Let me start with a little story. I recently had a sour experience on another forum that I will not name, and was accused of "working the board for profit". I joined it last October and didn't post much. When I felt I had something to contribute, I made a post showing some of my creations, which I was quite proud of. The thread went on for 5 pages of people welcoming me, encouraging me and thanking me for posting them. Then out of no where, the thread disappears. When I asked for an explaination from one of the mods, he tells me:
1. "I'm new" (like that's wrong?)
2. "I have a lot of bling" (I think that was a compliment, but not sure why that warrants having my thread removed)
3. "4 pages into your thread, you told people to PM you for your web address" - This blew me away, because in their profile settings, there is a spot to enter your homepage. If anyone wanted to know it, all they had to do is look at my profile. Apparently it's ok to put it there, but heaven forbid that you ever mention it! The ironic thing is that it was that forum's members that encouraged me to put the website together, after I had made the post... what a joke.
This guy kept going on about how I was only there to sell stuff, and he couldn't let me do that to his paying sponsors. I could understand his logic, if it were actually true and he had some reason to believe it, but not once did I mention selling anything. They must have really had some bad experiences in the past I guess, to be that paranoid. I couldn't believe this guy. Needless to say, I won't be posting there any more...
And that's about when I started thinking about how lucky we all are to have a resource like this forum available, and how rare it is these days to find a group of people like this, that treat each other with such respect and dignity. I honestly believe that any one of you guys would give me the shirt off your back if I needed it. I can't think of single offensive word that I've seen come from the keyboards of you guys since I joined. All you care about is doing what we do - and encouraging primitive archery!
So kudos to the members of P.A., where the exchange of knowledge is encouraged, people respect each other, and criticism is constructive (mostly
)
Also kudos to the mods and admins that keep this place going - you do an amazing job. There's a reason that the first and last thing I do on any given day is check in on your forum! I think it's time to get that 3 year subscription that I've been procrastinating