A Short Course in Rabbits Only Forum History

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Buck Jones

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In light of present events and circumstances andbecause it is so difficult to deal with rumor and innuendo, I thoughtI'd present a little short course in Rabbits Only Forumhistory from my limited viewpoint in order clarify some points andissues.

For several years I frequented a forum named Rabbits Only at aweb host site called Delphi Forums. It dealt with rabbits,but often got wild and woolly because there was no moderator and trollsfrequently appeared. Apparently it had been initiated byDanielle as an adjunct to her then hard copy Rabbits Onlymagazine, but received little attention from her for one reason oranother. Perhaps, it was due to her conversion of themagazine into an on-line site, but I cannot speak for her on that point.

In any case, on that original Rabbits Only Forum I came to meetour current moderator, Carolyn, and renewed communications withindividuals I had communicated with on other forums, like Gabby and PamNock. The Missus and I went on meet Carolyn personally, aswell as a couple of other individuals from that forum who lived in CA,CT, GA, NY and MA.

We became and remain fast friends with Carolyn, who has bunny-sat ourherd at Tucker Town on the many occasions we traveled to CA and TN tovisit our children and their families. Carolyn warmlyaccepted Fauna into her heart, bailing us out of anunfortunate circumstance where we ill-advisedly placed the bun with anundeserving family who let the rabbit fall into a catatonic-like statedue to lack of attention. We retrieved the bun fromthe situation, but Carolyn's concern and love for Fauna is whateventually truly "rescued" her and brought her back to a normal state.

So, if Carolyn and I seem "chummy" and friendly, it is because we wereso before this forum and will remain so regardless of the forum'spresence or not. By no meansthoughisthere an intentto be exclusionary or cliquish with respect toother forum members. We are simply friends in "real" life, aswell as Cyberland.

A little over a year ago, Danielle appeared at the old Rabbits OnlyForum and indicated she was disassociating herself from there andopening this forum at her on-line magazine site. I wasreluctant to move, rather enjoying the anarchical atmosphere thatprevailed at the old site, and said so.

Carolyn, on the other hand, moved over to the new site and becamemoderator. As is her wont, the new site, the one we are allon now, took off by leaps and bounds, much of it due to her warmth andgenuineness. I became intrigued with theinternational quality and breadth of the membership'sdiversehomelands and soon succumbed to becoming a membermyself. I was pleased to seeformer Internetacquaintances like Gabby and Pam Nock here, too.

Over the ensuing months I have grown to appreciate thepersonal qualities of many of the the people who post here and l viewthem as my "friends," as well. I look forward to personallymeeting as many of them as I can at the Boathouse Bunny Party in Julyand/or during some of our cross country trips.

Carolyn has done asuperlative job of rooting out andeliminating trolls and keeping the forum on track, which has becomeincreasingly difficult as membership rolls have climbed soquickly. I, for one, am appreciative of herefforts. If trolls and petulant people have difficulty withit, much is their deserved loss!

Iam cognizant that Danielle is running abusiness. Her business, in the case of the forum, I presume,is to attract hits in numbers that enable her advertising rates toreflect her site's popularity. If the forum were to becomeless rabbit oriented, I would imagine that would affect its expressedpurpose. If posting an exorbitant number of pictures cutsinto her profit margin, I would refrain from posting in redundantnumbers. Even the old forum at Delphi Forumscosta fee if one wanted to avail one's self of "all" theirservices and options. Danielle is providing this service, and now achat as well, at no cost to us.I, for one, wouldlike to keep it that way.

Mymost favoritemessage board, ever, wentdefunct because the web host who provided it to us for free passedaway. The replacement never filled the void. I suredon't want to lose thisforum because of unfounded gossip,rumor, nit picking, and immaturity upon the partof some ofthe newer members. Sometimes you don't recognize when you areright in the middle of, "the good old days!"Takestock of our situation, please.

Hope I don't seem as boring as I've suggested others are with their dramatic diva "goodbyes." LOL

Buck
:D

 
It was commented to me by a couple of people thatthis forum is for "free" and of no cost to Danielle. Thatcouldn't be further from the truth.

Danielle pays extra for perks such as pictures, song files, a chatroom,etc. The bandwidth is not cheap, especially considering thesize of our membership and the amount of bandwidth we use.I've actually been very surprised she hasn't asked for a membershipfee, especially since her own health has given her a string of bad luckand has had her out of work and in the hospital. She managedto create a 2005 Calendar for us. When I told her she couldcharge us for it, she wouldn't hear of it.

I've learned that with special-interest groups, some folks use them asa ploy to fulfill their own agenda and needs. After recentevents, I'm more convinced than ever that things definitely did get toofar off the subject at hand at times. Some complain thatwe're getting strict, but let's keep in mindthat Danielle didname this forum and her business: Rabbits Only. Youcan please some of the people some of the time, but you can't pleaseall of the people all of the time.

Just as when you take a horse for a walk and it starts to stray off thepath, you have to lead it back to the path you're on. Forthose that stray, we wish you and yours all the best and hope you findwhat you're looking for.

We look forward to continuing to learn with you about the life, history, needs, and health of rabbits.

Onward and Upward!

-Carolyn
 
I think maybe we're dealing with some petulant youngsters here and a couple of other places.

Adios amigos!

And now...back to the business of bunnies!
Hope I don't seem as boring as I've suggested others are with their dramatic diva "goodbyes." LOL
Forgive me, but I have to say something. These are not wordsof a very kind man. Though you prove to be quiteknowledgeable, Buck, I find your approach to this who situation verychildish. There was a 17-year-old girl bunny lover who usedto come here whoseheart is broken. Of course a17-year-old is going to be dramatic.Haven't thoseyearsteaching taught you anythingaboutkids? Or have you completely lost all patienceand kindness? I believe you owe somebody anapology.

I too am young, but I'm a very old 25-year-old. To be quitehonest, I'm a lot smarter than people twice my age. Whatsickens me about humanity is this exact unkindness that has been shownthe past few days here. I will never let my age andbad experiences deteriorate my love for all humankind. Butthat's just who I am I guess.

Buck, you do not know this 17-year-old girl's story. What Iknow that you don't know is thatit'stoughbeinga teenager in today'ssociety. These young girls are fragile and can be shatteredwithfew words. Let's try to be a little morecompassion and understanding. And as preschoolers are told:Be nice; and if you can't say something nice, keep your mouthclosed.

I'm here to talk about bunnies. I'm here to hear funnystories. I'mhere to get help with my bunnies andmaybe even to help people with their ownbunnies.That's it. Enough ofthis condescending #%^$.

...Lissa


 
Lissa wrote:
Forgive me, but I have to say something. These are not wordsof a very kind man. Though you prove to be quiteknowledgeable, Buck, I find your approach to this who situation verychildish. There was a 17-year-old girl bunny lover who usedto come here whoseheart is broken. Of course a17-year-old is going to be dramatic.Haven't thoseyearsteaching taught you anythingaboutkids? Or have you completely lost all patienceand kindness? I believe you owe somebody anapology.

I too am young, but I'm a very old 25-year-old. To be quitehonest, I'm a lot smarter than people twice my age. Whatsickens me about humanity is this exact unkindness that has been shownthe past few days here. I will never let my age andbad experiences deteriorate my love for all humankind. Butthat's just who I am I guess.

Buck, you do not know this 17-year-old girl's story. What Iknow that you don't know is thatit'stoughbeinga teenager in today'ssociety. These young girls are fragile and can be shatteredwithfew words. Let's try to be a little morecompassion and understanding. And as preschoolers are told:Be nice; and if you can't say something nice, keep your mouthclosed.

I'm here to talk about bunnies. I'm here to hear funnystories. I'mhere to get help with my bunnies andmaybe even to help people with their ownbunnies.That's it. Enough ofthis condescending #%^$.

...Lissa

You are quite right! Those are the words of a man who haslost his patience with self-absorption on the part of a 17 yearold, a 25 year old, or a 70 year old for thatmatter! Why is it that so many people think the world owesthem so much more understanding and must cut them any more slack thananyone else is entitled to? We all have our crosses to bearin life, so get on with it!

Years ago, I had a tendency to "blame" my parents and others for myproblems. I met a wonderful person who "jacked me up," byasking, "Did your parents do the best that they could?"

I replied, "Yes, but they have come up short and caused all these psychological problems for me."

He asked, "How can you hate and dislike them for attempting to do their best?"

I replied, " Well, I guess I can't,...but, look, I've got all these problems!"

He said, "Yes, and whatare YOU gonna do about them?The ball is in your court, kid. We all have to deal with thehand we've been dealt. Whatcha gonna do about yours, now thatyou admit your parents gave it their best shot?"

I walked away from that conversation and never again blamed anyone oranything for something that is "my problem," as have millions of peoplebefore me, and, I suspect, millions will after me. It iscalled life, andwe deal with it!

You are quite right, I am not privy to anyone's personal life andcircumstances unless they address it on some public forum such as this,so I accept things at face value and go from there. I cannotdo anything else other than that. If someone chooses to layour their lay out their personal life on the Internet for me to perusethrough, then, perhaps, I would be able to exercise more compassion, asyou very well know that I have done in the past.

In truth, the attitude expressed in the "Danielle" post was directednot only toward her, but to all who were so dramatically making theirgrand exits. Her post was the straw that lost me my patience,particularly as I viewed her as one of nicer young people to havearound.

And, you know what, Lissa? I am not a pre-schooler.I am an adult and do not intend to talk "down" to people on theInternet. If youngsters come on board, I will treat them withthe respect they earn and attempt to bring them up to an adult level,as opposed to dropping down to and promulgatingthesub-teen level they may be ensconced in. It is likegetting an education! Kids don't run a class room for obviousreasons, adults do.

In point of fact, there are young people here whom I was amazed to findout were as young as they are. I dealt with them on an adultlevel and continue to do so with absolutely no problem upon mypart. Conversely, I believe there are some adults here whofunction on a less than adult level and I have no qualms about pointingthat out, either.

Obviously, I am outclassed by you in the intelligence matter, as Iwould never deign to suggest that I was, "...a lot smarter than peopletwice my age." First of all, I would know in my case, that itis not true; and secondly, most people twice my age aredead!How is that for a "funny story?" LOL

So, yes, what say you that we all get back to bunnies? I amsure we have probably tried the patience of many, not the least of whommight be our site administrator and our site moderator.

Buck

 
Locking this thread now.

Please talk amongst yourselves for resolution to your argument.

Thank you.

-Carolyn

 

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