always provocative and informative, and if I disagree with you somewhere, I revel in my own personal strength to not personalize it, but to keep in on a disagreement of opinions and issues.

Lesson to be learned here, guys, and I can do this because I have stuck with this hobby through good times and bad, and been through it all. Calling names, etc kills the hobby, ruins contests, and if you have a personal issue, and I do now with some people in my hobby, address it directly without calling a name or saying something you will regret later.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[scummy]

G,day , i'm sorry awbcrazy , i can't for the life of me workout how the drowned cat works into this subject are you saying we should all learn how to save cats ? Maybe i'm a dumb ozzie I remember a web forum in australia here that was real popular about a certain post war car roaming the deserts of australia, and then all of a sudden some people came and hid behind false names and started saying things, upsetting people, so others did the same back and now it seems its lost its attraction as i don't see many familiar names anymore . So lets ALL not let this place fall apart , we got a great place here lets keep it that way . Cheer's

[James Flowers]

I am sad to see another member leave this board. I hope Bluesman Mark will be back.

[E St. Kruiser50]

Ok, as I had a couple of PM's listed in my email I replied to, I'll say a few things here. Nothing bad, & I'm not mad at anyone.

Robert, as you should already know, (or will, once you read my PM to you), I appreciate & accept your apology, & I apologize for any perceived slight I may have inadvertently made.

Bob is correct in that it wasn't all about you, in any way, it was just kind of the catalyst for me.

I may rub some people the wrong way with these comments. I don't mean to, they aren't aimed at anyone in specific, but I want things to be aired out, so they're understood.

I've been a member here for two years now. In everything I've posted on different aspects of modeling, I have always been very sure to say that though I may not be into a certain style or genre of modeling, I have always championed whatever type of building anyone was into. Building models is what brings us together here, not what building styles or genres we enjoy.

Lately though, there have been more & more "knee jerk" reactions to innocent comments made here, (& not just by me). People seemed to go out of their way to take offense at nothing, & were quick to be hurt by things that were not meant, (& couldn't be interpreted, no matter the differences between written & spoken expression), as hurtful. It was like, "Well, if you don't like to build donks, 48 hour builds, rat rods, billet rods, replica stocks, exotics, customs, Nascar, etc., etc., etc., you don't like me & are insulting me, thus I'll get offended." ad infinium. Merely expressing one's opinion that differed from someones else's, even if it didn't address that person directly, or say anything bad about their work, was cause for people to get upset for nothing.

I've seen this type of attitude in nearly every forum, board or online group I've been a part of, (on a myriad of subjects, not just car modeling), save one, for eight years now, & when it gets to become an overwhelming part of said forum, board et al, I move on, but usually not in such a public fashion. The one I mentioned that doesn't have this problem is the only one I've been a member of consistently for these eight years. In that group, we disagree, occasionally argue, but don't take every difference as a personal affront. There's a level of maturity in perception there that seems to keep such things from happening. People there tend to read what is actually posted & contemplate it before firing off a reply.

I guess one reason this was such a public display of leaving, is this forum had been my car modeling "home", & many things, (not just this), over the past few months had contributed to it feeling less & less like home. I didn't like that feeling, but was powerless to change it. This wasn't just a spur of the moment deal. I had been thinking long & hard for several months now about no longer posting here, & as I said, this was just kind of the catalyst for everything.

There are other issues in this forum I'm not going to go into detail on which lead to this, (none of which involves Gregg or how he runs things, I want to make that quite clear. I still support him, his work here & the magazine 100%). Suffice to say, I freely admit they are my issues, & not any one other person's affecting me, & for me it's best I move on to & explore other avenues involving model cars & the online community. It had just gotten to be time for a change, for myself, if nothing else.

Again, I am not mad at anyone, nor am I leaving in a huff, (time to reflect on everything has ensured that), nor do I dislike anyone here. It's just time for me to move on.

I still consider all of you my friends, wish nothing but the best for you & appreciate the times we shared here. Our paths will certainly cross again.

Take care everyone!

Hey Mark - I just ran across this. Didn't know there were problems. Sorry to hear it, and even sorrier that your leaving .

You and I seem to be very similar in nature.

We've both posted some pretty thought provoking threads, and have a very sensitive side to our personality.

Taking time out can be good for the soul. I just came back to one of the clubs I belong too, that I took a one year hiatus from.

It was good for my attitude. Not saying your's has a problem.

There are several people in my building world that don't like my stuff or style and some here on this forum too.

Bob Paeth taught me to let their problems be theirs, and let all the "######" roll of my back. It's hard to learn, but it works.

I learned that the worst thing I could do was to take things personal. I've learned to laugh a lot more, enjoy life more too by enjoying more of the simple thing of life, like a great banana split or a walk in the park holdin hands with your best gal.

Hope you won't be gone too long, as you'll be missed my friend.

All the best my friend God Bless You - dave

[RodBurNeR]

G,day , i'm sorry awbcrazy , i can't for the life of me workout how the drowned cat works into this subject are you saying we should all learn how to save cats ? Maybe i'm a dumb ozzie I remember a web forum in australia here that was real popular about a certain post war car roaming the deserts of australia, and then all of a sudden some people came and hid behind false names and started saying things, upsetting people, so others did the same back and now it seems its lost its attraction as i don't see many familiar names anymore . So lets ALL not let this place fall apart , we got a great place here lets keep it that way . Cheer's

sometimes you just have to have a laugh, that picture kept me giggling for hours!

[scummy]

G,day , mate that photo cracked me soon as i saw it ! You see there's an old saying in australia , "there's not enough room in here to swing a cat " so when i read the caption i could imagine the guy madly swingin the cat around which just sent me over the edge . I'm afraid i'm scared for life as i'm laughing now , thanks for the laugh man . Cheers .