Time to pack it in

[Toran Tanner]

I have over the past few weeks been in a know it all mood and have p***** many people off with my threads and debates. I have been thinking about it alot and have come to the conclusion that posting and dicussing on forums is just not or me. If maybe I could use grammer better or knew how to use my words better than maybe it would be different. sadly with words and grammer I suck.
Also I hear thing I shouldn't and then I call people out on what I hear. just the way I am. A no BS kinda person, that said I have decided to leave all forums.

I will continue to come on and read threads and make the occasional comment to photo's and what not. beyond that I am done giving any info, advice and the like.

To anyone I have upset I am sorry and hope you don't hold any grudges.

Cheers

Toran signing off

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi mate.
Just had to edit one word or Mr Pennell would be slapping my wrists for not doing me job

Anyways, bit of a shock you not participating anymore.

So a few threads had to be moderated, not really that much of a problem really. If everyone had the same views and opinions the world would be a boring place. In my opinion anyway.
Everyone's entitled to thier views, sometimes when these are written down they are taken the wrong way, or the message doesn't get across properly, this happens....a lot of the time people don't read through properly and skip a few important words then make their own mind up as to what the person is trying to say...you've said this yourself in this and other forums and when the thread's read back through you can see where the tangent started.
I appreciate you wanting to know the "truth", "origins" and the "real story" behind some peoples statements, a lot of other people just take things for granted even if they're not fully sure about them, you like to delve deeper...again not a problem in my opinion, in fact you ask the questions others want to.

I dont think anyone will be holding anything against you for having your own opinions.

I could have said all this on the phone or on a visit but i thought posting it would be better as others would see my opinion.

I'll see you soon matey

Colin

[Eduard Johan Hijmensen]

have a nice life

Eddy

[Ray Hale]

Hi Toran,

having been in this game far too long, I can tell you that there have been times when I felt like jacking it all in and walking away.

During my time on the BTS Commitee I have probably upset most of them and had many a stand up with the rest of the guys. Do I walk away? No chance. I may disagree with them once in while. I may even tell them exactly what I think but these guys (and gals) are my friends and friends fall out.

Dont take things to heart ( thats good coming from me I can tell you). I get upset when people criticise me or the BTS Exhibition. Maybe becuse we have spent so long doing it all.

The internet is gret tool albeit a very impersonal medium and what is typed in good faith can often be misconstrewed. I have enjoyed your posts and feel that you have much to bring to the UK hobby and it would be a shame if you gave it up. I dont worry if someone mods my posts. As we say in England....todays news is tomorrows chip paper.

Get yourself down to the lectures, meet the crew and have a great night.

It dosent matter how we all argue at the end of the day its forgotten.

Ray Hale
BTS Committee

[kirsty smith]

Toran,
Wouldnt the world be a boring place if every one all agreed & thought the same????. Im completely new to the world of tarantulas,the proud owner of 1 solitary g.rosea,which i have because people such as yourself took the time through this forum to tell me what a good choice of beginner T" they are!.
You obviously have a lot of knowledge about tarantulas,give things time,things will blow over eventually! But if your mind is made up - i wish you all the best for the future!

[Louise~Nichols]

Toran...
Don't you dare disappear sweety!!

Last night you helped get my Bicolor girly back on her feet...I thought I was definitely losing her...but today she has fed properly after following your advice...so, please don't disappear...you are very needed and appreciated....thanks for being there. *hugs*

[Mark Pennell]

Toran
Ray just hit the nail on the head, and also you must have had my PM about the threads.

Yeah you have a style of writing that can be different to coin a phrase but its OK by us. OK you might had a bit of a bad few days / week but I can guarantee you it was not as bad as mine, trust me on that one!

Dude come and have a chat with me and uncle ray at the lectures you see the world in a different light.

You have some interesting ideas and thoughts don't let the last few weeks get you down.

Like Ray says I too think its time to wrap up almost daily. I get so much email now and so much hate mail. Yet as a society we try to help, yet this seems no good for some, just latley I had an email calling me every name under the sun because I never got back to them within 30 mins. This was at 3.00am in the morning. Even I have to sleep!

I had a few problems on the AP forum a accumulation of a very bad week, and I took a post the wrong way. Just because I had already this week full of your all ******* ****** and should rot in hell emails.

Its hard for us at time's but we soldier on.. Please don't crash because odd a few moderated posts... which just happen to be the only moderated posts we had had in 9 years.

Toran I don't' think ill of you and appreciate the PM's and all the input OK some of it is close to the mark but hey we are all human ( except for us committee members apparently).

I took a big chill pill today! yes I'll be back to work tomorrow and the stress of the work and all the stuff here and of this board I have deal with will be back. However my heart is in this hobby and I look back on the days when there was no one to speak too and we dealt with problems by snail mail and talking face to face.

I am happy to say that I still have friends I met 20 years ago because of this hobby. I love the net and it was me that dragged the BTS online, but I also hate its facelessness and despite what they say its not the social interface they claim.

There is so much the tinterweb has to offer but it also has such a down side.

Stick with the forums, but get really social and find ways of actually meeting the people you may feel you hate, and I guarantee you you have more in common that you think.

We started the real name campaign to help combat this faceless situation and get some real interaction going. Its so easy to give a quick post to someone with malice and hate, when they don't now who you are.

So reconsider your thoughts, I have, pretty much everyday.

Take care

Mark

[Tom Forman]

Hi Toran,
have just recently joined the forum but still feel like chirping in as it would be a shame to have you leave.

I thought your post on sexing T's you posted recently was great.

I myself often misread/misunderstand what people are meaning to say, and get into unnessecary arguments.

We all type things on forums quite fast and alot of times a comment can be interpreted in many ways because we haven't got the time to elaborate on everything we are saying.

We all know (even I can tell from the short time I have been here) that you mean well. So don't leave. Just next time you feel like somebody has just made fun of you, re-read the post again from a differernt perspective and most of the time you will find you just came to hasty conclusions.

Besides, watching internet arguments is fun. It's great to see one "live" before the admins have time to close it down lol. All harmless fun if you ask me.

[Peter Lacey]

thank god for forums, thank god for healthy debate, thank god for a place to provide and receive information in such a short space of time.
Never shy from passionate views. Never cease to learn. Never let the bad points outweight the good points.
And Never, say Never again.

ooops!

[James Box]

Toran, i've seen all sorts of nonsense on message boards, people getting making a statement or asking a question in good faith, and people responding with utter nonsense, simply to make themselves look smart. some people i think get a perverse joy out of talking down to people.
that's what i thought happened to you on another board, and it really made me mad. from having met you, i know you're a great guy, and i get annoyed when people are nasty to cool people.

so your grammar and spelling aren't perfect...big deal! people need to read slowly and take things in, not just have kneejerk reactions to everything. your posts are clear enough, but some people just WANT to react.

i think it'd suck if you didn't post. you've got cool views and alot of knowledge to share. you've helped me out with a few things in the short time i've known you, and *touch wood* we'll have some C cyanopubescen slings in the near future!
keep in touch. definitely come out and meet more people!
i've found people's posting styles don't always reflect the reality of their personalities. we read things in, and we mentally edit and add tones of voice...and sometimes our interpretation is wrong. meeting people in real life helps to clear that up, and treating the internet as merely a limited tool for communication, somewhere between texting and speaking on the phone is a good idea, rather than substituting it for real conversations.

it'd be nice if everyone carefully read other people's posts before reacting, and if they also carefully read their own post in preview before clicking that button...lots of misunderstandings can be avoided through just a bit of care.

[Phil Rea]

Toran, i've seen all sorts of nonsense on message boards, people getting making a statement or asking a question in good faith, and people responding with utter nonsense, simply to make themselves look smart. some people i think get a perverse joy out of talking down to people.
that's what i thought happened to you on another board, and it really made me mad. from having met you, i know you're a great guy, and i get annoyed when people are nasty to cool people.

so your grammar and spelling aren't perfect...big deal! people need to read slowly and take things in, not just have kneejerk reactions to everything. your posts are clear enough, but some people just WANT to react.

What I will point out here, is that moderating decisions either here or on any other board are not made based on spelling or grammar. It doesn't matter how 'cool' someone is or who has met who in 'real life', there is a great deal that has to be taken into account when someone posts something on a public forum.

It's not simply a case of whether we agree with what's been posted or not, but sometimes we have to take the unpopular route and actually do what we're here for - moderate. Whether we have to edit or delete someone's post or thread, or make our own comments about it, it's never anything personal, but simply an application of the rules, or a decision made for the benefit of the board and the community as a whole. If we're sometimes looked upon as overbearing, or some kind of ogres, then it's unfortunate (and often way over the top), but its something we accept comes as part of the job.

I've written my response to this over on AP, and Toran is aware of my comments over there, so I won't repeat them here

[Nicola Dolby]

You've certainly not offended me Toran. I agree totally with Mark, we all get irritated from time to time. I hope you'll give it a couple of weeks and then come back to us.

[SylviRigden]

Bye Toran/TTStinger. I expect you will be back soon. Most people who surf these sorts of sites can't stay away long.

[J M Clegg]

I used to try and contribute to the forums on a regular basis and enjoyed it. The difference of opinions at times was frustrating and I drew the opinion that occasionally it seemed that "everyone's an expert". However when you take time to reflect, the combined knowledge of the BTS and the excellent work the committee do just to keep it running makes this THE best tarantula web site around. A lot of the "experts" come and go as quickly as their fascination of this hobby does. Thankfully the days of the threads like "oh a new baby arrived today" or the ever popular "We survived a moult..." seem to have ended and the forum has returned to an excellent knowledge base.

People come and go, opinions and trends change. At the end of the day contribution helps but background reading is still important. I rarely contribute anymore but I always read.

[James Box]

What I will point out here, is that moderating decisions either here or on any other board are not made based on spelling or grammar. It doesn't matter how 'cool' someone is or who has met who in 'real life', there is a great deal that has to be taken into account when someone posts something on a public forum.

It's not simply a case of whether we agree with what's been posted or not, but sometimes we have to take the unpopular route and actually do what we're here for - moderate. Whether we have to edit or delete someone's post or thread, or make our own comments about it, it's never anything personal, but simply an application of the rules, or a decision made for the benefit of the board and the community as a whole. If we're sometimes looked upon as overbearing, or some kind of ogres, then it's unfortunate (and often way over the top), but its something we accept comes as part of the job.

I've written my response to this over on AP, and Toran is aware of my comments over there, so I won't repeat them here

i wasn't referring to moderating, Phil, but to un-moderated comments etc, specifically ones that read interpretations into what someone else said...things i personally found clear, but others, i can only assume, weren't interested in anything other than unnecessary drama.
i'm not bashing your much appreciated moderating. i fully recognise the need for good, clear, consistent rules to be applied to all, newbies and oldies alike!