Flyfalcons

Don, you said that personal attacks were not allowed on DOD, yet in Joe's closing paragraph he makes some VERY serious accusations about three reputable RC related companies. Those statements have yet to be backed up. He also made some very negative statements regarding a manufacturer in an email I saw, however, this was a manufacturer that he was bowing down to just a few months prior.

Now I don't mind going and checking out promotional sites, especially in the RC world. After all, this is a hobby and I'm always researching for my next "don't really need it but what the heck" projects. However, The Pits was touted as a balanced discussion board and this is absolutely not possible when the host has strong sponsorship ties. Just as in my post above (post #5), all discussions were swayed by Joe's affiliations. You wouldn't find a single negative comment anywhere on the site if it had to do with a sponsoring manufacturer/service/etc, but once Joe had moved on anything about that manufacturer was fair game. You see where this is going - it was difficult for people to express an idea or opinion on that site because of the ever-present corporate bias. Some people were banned, and some (such as myself) just decided to pick up and move on, which was difficult after meeting some great guys on the board (including you, Don, as well as Darcy and many others).

Regarding personal attacks, those are certainly not allowed on RCU. A few months back, I had to remove a very negative post about Joe. At first I thought this particular poster was just venting or had something personal against Joe that he was tryig to air, but I did some research and sure enough, everything he posted was 100% true! In the interest of good taste I'm not going to ressurect that post here, but I can assure you it was an eye-opener for me. Anyway, hope to see my friends from the Pits hanging out on RCU; I think you'll find the camraderie here is just as great.

donhamp

Alright gentlemen, I'll make one last comment and then I'm just going to drop out of the entire forum game for a while. I just cannot see any reason why I really would want to continue with participating in any of the banter that has gone on. I would sincerely appreciate it if my name was left out of any and all further comments. In return I will do the same. I feel that it's time I get back to figuring out why it is that I have enjoyed this hobby. I'm going flying.

I know that with something like 33,000+ posts on that site, I did my personal best to uphold each and every single comment that I made above. I can say with absolute certainty the each and every moderation I made was with good intent and with a clear concious. It is my belief that each and every moderator that worked on there did the same. Our focus was on a positive forum and mutual respect. If there were posts that did go against what I mentioned above, I did not see them. The hours that were spent on the forum moderating were very time consuming and if something was missed, then I can say it was surely not intential on my part.

As for my dealings with Joe, I have been in constant communication with him for over eight months. I have never observed any of the items that have been listed in the various forums. Am I the exception to the rule? I doubt it. But that is for each person to decide on their own.

Pugsley-RCU

My Feedback: (15)

jroy,

Thanks. I tried to mod my area with a different approach than the rest of the PITS. That being, I did not mod it at all. I was waiting for the day that Joe or Don jumped my butt for not making a guy have a picture or a real name. As you can see by the name that I used I didn't believe in their ideas. I didn't plan on moding the forum at all but a few friends asked me to mod it so they could get the IMAC area back.

I will say that Don worked hard as a mod. I can only assume he did what Joe told him to do. Don was not really the problem with DOD other than blindly following Joe's rule. But as he has said...it was Joe's board and if Don wanted to be a part of it then he had to follow Joe's lead.

DOD is dead and gone for all I care. If another board pops up with some of the PITS guys on it I will check it out. If it is ran by Joe or his minions....I'll pass.....

Pugs

jroy

ahhh No worries mate... Tell you all a little story.. When I was in boot camp, my DI told me something we have all heard but took on a real meaning at the time I assure you.. In private he told me not to sweat the small stuff, and it is all small stuff. The reason he told me this is because I worked so hard at being perfect he was concerned about me..LOL Now think about that a sec. I am in boot camp and my DI tells me to lighten up... LOL Yea you have to be a little tight around the edges for that to happen... But life truly is about your family and friends, to prove that go fly alone for a year and see how fun it is.... My point is this whole deal has really less to do with Joe then you all know, it has to do far more with friendship... LOL Now I take all of it in and see some get hurt by being excluded, others get hurt by losing touch with their friends or getting attacked, but the motives are really not about Joe they are about personal relations/friend or rejection (deserved or not..) The good people who defend him are stand up guys not sheep. They stick by one of the guys their friend (deserving or not) it says a lot more about them then Joe, really, and those are the kind of guys I would want as my friends. I am a very successful businessman, I am looking out over the city of New Orleans in my 19th floor office and it means nothing.. What means something is my family and friends, I love these dame airplanes, but not because it is so fun to fly (That is the hook) but because I have met great guys and talk about flying building and all of it. Flying is a lot more fun when your buddy tells you how much better you are getting. It is funny how serious we end up taking a hobby, and it is often human nature to spoil your own fun sometimes. That DI was right, do your best but don't let your dedication destroy the fun, don't let your passion blind you to the moment, and guys it is about people not just planes.. I would feel rejected and angry if I got booted, and I also stand up for the guys who were nice enough to help me out, you are all right, all well as wrong... The man who will stand for his buddy during hard times speaks more of the man doing the standing then the rightness of his cause. Yet to displace a man from others, his friends, is akin to leaving him on and island. Don't sweat the small stuff... And it is all small stuff.. Joe Roy

Hoss

My Feedback: (4)

jroy, I don't think anyone could say it better than that. Amen brother.

mu2driver

My Feedback: (15)

Now I will post. Jroy you nailed it! Thats why I like this Hobby, because there are guys like your self in it.

Pugsley-RCU

My Feedback: (15)

Nice post jroy.....

Pugs

Hoss

My Feedback: (4)

I would hope that after everyone reads jroy's post they can let this issue die. If former DOD members like my self, want a place to go and talk airplanes with people that they consider friends and to be knowledgeable please allow that to happen with out dragging any of them through the mud, whether you think what happened or was posted on DOD was right or wrong. This mud slinging does this hobby no justice and in the end will just tarnish it and the people involved. I know things in the world are not pretty but for a lot of us, this hobby is a place to go and escape and have fun with buddies and as jroy so gracefully pointed out is that not the most important thing we are all looking for.

Nathan

My Feedback: (12)

I think this is a good place to end this thread.