vewyphishy
The Original Smoking Fish
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2003
- Messages
- 2,739
Hey guys,
In light of the dampening mood around CP, I just wanted to share one man's view of the big picture. Yeah, that one man would be me. Sorry to get your hopes up, if you were thinking it was gonna be otherwise.
After reading numerous threads, both the hot topics and the (what is now) side topics... I've noticed an underlying frustration evident in many members (mainly ones who've been here at least a few months). I'm one of these members. In my opinion (and feel free to tell me that I speak for myself), the frustration lies in the inconsistancy of the site (not the physical site, but CP as a community) and the participation of its members. What I've stated in another thread, I'll reiterate here.
CP has grown a lot in terms of members these past few months. It takes times for these new wrinkles to smooth themselves out. When CP wasn't growing as fast, the newbies who came along weren't enough to really rock the boat (unintentionally, of course). There were always good ole FOGs there to correct the mistakes and show the way. If need be, they'd be the big brother and deliver a good smack to the back of the head, when necessary. Now... there are a lot more newbies. That's a good sign. Our community is growing. But with growth comes growing pains. A lot more newbies means a lot more mistakes being made (again, for the most part... unintentional). Now, there ARE enough newbies who's mistakes compound and rock the boat, as we've seen in quite a few threads lately.
I understand that some of the behavior that's taking place in the passes, lotteries, bombing runs, etc. is off. Something needs to be said... and we're definitely not short on guys who will sack up and tell like it is. That's something to be thankful for, because you don't want a problem to continue festering there unaccounted for. However, with that said, a degree of tact should be implored as to not put forth the feeling of (and I quote from the greatest western of our time - Wild Wild West *sarcasm*) "shoot first, shoot last, and then try to ask questions when everyone's dead." That sort of defeats the whole warm and fuzzy feeling that CP is supposed to give off.
Up to this point, it seems as if I'm just documenting what's been happening. That's part truth. The point I'm trying to make is that this is just a phase. I'm sure most other forums and bulletin boards go through this too. What's saddened me the most these past few days is not the flaring of tempers and the finger pointing, but the result of these things. When I first joined, something happened with MikeDevilsFan and he seemed to just disappear. I thought it was just a fluke type thing. And for a while, I was happy to know that it was. But now... we've chased away guys like Tschoon and pissed off guys like Dixie to the point where he feels its better off to leave all together. For a second, I thought we had run off Toaster too. These are just the ones that have openly stated their departure. Who knows how many other members have gotten so disgusted with the recent events that they've made a quiet exit? For those who stick around, what fun will it be if no one is playing in the lottery? Or box passes? Or anything else? If invite-only is the only method left, doesn't that reduce CP into an elitist organization?
My wish is that those who are here... stay here. Play here. Grow here. With growth comes growing pains... but with growing pains comes progress. It would be a shame for CP to take a step in the wrong direction after all the work was put in to make it such an inviting and wonderful place. CP is unique from the rest. I, and many others, could've joined other boards and become regulars there... instead we chose CP. For me, it was because it was a small, rather tight knit community with some interesting personalities thrown in for good measure.
One last note. I'd really think it would serve the community well if we had a standard agreed upon "value" list for cigars. I preached it in the chatrooms, but I was looked at like some kind of leper. Oh wait, thats how they look at me normally... hmm. No matter. The point of this list being obvious. Everyone has a different opinion as to what dog rockets, mid-range, high-end, and super premiums are. With a standardized list, if you (or anyone else) has a question of worth or fairness... Look at the list. Don't know if you're Puts and Takes look right? Look at the list. Not sure if you have a "high-end" stick for a lottery payoff... Look at the list. This takes out the subjectivity, and hopefully minimizes conflict, at least in this regard. Now if you just like to throw stones *cough cough*... well, you're on your own.
I'll shut up now and see what you guys have to say... if anything.
In light of the dampening mood around CP, I just wanted to share one man's view of the big picture. Yeah, that one man would be me. Sorry to get your hopes up, if you were thinking it was gonna be otherwise.
After reading numerous threads, both the hot topics and the (what is now) side topics... I've noticed an underlying frustration evident in many members (mainly ones who've been here at least a few months). I'm one of these members. In my opinion (and feel free to tell me that I speak for myself), the frustration lies in the inconsistancy of the site (not the physical site, but CP as a community) and the participation of its members. What I've stated in another thread, I'll reiterate here.
CP has grown a lot in terms of members these past few months. It takes times for these new wrinkles to smooth themselves out. When CP wasn't growing as fast, the newbies who came along weren't enough to really rock the boat (unintentionally, of course). There were always good ole FOGs there to correct the mistakes and show the way. If need be, they'd be the big brother and deliver a good smack to the back of the head, when necessary. Now... there are a lot more newbies. That's a good sign. Our community is growing. But with growth comes growing pains. A lot more newbies means a lot more mistakes being made (again, for the most part... unintentional). Now, there ARE enough newbies who's mistakes compound and rock the boat, as we've seen in quite a few threads lately.
I understand that some of the behavior that's taking place in the passes, lotteries, bombing runs, etc. is off. Something needs to be said... and we're definitely not short on guys who will sack up and tell like it is. That's something to be thankful for, because you don't want a problem to continue festering there unaccounted for. However, with that said, a degree of tact should be implored as to not put forth the feeling of (and I quote from the greatest western of our time - Wild Wild West *sarcasm*) "shoot first, shoot last, and then try to ask questions when everyone's dead." That sort of defeats the whole warm and fuzzy feeling that CP is supposed to give off.
Up to this point, it seems as if I'm just documenting what's been happening. That's part truth. The point I'm trying to make is that this is just a phase. I'm sure most other forums and bulletin boards go through this too. What's saddened me the most these past few days is not the flaring of tempers and the finger pointing, but the result of these things. When I first joined, something happened with MikeDevilsFan and he seemed to just disappear. I thought it was just a fluke type thing. And for a while, I was happy to know that it was. But now... we've chased away guys like Tschoon and pissed off guys like Dixie to the point where he feels its better off to leave all together. For a second, I thought we had run off Toaster too. These are just the ones that have openly stated their departure. Who knows how many other members have gotten so disgusted with the recent events that they've made a quiet exit? For those who stick around, what fun will it be if no one is playing in the lottery? Or box passes? Or anything else? If invite-only is the only method left, doesn't that reduce CP into an elitist organization?
My wish is that those who are here... stay here. Play here. Grow here. With growth comes growing pains... but with growing pains comes progress. It would be a shame for CP to take a step in the wrong direction after all the work was put in to make it such an inviting and wonderful place. CP is unique from the rest. I, and many others, could've joined other boards and become regulars there... instead we chose CP. For me, it was because it was a small, rather tight knit community with some interesting personalities thrown in for good measure.
One last note. I'd really think it would serve the community well if we had a standard agreed upon "value" list for cigars. I preached it in the chatrooms, but I was looked at like some kind of leper. Oh wait, thats how they look at me normally... hmm. No matter. The point of this list being obvious. Everyone has a different opinion as to what dog rockets, mid-range, high-end, and super premiums are. With a standardized list, if you (or anyone else) has a question of worth or fairness... Look at the list. Don't know if you're Puts and Takes look right? Look at the list. Not sure if you have a "high-end" stick for a lottery payoff... Look at the list. This takes out the subjectivity, and hopefully minimizes conflict, at least in this regard. Now if you just like to throw stones *cough cough*... well, you're on your own.
I'll shut up now and see what you guys have to say... if anything.
