Bill,

What changed my mind was a couple of factors. The members that I have talked to at the various shows have told me that they felt that what was going on on the HPOCA forum was making the club look bad. Plus many said they felt that they wouldn't post on the forum because it seemed that anybody that posted was an open target. Many said they would no longer come here because of what has been going on. I even had a few that said I should just "shut the whole thing down."

Another factor was Yesterday's Tractors. People read what is going on here and take the argument there, where they know they can make comments without signing their name to it. First off, this isn't fair to YT, as they have to pay for the bandwidth that this uses up. And it makes a fiasco of their board, when it's not really their problem. I had thought about making the forum viewable by all, but it would still all go over to YT to be fought out. Since I have made this change, YT at least seems to be a more peaceful place.

One more factor was that while the board didn't have their quorum, I definitely got the feeling that this is the way it was going to be sooner or later. I don't see the forum staying this way forever, but it seems like the best choice for now.

By the way, curiosity seems to get the best of most. Several have re-joined after a lapse, just so they can see what is going on here.  I agree with Doug_424, that this does give the impression that we have something to hide, but it has also made cooler heads prevail. I plan on being a little less restrictive on moderating this board, as it is members only, and not everybody will be seeing it. Please don't take this as a license to start swearing up a storm, though.  <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->