I just wanted to remind you all that this may look like just another internet forum but in reality it is much, much more. It is actually the waiting room of a very small company that is trying to convince really big companies to spend their money to keep their workers and customers safe. Doug Ritter works his tuckus off trying to get airlines, cruiselines, railroads, auto manufactures, etc... to try and take safety seriously. Meanwhile he's graciously allows us crazy people to hang out in his reception area.

Now look over at the "Who's Online" tool, who do you see on the board? Mostly names we recognize, right? Same people day after day...plus (as I write this) 28 guests. Who are these guests? I don't know, you don't know, they could be anybody.

There's a good chance one or more of them is from one of those big companies that Doug is trying so hard to make safer. Why are they checking out this board? Quite likely to find words to use AGAINST Doug. So when Doug is facing them across a government table they can pull out a bunch of knuckleheaded quotes and say, "Why should we listen to this guy? Look at the types of people he hangs out with!"

This exact scenario has happened to Doug a number of times. The fact that he keeps this forum open in light of this is nothing short of amazing.

So what does this all mean? It means that from this moment on I am no longer loyal to a particular religion, race, friend, or political dogma. My loyalty is only to Doug Ritter's dream of making the world a better place. As a moderator my actions will be driven by what is best for the Equipped to Survive Foundation.

As forum participants, I hope you will do the same.

Thanks.
-Blast

Many thanks extended to Blast and KG2V! Here's to great things accomplished, and many more to come.

RE: Words from the sheriff - a good reminder, and duly noted.

Blast, good point. I never really thought of the Guest section that way. I'm sure in the last 900 or so posts I've probably said one or two things that could have nipped DR a bit. If so, I apologize. And then I thank you Blast for the reminder!

Several weeks ago I had a big lecture on professionalism at work. Guess it's good advice here too.

Blast- I am glad you will be moderating. Each moderator brings a certain style to the party and yours has always been fun and informed.

Agreed sir thanks.

Lee

Good points, Blast.

Excellent point, even for those who know it in our heads and don't always remember it in their typing fingers. Those "guests" include everyone from school kids doing homework to people's bosses (or prospective employers if you link here from a blog or some social network) to, as Blast has said, people who we really want to take us as a group seriously. The reason I've hung around is because we aren't stereotype "survivalists".

ETS has always had style and sanity. My mother, a medical librarian who is on the contingency team for her hospital, has used this place. I can't imagine she isn't the only parent/spouse/child of a member to use us as a professional source, and I know a lot of us regulars have as well Even if we are the sideshow in Doug's circus, let's not embarrass ourselves.

Thanks Blast, This schould be a BLAST haveing you as the Modarator. Also I am looking forward to the new Forum. Put on your star and load up with 6.

You Definitely have the Right Mind for this position,& I will pledge: NOT to "Point my finger"in Cyber speak as,I so did in my last post.I Apologize to All involved,& to All of whom,Read it! I digress! Hey! where did I learn that?

As you are not likely to receive much thanks from forum members who really get aware of your actions as moderator: Thanks in advance and may your job be an easy one.
I will try to behave.

A sincere thank you goes to Blast and all others, including participants, who make this forum such a valuable resource. The new sub-forum seems timely and should be very useful.

Considering the marketing purpose of this forum, it is a great testament to Doug's wisdom that he allows as much open and candid discussion, even somewhat off-topic as he does. By leaving the majority of our content published and open to the public, he fairly gaurantees the integrity of this forum, even thought at times some of what gets posted here may contradict his marketing efforts, it simultaneously makes it a decent platform where opinions and ideas can be freely aired, discussed, argued, and refined. It is this open style that also allows us to get trapped into petty political, ideologic, and egotistic arguments that are at the least distracting, and usually insulting and derogatory, bearing no value for the public or for Doug's business purposes. Perhaps it is a necessary evil, but it is one that can be well managed. A proper moderator will help keep our eyes on the prize, and minimize the abuse of this privilege, keeping this forum respectable and an asset to the owner.

To that end, we can all be stewards of content. A modicum of politics may be germane, if it can stimulate good, productive discussion, but interpersonal challenges, dogmatic opinion, and derogatory or disparaging comments are of no use here. I ended many such discussions by ceasing to respond because there was nothing more to add to my points, and further dialogue would only incite challenge or defense. That list is in the hundreds, and should probably be bigger than it is.

We can certainly make Blast's job easier by minding the tone of our posts and choosing our words with respect. We can disagree with one another, and we can offer our own perspective on an issue, but as mama used to remind me (sometimes with a wooden spoon), watch your tone. It is advice I've tried more and more to heed the longer I've been on here.

i'm with you one that Blast..as we all know some posts have "red flags" in the title so i don't go there.if a post like that gets just a few hits it's better than a long drawn out back and forth personal hassle..at another site someout put it this way..this was so-and-so's site,it's like going to his home to vist.some people are in the living room looking at knives,some are in the yard putting up tents and others in the kitchen trying out recipes.you treat the site like it's someones home or maybe like this one his office and not a local slezzy bar..

Doug has provided an excellent resource here, and I think there's a lot of benefits to having an open public discussion. In fact, I know I've had my opinions swayed by the professional and dedicated people on this forum I've grown to trust. And I've certainly learned a lot I didn't know or better yet - thought I knew and was wrong.

I don't regularly go to any other sites like this because of the unique qualities found only here. There's sometimes discourse (and sure - a thread gets hijacked now and then), but the moderators have been fair and consistent. I'm happy to have Blast join them as his posts and attitude have always been high caliber and often fun. If you take a look at most forums on the Internet, the Signal-to-Noise ratio here is next to unbelievable.

Thanks to all our moderators and our kind host for continuing to provide and maintain a fantastic resource. I'll continue to support his efforts in spirit and in the real world (read: money!) as much as I am able. I'll start by keeping this in mind: Anything anyone on this forum says may be held against Doug and his efforts in a court of public and private opinion.

To reinforce what Blast mentioned, I picked up a copy of "GPS for Dummies" at my local book store and right there in the middle of it was an endorsement of Doug and of the ETS website along with a recommendation to check it for more information.

Even the dummies know to come here!

Glad to hear Your the new moderater Blast, but please be careful.

I don't think anybody want's to see this place blown up!

Blast, Thank you for both your willingness to moderate and your great perspective in your opening remarks. I never thought about the guests as potentially being some high-powered folks looking for "insight". Also, I would add my hardy "YUP!" to benjammin's comment about tone. Thanks guys.

Blast, again, thanks a ton for your willingness to moderate. I am confident Doug and the Forum will be very well served.

Blast,
Thanks a million for stepping up to the plate to help out. I look forward to your seeing things continue on to serve all of us in learning more and keeplng us on target. I have a special gift for you. I am brewing it up as I write this. Will deliver to you soon!
kmat

All is good, the forums are in good hands.

Pete

Well stated Blast.

I'm happy to see you in a moderator position and I'm sure you'll do a great job!

I'm glad to see enthusiastic greetings for our new volunteer moderator. But I'd like a little reassurance on what this new policy means.

There's a big difference, in my mind, between a post that displays bad manners and a post that displays polite, principled disagreement. I'm all in favor of improved online manners, and new sheriff who helps enforce this is certainly welcome! But I would hope that the statement "As a moderator my actions will be driven by what is best for the Equipped to Survive Foundation" would still allow for those who might disagree with Mr. Ritter or ETS, either on a technical detail or a philosophical outlook, to be able to express those opinions, as long as it is done in a polite and appropriate way.

That's a good question and you've already answered it with the word "polite". We are all adults and should be aware that a difference in opinion does not require a personal attack. There are always going to be times when people either 1)need to agree to disagree or 2)use the "Ignore" button. Either works for me.

Sidenote: just because a post can be taken the wrong way does not mean it should be taken the wrong way. Give everyone the benefit of doubt in that they really weren't attacking you ("you" used generically). The benefit of this is that if they weren't attacking you you won't look foolish and if they were attacking you it will really irritate them that they weren't successful.

-Blast

Blast,
Thanks for volunteering and helping out!

BTW, I still use those pictures you sent me in a couple of presentations

I still get over 100 hits a day on my blog specifically due to that incident.
Damn cat.

-Blast

Welcome to your new position Blast. As a relative newcomer I wholeheartedly agree with your rationale and support the decision. I will do my best personally to keep my conduct in accordance with your standards

As soon as my wife downloads the photos, I shall be sending you images of our cats swimming. It wasn't their idea, but I wanted to prove it was possible.

Yes, there was some minor blood loss, but no ER visits.

Duly noted. Thanks Blast--like everyone else here, I prefer to build Doug's reputation and company rather than hurt it.

Well written Blast! Glad that you took the job!

Blast, you hit the nail on the head. This forum does seem to have some rather passionate points of view, but in my experiences, there's been very few (relatively speaking) instances where it's turned ugly.

I can't remember once where Blast was on the offense... nor when he actually was attacked. Another reason he's the right new guy for the job.

Oh, I've been on both sides of that coin. There's more than one reason I'm called "Blast". My biggest fear is leting DR down by slipping up like that again.

I just keep reminding myself that I've never learned anything from someone who agrees with me.

-Blast

Congratulations Blast, remember to not let patrolling the site consume you of your exploring. I can't think of a better mod but keep the adventures alive, Confucius says- when fun becomes work, then work becomes not fun (or something like that).

Thanks Blast for helping ETS Forums!!!!!

I really will try to behave!!!!

Is that why you sent Blast a six pack of congratulatory kitties??

Congrats on being promoted to a thankless job. Moderators on message boards are a generally under appreciated lot. One thing I disagree with, however, is painting all guests with such a broad brush. I lurked here for a long, long time before I finally registered. And it wasn't to tattle-tale on anyone. It's because I'm generally shy and I was soaking up a LOT of information. It took me a while, even after I register to feel I had anything worth saying. I know others are the same - I have a good friend who reads these boards - I hear him say all the time it's one of his favorite sites to visit - yet has never registered or posted. Maybe some of those guests have an ulterior motive, but I'd bet most of them are either shy, new to the survival game and are just absorbing information, or perhaps just found this place through google and are checking it out.

While this is true, the point that was being made is that there are observers here that are not "one of us" and may not understand in-jokes or be tolerant of tempers. If these are people that are considering doing business or supporting ETS, and they are turned off by what they see in the forums, it would be a Very Bad Thing. I imagine we would cetainly be curteous if such a person registered and posted here; we must also behave this way because they _might_ be here.
So just remember that it's like a one-way mirror; just because you can't see someone back there doesn't mean they're not watching you.

I was going to PM you re an issue I have with some of the posts, but apparently I can't. Appears your "ignoring" me.


So:

Spelling, grammar and syntax. Some members are good. Some not so good. Unfortunately the standard of all three seems to slip at times. Can all the members please pay attention to what they type. Presentation on this forum is very important. Looking cultured and educated adds weight to your words. If you have not done so, download the google tool bar. It's spell checker is compatible with this website. Alternatively, consider composing your post in Word and then copy and pasting it.

Just to clarify, in my post I said:
"There's a good chance one or more of them is from one of those big companies that Doug is trying so hard to make safer."

This shouldn't appear to paint every guest with the same motive. I lurked here and many other forumns for months before joining. I understand a majority of guests are just people wanting to learn and actually they make up a majority of our overall visitors.

-Blast

Always good advice. The impression you make is based on the words/grammer you use. Smart people with bad grammer rarely get taken seriously.

Sidenote 1: Non-native speakers of English should not worry about this.
Sidenote 2: Shouldn't there be a "?" after "what they type" instead of a "."?

-Blast

True.

Sidenote: There are several reasonable translation programs on line. Also google toolbar does a word for word translation on most major languages.