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We've had a topic or two on our Bulletin Board
which raised the hackles of some to a point of
absurdity. We required 'registering' for the FAOL
Bulletin Board, which means it is not anonymous.
Those Bulletin Boards which are anonymous allow
anyone to take a pot shot at anyone or anything
without the possibility of being held responsible
for their comments and claims which may or may not
be true. Having to register cuts down on that, but
not entirely. Folks do know they can be held
responsible for what they post.
Obviously not everyone is going to agree on everything,
and experience and use, especially on products can
result in differing opinions. But it is the feeling
of my husband JC and me that we both should try and
let the readers sort things out, without our views.
Mostly we abide by that except to set the record
straight from time to time.
We currently have had a couple of strings on the
Bulletin Board about the business practices of a
Canadian Fly Company. (Not a reflection on all
Canadian business). A customer complained he had
not received his order, nor a refund after months of
many emails etc. The 'company' posted a response,
and lied. Eventually the truth came out - but the
part of the story you don't know if you read that
string of comments, is the company contacted us,
demanding we remove the posts and threatened us.
I did not respond to them, nor did I remove it.
The original complainant did get his refund, and
we closed the topic. Fair we thought.
Another person showed up with the same problem. Off
and running again. Same story, and the company posts
again, more comments, and the company posts again. And,
surprise, we receive another email from the company
threatening us again. There is an old Montana phrase
having to do with cow pies, "the more you stir it, the
more it stinks." If and when the second complainant
receives his refund we will lock the thread again and
consider the matter finished.
If you have not read the 'rules' regarding the Bulletin
Board and posting to it, I suggest you go back and read
them, since you had to click on the "I Agree" button to
register. And if you wish to file suit against us because
of something on the Bulletin Board, better print out a copy
and take it to your attorney before you threaten us.
For the most part the posts to the Bulletin Board are
about fly fishing, equipment, fly tying, asking for advise
on fishing various places, and occasionally some off-topic
political subjects. I do not object to those, (some do
however) since I feel FAOL is an information website, the
exchange of ideas can certainly include some political
things as it is the politicians who make our laws affecting
our favorite past-time. As long as these comments are civil,
do not flame others or question the parentage of the others
posting, they are allowed. If you personally don't wish to
read these topics, don't. I feel the exchange does help each
side to understand where the other side is coming from - and
some real facts may come out. That can't be bad.
Over the years FAOL has not pleased everyone. There will
always be detractors for every and all good things anyone
does. Something about no good deed goes unpunished. We
don't take seriously all the bad stuff we receive, including
some really vile language - however, death threats are
immediately turned over to authorities. Since all email
has 'trace tags' it's pretty easy to get back to the
original sender. (Email isn't anonymous even if it is
through 'blind' sources such at Hot Mail.)
JC and I do monitor the Bulletin Board, several times a
day. We know what is going on.
We rarely remove a topic or string, but it has happened.
The reason is usually someone stepping outside the rules,
name calling, flaming...the kind of thing which has caused
Bulletin Boards on other websites to lose readers. We
try to keep the conversation 'civil' and I have noticed
over the past several months, there have been many times
when we did not have to ask to have the rhetoric toned
down - others readers have done so. Cool!
If you are not registered to post on the Bulletin Board,
do it. Your input and comments are most welcome. You may
have some information the rest of us don't know - or just
a neat story to share. Questions about anything related
to fly fishing are encouraged. And one more thing? You
just may have the answer to a question only you can answer!
As Lefty said so well, "Don't show knowledge, share it!" ~ The LadyFisher
If you would like to comment on this or any other article please feel free to
post your views on the FAOL Bulletin Board!
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