Post #183958 by MsSwanky on Fri, Sep 2, 2005 1:50 PM

This is my very first post on Tiki Central, and it may very well be my last... Although I have not previously registered or posted before on this site my thoughts and words have been expressed here, indirectly, through my fiance Swanky. We have spent a great deal of time reading and responding to posts together and through this site I have been privileged to get to now a lot about the people here. This whole tiki culture is still relatively new to me so the pages that pertain strictly to tiki hold less interest for me than those of Beyond and Bilge. While I am slowly being 'converted' into this world of tiki I am enjoying the benefit of the people in it.

I agree that there is a lot of crap on this site - a lot of name calling, slander, and gossip, as well as a lot of mindless entertainment. In fact, one of the main reasons I have never felt an urge to post is because you never know what kind of back-lashing you'll get in response. That being said, my view was changed entirely last week when my own father suffered a stroke. Swanky forwarded me the thread about Crazy Al and his efforts to support the American Stroke Association. I immediately felt the need to express my gratitude and appreciation and had planned to do so the moment I got a spare minute. I was soon to discover that the areas the 'pertain to me' were no longer accessible to me. And I can only assume that if it were not for the fact that Crazy Al was actually auctioning a tiki for this cause this type of topic would be relegated to Beyond or Bilge. It saddens me to think that a few useless off topic threads would prevent an entire community from having knowledge of the really positive things, except those that have and can afford the GM.
As for the monetary aspect, I agree that $24 or so isn't much - for most people - but, even as badly as I wish I could donate money to Al's event I am afraid every spare penny I have will be going directly to a victim, my father. I hope that no one on this site will ever experience what my family has, but I would hate to think that there is an entire community here that could support them and they would never know it or could not talk about it without a GM.

I am struggling to find the logic in this decision. I agree that the most obvious result is going to be garbage showing up where you least want it. I don't see how a decision like this is going to 'purify' Tiki Central. But, I also don't understand the method of "Shoot first, ask questions later" in regards to the way the changes were made.

I sincerely hope that this community is able to continue doing what it does best - support each other - whether it be in an attempt to help find that most sought after Tiki or just to lift up somebody who's down.

There's my two cents...