essxjay, sure, many people saw this coming, but there are many people who are contributing to the problem. Here's what I see them to be:

1. ozstamps -- People say Glen's a decent guy in person, but for some reason, he's a real jerk on these boards. Fortunately, Randy seems to be clamping down on him, having already suspended him once. Two more strikes, and he's out.

2. Those who fight with ozstamps -- Unfortunately, some FTers who I really like are in this group. But engaging ozstamps when he's being a jerk is a dead-end road. You don't have to like the guy, but if you don't respond or retaliate, a lot more ugliness will be prevented. Again, Randy seems to be taking action when things begin to escalate and has suspended at least one person for getting into it with ozstamps.

3. Those who defend ozstamps -- Certainly, some of the insults lobbed at ozstamps were not merited, but he definitely deserves a good bit of criticism. There is a certain small group of FTers who seem to ignore ozstamps' misdeeds and step up to defend him while assessing blame on others.

4. Those who use more than one handle -- It's a violation of the terms Randy has set. And those who shout "Hypocrisy!" at ozstamps' while having extra identities themselves are certainly missing something. I certainly don't see eye to eye with some on this issue, most notably Notsonewhere (aka ******). The semantics of saying which extra aliases are OK and which are not is tiring, and I hope no one gets into that again. The point is we should all follow the rules. Once again, we should be glad that Randy is finally taking action.

5. Those who think they don't have to follow the rules because they are old school FT or because many people don't mind -- These people seriously undermine their credibility and the respect they've built up over their time here when they suggest that their violations of FT rules are OK. No one is bigger than FT. Period.

6. Those who leave FT and publicly say it's because of ozstamps, etc. -- To many people, these messages come across as attempts for sympathy and such, but the bigger issue is that it does nothing to solve the problem and, in fact, makes things worse for those of us who are still here. Again, I don't mean this as a personal remark against anyone who has done this; some who have are among my favorite FTers.

But when someone leaves and posts that it's because FT has declined, etc., then what invariably happens? It sparks a big discussion about ozstamps and everything else (just like this thread). People lament what's happened and get nostalgic for the good ol' days of FT. Well, sorry, but no matter what happens, we can't go back there.

If FT no longer has enough value to you to make it worth your time, then that's fine. Maybe it's sort of sad, but it's also the natural order of things, whether it's FT or personal relationship or a job or whatever.

But if you leave because FT has changed, do us all a favor and don't post that. Think of those that you leave behind. I often think of the quiet departure of Boomer, who's sorely missed on the Continental board. He's been gone close to six months now, and lots of us would like to see him back. But Boomer was a class act, even in leaving FT. I hold him up as an example.

The big question each of us should ask himself or herself is this: What am I going to do to make FT better? And the longer one's been here, the greater their responsibility to the community. To paraphrase JFK: Ask not what FT can do for you; ask what you can do for FT.

To all to whom it applies: Get off your high horses and keep that in mind.

[This message has been edited by motnot (edited 03-17-2001).]