Randy, Members gone and/or returning, grammar and illegal vendor(s)?

["John W Rosa" <JohnRosa@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Never one to ignore an issue, even when no cares to 
hear my thoughts....here they are.

Randy, of course, has always been...colorful. We've
even had a few battles of our own, some of it public, 
some of it private. We bashed and slammed at each other 
'til we found we didn't disagree nearly as much as we'd 
first thought...found our middle ground, and have had 
many cordial exchanges since.

I personally don't think banning him is as much a 
positive as it is a negative. What we lose is, in my 
eyes, far larger than the peaceful environment we MIGHT 
gain.

That said, I completely understand the feling of the other 
side in this matter, as as this is a community of individuals, 
the list owner must consider the needs of the many, and if 
the pro-Randy camp is smaller, so be it. I place no fault on 
those that complain about him nor on Colin for making this 
decision. In the end, it was Randy's choice not to control 
himself in what is not a democratic, free-speech environment. 
It is owned, it is managed, and we are all subject to the 
Rules set forth by the owner.

Peole told him over and over...'Stop playing with that gun.'
He ignored it, and he shot himself in the foot. Don't blame 
those that warned him.

As for member bailing out and/or returning here- I don't, for
a split-second, believe the majority of the stated 1500 or so 
members that have left did so based on Randy's tirades. A
few, perhaps, but the greater reasons (and I think Colin might 
have the records to support this) were A) the move of the list 
from one server to another 'dumped' everyopne, including many, 
many accounts that had long been inactive. The bulk of those 
accounts never rejoined, and B) the creation of the AMCforum.net 
drew large numbers away from this 'mailing list' to it's 'forum' 
format, which many prefer (I do not, yet am a member there, too).

I also believe that if, when Randy (or good ol' Bart) launched 
into signature expositions stuffed full of off-color language, 
no one were to acknowledge those unwanted portions, the list 
would function far better. Voice you displeasure with the 
offender directly, not publicly, then respond publicly to any 
of the factual pieces you wish to. Aim when you fire, don't 
spray the room. And if someone else is spraying the room, 
don't spray back- you just make it worse, and the thread 
drags on with no qualitative content, and THAT is what drives 
people away. Not Randy exploding- The whole list filling every 
digest with tirades-in-kind. That is what turns me off.

..and still, I'm here. The folks that DID leave, purely based on 
Randy's harsh words...well, I don't get that. The last thing I'll 
do is be run-off by what I might perceive to be the 'bad apple' 
in a huge group of knowledgable members. Why toss the baby out 
with the bath water? I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone do 
that to me.

If anyone is coming back, purely cuz Randy is gone...they're 
returning to a list with less to offer. Not nothing to offer 
by any means, but a bit less for certain.

And the legal/illegal vendor issue? Sorry, but this is just 
another personality-clash being disguised. Plain and simple, 
Randy and Eddie don't get along- that's all. Any chance to slam 
the other is taken... even created. There are all sorts of 
'levels' to the old car parts sales thing that very few are 
'purely hobby' and fewer are a bonafide, throughly legal 
business venture. But if I sell a stering wheel off a parts 
car, am I suddenly an 'illegal' business cuz I made $20 and 
didn't pay taxes on it? Conversely, if I'm doing all the right 
paperwork, then doing all I can to crush my competitors, am I 
the business you'd want to support? Then the gray areas slip in 
at all levels between. If I'm hand-making gaskets for AMC engines, 
shouldn't I be calling Daimler-Chrysler and getting their OK? If 
I don't, am I scum or just a hobbyist? And if I choose to sell 
those gaskets under a lofty-sounding-but-not-registered trade 
name, am I automatically a crook? It all gets very blurry, but 
I can say this- I've yet to buy any products from Randy...simply 
because I haven't needed them...and I've neevr heard anything but 
good from others about their business dealings with him. I have 
bought a few small items from Eddie, and similarly, have never 
received a report from anyone that felt he had truly 'ripped them 
off'. I believe neither To be a crook or a bad guy. But they 
clearly find fault with each other, and love to advertise it. I 
won't play. I consider them both friends, and would hate to see 
either banned or ousted from the hobby.

Az fur gramur, dats nefer bin a ishue four mee.

And Jock's trouble with Frank...that's all very left field for me.
I find it sad he would make the time to compile a list of negatives
about anyone. Perhaps between comipling such list, he practices 
goose-stepping in the backyard? Maybe this will earn a nifty list 
of my own faults (call my wife for an excellent head-start).


In summation-

Randy- If a vote matters (and I ain't suggesting we have one), I'd 
say he's back in.
Eddie- I wish he were back, too.
Bart- I wanna see a Bart/Randy cage match!
Jeff Kennedy- Someone show him how to log on, please!
Sheryl Crow- Why won't you answer my letters?!? My bike has a MOTOR!
Businesses- If they have what I want, I buy. All else matters not.
Quitters- Don't let the virtual door hit your in the virtual 
posterior on the way out.
Returners- Plenty of room nowadays...welcome back.
Frank- Conflicts of interest be damned- I believe you'd do the job 
well even if it WERE solely yours...which I understand it won't be 
anyway.
Jock- A trial pack of Zoloft is on its way to you now...gratis.


John W Rosa
Owner and SOUL-Proprietor of
www.JavelinAMX.com