As I near my 6th year anniversary here at YT, I would like to thank Ann for this thread. I sincerely love YT and respect the fact that it is privately owned and that I am a guest here. I respect the fact that the Owners and Admin have selected Moderators to help keep the forum on track. THANK YOU, ADMIN FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE A PART OF THIS WONDERFUL FORUM, and THANK YOU ANN FOR YOUR UNTIRING EFFORTS TO KEEP YORKIETALK ON TRACK!
I was here when YT had less than 200 members and it was a good day when there were half that many posts. We were a small group of individuals spread out over the world who shared our love and dedication to our beloved Yorkies. We had tolerance and respect for differing opinions. For the most part we understood the concept that most of us were "right" even though we did things differently. That there wasn't a single right or wrong way to deal with most situations. Each of us found what worked for us and respected the fact that others did the same. Not only that we were eager to learn from each other -- from the least to the most experienced.
As YorkieTalk grew and the membership became more diverse, small cliques would form (I was part of many of them
). These cliques didn't have "an agenda" we were small groups of individuals that shared special bonds and friendships that included common interests outside of our love of Yorkies. Phone numbers were exchanged, long hours of fun and laughter and silliness were spent in the Chat room with the Admins and Mods -- we were a tight group of friends who genuinely respected and cared about each other.
As YorkieTalk's membership grew more we would have the occasional un-civil, aggressive members who had to prove that everyone else was wrong so that they could be right. Most of those folks either mellowed or simply went away. The most destructive newbies, however, were/are the naive ones, who were/are clueless about the dynamics of large groups of people. They would take comments and opinions at "face value" without taking the time to understand the players and long standing relationships, "inside jokes" and the reasoning behind the views of members and groups of members.
I have not been as active lately as I once was -- I honestly believe that even though YT is the best Yorkie forum on the Internet, it is at an all time low. It is so disheartening to see so many members (oldies but goodies and newbies alike) quarreling, taking sides and ganging up on others and leaving. I am "dog-tired" of the "I am just blunt and who cares who it hurts" comments and attitude. So many have forgotten that with rights come responsibilities - we have the right to express our opinions and we are responsibile for the end result of exercising those rights. Maybe the problem is even worse - maybe people just don't care anymore
When there is an "issue" on the public side of the forum, more often than not the Admins and Ann the Mod are dealing with pm's, emails, phone calls, etc. It must be a monumental task to put their human-ness aside and remain unbiased. While I don't always agree with the rulings, I have confidence that the decisions forthcoming are what those in authority believe to be the best interest of YorkieTalk.
LONG LIVE YORKIETALK!