Why I am here...

[hikerman]

another problem with that particular kettle based forum was they had "clicks"   a guy would post a simple hamburger cook and he would get pages of praise while another member would post a super involved cook and get a reply or two. I hardly got any replies on my posts, but I wasn't there for the glory and the glamour. In fact in retrospect, I don't even know why I hung around there as long as I did..........

I don't know if I know the one that you're talking about, but, I do visit one that sounds very similar.

Never been kicked off a forum yet 
I know my slightly irrelevant sense of humor is tolerated her so I'm staying!

Unlike LA, I have been "banned."  (Shades of Jerry Seinfeld!)  But only because I was on the wrong side of the divorce when the Big Mahoffs of a Cigar forum I spent a lot of time on split up.

Like LA, so far you guys have been willing to put up with my sarcasm, which, by the way, I have been really trying to keep somewhat under control.





BD

Hey Bill....let 'er rip buddy!

[RAD]

This and the CB site are really the only two sites I've posted. When CB was going down TMB sent me an invite to join here, thanks Tommy.    So, most of my experiences have been great. 
Now, I will admit my hummer takes a little to get used to and I made a couple of jokes in my early days that weren't received as funny. I needed to be disciplined, “Spanked”. 
Nothing serious and food related but I really needed to use more emotions  to get my funnies across. But the bosses here did not ban, yell, or publicly embarrass me. Instead, they sent me a couple of PM’s and guided me in the right directions. Thanks Tee and Smoke. 

[Ka Honu]

Like tlg, RAD, TMB, and many others I migrated from the CB forum when it was going down for the third time. I still check in to Bradley now and again but it, too, isn't what it used to be. This is the only place I can hang out where I can actually learn some stuff without getting banned for teasing members (including "the Big Aggie") for typing things like...

I know my slightly irrelevant sense of humor...

LA - Drinking while typing often makes your posts irrelevant. Having friends like me, Bo, Joey, Squirrel, and others gives you an irreverent sense of humor which may or may not be relevant. Lucky you to be revered (and occasionally reversed) for having it both ways!

... my hummer [sic] takes a little to get used to...I needed to be disciplined, “Spanked”...

RAD - I'm not sure any of us needed to know any of that. Jus' sayin'.

How can you not love this place?

[tomcrete1]

I know that I'm still a nuebe on this site but early on there was confusion as to my intentions with the videos and  my you tube thing , anyway after some heated e mails we came to an understanding.          ( Thank you Tee! ) I've enjoyed and learned so much from each and every one of you especially Tommy (TMB ) .  Look forward to the future and actually meeting some of you along way.   

[Tailgating is my game]

I am a mod on two NY Jet sites & have had a few problem people over the last year or two but have never treated anyone in a disrespectful way. But I was on an official Jet site & I have seen things like Mike saw on his other site. People are leaving & only the chosen ones are still there lol. It is really sad.

As far as here I was invited by Tommy. It is great here but I hate sending him the $500.00 every month.

[teesquare]

Folks - I know that we try to say it often in many different ways - but, THANK YOU. And -  just to remind you:
YOU - members are the heroes. We can build the best playground in the world - but if the kids don't like the it - and don't use it - of what use is it?
So - this playground  Lets Talk BBQ  is truly driven by the quality of the members. And you folks that have been here the longest were recruited by someone that knew you were a good neighbor, and not an egocentric, or argumentative. And...yeah - you can cook too! But do not be confused about the priorities. A good cook with a bad attitude is not a good neighbor on a forum .
Several of you have cited issues of various nature from other forums. Frankly - I had a similar experience on the pellet cooker forum that muebe and Smoker Pete referred to. And it was completely senseless. About that time - the Char-Broil forum was in a death spiral....loaded with spam ads for ladies underwear, and cheap priced "little blue pills" .....Well - we just felt that there had to be a better way to have a discussion forum.
All of the Admins and Moderators here really just want to help. NOT "police" anyone. But we also did not want to abandon a sense of responsibility to the community in keeping you safe from spam, hackers and data miners. We knew there could be a balance of managing - without being "overseers". In reality - all of the Admins and Moderators just volunteer to help do the needed maintenance so the place stay neat and tidy. That's all. We don't keep "watch lists". we don't have names anywhere that we tally up how many times he/she did or said this or that. We DON'T. We do not even have the ability to read your private messages to one another. Why? Because the are PRIVATE. Respect begins with how a place is managed. If we treat folks as equals - and with dignity, it usually comes back to us the same way. You notice that we allow threads to "wander". You will not get a Moderator or Admin warning anyone to "stay on topic"...Why? Because you came here for conversation. Conversations will wander - if they are genuine 2 way communication among friends... Just human nature . We are all here to relax and have fun. THAT is a rule!
There are few rules here, and the one that counts the most - is The Golden Rule. We can all have different methods that we prefer - but we can disagree respectfully. After all - if we all agreed on how to do everything - it would get really boring around here- and fast.
I hold closely the philosophy that respect is based on 2 things:
1. One's ability to understand that even a first time grill owner - who just struck his first match to light charcoal - may bring an observation that we have overlooked - or forgotten the importance of due "experience" clouding our memory - of what it is like to be "new" at outdoor cooking. The basics that we all learned early on are STILL the largest contributor to our successes or failures - yet they are always the things we often overlook in a forensic manner when trying to figure out what we may have done wrong. The new member - will still hold those basics in high regard - and help us all in this respect - *IF* he/she has the confidence in knowing that when he makes a post - he will not be talked down to - or ridiculed.
2.No matter who we may be as accomplished individuals in our respective fields - or as cooks - we represent no more worth to he who made us - than anyone else. Again - that Golden Rule in this case means that the greatest contribution that we can make to this place....is legitimate friendship - and respectful sharing.
And - for me - seeing this thread not become one where attitudes were soured due to prior negative experiences elsewhere. Rather a celebratory expression of what all of you have accomplished in the creation of a community which is reflective of the quality ingredients you all represent in the making of - not just a "forum"....but a community of friends.
THAT is what YOU have accomplished, and what we each contribute to - with each post, a little everyday.
It is my heartfelt pleasure and with genuine affection for you all that I proudly tell folks about LTBBQ.  Just as an address on a street is merely a marker - LTBBQ is just a location that would not be anything worthwhile without all of YOU. YOU make it fun and easy to keep this place going and growing. So - if you have an opportunity to help as add new members - tell someone that you think would make a good neighbor. They will stand on their own merits and you will never be held accountable for them. But generally - good folks know other good folks. That is still how we gain most of our members.
T

[Ka Honu]

Too much to read, tee. Is there an abbreviated version for those of us who don't like to read that much?

[Smokin Don]

Too much to read, tee. Is there an abbreviated version for those of us who don't like to read that much?

When you get Tee going there is no stopping!!! Don

[IR2dum]

I, like many others, gravitated here after the CB forum died off and I couldn't be happier. I have never joined any other forums although I do read the posts on the forums that were referenced earlier and I can relate to the problems that were talked about. Not so with this forum. This is a forum of good friends, good conversations, and friendly advice. I have gained many lifelong friends. As an example, on a recent work trip to the east coast a couple of weeks ago, I was very lucky to be able to visit with seven forum members....The Turtle and Lost Arrow in New Orleans...Jaxon, Dee, Albert, and Mike in Byron, GA at Jaxon's Backyard Jack Ranch...lunch with Dee in Augusta...dinner with Terry way down in Alabama. I am very dissappointed that I wasn't able to schedule the Ohio Gathering this year because I will miss seeing all my Ohio friends. I promise that I will try to get up there for next year's event. I guess that what I am trying to say is that I feel that you are a family that has taken me in and accepted me and I thank you and I appreciate every post that is made on this forum. Thank you, Tee, for having the vision for this forum and executing it flawlessly. Thank you for letting me be member #14.

[Hub]

For a couple of years I gave several hours a day to moderating a pellet cooking forum.  Sometimes things would get hot and hairy and I'd spend even more time with PM's and carefully worded messages as to why something was edited, deleted or moved.  It was a lot of work but still fun and I came to know and enjoy a lot of fine people who posted there.  We had a couple of members who had especially bad ego and/or alcohol problems and some days I had to "clean up after them" and keep the peace.  I really enjoyed it.

The central problem to most of the conflict on the forum was unclear rules and unfair enforcement by another moderator.  I offered to, and did, rewrite the rules to be clearer and support fairness but my work was never acknowledged.  Many forums are strictly non-commercial but this will always raise gray areas if you don't make the rules specific and then don't enforce them evenly.  So . . .

One day, after having carefully protect the rights of a new member who had made a minor error concerning a commercial reference and getting everyone happy and not offended, the other moderator bombs in and kicks him out.  Several other times after I'd applied fairness and care to handling a "situation" the other mod overrode my work.  So . . .

I still read and occasionally post on that forum and I still have some great friends there.  It isn't growing like it used to.  It still doesn't have any clarification of the rules but the iron-fisted moderation has put an end to much of the entertainment, too.  Caring has a cost.

Hub 

[Pappymn]

Can somebody send me the Cliff's notes on Tee's speech?

[smokeasaurus]

The Smoke is dayum proud to be here and able to call all of you my friends 

[TMB]

Most of y'all know why I left one forum     The guy that was to be in charge was not and things got out of hand and the owner could care a less if the site closed down    they didn't feel it help them sales (which by the way it did)  I was very glad and proud to see my friends follow suit.   Wasn't long before it shut down for good. 

On another site I watched two admins beat down a guys question, calling him a useless member if that the type of questions he was going to ask.  I was there 3 weeks and when I read that I resigned and even PM'd the two admins + gave them my email if they wanted to talk about it
I never heard a word, go figure

So with that said I'm HOME!!   Thanks to Tee for seeing the future back a few years ago       So I joined and I'm #2       um that didn't come out right   

Like Smoke , I'm happy to call y'all friends and extended family!!

[HighOnSmoke]

Okay I am here and this is HOME now! I came over from 2 forums. One was the forum that Tee and Hub mentioned and I just couldn't stand the "putdowns" from some older members to new people. I was new using a pellet grill and needed some friendly guidance and suggestions. What I got was use the "search" button and you will find it. It was like a damn bother to help new people. So I did a Google search for pellet forums and LTBBQ popped up. I am really glad I don't have the patience to listen to "smart a**es" and found this place.  The other forum I belong to (still a non posting member) is one that is "dear" to Smoke. I left that one voluntarily since I was expanding my cooker selections and on that board, unless it is their brand, you are basically an outcast. Yep, an outcast with over 8000 posts.  I understand it is their board and their rules, so I am happy I am not there anymore. I have said it before and I continue to say it to anyone that will listen: LTBBQ is the BEST cooking forum on the internet and I am proud to call you my friends and family.

[teesquare]

Can somebody send me the Cliff's notes on Tee's speech?

the post you are referring to was only a ramble before the preamble...then there is the document itself....and some amendments.....and....


But - challenge yourself to read it...Who knows - you might even feel proud of yourself Pappy. I don't think I used any $5 words