I know most of you probably have no idea who this Porter guy is. Sometimes I look in the mirror and try to figure it out myself. See many ages ago, I got this bright idea of starting a forum devoted to the one thing I love... Turkey hunting. I'm a nerdy geek that enjoys the outdoor. Someone who can and does live off the land. Turkey hunting is a passion of mine and always will be. Just like all the members on this site.
Many moons ago, I had this awesome job that gave me the freedom to spend as much time on the Internet as I could. Something has happened since then. My son is now a teenager and not a little boy. My job went from being me, myself and I to one that I manage 8 employees. And to top that off, I got hooked on a wonderful sport called Pickleball. I had a choice to make. Either shut the site down entirely or figure out a way to keep it going. I decided that moderators were the way to go. I've went through several moderators that were close friends of mine, but had enough of the BS that most sites deal with. I still talk to all of them, but several of them deleted their accounts to get away from the bull.
Now being in a Customer Service oriented employment, I know you cannot make everyone happy. There will always be personal opinions and difference of opinions. Unfortunately the last two days my phone has blown up with texts, emails and calls. I've listened to all the voicemails, read the texts and emails. I have to admit, I've been out of the loop, but reading our "Staff Discussion" page I can see there is trouble brewing. All the mods are like me, they have full time jobs. To be honest, none of us really have the time to deal with these issues nor do we like to use the
button. I am certain we have banned less people than almost all other forums.
After talking to a great friend that runs another forum, I will be introducing more rules. I hate doing that, but I will protect this site the best I can! I do believe in good lively discussions. I do believe constructive criticism is a positive thing and should always help you. Blunt destructive posts have no use nor are they needed. I've seen stated that membership is a privilege and then others mock that idea. It is a privilege and one that I enjoy everyone being on here! I've spent a lot of my personal money keeping this site up and going. Try running one and see the costs involved
So in short, I'm not sure what it will take to make this site like the good ole days. Is it a promise that me, myself and I will be online more often? I know my mods would appreciate that! How do we act like grown ups again? I'm all ears.
I do not nor will I tolerate individual bashing on here, but I am up for seeing and reading anything. I will not let this be a free for all and I've made that clear with the mods. I will not have an open area that is a free for all either. Did that once and the rules were simple for that area.. What goes on in here stays in here. Well guess what... it spilled over to the whole board
So here is your chance to communicate with me/us. I stand behind my Moderators 100%. The buck stops with good ole Porter here. I'm still the Osage loving fool and I still run this site! I do more from behind the scenes than most of you realize. This site has carved so many friendships for me, I do not want to see it fail.
I wish I was as smart as Rickey posted and I do want this site to be fun! Let's get back to what we all enjoy. The sounds of Spring. Seeing a big Tom strutting with 8 hens today made me realize, our season is right around the corner! I'm excited to get my son out and try to get him his first bird. I'm ready to hear my first gobble of the season!
I can say I honestly have missed being online, but it's finding the time that has been difficult. But if that is what it takes to make everyone happy, I will find it!!
