Growing 'Pains' and a request for a little help from my friends

[djkimmel]

Things have been a little bumpy the last week or two. We've all seen various comments and the reactions. I've been getting some email, some calls, some pm's. I expect some of this to happen from time to time.

You have to grow to stay healthy. This site would be less fun and maybe even boring after a while if we didn't keep growing. And it is growing in part because it is a fun place with great anglers - there should no surprise that this would attract more people.

But with growth comes change and change isn't always easy. New people. New posts. New participation. New personalities. Been some of that lately with a growth spike that saw 20 or so members and an increase in participation with one day alone this week actually double the number of page views I use to get in a month back before the new forum and format changes went in.

I appreciate all the 'old-timers' around here, but I also appreciate the new members and new friends, and I appreciate that the site will grow and get more new people. There will be challenges and adjustments. I may approach a few people privately soon and ask some things, some help - for the good of the site.

No - I don't plan on kicking anyone off or doing a bunch of fingerpointing or complaining. I may just be asking a little directly for the same things I will always ask of all of you -
*follow the rules - especially the one about not getting personal for any reason,

*remember almost all of us are over the age of majority (adults),

*we all have at least some basic interests in common - that alone should help us get along,

*remember that in posting others can not 'see' your expression or personality as easy - a little more challenging especially when you are touching on certain topics - we all have to be aware of that,

*different personalities mean different points of view - we should all be able to deal with that in a mature, respectful and impersonal manner most of the time -

*also means different ways of communicating - maybe ways we are not used to or might not be initially very comfortable or patient with - patience truly is a virtue,

*respect for each other goes a long way,

*no one is perfect (I'm painfully and personally aware of this being an obsessive recovering perfectionist),

*try not to take things personally - remember the point about not being able to 'see' the person's expressions and body language,

*if someone has broken a rule or gotten personal in your opinion, use the 'report to moderator' link to bring it to my attention - it's hard to keep up already with all the posts - I WILL handle it although maybe privately - let me do what I'm here to do,

*we don't always have to say, especially in reply, everything that comes to mind - sometimes the best response is no response - like they say: it take two to tango - the bigger person is often the person who takes the high road and chooses not to escalate things by getting a 'clever' crack back in - I'm actually more impressed by people who know that no response is often the best response,

I've only had to ban two people so far - and they were just pure spammers. I do not intend to make a habit of deleting posts and banning people. However, I will not let anyone continue to break rules, and I will not let anyone screw up the 'personality' of this forum for any length of time.

The forum will evolve as it grows - that is different. That is where the patience and tolerance of differences comes in - but I will not let anyone come on here and continue to be a problem, especially after I have gone over the rules with the person(s) already and asked for some help in making things better.

Just rest assured that I am doing things - it just may not always be what some people expect and it may not be out in the open for everyone to see. I firmly believe in giving people a chance to get with the program no matter who they are (other than spammers and abusers), and I believe in a little dignity and respect going a long way. But it will only go so far. I repeat, I will not let anyone screw things up for everyone else who does their best to get along, follow the rules and remember we all do have a basic love of fishing in common. There are plenty of other forums where bad behavior can be done so the Internet doesn't need one more forum added to that list.

There's too much good to come from being on here sharing our common interests, and too much loss to occur if we don't make the most of the opportunities this community can bring. You can't change other people's behavior maybe, but we can all sure as heck take care of each of our own behavior. Please do your best. I will too.

And if you think I am talking about you, before you get angry or defensive, remember I am trying hard to keep the spirit of this web site along the same path. So stop and ask yourself why you think in the first place I might be talking about you? And if you really believe I'm not talking about your, consider this a refresher post - you have nothing to worry about. I still ask please that everyone ask themselves two questions - 1) Am I making GreatLakesBass.com a better place to be? Or 2) Am I making GreatLakesBass.com a worse place to be?

I have no doubt that in private, we all really know the answers to these two questions for ourselves. I also have no doubt that each of us is mature enough to choose to behave in a manner to be able to answer yes to question #1. Help make GreatLakesBass.com a better place. Please. If each of us does this with ourselves, everything else works out on its own. Thanks for your time.

[Genie]

I'm In 

[djkimmel]

Thank you

[bshaner]

How dare you single me out like that! 

Just kidding!  I'm in also and I couldnt agree more.

B

Remember it's only paranoia if they arent after you.

[djkimmel]

My point exactly!

I do not want to single anyone else. Just want everyone to think about how each of us individually can do things to help us get along and enjoy ourselves here as it is meant to be. Everyone has a part to play. Life is too short to play mean or let the small stuff bother you. That has been hammered in to me relentlessly the past few years.

BTW, for those who knew about it, my nephew is recovering miraculously. That's actually what the doctors are calling him - a miracle. The Lifeflight pilots came by to visit him because they could not believe he made it and was actually already improving so well. Thanks so much for the prayers and positive thoughts. I don't know where else to lay the thanks! He does have a long recovery in front of him, but he is doing very well so far.