The View From Here

[Pleater]

I really hope that the tartan background can be used again.

Possibly I spend far too much time on X Marks - but in the last few days I have been reading with my eyes almost closed, and getting headaches and pains in my eyes.

If the contrast and brightness is altered it will, of course affect all my programs - including the ones I use for designing, which might be rather problematic.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[wildrover]

Is that all seriously what all the nonsense was about in that other thread? Come awn, people...it's not that easy to run a forum...I've seen it from the inside, on another completely unrelated forum, and I've seen the best and the worst in people over the ten years I've been a member there, and a moderator for most of that. The end result of the constant battle between money and bandwidth resulted in the site being taken over by a conglomerate, and the advertising promptly became worse, not better. There's a good thing here, full of generally good people with generally good attitudes...and to keep it going, bandwidth must be payed for.

All I can say is, be thankful it's free to us!

BTW, Steve, while you may be a moderator, forum owner, etc...you are still human and have as much a right to express an opinion as anyone else here. Don't let your status as a forum administrator or owner overcome your participation as "part of the family".

I really hope that the tartan background can be used again.

Possibly I spend far too much time on X Marks - but in the last few days I have been reading with my eyes almost closed, and getting headaches and pains in my eyes.

If the contrast and brightness is altered it will, of course affect all my programs - including the ones I use for designing, which might be rather problematic.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

I agree with Anne...I can change the background, or the text color, or both, but that affects every web page. I never understood the logic of displaying useless information using light, and showing the worthwhile information by contrast of lack of light...and when I find the person at whichever GUI-designer group of whatever company decided the standard for modern computing should be a white screen with black text, I am going to kick that person square in the sporran.

If you made the background a very, very deep blue...that would be cool!

-Sean

[KiltShot]

This is an amazing forum to behold. It plays like a drama, a comedy, a tragedy and an experiment in social science. Here we find a slice of humanity that can be courageous, modest, inspiring and caring all in the same day. Sure, there are mundane days and trivial posts, but there are also real people behind this screen with real emotions and they are willing to show them at their own risk. Awesome.

[KiltedKnome]

I would like people to know what life is like in our home.

Steve has his own business, Freedom Kilts, and spends long hours in the shop. He purchased XMarks last year with a goal of keeping the forum going, of protecting this wonderful place. He actually went to the bank to borrow the money to be able to purchase it from Hank. He has spent long hours trying to address the concerns of members, and when he finally found a programmer who could redo the forum, he spent most nights on the computer, communicating with the guy over in the UK. After the Beta version was approved, he then has spent an incredible amount of time trying to address people's issues. But these things take time.

Is he slow in responding to people on PM or by e-mail? Yes -- somedays he gets in excess of 50 PMs in a day and I cannot even count the number of e-mails he gets, both for Freedom Kilts and for XMarks. I almost feel like I have to make an appointment to see him myself.

I am only asking for patience.

[Skipper1]

Hey Steve - I got yur back. Keep doin what you are doing and I'll fend off the horde.

Seriously, though - I couldn't agree more that changes that make the forum sustainable need to go through and no one should expect to get a free ride due to the good efforts of the owner, moderators or any other member of the Tuath.

Go raibh maith agat a cara.

Is mise Tadgh

[xman]

...and when I find the person at whichever GUI-designer group of whatever company decided the standard for modern computing should be a white screen with black text, I am going to kick that person square in the sporran.

Pages were white and ink was black so all it took was no imagination. While we're at it can we discuss the stupidity of retaining the qwerty keyboard? It was designed to slow down typers so the arms (remember those?) didn't get stuck together. No more arms clacking, but we still suffer the design.

[HarborSpringsPiper]

Here is the post that some were asking about in it's entirety and without edit.

Mikey, . . .

Steve, I'm glad you re-posted your reply which I read earlier. I've watched most of what has gone on recently since the changes have taken place and not fully understood what has sparked all of the contention. Your response explains some of it anyway. Not having the history that many long time members have and not knowing what goes on behind the scenes, it certainly leaves many of the rest of us in the dark.

This a good, informative and fun site. I hope the ripples settle out and everyone can return to the spirit of what has made the site the success it has been.

[ccga3359]

Big Mikey, no doubt Steve has spent a great deal of time, effort and money on Xmarks. And what with the full-time business of Freedom Kilts in addition to these forum woes life must be so stressful for Steve and Bobbie I do sincerely sympathize. But to trivialize those problems on the look of the forum - the colour font on what colour background, a tartan border of the fact that I no longer have a title of Defender of the Rubber chicken or whatever it was. I can live with that, I can understand teething problems in the change of ownership. What I cannot and will not put aside is the lack of respect shown to past Moderators. Those who've put in countless hours ensuring what has been posted is suitable for the high standards of this kilt forum, let alone the thousands of post they made before joining management of this forum as member posters each and in no small part, building this forum into such a great entity. They, like me and yourself and every other person each accepting a little piece of forum ownership with our very words. I've not always agreed with their decisions as Moderators but I always accepted it the correct decision. Of those three former Moderators mentioned recently I've befriended two on an online basis and the third a close personal friend. McMurdo, when he were Moderator never divulged the deepest, darkest secrets of XMarks because, frankly, it was not any of my damned business. I do know this about Glen, that he wouldn't tell me barefaced fabrications, if he were slighted when he was a Moderator, if he were insulted when a Moderator to consider giving up a forum that he so dearly loved that he spent a great, great deal of time on, then indeed I know it to be true. To hear and understand the situation from others involved just leave me gobsmacked and Glen's situation verified. It is not jsut the loss of these gentlemen as moderators also the loss of many valued members and friends as bleeding from a wound that just can't heal.

I'm deeply concerned. Concerned that my time here is not long. Banned, no longer posting? Who knows. My greast concern is the great kilt forum XMTS no longer existing as we knew it, as I knew it. Mikey you mention us being like family. I whole heartedly agree and yes families do squabble but they don't always get back together. Sometime they end up in ugly divorces, or no longer in contact decades after anyone knew what the arguement was about. Lines are being drawn in the sand. I assure I'm not the only one who recently went back over to the forum-that-must-not-to-be-named. There is a much friendlier atmosphere there where I can get re-aquainted with friends of old and disenchanted friends of current, an atmosphere that is lacking here of late. I was not recruited nor am I doing so here in this post but just to say I don't feel that I'm alone in my thoughts or feelings. Please let me assure forum management that there our problems here are not a topic of discussion. Just a silent understanding of that need of clan.

This black cloud over Xmarks has to be lifted, problems have to be realized, acknowledged and not glossed over with glib tongue. Perhaps i that crazy old guy on the street corner whose only earthly posessions are a torn rubber chicken in his pocket and a sandwich board that reads "The End Is Nigh" but imagine, if I'm right at what cost will that be?

[NewGuise]

This a good, informative and fun site. I hope the ripples settle out and everyone can return to the spirit of what has made the site the success it has been.

Amen. Yes. Please.

This is a marvelous, and marvelously disparate, group of people. We all have different points of view, biases, wants, and needs. We are marvelously human, and all deeply flawed. However, we all need to start enjoying ourselves, and one another's points of view, once again. And, well, ... kilts.

[cavscout]

At this point I must say I'm feeling very disappointed in some of the membership. All this partisan sniping and whining is honestly quite nauseating. The level of selfishness and pride being shown is shameful. Any effort to be constructively critical for the benefit of the forum is being lost by all the cryptic mentioning of some unspoken slight shown toward some non-specific someone. If you know something then spit it out. Otherwise, keep it to yourself or deal with it in private.

So many people keep bringing up the issue of "Slighted Moderators" but I don't have a clue what they are talking about and so am expected to simply trust a persons opinion. I don't think so. It's clear that someone is doing some public talking about it so it's high time this unspoken issue be spoken openly so that the truth is known by all. Bringing things like this up via innuendo is a cowardly, passive-aggressive way to handle things. Grow a pair and speak openly and honestly and let the members you are trying to convince have all the information and make their own decision. If you claim you aren't trying to convince anyone then you are not being very honest, otherwise you would not be posting on the open forum.

All the threads being started about the same crap, all the whining and bickering over the mythical "problem" need to get aired so it can be dealt with, resolved and moved on.

I expect more from this forum. I used to think my standards were set pretty low, but as of tonight I think I'm asking too much.