jszymcyk,

I understand what you are saying and agree 100%, but, I do not agree that "anything to do with fly fishing is absolutely available somewhere else". That is true when it comes to fly fishing equipment and fly fishing trips and I do not pay a lot of attention to those posts due to the fact that I cannot afford some of the equipment and my fly fishing trips will be to my local waters or no further than a 3 hour drive from home. I enjoy FAOL because it feels more like "family" and the sharing of information is done freely and you feel like some members want to help you in any way possible. The owners of this site have a sincere desire, from the start, to help promote fly fishing and get more people into the sport and that is and was the reason for starting it. Yes, there are some members that can make you feel it is a "members only or club" environment and those you can ignore because where ever you go there will be those and, thankfully, they are outnumbered here with more members who enjoy sharing and helping. I do "lurk" on other sites just to get info on local waters and have never joined their forums because you can tell right off that there are a "chosen" few that feel without them there would not be a forum and they take over the forum and try to make new readers feel that they are the people that new members need to "copy" because they are so great. I agree with, "the style and content of the articles just have not grabbed me" and I understand that. Some, not all, of the articles do not interest me and I can choose to not read them and only read the ones that I can relate to. This is an internet magazine and all magazines have articles that may not interest you but they fill a void and may provide some interest to some readers. I have been a long time subscriber to Fly Tyer magazine and only read the articles pertaining to flies I have an interest in and ignore the rest. One day those may become of interest to me, but, not at this time.

My advise is to ignore any posts being made by those you do not care for because of their attitude, which I do, and only read the posts and articles that you share an interest in and hopefully you will share information to help the member who had a question. In every bushel of apples there will be some bruised apples and you just need to throw them out, ignore them. I would sincerely hope that you will share your experiences with newcomers and help them along the way with fly fishing subjects because that is why FAOL was started. FAOL is not a "bragging" forum for the "chosen" few. It is a forum created to help promote fly fishing and provide help to newcomers and that is why I have stayed as long as I have and will continue to stay and provide whatever help I can. I have reached the age where I can ignore the " I am greater than you" posts and do not get involved in them.

If you read the post from the administrator that stated that they are not asking for money and were only explaining why there will be some changes to curtail some of the costs of maintaining this site, I think you will understand that they have a strong desire to promote fly fishing and not "line their pockets". Let's face it, no one is receiving any pay for all the IT help this site gets and it is all being provided free and from the heart from those who share the same goals of helping newcomers to this sport. Without all that time they are providing at no pay is because they want to be involved and help. For me, I have received a lot of info from FAOL that brought me from a "newcomer" to fly fishing to where I am today and I really appreciate all the help and sharing that a lot of members, not all, have provided through FAOL at no charge. That helpful info came from their hearts. I would not want FAOL to become a "members only" forum because that would take away the "sharing" of info and create a place for those who think they are better than anyone else. I feel Deanna and Neil enjoy reading about the progress newcomers have made through help they received from FAOL members and that is the only reason they created it and maintain it.

It has reached a time and place that we become "givers" and not just "takers". If there was a space provided on the BB forum for those, like me and others, to "give" a little to help maintain this great site, it would be great. At no time during this thread was there any indication brought forward from the administrators to ask for a fee. Some of the members, like me, offered to help curtail some of the costs and that is where some have taken this thread the wrong direction. There are a lot of members that feel the way I do and that is that we have learned so much from FAOL that it has value to us and we no longer want to be "takers" and would like to have an opportunity to donate a little something to show our appreciation for what all FAOL has done for us and have the feeling that, in some small way, we are helping to keep FAOL up and running. FAOL has value to some of us.

This thread was started to help explain how much time it was taking to maintain this site and that time is being offered at no pay. It was started to explain that there would be some changes made to help cut down on how much of this "free" time was needed because one can only give so much away until it becomes a burden and they get out completely and we, the members who appreciate all that we have received over the years, would lose a valuable Forum that means a lot to us. For those who only belong for the entertainment and to continue to "shake" the hornets nest to see the results, can go somewhere else and could care less about the value of FAOL. They can either change their attitude and join in or they can leave. If they choose to leave, we have lost nothing of value.

The above are my sincere thoughts and nothing more. If I have "stepped" on some toes with my thoughts, I do not apologize because they are sincere thoughts and feelings.