There are major differences between myself and Earl Stewart which, after the last few emails to a fro, will probably never be ironed out. However this should not be and most likely is of little or no concern to the members. At the top of each email from Earl was a note saying that he did not want to see his emails posted on the forum for all to see. I agreed and after some heated emails it would not be wise to post them anyway. I was pissed off by what he said and more so how he said it. However the jest of the messages going back and forth were to put an end to the forum war which actually does not really exist.
Earl and I were to meet in Atlanta on Wednesday during the Shot Show. This did not happen. I looked for him and was told he had already left. Oh well....
Anyway in my original email to him I stated that we should meet face to face and, regardless of the outcome, we should work together for the good of the forums.
This is the way it should be done as my differences with Earl should have no meaning or play a role at all in the forums. I left there because I felt there was a better way of doing things and BladeForums is the result. We are not and should not be viewed as a competing forum. That is not the case.
We do things different here and we created a completely different environment and atmosphere. If we were just a copy of KnifeForums it would not work.
The forums are a true extension of the personality of the owner. Those of you who know me and have met me personally know what I mean here. Am I right and he is wrong? Nope, if that was the case KnifeForums would have little or no posts. The fact is both sites are successful because of the differences. Some like it here better and some like it there. I am not competing for members here.
I have spent a lot of money building this site. I spend many hours working it per week as does Spark, and we do this on our own time free of charge. A lot of work goes into making this site but the key factor here is you, the member (or Junior member and one Whacko
). Without you this site is meaningless and pointless. I have been asked many times "Why are you doing this?". Well I don't have a really good answer other than I have actually created pastime for myself.
You see the owners of large companies do not really have much of a social life. At least not the ones I know. So this is my way of having fun and passing time while at the same time helping others enjoy the passion which we all share. Plus I really like helping people out. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside
Now that is cool I think.
The problem is when someone uses this type of site as an extension of their business it looses it's focus. It has happened before as evidenced by the failure of RDK and it may account for a few of the problems at KF. That's of course is just my opinion.
Now there are two huge resources of information on the web. Both are great places to be and the members cross over back and forth all the time even without the use of the Jim March Warp Tunnel
We even had a link on our links page to both Knife Forums and CFK&T and Earl asked us to remove them because he did not want to be associated with us in any way. That's fine, but I think it shows from which direction the problems are coming from and I believe it to be a bit childish considering the past events.
With Earl's permission I would like to link the sites directly. This is what I wanted to say to him at our meeting in Atlanta. The only people hurting from the fictitious forum war are the members. I have nothing to loose and everything to gain and so does Earl. He would get more traffic and since KF is an admitted extension of his business he would get more sales.
Also there is nothing wrong with Earl using KF as an extension of his business. I just think it's a bit hypocritical to not make that point clear. Especially when competing businesses are not allowed to post on the for sale board which used to clearly state that anyone can post. Several dealers can not even answer questions because they are banned. The really hypocritical thing about that is that when KF started it got most of it's traffic from the very dealers which are now banned by way of the button links that they were encouraged to put on their site. Then when it became apparent to Earl that the sites may be taking business away from him he removed the links pages, banned the competitors, deleted their posts on the "for sale" board and all of this without warning or the decency of a email. These very dealers still had the links up on there sites while all the while not knowing what was going on. That stinks and this is the first time I have said anything about it. Now you have to be a certified dealer to post there. Funny you will not see any discount dealers listed or any who sell competing products unless of course they buy from Earl.
I could just ignore the whole situation and let this thread go by but I wanted to make it clear that even though Earl and I have our differences, that should not effect you the Members and of course Whacko.
Many of you know I am on to speak my mind. This gets me into trouble sometimes but at least it is very clear to all concerned were I stand on an issue and that to me is more important. My own posting history is clouded with many fights about issues which are very important to me as an individual and a business. When I started this forum I thought that maybe I should step back and bite my tongue more often.
Well that sucks.
I have found that by arguing a point based on facts and showing it from my point of view the other person involved gets a better and more clear understanding that their actions effect more people than they think. It also allows me to know their true intentions when things get heated as the truth tends to leak out and the sugar coated version goes away rather quickly. And by mentioning things in this thread there maybe change at the other forum. Seems you have to virtually create a flame to get things done over there as evidenced by the events over the past few days and by the Cougar Allen Thread. That should not be the case but it sure appears that way.
I learn much more from threads which are based on some sort of argument than just the me too threads. They are also more interesting to read and get the most posts. Title a thread "LINER LOCKS RULE" and see if Joe Talmadge does not come in to share his view. Title one "BIG KNIVES SUCK" and of course Jim March will hop right in.
The only reason for closing a thread over here is it there are personal attacks or the thread gets WAAAAYYYY off topic.
TY, I am sure you are reading this and I have not talked to you since you asked me for my password so you could remove me as moderator of at KF. Word of advice, take a chill pill and stop locking down so many threads. So what if someone asks a question about Microtech in the general forum. It is the "General" forum and it gets more traffic and therefor more answers. If you are under the direction of Earl then this goes to him as well. Just a word of advice. It is your forum and you can run it as you please but I think I speak for the members who go to both forums in general here on this particular issue.
Now I have said a lot of things that some will view as a flame. That is not the case as I am merely pointing out my observations as a former moderator and member over at KF and here. Although I own and run this forum I am also member and would like to see things on both forums get better. Although I am not allowed to post over there, and the opinions I expressed above may not appear be any of my business, it is made my business when it moves over here or I get an email from a member about such issues.
So let's get all this crap behind us and move on. Earl let us put links on our site to yours to allow the free flow of information between the 2 forums. I have a ton of plans for this site that will knock your socks off and I would love for both forums to benefit from it. Punishing the members by not allowing the free flow of information is not good for either forum. However should you decide to not want to work together to achieve what we both state are common goals I will understand.
Actually
No I would not understand.
Well gezz sorry for the rant have fun!
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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com
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