ashauler...

[HersheyWalker]

Eh, I speak from my heart without the CS filter on and I receive backlash. Message boards serve the purpose of allowing many individuals to share their perspective with those who may not have grown up under the same conditions, demographic, livelyhood, hobbies, and interests. When I give my honest perspective here, I am attacked by the few remaining regular members. It is what it is I suppose. I would much rather have a diverse open dialogue on why the number of posts on this board have dropped so drastically over the past year. Or why no one throws out posts other than, "I smoked this cigar and it was great", or "Anyone know about cuban smokes?".

A true message board is one that is open to all points of view, and accepts them for what they are, with understanding. Understanding who said what, why they did, and what it means. 80% of all posts will fall under the category of misunderstood troll. These are typically the treasures of a message board. They are the ones that spark intense debate on the who whats and whys. Occasionally there are lol moments and things change, perspectives change, all are recognized, and the whole is better for it. 5% of posts are troll posts, where a posters intentions are to hurt and attack another member, maybe because someone is envious of their naive perspective or has a whole lot of hurt to give. Lastly we have the 15% of posts which are without purpose. Posts that simply shine another's shoes, attempts to increase another's self esteem, and build commrodery. Commrodery in virtual space? Is there such a thing? On typical message boards, these posts are usually ignored and waded through with a tinge of annoyance and spite. Comrodery is built by invoking a deep guttural laugh from another stranger miles away via a comment, self esteem is built by another's honest opinion laid down and tempered by the fact that a certain poster has built up the reputation of pure unadulterated honesty.

I feel this forum allows none of these things. Cigarsmokers, due to intense and aggressive member moderation is now only left with the latter type of posts. Am I a troll? Am I a user who is only looking to attack members of a community with the purpose of getting a rise out of another human being, getting them angry? No, I don't think that's my purpose. I am not intentionally trying to piss someone off. I post on message boards like I talk in real life. I speak my mind. If the listener isn't mature enough to hear what is being said, beyond the words, taking into account who is saying what and why, is it my fault? Everyone here seems to walk on egg shells, dancing around issues with an air of stressed politeness. It makes for boring conversation. Remember those two British squirrels on the WB cartoons? "After you. Oh no, after you. Oh no after you of course."How can anything meaningful be said if the cardinal rule is not to offend anyone? I strongly suggest you all rethink your philosophy running your e-life before the only people viewing these boards are a few mods and a bunch of bots.

Again, I am just speaking my mind. I only ask for respect in return. Maybe we can start a dialogue and you can make me understand your position on why you feel this is the only way to run a community. And why you feel this is a "special" place, with the connotation that it is special for a good reason. Why you all feel that toes being stepped on is deservant of a permanent ban. Or maybe this thread can end with a few sarcastic comments followed with a permanent burial. Whatevers, I only come back to see if there are new posts in the "Or thread" and the "Owned Game". I have read a couple of posts in the past that had the same tone as my own, one from Coventrycat(Sid, I believe... I didn't have the patience to gain a complete understanding of the situation, but in the end it seemed he was looking for understanding.), Cumchugger(a vile, yet misunderstood human being), a handful of other regular posters, and finally myself (a person with only the purest intentions). Those past attempts at true dialogue were dealt with via a split and a boot, perhaps this one will as well. Perhaps not.

[Shelby07]

...so, are you saying that your agenda (or desire, pick your term) is to improve this board by bringing back insults, name calling and confrontation?

I've seen your past postings and I personally feel you are here to stir things up, and not in a way that most members on this board desire any more. It has turned into a more polite board because of what the members here post, not because of any over moderation, and I think that most of the folks here really don't miss the "good old days." The last round of name calling and insults by some of the folks who "made this board what it *is today*" made it painfully clear how argumentative and disrespectful dialog can make a board someplace that might be fun or a few, but highly uncomfortable for most.

The board is not what it used to be. The old guard has either been asked to leave or has left on their own for the most part and the new folks coming here are more respectful of each other. People here are starting to realize that the folks on the other side of the keyboard are human beings with feelings and emotions, and they treat each other with the same respect that they would give (and expect) if they met someone at the local B&M. I have seen no "moderators" who have forced that direction, only new (and existing) members who have guided it that way.

There are still lots of other communities out there that can satisfy any desire you may have for confrontational conversation that borders on the vulger. You have been around long enough to know which ones they are. Guys like CNB, Chefchris, Drew_Goring and me, as well as others who jumped ship and came back seem to be satisfied with the new direction this board is taking, It will take some time to build again, but it is growing.

I, and others, will give you all the respect you give to us. If that's good for you, then welcome. If not, then perhaps this is no longer the board for you.

PS - I'd love to hear where you got the stats that you quoted. I don't think I've ever seen types of posts broken up into percentages like that.

[slcraiders]

You make a couple of logical points on forums, the right to an opinion, respect and so on... ..you are completely missing the point though.

First of all, there was no need to threadjack with your little angry rant. Hell, you could have started your own thread about how dead this place is, self imposed establish members and newbie crones.

Don't come in here shitting on the board in general. If you have issues with individuals, take care of it in PM or something. If this place is slower than usual, it is because it is coming out of a period of turmoil stemming from personal attacks etc. I do not understand why you are displaying the same behavior.

[Shagaroo]

I have read a couple of posts in the past that had the same tone as my own, one from Coventrycat(Sid, I believe... I didn't have the patience to gain a complete understanding of the situation, but in the end it seemed he was looking for understanding.), Cumchugger(a vile, yet misunderstood human being), a handful of other regular posters, and finally myself (a person with only the purest intentions). Those past attempts at true dialogue were dealt with via a split and a boot, perhaps this one will as well. Perhaps not.

I was only mildly queezy until I hit this little gem. I think I had an anurism when I read it.

So, you stuck around CSmokers because you liked the constant blood baths and now you've got your panties all up in a bunch because they don't happen anymore and so you are going to try and start one now? Gotcha! For the record, spanky, you won't be causing a board split. You aren't as special as you obviously think you are.

And Shelby nailed it. We aren't walking on eggshells. We are simply able to communicate without beating each other with sticks. We also haven't had a troublemaker stop in for a while either. Well... not until yesterday.

Feel free to mosey on over to Cigar Snobs. They like killing and eating each over there.

[drew_goring]

blah blah blah...look at me.

Well, Shelby, SLC, and Shaggy pretty much said what's worth saying.

[WOXOF]

Eh, I speak from my heart without the CS filter on and I receive backlash. Message boards serve the purpose of allowing many individuals to share their perspective with those who may not have grown up under the same conditions, demographic, livelyhood, hobbies, and interests. When I give my honest perspective here, I am attacked by the few remaining regular members. It is what it is I suppose. I would much rather have a diverse open dialogue on why the number of posts on this board have dropped so drastically over the past year. Or why no one throws out posts other than, "I smoked this cigar and it was great", or "Anyone know about cuban smokes?".

A true message board is one that is open to all points of view, and accepts them for what they are, with understanding. Understanding who said what, why they did, and what it means. 80% of all posts will fall under the category of misunderstood troll. These are typically the treasures of a message board. They are the ones that spark intense debate on the who whats and whys. Occasionally there are lol moments and things change, perspectives change, all are recognized, and the whole is better for it. 5% of posts are troll posts, where a posters intentions are to hurt and attack another member, maybe because someone is envious of their naive perspective or has a whole lot of hurt to give. Lastly we have the 15% of posts which are without purpose. Posts that simply shine another's shoes, attempts to increase another's self esteem, and build commrodery. Commrodery in virtual space? Is there such a thing? On typical message boards, these posts are usually ignored and waded through with a tinge of annoyance and spite. Comrodery is built by invoking a deep guttural laugh from another stranger miles away via a comment, self esteem is built by another's honest opinion laid down and tempered by the fact that a certain poster has built up the reputation of pure unadulterated honesty.

I feel this forum allows none of these things. Cigarsmokers, due to intense and aggressive member moderation is now only left with the latter type of posts. Am I a troll? Am I a user who is only looking to attack members of a community with the purpose of getting a rise out of another human being, getting them angry? No, I don't think that's my purpose. I am not intentionally trying to piss someone off. I post on message boards like I talk in real life. I speak my mind. If the listener isn't mature enough to hear what is being said, beyond the words, taking into account who is saying what and why, is it my fault? Everyone here seems to walk on egg shells, dancing around issues with an air of stressed politeness. It makes for boring conversation. Remember those two British squirrels on the WB cartoons? "After you. Oh no, after you. Oh no after you of course."How can anything meaningful be said if the cardinal rule is not to offend anyone? I strongly suggest you all rethink your philosophy running your e-life before the only people viewing these boards are a few mods and a bunch of bots.

Again, I am just speaking my mind. I only ask for respect in return. Maybe we can start a dialogue and you can make me understand your position on why you feel this is the only way to run a community. And why you feel this is a "special" place, with the connotation that it is special for a good reason. Why you all feel that toes being stepped on is deservant of a permanent ban. Or maybe this thread can end with a few sarcastic comments followed with a permanent burial. Whatevers, I only come back to see if there are new posts in the "Or thread" and the "Owned Game". I have read a couple of posts in the past that had the same tone as my own, one from Coventrycat(Sid, I believe... I didn't have the patience to gain a complete understanding of the situation, but in the end it seemed he was looking for understanding.), Cumchugger(a vile, yet misunderstood human being), a handful of other regular posters, and finally myself (a person with only the purest intentions). Those past attempts at true dialogue were dealt with via a split and a boot, perhaps this one will as well. Perhaps not.

Still a troll in my book and this post only reinforces that theory. If you spent half as much time trying to actually interact with members here as you did coming up with this bullshit response, than maybe you would be viewed as legit.

I personally like how "dead" or slow this board is. I don't have time, nor do I care to read through 300 posts a day of the "verbal handjobs" and post whoring you see on some sites just to get to the 10 or 20 informative posts.

I think probably what originally attracted you to this board in the first place was all of the flaming and controversy. Now that all of that is gone and a new more mature CS has emerged, you've become bored with it and view it as dead. That's fine, you're entitled to your opinion of the board and we're entitled to our opinion of you.

[Maduro Man]

Still a troll in my book and this post only reinforces that theory. If you spent half as much time trying to actually interact with members here as you did coming up with this bullshit response, than maybe you would be viewed as legit.

I personally like how "dead" or slow this board is. I don't have time, nor do I care to read through 300 posts a day of the "verbal handjobs" and post whoring you see on some sites just to get to the 10 or 20 informative posts.

I think probably what originally attracted you to this board in the first place was all of the flaming and controversy. Now that all of that is gone and a new more mature CS has emerged, you've become bored with it and view it as dead. That's fine, you're entitled to your opinion of the board and we're entitled to our opinion of you.

Well put... As a New B if I may say so... In the short time I have been here I have learned so much that has helped me. "Other " sights are just into seeing how many New Bs they can eat. I stepped on my dick when I came in here and was checked on it. The important thing was, I was also welcomed back.

We all have cigar's as our love and hobbie... We should look at each other as a family that is into the same thing and not make the topic of the day a slamfest. Check your Ego at the door and share what you have.

(Now stepping down from my soap box)

[HersheyWalker]

Case in point.

Three new pointless threads over the past three days...

This board is officially dead. It's not because of a recent split that caused turbulence which is working itself out, its because of the board. Its because of the people who make up the board. I'm not including you Shelby, I actually think you are, or were, one of the main contributors to this place. I can say a lot, but it'll probably fall on deaf ears. So I'll just say this, "look around". Is this what you want this board to be? A couple of people posting new stuff about meaningless shit that no one but themselves care about? A place that new members come to because of the posts that were from it's better days. That leave because they can see that the past posts do not reflect the boards current situation?

Am I a troll? Maybe. Shelby you assumed that my post was full of insults and rock throwing. Wasn't that a bit presumptuous? I just wanted to discuss the current state of the board. I just wanted to talk about the lack of new posts. Three new posts in three days! Is that healthy? For the E world, that is DEAD.

My main concern in this thread is the fact that everyone is taking my initial post for rock throwing, when it was initiated to open up a dialogue discussing the current state of affairs. You all must be blind if you can't see that this site is sinking, and sinking fast. Shelby, I can't remember the last time I've seen you post here. Drew just throws out snide comments from time to time, and Chris posts pointless OMG!!!'s in every other thread. I really don't want to live up to your thoughts of me, but is he as annoying in real life as his is online?

Bottomline is... I don't even know what my point is anymore. I really don't care, and I find it hard to continue typing.

[heftysmokes]

Case in point.

Three new pointless threads over the past three days...

This board is officially dead. It's not because of a recent split that caused turbulence which is working itself out, its because of the board. Its because of the people who make up the board. I'm not including you Shelby, I actually think you are, or were, one of the main contributors to this place. I can say a lot, but it'll probably fall on deaf ears. So I'll just say this, "look around". Is this what you want this board to be? A couple of people posting new stuff about meaningless shit that no one but themselves care about? A place that new members come to because of the posts that were from it's better days. That leave because they can see that the past posts do not reflect the boards current situation?

Am I a troll? Maybe. Shelby you assumed that my post was full of insults and rock throwing. Wasn't that a bit presumptuous? I just wanted to discuss the current state of the board. I just wanted to talk about the lack of new posts. Three new posts in three days! Is that healthy? For the E world, that is DEAD.

My main concern in this thread is the fact that everyone is taking my initial post for rock throwing, when it was initiated to open up a dialogue discussing the current state of affairs. You all must be blind if you can't see that this site is sinking, and sinking fast. Shelby, I can't remember the last time I've seen you post here. Drew just throws out snide comments from time to time, and Chris posts pointless OMG!!!'s in every other thread. I really don't want to live up to your thoughts of me, but is he as annoying in real life as his is online?

Bottomline is... I don't even know what my point is anymore. I really don't care, and I find it hard to continue typing.

If it's so hard to continue typing, do us all a favor and quit. If this place is dead, don't come back. Find a new board to mock.
Better yet, if you don't like the pointless threads, why don't you make an effort and start a new thread that you consider relevant?
If you don't like the place, either try to change it for the better or get the fuck out of here. Nobody needs your holier than thou attitude.

[chefchris]

and Chris posts pointless OMG!!!'s in every other thread. I really don't want to live up to your thoughts of me, but is he as annoying in real life as his is online?

OMG !!! LOLZ !!!

[drew_goring]

Drew just throws out snide comments from time to time, and Chris posts pointless OMG!!!'s in every other thread.

Awww sweetie...thanks for thinking of me.

Don't think that just because we don't have 100 new one word posts that this board is in any way "dead". Some people favor quality over quantity. Don't act all innocent either. When you make a back-handed remark about this site expect to be called on it.

Oh yeah...gotta post something snide...

[Shagaroo]

My main concern in this thread is the fact that everyone is taking my initial post for rock throwing, when it was initiated to open up a dialogue discussing the current state of affairs.

Didn't you know this board is dead?

"Member Moderated Board" ='s kicking out all the interesting people who speak from their heart. So what's left is a small group of self indulgent non-alpha's who gather around the few "established" members who've stuck around because they have imposed their will and made this place what it is.

I suggest investing elsewhere.

Your words betray you.

Case in point.

Three new pointless threads over the past three days...

Hmmm... So, it has to be a tons of NEW threads for the board to be alive. Conversations happening in other threads doesn't count because it all has to be new threads. Gotcha.

Ok everybody, no more responding to threads. Every response should be a new thread to stand on it's own. No more conversations you slackers! HersheySquirts wants tons of new threads...

[ashauler]

Case in point.

Three new pointless threads over the past three days...

This is the only pointless thing I saw when I checked in this morning. Or maybe you do have a point.......I think WOXOF called it.....TROLL.

[chefchris]

.......I think WOXOF called it.....TROLL.

OMG !

[cigarsarge]

Don't you just love it when asshats come to roost? This hershey highway guy is a real hoot. I don't think he gets it. Well it's his loss.

One more volley directed toward the hershey highway...I read in your profile you say you are an ectomorph...One who gains no weight from eating untold calories. Might I suggest brain wise you are ectomorphic also. No matter how much knowledge people cram into your brain you actually gain nothing from it.

Now go away...You ain't worth the effort.

[Smoked!]

OMG !

LOL at Chris! For real! I needed a good laugh today. Thanks.

Guys, I am a total noob here and have not earned my stripes so I accept that my thoughts may be ignored by long-standing, respected members. I also don't know all the history between the members here, but please understand that this type of dialog does not exactly encourage new members to join or participate.

Having said that, I will add that in my short tenure here I have found the members to be decent, respectful, and helpful to each other. I am very appreciative of the wealth of information available in the archives here. Just my .02

Respect.