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In last weeks column I hoped to encourage
folks to get back to reality and to be the
kind of folks we are accustomed to here on
FAOL. It didn'thappen.
Mostly fly fishers are the very best folks
in the world. But following the election,
there seems to be a hangover of sorts, or
maybe folks are just out of sorts. Regardless,
it's a while before cabin fever and the shack
nasties should be setting in.
But for whatever reasons some are taking every
opportunity to snipe and fire shots about things
which weren't even vaguely intended. I heard
on the radio there are shrinks setting up therapy
and support groups for people still in shock or
denial at the results of the presidential election.
Perhaps that would help.
My grandmother would have had a solution. She
was a very basic person, Dutch, who immigrated
to the US at a very young age. Her standards
were biblical and simple. The 'Golden Rule' was
not an option. I'm serious. It also was not
open for debate.
There are some things which are not open for debate
on FAOL either. There are rules for posting on the
Bulletin Board. Before someone signs up they are
required to agree to them. I'm sure a lot of folks
don't bother to read them until they get their
knuckles rapped, but if you are in question of
what they are - best read them. Better safe than
sorry?
We don't require registration for the Chat Room,
but we do expect common courtesy to prevail.
This is an excerpt from one of my columns in April of 2002:
Back to grandmother. She had a little saying which
somehow ended up on a tape in my head. "Wouldn't life be nice if
everyone treated their families as well as they treat company?" It
doesn't matter if we are talking about husband and wife or the kids.
And of course this is a two-way street. Is any company in your home
more important than your family? Everyone in the family has to
understand they are required to behave in that manner. And you know
what? It works!
Courtesy and kindness seem to be in short order
these days. It was much better in the days right
after 9/11. But the stress of everyday living
seems to have diluted the milk of human kindness
since then.
There was even a comment on the Bulletin Board
lately about the lack of courtesy showing up.
I will apologize, because it is my fault.
There have been some posts which should have
either been edited or removed. Some I left
because I felt the true nature of the person
ranting came out loud and clear. Perhaps too
loud and clear. I hesitate to remove or edit
posts sometimes so as not to discourage folks from
posting to the board. But, (grandmother again), "if
you have your feet under my table, you obey house
rules."
Our Bulletin Board has grown substantially over
the past six months, and no doubt there are many
who are used to somewhere else. We are aware of
the problem, and I will try to do a better job of
monitoring it and keeping it the sort of Bulletin
Board we can all be proud of.
It boils down to if you post on the FAOL Bulletin
Board, we all have our feet under the same table,
it just happens to be mine. Let's see if we can
all treat each other as "company."
We've removed a couple of people from the Bulletin
Board. They couldn't abide by the rules, they are
gone.
I had an email asking about "all these people being
banned from the Chat room" - well folks, there are
five who are banned from the chat, three are smart
mouthed kids. None are likely to be allowed back.
They can't be courteous and mannerly, too bad. Gone.
Life is too short to have ones gut twisted
because someone else is behaving badly. We've
gone through a very life-threatening ordeal
here and know there are many who read FAOL who
have similar situations. What they don't need
(or us either) is to come to FAOL and find a war
going on. We didn't allow it during the election
and we aren't going to allow it now.
It is not just for that reason I am writing this.
This is a huge website with tons of information
for those looking for help. Our front/main page
says:
"The Fraternity of Fly Fishers"
and that is what it is supposed to be.
This isn't world wide wrestling. And it's not going
to be. ~ DLB
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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