Whiteblaze - the next step

**Lugnut** · 08-31-2009, 20:47

Originally Posted by The Weasel

Chef ---

Easy, the guy who started this site, was a wonderfully open guy who didn't want to OWN anything. He just wanted a place where we could all sort of talk about backpacking and the AT and all the rest. So it was actually the opposite, intended as some kind of Internet commune, with a minimum of "let's control each other!!!" attitude.
So it hasn't been a "The Owners Own It" site, historically, although that may be hard to believe. Mostly, the Admins saw themselves as 'first among equals' rather than Gods.

TW

Those days are gone. I can understand that some restraint is needed at times but Dave sure was fun!

**max patch** · 08-31-2009, 20:52

Originally Posted by The Weasel

Easy, the guy who started this site, was a wonderfully open guy who didn't want to OWN anything. He just wanted a place where we could all sort of talk about backpacking and the AT and all the rest. So it was actually the opposite, intended as some kind of Internet commune, with a minimum of "let's control each other!!!" attitude.

Weasel, when ownership changed there was supposed to be a tribute to Easy and his contributions in the history of the site page. Much like the history books in the old USSR, they have been rewritten and all references to Easy have been stricken.

Do you know why this was done?

**The Weasel** · 08-31-2009, 20:53

Originally Posted by Lugnut

Those days are gone. I can understand that some restraint is needed at times but Dave sure was fun!

And he never hurt anyone's feelings, although I know for a while he was a little difficult to deal with.

Those days may be past, but they don't have to be gone. Threads can - or should be allowed to - wander like a drunken Dutchman without getting closed, and people can - or should be allowed to - disagree with moderators/admins without being punished. Imagine.

TW

TW

**Gray Blazer** · 08-31-2009, 20:54

Originally Posted by The Weasel

And he never hurt anyone's feelings, although I know for a while he was a little difficult to deal with.

Those days may be past, but they don't have to be gone. Threads can - or should be allowed to - wander like a drunken Dutchman without getting closed, and people can - or should be allowed to - disagree with moderators/admins without being punished. Imagine.

TW

TW

Amen, Brother Ben.

**The Weasel** · 08-31-2009, 20:56

Originally Posted by max patch

Weasel, when ownership changed there was supposed to be a tribute to Easy and his contributions in the history of the site page. Much like the history books in the old USSR, they have been rewritten and all references to Easy have been stricken.

Do you know why this was done?

Well, in our own way, a number of us have provided a 'tribute' to him, just be remembering him and how he was in posts, as the last month has shown. But as for why nothing greater happened? There were some times when he caused a bit of internal aggravation and lost some of his cred with some of us. I don't think it was intentional, but he made it a little harder. And in the first year, Rick was doing a huge amount, and Ern was under significant pressure for his first deployment to Iraq that was coming up, so some things just got a little set aside, I think.

TW

**Tipi Walter** · 08-31-2009, 21:32

Originally Posted by Gray Blazer

I was just quoting the Home Page. It's actually a Community of Appalachian Trail Enthusiasts. Acronym.....CATE. You could make it the Home of Appalachian Trail Enthusiasts....thus the acronym would be HATE.

Gentlemen, no fighting here, this is the warroom!

Maybe Buck Turgidson actually started Whiteblaze. You could make it the Defensive and Enormously Fighting Ersatz Community of Appalachian Trail Enthusiasts or DEFECATE.

**slow** · 08-31-2009, 21:55

Originally Posted by Jack Tarlin

Just want to clear up a few things:

*I had nothing to do with the start of this website. A casual reading of
the first paragraph of Weasel's post might lead one to think otherwise; one
might further think that I was one of the folks who was looking for a new
place because I was disgruntled or angry with Dan Bruce.

*I left Trailplace for any number of reasons, not all of which Weasel is aware
of, and I really wish he'd left me out of his comments altogether. I never
really had much of a beef with the way Dan ran Trailplace; it was, after all,
his website. In retrospect, I think most of the folks that got kicked off the
site probably deserved it, and it astounds me that many of them still carp on
this years and years later. My voluntary departure from Trailplace was
more a matter of clashing personalities than it was with anger over how Dan
ran his website. But honestly, this years of complaining about how a
website is operated.......this gets a little ridiculous. You don't like how a
guy operates his own personal website? Easy. Don't go there, or start your
own site.

*I also want to make it clear that I have no complaints whatsoever about
how this website is administered. I think the folks that run the website are
doing a great job, and likewise, the various administrators. I've had
dealings with just about all of them in regards to some of my own posts, as
well as my questions or complaints about stuff posted by others. I haven't
always agreed with the decisions or the reasoning of the Moderators, but in
my correspondence with them, without exception, they've been prompt,
civil, helpful, and very open. I therefore didn't much care for the recent
bitch session "Who's your favorite moderator!" which quickly degenerated
into anonymous personal attacks. I think if you have a beef with a
particular individual or administrator, you'd do best to contact that person
privately. But do I think that the present website is overly moderated or
censored? No, I do not, and it's unfortunate that Weasel's capsule history
of Whiteblaze might lead folks to think otherwise.

In short, I think Whiteblaze in its present incarnation is just fine, and that people that spend more than a few minutes worrying about this alleged burning issue have too much time on their hands.

You are a CLASS ACT....hands down.

BTW...have you walked for point A-B.

**saimyoji** · 08-31-2009, 22:50

Jack's greatest contribution to WB: moosecock.

**chefjason** · 08-31-2009, 22:58

Originally Posted by The Weasel

Chef ---

Despite TM accusing me (accurately) of being pompous, I'm one of the few who are still active of the half dozen or so who got this place going and kept it alive when it almost immediately cratered, for reasons that have nothing to do with anything. But...

Easy, the guy who started this site, was a wonderfully open guy who didn't want to OWN anything. He just wanted a place where we could all sort of talk about backpacking and the AT and all the rest. So it was actually the opposite, intended as some kind of Internet commune, with a minimum of "let's control each other!!!" attitude. That attracted people a LOT. Dan Bruce had a wonderful site, but yeah, he owned that sucker, and had the right to say (or not say, and just act), "It's my site, and my rules." Here? Damn; one of he biggest problems has, historically, been figuring out exactly who IS in control here, but mainly that was ignored in the early days, since no one really cared. That's a chunk of what's missing. And ATTroll (Rick) and Sgt Rock (Ern) were wonderful for continuing that tradition. If you doubt, go look at the "Mission Statement."

So it hasn't been a "The Owners Own It" site, historically, although that may be hard to believe. Mostly, the Admins saw themselves as 'first among equals' rather than Gods.

TW

Soooo, why was the site sold? And to whom? And where the heck is that person now?

**saimyoji** · 08-31-2009, 23:02

Originally Posted by chefjason

Soooo, why was the site sold? And to whom? And where the heck is that person now?

the site was never sold by easy. it rests comfortably in the hands of the current operators.....the guys whose names are in black.

**The Weasel** · 08-31-2009, 23:03

It wasn't sold. It was transferred. That's part of the delight of WB. It's never really been a place that was "owned" as much as 'attended" or "taken part in."

The transfer was from Dave, known variously as "Easy", "Former Easy" and "Admin" and "Former Admin" to ATTroll (Rick) and to Sgt Rock (Ern). They have dealt with formal "ownership" issues among themselves, but never played the "I am Owner, Bow Before Us" card. Their approach has always been, "C'mon into the campfire we built." Easy is out there somewhere. I appreciate what he started.

TW

TW

**chefjason** · 08-31-2009, 23:08

Originally Posted by saimyoji

the site was never sold by easy. it rests comfortably in the hands of the current operators.....the guys whose names are in black.

Originally Posted by The Weasel

It wasn't sold. It was transferred. That's part of the delight of WB. It's never really been a place that was "owned" as much as 'attended" or "taken part in."

The transfer was from Dave, known variously as "Easy", "Former Easy" and "Admin" and "Former Admin" to ATTroll (Rick) and to Sgt Rock (Ern). They have dealt with formal "ownership" issues among themselves, but never played the "I am Owner, Bow Before Us" card. Their approach has always been, "C'mon into the campfire we built." Easy is out there somewhere. I appreciate what he started.

TW

TW

Well, some one has to pay for the bandwidth right? Who is that? Are the mods paid? Who pays them? the guy making the payments is the one in charge right? So who is he/she/them...it?

**warraghiyagey** · 08-31-2009, 23:10

It's me. . . .

**The Weasel** · 08-31-2009, 23:12

For a long time, ATTroll paid the fees, with occasional contributions from people. A few modest advertisements brought in some money, I beleive, and a few years ago a more solid contributions base and method was started. But by and large, this place has been an act of kindness.

As for paying the moderators, I'm not aware that they are paid, but I really don't care about that. As for "the one in charge," well, that has always been an interesting point here until the current moderation regime. In the beginning, ATTroll didn't want to "be in charge" because he didn't care for the angst it caused. Sgt Rock didn't want to be responsible for the technical stuff. I rather thought they each fit a need that made it all work, and they sort of agreed. But never acted like "owners" since that wasn't the style here. And I think that was a good way to operate.

TW

**Lugnut** · 08-31-2009, 23:14

Originally Posted by chefjason

Well, some one has to pay for the bandwidth right? Who is that? Are the mods paid? Who pays them? the guy making the payments is the one in charge right? So who is he/she/them...it?

Paid for by some advertising and donating members.

**max patch** · 08-31-2009, 23:14

Originally Posted by The Weasel

Easy is out there somewhere. I appreciate what he started.

TW

TW

He showed up a couple weeks ago and made a dozen or so posts.

They were all deleted.

**The Weasel** · 08-31-2009, 23:18

Originally Posted by max patch

He showed up a couple weeks ago and made a dozen or so posts.

They were all deleted.

If they were deleted, I doubt that it was by either Rick or Ern. It wasn't their style, even when Easy irked them. Lord! We've all irked Rick or Ern, but I don't think either of them ever deleted a post for anyone.

TW

**A-Train** · 08-31-2009, 23:22

Originally Posted by max patch

He showed up a couple weeks ago and made a dozen or so posts.

They were all deleted.

He is pretty active on facebook.

Fun fact: I was his original transcriber, during his abbreviated 2002 hike. He sent me a t-shirt from Neels Gap and we chatted on the phone a few times.

**chefjason** · 08-31-2009, 23:24

Originally Posted by The Weasel

For a long time, ATTroll paid the fees, with occasional contributions from people. A few modest advertisements brought in some money, I beleive, and a few years ago a more solid contributions base and method was started. But by and large, this place has been an act of kindness.

As for paying the moderators, I'm not aware that they are paid, but I really don't care about that. As for "the one in charge," well, that has always been an interesting point here until the current moderation regime. In the beginning, ATTroll didn't want to "be in charge" because he didn't care for the angst it caused. Sgt Rock didn't want to be responsible for the technical stuff. I rather thought they each fit a need that made it all work, and they sort of agreed. But never acted like "owners" since that wasn't the style here. And I think that was a good way to operate.

TW

With no one in charge you wind up with anarchy. Some one has got to be in charge. That doesn't mean that some one has to boss folks around and pound their chest while screaming "bow before me you weak and insignificant fools!" But, there has to be some sort of direction. That is just a fact that can be proven with little research at all.

Originally Posted by Lugnut

Paid for by some advertising and donating members.

Is that how you got your name in green? i want MY name in green! I am sooo full of envy right now!

Originally Posted by max patch

He showed up a couple weeks ago and made a dozen or so posts.

They were all deleted.

How can some one delete the post of a guy who started the site? Has be been banished like Ferdinand Marcos?

**Skidsteer** · 08-31-2009, 23:25

Originally Posted by The Weasel

If they were deleted, I doubt that it was by either Rick or Ern. It wasn't their style, even when Easy irked them. Lord! We've all irked Rick or Ern, but I don't think either of them ever deleted a post for anyone.

TW

ATTroll and Rock have deleted many posts while moderating WB. Including some of your posts; And mine for that matter.

You're being silly and misleading.

Thread: Whiteblaze - the next step

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