RichG
I no longer have numbers because I wanted to be upfront and reveal my true identity.

Besides Randy changed it from "Junior Member" to "New Member" and I may be junior but I am certainly not new.

I just realized that it has taken me 2 years to make 100 posts.

I guess I am falling behind.

Now that we don't have Junior Members anymore, the whole purpose of you having numbers is eliminated ... though you might have to switch again if you don't want to become an FT Evangelist at 250 posts

Sorry to see you go, Jon Toner, but you can take solace in the fact that yours was the best exit post ever.

arturo es kwik to point out that ozheets postie wuuld be ok ef he jus use the furst sintinse an leaf evrytheng els out. awl the rest aftr the furst sintinse es excremint errorganse an thet wat ensite peepl.

arturo bee 10-10 an listening en.

Se�or Jon Toner,

Veo que su primera palabra es adios. Si �sa es su decisi�n final, despu�s Arturo est� entristecido. " puede el dios estar con usted en todos sus viajes ".

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Loving, Caring, Honest, Intelligent, Empathetic, Creative, and Giving.

Since Oz has decided to post the pretty much the same long winded rant in another thread, I will link that thread so that anyone who cares can see my resonse.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum.../000175-2.html

Please, please join me in doing whatever we can to make this a happy occasion for Catman and the decent majority on this board.
-
Earlier, I said I was just a peripheral member here; now I'd like to say if I may resign from the august company, I shall do so. That doesn't mean that I'm turning my back on the flyertalkers I've met, you and raeban as much as anyone. Shall we get together for drinks and a baseball game soon? E-mail to follow.

I fell out of love with the game during the last strike. To me, it is impossible to separate the owners/players' attitudes from the game. Not that that has any relevance to this thread, just didn't want to give MLB (and Frank "10 mil a year ain't nearly enough" Thomas) a free pass.

It might make an interesting exercize to apply Jon's analysis to Oz's post in this thread.

I feel your pain, Jon, I really do. But dealing with Oz is the price of freedom of speech. Just as dealing with Jesee Helms is the price of Democracy. The only thing that keeps discourse from falling to the lowest common denominator is sheer will and restraint.

I suppose some of us suffer fools less gladly then others. For me it is sometimes harder then other times. When it gets real hard (like when I think that unless I flame back he "wins") I literally have to turn off my computer. That seems to do the trick.

Beckles

At this rate I will not be a FT evangelist until August 2003.

By then I will have clicked my red shoes and returned back to Kansas.

In the context of Koko's message regarding not giving MLB a free-pass, this is not about free speech. This is a private message board than can and may be regulated by its administrators any way they see fit. The fact that they don't do it in a manner that pleases the majority of posters is the problem.

A BIG TEXAS AMEN to NYC1.

Sadly I believe Catman's happiness over the -Do has long ago faded...

The -Do's have ALWAYS been about Catman's friends -- including some of Catman's personal friends who aren't even FT'ers -- getting together and having fun. While the -Do may be an "open" event (publicly announced), I would never interpret that to mean that 'people' (term used very loosely) who have personally attacked Catman would think of attending. But then again I am still amazed at the audacity (and the paucity of moral values) exhibited by some who [over]frequent these boards...

Catman was placed in a difficult position -- and in order to please some he stuck by the 'open to all' concept. A mistake IMO. It's his event and if he doesn't care to share the same space with someone who has firebombed him repeatedly (even using false personnae -- not handles -- as these 'people' had false histories created around them), then he should be permitted to exclude at will. Catman is far too willing to go along and make the majority happy at the expense of his own happiness. That's what good hosts do...

Catman knows my feelings well. He also knows my feelings are shared by MANY of the -Do attendees. Catman also knows the line to take out the garbage forms behind me. Prediction? Catman will lead the cheers (and be very happy) ...

Well said, onefreeman. I'll definatly second that.

Brilliant summary, Jon. Like MWS, I typically don't care for the "I'm leaving FT" posts, but this situation is entirely different. I hope that the ship can be righted and that you will reconsider.

As perhaps the most recent vitim of an unprovoked ozstamps flame (see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum73/HTML/000175.html ), I appreciate CameraGuy (and others) coming to my defense and, to the extent necessary, I do the same for him.

(edited for bad grammar & spelling)

[This message has been edited by cactuspete (edited 03-01-2001).]