Where is the Bunny???

[haha]

¡Que vayas con dios, Bunny!

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'd like to point out that my moderator duties are not too much for me to manage--I have a full time job, 12 animals at home, lots of family responsibilities, plus the gym 4 days a week and still find joy in coming here to read, learn and moderate as needed.

It is a unique community, one that I find more interesting in times like these. The burden of moderation is not undue, and the backroom is a place I find both rewarding and hilarious in turn. Andy doesn't spend a lot of time in there with us--I'd say 99% of the decisions made by moderators don't even get so much as a comment from Andy. We get an enormous amount of latitude in determining the tone of our moderation and seldom get an opinion from Andy unless we ask for it.

FWIW, as Ha said in another thread--I love this place, and am both honored and pleased to wear the moderation mantle for my time. Having only been here since 2005, I can't speak of the very early days, but I've seen some great stuff in these few years of participation and see myself here for years to come.

 

[bright eyed]

bunny! say it ain't so?!

If i had a daddy complex, you would be the object of my obsession!

You will be missed...

 

[samclem]

Noooooo! CFB! Surely you could build an irreversable hack or subroutine that would only allow your browser to go here for an hour every two weeks or so! You don't have to be consumed by this place.

Anyway, if you truly stay gone--adios, and thanks for all the great tips and good humor. You'll be sorely missed.

If you choose to return--I dont think the ribbign would go on very long--and a few pix of Gabe would get the discussion turned in a new direction in a hurry.

 

[W2R]

I just wanted to say that I am reading this thread. I just haven't felt like addressing the matter much because I find it to be depressing and it makes me angry! But another mod said I should post here what I posted "behind the scenes", so here goes:

Nords, I think your motives were undoubtedly good. Many of your points are quite valid, but the way in which you presented them left me feeling stunned.

I did not know this board in "the old days", but I LOVE THIS BOARD. OK, every good thing can use improvement and I wouldn't cry if the Soapbox disappeared. But overall, we have a fine message board here, and I think we should be proud of it just as it is.

Like Sarah, I do not feel overburdened with my mod duties. I put time in when I have it, and don't when I don't.

I have lurked at the other retirement boards mentioned, and a few others, and IMO none hold a candle to this one. The only other related message board that I even like at this time is Bogleheads, and it is more for investing in general than it is a retirement board.

CFB, we miss you. I think we all wish the best for you, your wife, and little Gabe, no matter what you decide to do.

 

[unclemick]

Pssst Wellesley(I still believe it was his great idea), the Pat's are good football team, the beer can crushing lady, pancakes on the head, and and and

BACON!

I think I'm gonna cry.

heh heh heh - hmmm maybe go over to Raddr's and lurk for a while.

 

[P.S.]

So I wish you all good luck with your various endeavors and may I say that I've most appreciated the humor, friendships, valuable learnings and our shared adventures into the realm of well funded unemployment. For what its worth, I think investing is going to start getting a lot more fun pretty soon.

honestly, now even less reason to visit here.

 

[Dawg52]

Pssst Wellesley(I still believe it was his great idea), the Pat's are good football team, the beer can crushing lady, pancakes on the head, and and and

BACON!

I think I'm gonna cry.

heh heh heh - hmmm maybe go over to Raddr's and lurk for a while.

Raddr's board has been mentioned several times, and it is a board to pick up some good information. Good quality, but little activity compared to this one. But there is no law that says we have to stayed tied to one board. I look at Raddr's, Bogleheads and a few sports and leisure ones. Still not sure why one has to cut off all ties to a board. If your bored, go do something else as CFB says he will do. But why not pop in every now and then. Surely we haven't all pissed him off.

 

[flipstress]

So long and thanks for all the tips...

Bye and take care, CFB.

I'll miss your posts.

Thanks for all the tips and all the laughs.

 

[Bestwifeever]

By the way, CFB, that was quite classy that you came out and acknowledged your real reasons for departure--the time issue. Two snaps for you! Good luck.

 

[NW-Bound]

I am a newcomer here, so do not know of the evolution of this forum. And this being the only forum I frequent, I do not know how it compares to others.

I have seen good people I'd like to exchange banters with.

I have learned a thing or two about finance and ER that I did not run across elsewhere.

But I have also seen naive newbies being browbeaten by oldtimers.

I have seen dissenters being ganged up on by the majority.

I have seen people who needed a shoulder to cry on being derided.

I have seen cussed words used.

But I also have seen newcomers making belligerent, if not rude, comments towards old timers.

I have seen people who want to steer any thread, or topic towards their pet political subject. It is obvious they come here spoiling for a fight.

All this without venturing into the SoapBox.

GOOD GRIEF!

But I usually tolerate a few outbursts, or aberrations. I always give someone at least 3 chances. I have yet to ignore anyone, but I just gloss over some posts. I do not ignore the Soapbox, but I do not read any thread. Just the title tells me all what it is about. What else but rude comments towards every and any candidates? What's in there for me to learn?

Relax, people. If you want to convert someone, or to convince them of something, telling them in a demeaning or hostile manner will not achieve what you want. It did not even work for me with my children. And once you are convinced that they are so incorrigible, put them on your ignore list, and move on. Do not let them raise your blood pressure!

I think people tend to stick to their guns, while walking away may be a better solution. Why argue with fools?
It takes me a long time to discover this, and it helps me tremendously.

Just walk away from the fools. I hope I will not have to walk away from this forum.

PS. About being able to predict what's in a thread just by looking at the title, there's an analogy in Information Theory. A pure sine wave is not noise, but also has no signal content. Knowing the phase and amplitude of the sine wave, you can predict its future history to infinity. No noise, but no info here either!

 

[Rustic23]

I keep Soap Box on ignore. If it goes away, I would not care, however, the post that are there now would creep back into the main board, and I would care. So it you can find a way to keep politics out of the main boards, and get rid of the Soap Box, go right ahead.

 

[Achiever51]

This is the only forum I have ever joined, but certainly not the only one I've ever followed. And while I am a comparative newbie compared to some of you fine folks, I get exactly what I am looking for out of this experience. I came here looking for validation of my decision to retire early...for assurances that everything was going to be all right even when it felt like maybe it wasn't...for assistance in some financial decisions...and to hang out with others who had already taken the plunge or who planned to do so.

Little did I expect when I posted my first thoughts here that I would learn about bacon and great recipes and all kinds of great lifestyle ideas from CFB...or about military life from the retired service folks like Nords...or about raising chickens or living full time in a RV...or about being gay...or about facing cancer or Alzheimer's, the importance of colonoscopies, the heartbreak of losing a pet, a parent or a spouse...well, I could go on and on, but my point is this:

When I'm looking to interact -- or even just to lurk -- for awhile with a group of folks who mostly seem to be interesting, educated, humorous and interested in sharing, I come here. For the most point, I avoid the drama -- I've never visited the Soapbox and ignore (but don't put on the ignore list) some of the, shall I say, more fringe opinions. I try to treat you as I would if you were a guest in my own home, and hope you will do the same to me. And, yes, while it does seem that the tone of the forum has changed in the recent past, I attribute it to the freefall of the market -- it was, after all, a lot more fun when everything seemed to be going up all the time. Bad times bring out the best and the worst of some folks.

But I still enjoy being here...

 

[Nords]

Nords, I think your motives were undoubtedly good. Many of your points are quite valid, but the way in which you presented them left me feeling stunned.

I didn't just get up on the wrong side of the rack one morning and start throwing hand grenades. There's many months of private moderator discussions, PMs, & e-mails behind this public laundry. It wasn't just between Andy & me, either. We had many of these discussions on the moderator's board when I was part of that team. Martha, REWahoo!, Dory, Laurence, BMJ, the Kaderlis, Brewer, & CFB have all been part of subsequent discussion. Perhaps they feel less strongly about the issues than I do-- well, except maybe for CFB-- but we all feel that the board is (or has been) an important part of our lives.

I did not know this board in "the old days", but I LOVE THIS BOARD.

Soapbox aside, I do too. It's management, not moderation, who I have issues with.

Like Sarah, I do not feel overburdened with my mod duties. I put time in when I have it, and don't when I don't.

Read through my final posts on the moderator's board and think about where you'll be in a few years...

 

[Rustic23]

For me the SoapBox is a necessary evil. It's presence keeps the vitriolic comments out of the other threads and forums, that is a good thing. The advent of the Ignore Forum made it complete. For me it does not exist, and the constant political bards, for the most part, are gone from the other posts.

 

[Khan]

I just wanted to say that I am reading this thread. I just haven't felt like addressing the matter much because I find it to be depressing and it makes me angry! But another mod said I should post here what I posted "behind the scenes", so here goes:

Nords, I think your motives were undoubtedly good. Many of your points are quite valid, but the way in which you presented them left me feeling stunned.

I did not know this board in "the old days", but I LOVE THIS BOARD. OK, every good thing can use improvement and I wouldn't cry if the Soapbox disappeared. But overall, we have a fine message board here, and I think we should be proud of it just as it is.

Like Sarah, I do not feel overburdened with my mod duties. I put time in when I have it, and don't when I don't.

I have lurked at the other retirement boards mentioned, and a few others, and IMO none hold a candle to this one. The only other related message board that I even like at this time is Bogleheads, and it is more for investing in general than it is a retirement board.

CFB, we miss you. I think we all wish the best for you, your wife, and little Gabe, no matter what you decide to do.

I have been hesitant to post here.

Concerning WTR's comment: I have lurked at various retirement boards, but (IMHO) many suffer from a testosterone fog. One thing I first noticed here was some female posters and moderators.

To CFB: "Live long and prosper."

But who will scream: khaaaaan ?

 

[Martha]

Khaaaaaaan!

 

[Sarah in SC]

As for Khan's commentary--I'd like to put right out there in the street that my call for dirty jokes to be PMed to me was answered ONLY BY WOMEN on the board. Interpret that as chicken guys or hilariously funny dirty ladies! I'll take either description as accurate!

 

[Janet H]

As for Khan's commentary--I'd like to put right out there in the street that my call for dirty jokes to be PMed to me was answered ONLY BY WOMEN on the board. Interpret that as chicken guys or hilariously funny dirty ladies! I'll take either description as accurate!

hmm.. it's the internet - how do you know they're women?

Just askin'

 

[W2R]

Khaaaaan !!!!!!

 

[Moemg]

CFB , You defended me against J.G when I first joined and you have been my hero ever since . I take your opinions seriously in fact I am now typying away on a new Dell computer and I have a Hoover vacuum . Please stay we need your comic relief and your down to earth advice and especially the recipes .

 

[W2R]

hmm.. it's the internet - how do you know they're women?

Just askin'

Well, at least you know they'd LIKE to be women!

You can be anything you want on the internet, as the saying goes.

 

[bbbamI]

Well, at least you know they'd LIKE to be women!

You can be anything you want on the internet, as the saying goes.

Woo Hoo! The door's open now baby!

Sincerely,

Leo

 

[Sarah in SC]

Much to my embarrassment, it has been pointed out to me that one, yep, one man did respond to my dirty joke request, but his wasn't very dirty compared to those from the (suspected) womenfolk!

 

[Notmuchlonger]

As for Khan's commentary--I'd like to put right out there in the street that my call for dirty jokes to be PMed to me was answered ONLY BY WOMEN on the board. Interpret that as chicken guys or hilariously funny dirty ladies! I'll take either description as accurate!

I thought it might be a trap for you to boot me off the boards!