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// on soapbox
For many years the Jackson/Charvel Forum has served many purposes for me. Initially, it was a place where I could do some research on the Jackson and Charvel items I owned and wanted. It later helped me determine what was real and what wasn't in the Jackson Charvel world. It then evolved into a place to waste some time and discover online (and later real life) friendships that continue to this day. The chance to network with many folks with like-minded tastes in guitars (and some of the folks who work to build and market them) is invaluable to me.
Despite those positive attributes, there have been some negatives. I'll forego many of the things that personally bother me to focus on one specific issue that recently reared it's ugly head. I received a message from a relatively inactive member of this forum. The member in question comes out of nowhere asking if I have guitars to sell. I told this person that if I had guitars to sell, I would have posted them in the Classifieds or on eBay. This prompted a response of this member first bragging about what guitars they had, then an attempted insult to me.
Now, maybe this will look negative on me, but at this point I don't care. IF this forum has devolved to the point where being a community is no longer a priority then then I really don't want to be a part of it anymore. I've made my connections beyond this forum and I cherish those connections. That said, I have always detested any overt solicitation to buy a guitar from someone who makes no mention of selling. I find it to be extremely rude and for all intents and purposes... Spam.
I know my view isn't shared by everyone on this forum and some of you will respond telling me to lighen up. However, when someone blindly messages me, I'm definitely going to respond. So here it is. The "relatively inactive member" may have blocked me from replying to his message, but he cannot block me from saying my peace. I know, this may be a little extreme, but I am tired of spam. I fought it here when I was an Admin, I fight it every day when I open my e-mail. Rarely do I get a chance to publicly respond to it.
// off soapbox
For many years the Jackson/Charvel Forum has served many purposes for me. Initially, it was a place where I could do some research on the Jackson and Charvel items I owned and wanted. It later helped me determine what was real and what wasn't in the Jackson Charvel world. It then evolved into a place to waste some time and discover online (and later real life) friendships that continue to this day. The chance to network with many folks with like-minded tastes in guitars (and some of the folks who work to build and market them) is invaluable to me.
Despite those positive attributes, there have been some negatives. I'll forego many of the things that personally bother me to focus on one specific issue that recently reared it's ugly head. I received a message from a relatively inactive member of this forum. The member in question comes out of nowhere asking if I have guitars to sell. I told this person that if I had guitars to sell, I would have posted them in the Classifieds or on eBay. This prompted a response of this member first bragging about what guitars they had, then an attempted insult to me.
Now, maybe this will look negative on me, but at this point I don't care. IF this forum has devolved to the point where being a community is no longer a priority then then I really don't want to be a part of it anymore. I've made my connections beyond this forum and I cherish those connections. That said, I have always detested any overt solicitation to buy a guitar from someone who makes no mention of selling. I find it to be extremely rude and for all intents and purposes... Spam.
I know my view isn't shared by everyone on this forum and some of you will respond telling me to lighen up. However, when someone blindly messages me, I'm definitely going to respond. So here it is. The "relatively inactive member" may have blocked me from replying to his message, but he cannot block me from saying my peace. I know, this may be a little extreme, but I am tired of spam. I fought it here when I was an Admin, I fight it every day when I open my e-mail. Rarely do I get a chance to publicly respond to it.
// off soapbox
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