Hershey wants to know...

[nhcigarfan]

And all I am saying is he who pays the bills makes the rules. If I am not mistaken, Hex stated the old system was going away before Bill was banned. .

I have no recollection of this.

[CgarDan]

Common guys what was done and in the past is exactly that. If some one wants to bring a banned member back maybe a poll on that can be started to avoid further complications or disagreement betwen people here.

[hex1848]

Common guys what was done and in the past is exactly that. If some one wants to bring a banned member back maybe a poll on that can be started to avoid further complications or disagreement betwen people here.

I agree 100%. But until someone comes forward and states that they want to be back in then its a moot point. We can debate bringing someone back all we want, but if they don't want to come back then why even bring it up.

I don't like banning people but it becomes very difficult to maintain civility with out removing members from the community. Unfortunately it has to be done from time to time.

[cigar no baka]

It comes down to who owns the site. Hex owns it. It is his site. If he says we can run it, unmoderated, within certain guidelines, that is his decision. But he has the right to change his mind, as the owner, and he did. So now we have what we have, and I respect his right as the owner to change whatever whenever. If I don't like the new rules, format, whatever so much it makes veins bulge out on my forehead, I will piss off and leave.

[Shelby07]

Common guys what was done and in the past is exactly that. If some one wants to bring a banned member back maybe a poll on that can be started to avoid further complications or disagreement betwen people here.

Dan... you know I am your friend, but I don't think that ignoring the past is the proper thing to do here. Ignoring the past never works.

I've said it before... this used to be a great place to come and talk. That's the part of the old board I want to get back. There is still a wealth of information available here due to the contributions and efforts by many members, not just a few. There is no doubt that activity has dropped off, but I think it was because the turmoil, insults, name calling and general nastiness of a few members along with the general feeling that if you didn't show these "FOG's" the proper respect you would be burned at the stake. Right around the time of the last meltdown came an alternative board that many folks here gravitated to, and apparantlly they found that they liked the culture there better than here. That's the long and the short of it, and the results speak for themselves.

Were there a bunch of asshats that came and went here? Sure. The board seemed to attract them like flies to shit, and policing was left to a bunch of guys who felt they had to give a good paddling before they let it go. Some of it was fun, but as time went on more and more members felt that this was the "norm" and they tried to fit in which did nothing but raise the noise level. But the majority of members here were and continue to be good people who are looking for comradery and a place to discuss and expand their enjoyment of cigars.

Let's go ahead and get this out in the open. Many others have gone to Cigar Live. It didn't help CS's cause that some of the more *respected* members here went there and tried to trash their board, then started crying foul all over the Internet when they weren't allowed to continue. For those who don't know, the owner of that board is an IT guy ("Information Technologies" for those who don't know what it stands for) and he was able to see exactly what was going on with regards to CS. He'd watch when an "innocent" post was made by one of the FOG's here, then he'd see a bunch of people immediately log in, go directly to that post and read it, then log off without ever looking at anything else. It was pretty obvious to him that the poster was putting something up then going back and telling people to log in and take a look. And it was proved beyond a doubt that one ex-FOG here logged into his board with no less than 3 very familiar aliases. He was able to track it very easily. He put a stop to it and his board was immediately labeled an asshat board by the FOGs here at CS.

It also doesn't help anyone's cause when some folks trash talk the CL board on other forums. What it does do is support the feeliing that many previous and potential members have that the CS FOG's are still alive and well and playing their stupid little self serving games. In my opinion, these folks are not out to help this board, they are out to bolster their self esteem and protect their individual "status," and being associated with CS doesn't help the reputation of this board at all.

So it's out in the open. That's the kind of shit some of our "well respected" FOGs get their jollies from. I think we are at a critical point right now. Either we can bring back our "Generals" with open arms, or we can try to rein them in. If we're going to have a discussion about what's best for the future of this board, let's do it with an open mind to the past and keep our damn egos in check.

We can grow to be a great board again, but not by playing stupid games and trash talking other boards and putting other members through the fire for our own little self indulging purposes. We can exist in tandem and even help other boards to grow. In doing so we can improve our own reputation and be a place that other folks want to visit. We can be a quality board that can stand on our merits instead of our criticism. This strategy that some have to make themselves relatively bigger by knocking down the other guy never really makes anyone any better. It just drives away the other guy and leaves nobody but the bullies feeling better about themselves.

I agree that Hex has all the authority he needs to do what he wants with this board. He can lock discussions, he can ban users, and he can do it without permission or approval from anyone. He bends over backwards to give us a place to gather and talk freely, but in the end his wishes and words need to be respected. And if anyone feels he needs their permission to run his board the way he wants to, they should think again.

[cigarsarge]

Without quoting Shelby...He made a hell of a lot of sense.

[kevin7]

Sorry bro but nobody here gives a fuck about stogies POS board and his and his mods POS ways. The POS ban me from there (big fuckin deal) for saying something on the RNB board. That scum sid was happy to C/P it to him. LOL sorry but that makes him a fat little insecure piece of shit dork in my book.That little turd john51277 is a" CL Mentor" ?give me a break .

This place needs to be the polar opposite of cigarlive to survive and be prosperous. cigarlive will implode upon its self and the weight of its asshattery

[cigarsarge]

The POS ban me from there (big fuckin deal) for saying something on the RNB board.

If it's no big deal why keep bringing it up. Why beat a deat horse? It does nobody any good.

[kevin7]

Are you the new mod by chance????????????????

Because he (stogi) spews that fresh start bullshit constantly . It's my horse and I'll beat it if I want to

[Shelby07]

Sorry bro but nobody here gives a fuck about stogies POS board ...

Sorry bro but I wasn't talking about CL or Stogie. I was trying to talk about Cigar Smokers and how I'd like to see it grow.

This place needs to be the polar opposite of cigarlive to survive and be prosperous. cigarlive will implode upon its self and the weight of its asshattery

This place needs to be what it grows to be, but it needs to be protected from its own implosions and members who contribute to its dysfunctional reputation.

[nhcigarfan]

Without quoting Shelby...He made a hell of a lot of sense.

I read it. I expected the exact opposite from you Ken.

[cls515]

....still my favorite board.

[cigarsarge]

I read it. I expected the exact opposite from you Ken.

If you will point out the parts you don't agree with I'd be glad to listen. I'm open to all points of view.

[cigar no baka]

Without quoting Shelby...He made a hell of a lot of sense.

I feel Shelbys post makes a lot of sense too. I lke the board the way it is now, very little agenda-grinding and the resulting wars that follow. Hex is using a very light hand to moderate this, and the board has improved as a result.

[ashauler]

I'm by no means a senior member, no FOG for sure, this was the first board I joined, the first post I made was here. I have learned what I know about how to, and how not to, conduct myself on forums from the members of this board.

I went to CL and joined up, got involved a bit......and found out for myself that I don't really like the "feel" of it....when I participated in a PIF and got PM's from the sender to "make sure you post to my i-trader rating" instead of "hey, hope you liked the smokes, did they arrive safely"......I knew what it was all about and have since withdrawn from the site as much as I can and will leave completely once a commitment I have there is fulfilled.

I enjoy CS more now since things have toned down some and the conflict has more or less gone away, and the mean, insulting posts are saved for the asshats that deserve them......but I gotta admit, CS has the best asshat roasters in the bidness!!

[Shelby07]

I went to CL and joined up, got involved a bit......and found out for myself that I don't really like the "feel" of it....when I participated in a PIF and got PM's from the sender to "make sure you post to my i-trader rating" instead of "hey, hope you liked the smokes, did they arrive safely"......I knew what it was all about and have since withdrawn from the site as much as I can and will leave completely once a commitment I have there is fulfilled. :

I can't deny that I've had similar feelings at times, but CL is a different board witha very different culture. Some folks like that.

There are also a lot of posts there that interest me, especially some of the discussion about the SCHIP, and a bunch of folks that don't exhibit the behavior that you point out. Let's let CL grow in their own way and not worry too much about them. I hope they continue to grow. It can only help the hobby.

I enjoy CS more now since things have toned down some and the conflict has more or less gone away, and the mean, insulting posts are saved for the asshats that deserve them......but I gotta admit, CS has the best asshat roasters in the bidness!! :smiley2

I agree with you there, too. But I think we need to stop being so quick to feed on our young and especially each other.

[chefchris]

I'm by no means a senior member, no FOG for sure, this was the first board I joined, the first post I made was here. I have learned what I know about how to, and how not to, conduct myself on forums from the members of this board.

I went to CL and joined up, got involved a bit......and found out for myself that I don't really like the "feel" of it....when I participated in a PIF and got PM's from the sender to "make sure you post to my i-trader rating" instead of "hey, hope you liked the smokes, did they arrive safely"......I knew what it was all about and have since withdrawn from the site as much as I can and will leave completely once a commitment I have there is fulfilled.

I enjoy CS more now since things have toned down some and the conflict has more or less gone away, and the mean, insulting posts are saved for the asshats that deserve them......but I gotta admit, CS has the best asshat roasters in the bidness!!

Actually, I just noticed when I sent you those Oliva Bolds you never added a bomb reward for me.







Please know that I am 100% .... kidding.