A hard decision -- but

hollowdweller said:
What Dan said.

When you allow a lot of free ranging discussion you have to actually get in there and moderate more. That's what Bill did. I'm not talking warning people when they go too far, that's a part of it, but more kind of influencing the tone of the discussion. Bill kind of took the "community policing" like the neighborhood cop, rather than the law and order approach:D His way took a LOT more work.
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Bill had a major advantage on me...*this* was his work. I have to work for a living...then I have to have a living. Free modding has it's limits. Yangdu tells me that this is my dharma work...sort of like penance I guess.
 
Aww...yer gonna make me blush :)
 

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You know there is a time we call "the good old days" where things were great and all our friends were close at hand. These aren't them. None the less I tend to find the Cantina a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the world. I don't consider myself any way a regular, but I just get sucked in by novel threads at least once a week. I never really understood the Cantina. It seems to have an extremely broad range of discussions. I always saw it as sort of balancing the narrower focus of most of the forums. I hope you can enjoy what you still have as you look back sentimentally at what you had before. It reminds me of a song from the early 60's:

ARTHUR:
Each evening, from December to December,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tales that you remember
Of Camelot.
Ask ev'ry person if he's heard the story,
And tell it strong and clear if he has not,
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot.
Camelot! Camelot!
Now say it out with pride and joy!

TOM:
Camelot! Camelot!

ARTHUR:
Yes, Camelot, my boy!
Where once it never rained till after sundown,
By eight a.m. the morning fog had flown...
Don't let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment that was known
As Camelot.
 
I've been posting here since whenever it says in the upper right corner. I lurked for several months before I got up the nerve to post (you could actually read the forum without being a registered member, back in the [good ol'] day). When Bill was able to spend all day every day at the computer I posted a fair amount. Now I read a lot more than I write - probably a good thing for everyone:o. Every day I log on here, read what interests me, pass on the rest. I check out Bernard Levine's forums here and on Knifeforums. There's a khukuri forum there too, moderated by someone who also goes by the name Nasty; small world. I stop by IKRHS to see if anyone's awake; fortunately the Aussie mod there has good sense. I lurk on the EEW, SFI, Ramanon, BB and Tora fora, posting on the rare occasions when I have something (hopefully) useful to add.
About once a week somebody on one or the other forum says something or cops an attitude that rubs me the wrong way. I move that forum down to the bottom of my bookmarks and leave it alone for a while. After a few days or weeks I forget what I was sore about and check it out because the subject matter interests me and the people have something to say, whether I agree or not. My forum bookmarks move around a lot.
The river flow sustains, yet the same water never remains.
Bubbles float on the stream; some are dissipated, some are generated, and none can be stationary.
--- Kamo no Tyômei, Buddhist monk, 1212.
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What does all that have to do with khukuris? You know:).
Berk
 
I couldn't agree more with what Dan said, and the great way he said it. Steve and Hollow nailed what I wanted to say as well.

I haven't been lurking here as much because I've just been too busy and have too little $ to spend anymore. But that's a poor excuse. I haven't replaced this forum with another, just spending less time online. I try and stay away from Tora, mostly because there is so much cool stuff there that complements my HI stuff, that I go broke fast. ;) Same with the BRKT forum on KF. My paychecks don't last long around those knives.

Ramanon is great, but I don't see it replacing this place. Again, it is a wonderful complement to what we have here. I actually need to spend more time there. I know several of our solid long-term folks are posting more over there than here, and I hope they will support both forums.

At the same time if I don't check in here at least every few days I feel deprived.

People come and go for different reasons, but despite the huge loss of Bill and Rusty, I think this place is stronger than ever! Look at all the new guys flowing in. That's got to be good. Some of them are going to stick long-term, after the irrepresible urge to acquire every single thing has burned out (somewhat anyway. :D ). I'm a case in point, and now buying knives is one of the very last reasons I come here.

Then we always get guys who become seriously HIKV infected and then move on after they have acquired enough to get some kind of antibody built up. :rolleyes: Remember Sassas?

Nothing stays static; that's the nature of life. I miss Sarge, and lcs37 (glad to see him here BTW!) and Sassas and Rio Jim and Dave K and all the wonderful people who have come and gone, left and returned again, but we have a good solid core group of guys (and gals) here now, with lot's of energy and many, many questions. That is good and healthy for HI.

I think we should look long term and see how much this place has added to all our lives. I missed the heyday of HI, that being when Bill was compiling his 32,000 posts, but have pored over the archives. What comaraderie there was here then! Uncle Bill responded to every single post it seemed like. He seemed to live online. When I joined in 12/03, he was already getting sick, and it was all he could do to keep things going, and yet he did. He was unfailingly generous and polite, and did take the time to write when he could.

I think we should focus on what we like about this place and keep the distractions and negatives to a minimum, and try and handle them when they will inevitably come up the way Uncle Bill would have.

There is only one thing that can ruin this place, and that is a really poor moderator, and we don't have that problem. The mod sets the tone for everything, and a bad one stifles some discussions and promotes others and drives the forum in a certain direction that is more in line with his ego and personal preferences. This is not directed at any one person; I have seen it before on other forums and I'm sure you all have as well. Like I said, we don't have that problem. Despite the sub-forum split, I think we get more slack and have more freedom than any other forum on either BF or KF. I know for a fact that minor violations are ignored for the most part at the Cantina, and that's because we have Nasty. There have been some hurt feelings about posts, but hell that's inevitable with this many guys posting, and the "rules" needing to necessarily be interpreted.

I think we should stick around, and keep this place open and do our best to make it a place of attraction for those finding us for the first time, as well as those who we hope will return. That means being supportive of one another, trying to keep our cool (I can hear you guys laughing at that, as I have had some pretty fierce conversations with a a couple folks anyway :o ), and most of all making this a place that can support HI and Yangdu and the kamis. I think we'll see more DOTD and more great knives if we do our part.

I know I can do better, as there are probably a half-dozen guys I have never welcomed here, who have asked questions, etc., and in the "old days" that was unheard of.

Bill, do what you have to do, but please don't be a stranger. I think right now, these _are_ the good old days of HI!


Norm
 
I truly shall miss you should you decide to return the forum is always open.
Best of luck Bill
 
I don't think these are the HI forum's "good old days." In my view, even in simple numbers there's not a balance between long-time voices going (mostly) silent and other voices returning. To me, looks like this is a trough.

I'm pleased to see all the new guys - and there's nothing to say that a new, vibrant HI community couldn't emerge. I hope it does.

If it does, it will be because folks just get on with it. The community's not built by talking about it ... but by talking. The character of the place is determined by the characters who talk, and what about.
 
This place is a watering hole for me, a source of sustenance. I feel as though something is missing if I don't check in here every so often. I know I get so much more than I give. And like a real watering hole, this place has seasons and dry spells.

Others have already said it much better, but in the end, the quality of this place is determined by those who contribute. There is a quote by Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) that I like:

"The only Zen you find on tops of mountains is the Zen you bring there."

Take care, all.

Eric
 
Bill, thanks for your contributions to the Cantina. Take care and stay safe.

Bob
 
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