i just read this thread.....havent been on the site much in the last week cuz work has over taken my life due to some serious BS....so sorry for my lack of parcipitation.
i read the 'other' thread days after the damage was done as well....
yes, like a few of you have stated, Ray was taking things over the top in every thread. you could be having a serious thread about something technical then ray would come in there and just start cracking jokes and busting balls. i stepped in a few times in different threads and told him to chill out, then i would get these long drawn out PM's basically stating he didnt understand. Most recently was the Blythe thread. I didnt jump down his back or anything, just asked him to take the off topic chit chat to PM's. His responce was it was MY thread for MY event that I started and I can say what ever I want on MY thread.
His responce really bugged me. I want every single one of you to understand that this place belongs to every one of you as it does to me. Without you guys, this palce would be nothing. We all contribute, we all read it, we all built this site to be what it is. Newbie, post whore, black, white, brown, yellow, i dont care. You all have been a part of it. Its what YOU make of it. Then every once n awhile either myself or Ralph have to step in and be the bad guys and knock things back into shape when things go astray, even worse, weed out the bad people and they leave forcefully or willingly (JR, HotRod, Undone, Blue, etc...and now ray). For the record Ray deleted his account on his own. I did not ban him or have anything to do with his deciscion. I found out days after. I hate to see anyone go, but it sounds like hes got some personal issues to attend to and i do welcome him back. I just hope he understands where people are coming from and he relaxes on the off topic posting.
Now as far as the 'clique' goes that Steve is talking about, I feel thats further from the truth. I try to be welcoming to every member and feel that every event posted on this site has been welcoming to every single person. It is how we all met. Just show up to a race or river/lake trip and meet some people. I love meeting the members from this site. I remember the day I met each and every one of you.
...and no steve, you arent banned. You all are free to express your thoughts on the subject - any subject for that matter. I just do not dont condone personal attacks. Tell it how it is, how you feel, but personal attacks is where i draw the line. All I ask for is respect towards eachother.