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!