Since I sent out the letter, I've received over 400 letters of support. And a half dozen complaining it was rude. Why anyone who hasn't posted anything that would be construed as not being civil would think this letter was written specifically to them is beyond me. But that's what makes a horse race....

Here it is:
Recently I've been disturbed by what I sense has been a general "lowering" of the level of civility in the discourse on the Forums. I've received letters from people complaining about it, and I'm getting concerned. The Resource Center is generally viewed world-wide as the best place to ask questions, trade advice and gain knowledge about farriery and hoofcare. But the plain truth is that many people are hestitating to post because they fear being treated poorly.

Prior to the addition of the Political Arena forum, this was never a problem. But since I allowed an "anything goes" atmoshere on that forum, it seems that attitude has spilled over to the other forums, to our detriment.

None of us likes to read posts we consider plain old ******. And admitedly, there are some of those. But there's a reason a "Back" icon is available on your browser. Use it! No one is forcing you to reply.

If there's someone whose posts you don't like, put them on your "Ignore" list. Then their posts won't bother you.

The bottom line is this: I intend to restore the squeaky clean level of conduct and discourse the forums had until fairly recently. I will use my all powerful DELETE button ruthlessly if I sense even a whiff of anything but goodness and light.

Stick to the topic. If you can't, don't post. I encourage constructive critism, for without it the forums would be useless. But be careful how you word the critisism. Build, don't tear down. There's nothing wrong with attacking, literally, positions or statements that are wrong. Just don't attack the person who posits those positions or statements.

Any personal comments, and I mean ANY, will cause a post to be deleted. I don't care how great the rest of the post was. One sentence, one phrase, that is even close to an ad hominum attack will be all it takes. That post will be history.

I hope I've made myself clear.

Now, go on, have fun. Enjoy.

Baron

LOL... glad I found this. I was thinking to myself 'what did I do?', I barely ever post. I mostly like to read and learn.

Baron,

I think that for some, the outrage(LOL) stems from the fact that you had the temerity to address the letter to each individual member,(as in "Dear Richard Burten, or Dear Tom Stovall," et al) rather than a generic "Dear FHRC member".

Appartently by being personal, you either struck a resonant chord with some, or some were so offended by their personal inclusion that it wadded their undies and caused them peptic disruption. In which case, I suggest those who were offended take some Maalox or the generic equivalent.

As has been noted elsewhere, its a case of mind over matter..Those who mind don't matter, and those that matter, don't mind. And that is, of course, JMNTBCHO

ladyblacksmith wrote:
Very hot up here over 101 degrees, so if anyone wants to show old shoeing, that's fine...........so any takers on shoeing. I posted about city heads, now E-heads heads are popular, how come?
..................................................Linda.............................
________
TICKETMASTER GIFT CARDS

ladyblacksmith wrote:
My understanding from the AFA Cert is because E heads are easier. The popular nail of choice is the MX-50.

I did not find any letter to me in any of my mail boxes so I must assume that Baron recognizes that all I post is pure as the driven smow.
On this I think we can all agree: Barron has given us a great resorce and dose us a great service.
Thank you sir.
Bill

I didn't receive it either .... but I presume that "she who must be obeyed" has got really efficient spam filters etc on the PC's.

Having said that, message received and understood....

And I'll try to be on my best behaviour: I recognise Baron does a difficult job - akin to trying to herding opinionated ferral cats!!

Cyber Farrier wrote:
Barron,did you get letters from Rick B Burton,tom Stoval,and jay perry thanking you for writing the letter?I myself can't believe that Jay perry
would shoot out bold about his 3,000 dollar contribution after telling you
not to tell a single sole about it!!! I guess some people cannot except being unimportant?Now i don't know what to think of Jaye? Do you think Jay could ever keep a secret? It is sad that if you want to know if a person can keep a secret,just listen to what he tells you? I think jay is just a gloryhound myself,
but he sure knows alot about horses~And he sure knows how to put phil in his place.400 letters aye?

Just Passin,

The only thing saving your post from deletion is that it's in the Political forum. But it is a perfect example of the type of discourse which, in my opinion, has absolutely no place on these forums. It takes a lot to make me remove my "stay neutral" hat and make a comment about a specific post, but if any post (put on the forums since I sent the letter out) deserves to be singled out, yours is it. I'm not going to give it the dignity of a point by point reply, and I hope everyone else ignores it as well.

Baron

Cyber Farrier wrote: Well said. But oh boy it is soooo tempting!

why do you let these folk get up your nose with the number of members you have your going to get some that are to out spoken life is like that besides its fun i like someone having a pop at me but he had better be able to do what he says cool it let then talk

Phil Armitage wrote:
Phil,
They did used to allow you to have your choice as to what nails you wanted to use. Has this now been changed? Is AFA now requiring E-Heads?
George

Cyber Farrier wrote: But, to post on this section he/she has to sign their full names. So, the post should be stricken and forbidden anyway, right?

You're absolutely correct. Nonetheless, I will let that particular post stay, as a shining example of what we don't want posted.

Baron

Phil Armitage wrote: George Geist wrote:
The AFA's booklet, Farrier Certification Program, simply says that the candidate is to use "appropriate bar stock and nails." Candidates for AFA certification exams should always refer to this booklet for information rather than depending upon hearsay.