Uncivil Discourse

[Barstart]

I have just returned from spending over nine hours with some of the best and most talented volunteer adult Boy Scout leaders in our area planning to put on a Wood Badge course in the fall. For those of you unfamiliar with the Wood Badge program, it is the premier adult leadership program in the Boys Scouts, and we train adult leaders in the most modern team building, listening, communication, planning, and mentoring skills used today over a challenging six-day course. This is an international program, so you blokes in Australia and the UK have got it as well. We train the leaders who train the leaders of the future. You need only look at a list of Eagle Scouts in positions of power and influence in the US to understand how important this role is. Each volunteer is taking a total of 13 + days out of their life this year, plus hundreds of dollars in expenses (not including lost wages), to put this on.

Why do I mention it? It is because the contents of my day were in stark contrast to some of the messages I read on this web site this evening.

We spent the day talking about personal Vision, Mission, and Values, and how we are going to guide our volunteers to develop and understand their own. I encourage you all to do the same.

I don't care about foul language or foul jokes, I use them myself more often than I should, but I do care about people publicly posting abusive messages on the website of a club that I have belonged to since 1996, and calling each other names and behaving in a manner that they would not dare to undertake if they were speaking in person on stage to a crowd of hundreds of people they do not know.

I'm not asking you to behave like Boy Scouts, I'm asking some of you to calm down and reflect on how your comments reflect poorly on your characters.

[lil cat mec]

Thank you Barstart! you worded it better than most could and you got the point across verry good, and clear! Thank you

[Mike Meyer]

I like to think if my dear Mom were still alive, she would feel comfortable reading the posts here on ACMOC, or that any woman or child would also be made to feel welcome and feel safe amongst this family friendly Forum, isn't that our goal? Do we need to start a third board where Members can slog it out for everyone to see where anything goes, because there's plenty of other Forums to do that and cut loose, and I agree with what BarstartSue said about keeping our private fights private, and more importantly, having met her personally and getting to know her in some small way with her family last November, I can say without hesitation the Boy Scouts of America, and the ACMOC family are blessed to have people of the caliber of BarstartSue in our midst, quietly getting the job done for the benefit of others not looking for praise, glory or financial reward, like so many other volunteers who keep this Club afloat.

We need more good folks like BarstartSue to feel both safe and comfortable here, because I can guarantee you one thing anyoldiron, a huge percentage of the old crawler collections in the world are half owned by our female partners, and they are the real back bone of our Cat. collecting and ACMOC Clubs, just look at the photo's you see in the ACMOC magazine every time a Chapter has a meeting or BBQ, there are always a bunch of cute gals standing amongst the guys helping put on that gathering, and we need more of that, not less. Anyone thinking it's smart to bad mouth these dear women here on this very public Forum is not doing our Club any favors, or acting in a gentlemanly manner, because right now the Scrap Merchants in the U.S.A. are getting more old crawlers than we are, so we need these great women onside to help us hold the line, buying old Cats and restoring, just as BarstartSue is doing right now with a old Cat. Thirty in her garage at home, with her own hard earned cash and her rare moments of spare time between working, studying, and raising her family.
Sincerely
Mike.

[gauntjoh]

I have just returned from spending over nine hours with some of the best and most talented volunteer adult Boy Scout leaders in our area planning to put on a Wood Badge course in the fall. For those of you unfamiliar with the Wood Badge program, it is the premier adult leadership program in the Boys Scouts, and we train adult leaders in the most modern team building, listening, communication, planning, and mentoring skills used today over a challenging six-day course. This is an international program, so you blokes in Australia and the UK have got it as well. We train the leaders who train the leaders of the future. You need only look at a list of Eagle Scouts in positions of power and influence in the US to understand how important this role is. Each volunteer is taking a total of 13 + days out of their life this year, plus hundreds of dollars in expenses (not including lost wages), to put this on.

Why do I mention it? It is because the contents of my day were in stark contrast to some of the messages I read on this web site this evening.

We spent the day talking about personal Vision, Mission, and Values, and how we are going to guide our volunteers to develop and understand their own. I encourage you all to do the same.

I don't care about foul language or foul jokes, I use them myself more often than I should, but I do care about people publicly posting abusive messages on the website of a club that I have belonged to since 1996, and calling each other names and behaving in a manner that they would not dare to undertake if they were speaking in person on stage to a crowd of hundreds of people they do not know.

I'm not asking you to behave like Boy Scouts, I'm asking some of you to calm down and reflect on how your comments reflect poorly on your characters.

Whilst I am not a "financial" or dues paying member of ACMOC these days (since Chapter 2 was decertified at the end of 2009), I whole heartedly agree with Barstart (Sue) and with Mike. I think that some people hide behind their anonymity on Forums (or is it Fora ?) and use it as an excuse for really bad behaviour. It must be a real headache for the moderators. If you caution or reprimand those people then their allies will attack you and if you don't the 'silent majority will do so, it's a no win situation for them. The only solution imho is to have a zero tolerance to such behaviour, or a 3 strikes and you're out (permanently !) syndrome. The problem is with all the aliases used, how do you stop a banned person just coming on again with a new alias ?
I too met Sue many years ago when I was visiting the US. I was really pleased to be able to see 1C1 in the process of being restored as well as many other interesting machines, all courtesy of Sue.

Best Regards, John

[Deas Plant.]

Hi, Folks.
I am with Mike Meyer on this subject. I have met Barstart - Sue and worked with her helping to put the 2011 Best Show Harvest Spectacular together. She and her children put in some mammoth efforts, especially with regard to getting the hay preparation completed for the threshing displays - and that was only one of the areas in which she put in a sterling effort. What's more, she was not alone. There were a goodly number of other women, Jess Gilbertson's family in particular, who put in some mighty efforts to get that show up and running. It was a pleasure to work with them, one and all.

So let's encourage these ladies rather than discourage them 'cos many of them are the support that helps to keep the collectors and restorers collecting and restoring, - often a credit to their patience - and, more often than not, they make a tremendous behind-the-scenes contribution to the shows and other functions that help to foster the aims and intentions of this club and its various chapters. Many of them also make great contributions to the social side of collecting and restoring.

Just my 0.02.

[Mike Meyer]

Whilst I am not a "financial" or dues paying member of ACMOC these days (since Chapter 2 was decertified at the end of 2009), I whole heartedly agree with Barstart (Sue) and with Mike. I think that some people hide behind their anonymity on Forums (or is it Fora ?) and use it as an excuse for really bad behaviour. It must be a real headache for the moderators. If you caution or reprimand those people then their allies will attack you and if you don't the 'silent majority will do so, it's a no win situation for them. The only solution imho is to have a zero tolerance to such behaviour, or a 3 strikes and you're out (permanently !) syndrome. The problem is with all the aliases used, how do you stop a banned person just coming on again with a new alias ?
I too met Sue many years ago when I was visiting the US. I was really pleased to be able to see 1C1 in the process of being restored as well as many other interesting machines, all courtesy of Sue.

Best Regards, John

Nice to see you back John, and thankyou for reinforcing my comments, I sincerely hope that the BOD can see some constructive way forward that brings our Cat. collectors in the United Kingdom back into the ACMOC fold, it's very quiet on the Forum without your input.
regards
Mike

[Bumpus]

.
I just took a look at who was on line,
and there are 128 guest looking and reading.

Every day there are far mor guests than members
who wonder if they should join the site.

If they see and hear people breaking the rules
and getting by with it, they will not join in ! ! !

I also personaly do not like to see or hear it either.

Remember there are people of all ages
men/women and children looking and reading.

If you see or read these kinds of problems you should report
it to the Moderators who will handle it there own way ! ! !



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[ianoz]

Hi Bumpus , I have been one of those Guests on the forum .With the number of nasty replies made against me ,I decided to look as a guest ,so after reading the rubbish ,I would not post a Knee jerk reply and sink to their level .