silverbear
Semi-Official Loose Cannon
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Having just returned to work this evening from two days off (two days with no internet, because my PC's video card is fried; the new one came in yesterday), I saw with great distress the "Touch of Hostility" thread that had to be locked down...
Well, my first thought was to come to defense of ol' Hos, if only because there is no one I've ever met on the net who is more decent, more honorable, more caring than that man... I wanted to light into those who were slinging insults at him. but sitting here now, I realize that he wouldn't appreciate that...
So instead, I first intend to defend him, then perhaps try to help you understand what his mindset is (and I hope I get that right), then finally to ask a favor of some of you...
In defense of him, I saw him labelled "arrogant" more than one time, and other personal insults (which I thought were against board rules), dropped on him... well, folks, I am here to tell you that you could look high and low, and you'd be hard put to find a man LESS arrogant than our inappropriately-named Hostile... in fact, anybody on this board who has ever needed a kind ear, or a few sympathetic words, could always count on getting them from Hostile, if they'd just bother to contact him via PM, and vent a little... I know from personal experience, I have experienced his kindness and his decency firsthand...
Then there's those who sneer at his periodic suggestion that he has some inside sources; to those of you who think that he's just making himself look important, I'm quite confident you're wrong... you see, Hos talks to a LOT of people via PM, and he has given me some indication of what those sources are, how he came to establish those contacts, and his story is quite plausible...
I also know that he has gotten some REALLY good inside info that he's passed along to me; last season, he told me via PM about the move for Roy weeks before it hit the papers, weeks before it happened... and this spring, right before the draft, I remember vividly him telling me just a few days before the draft that the Boys planned to draft 3 DBs... I found this astonishing, hard to believe, but it sure turned out to be true... he's not always right with his inside tidbits, but he gets it right a lot...
So why, you ask, if he has such sources, is he so COY about them?? Well, for the same reason that AdamJT13 doesn't discuss his sources either; if he reveals those sources, they'll stop talking to him... not only that, it might put those sources in an awkward position, might even put their jobs in jeopardy...
But I for one have absolutely no doubt that he really does talk to some people in the know on the Valley Ranch scene... and I believe this board is richer for him sharing some of what he learns from them...
And for those who suggest that if he finds being a moderator to be such an unpleasant chore these days, he should just quit, they should know that this board would never, ever be the same without him in this important role... the man is nothing less than the heart of this board... in addition, I wouldn't be surprised if Reality decided to shut this board down if Hos ever did give it up (I'm not speaking for Reality here, I just know how much trust and responsibility he puts on Hos)...
I'll tell you, without him running things here, I don't know if I'd continue participating, and I don't know if many of the current mods would remain in their jobs either... and no, I'm not being melodramatic here, I honestly believe everything I've just typed...
Now, to try to explain what's really in Hos's heart these days... I feel that what's bothering him right now started with the loss of our Pops... Hostile was kind of down on himself in the days following Cbz's passing, too hard on himself, IMO... we exchanged a few PM's on the subject, in which I tried to get him to lighten up on himself... perhaps I give away too much of our private conversations here, but it's in a good cause, so I hope he'll forgive me...
In short, I think Hos is still missing Cbz, our Pops, big-time... I think he's still hurting... and he sees the ugliness transpiring between various cliques in here, and he's telling himself that it might not be so bad if only Pops was in here, dispensing good humor and wisdom... this makes his grief hurt more, and makes the rancor in here sting a bit more... I think that's what he means when he says that the current tenor of the board upsets him...
And to tell you the truth, that's part of the reason why I haven't been more a part of the unpleasantness... I feel a bit the same way, I don't like how ugly things have gotten, and I don't want to contribute to it...
IOW, I don't think that Hos was attacking the cynics with this week's "Touch of Hostility" thread, he was just telling us that he finds the board to be kind of depressing these days...
With that in mind, I have a favor to ask of some of the board, that segment that appreciates the contribution that Hostile makes to this forum, both as a poster and as a forum... I'd ask you to use this thread to let the man know that he is appreciated, both as a poster, and as a mod... I ask this of the regulars and the lurkers alike...
And while I realize this is a lot to ask, I also ask the posters who have been giving him such grief to hold your opinions, just this once... we know which ones of you dislike him, though for the life of me I can't figure how ANYBODY could dislike the man...
Hostile is my friend, and a man I admire greatly... actually, he's been more than a friend to me, he's been a confidant when I was angry, or hurting, or just a little depressed... dropping him a PM is almost guaranteed to lift my spirits, just because I know I'll get a thoughtful and uplifting response... he's also one of the most valuable members of this forum, as far as I'm concerned... the only other poster I know who comes close to matching his contribution is AdamJT13, who while not nearly as prolific as Hos is, offers information none of us can get somewhere else...
But I'll wait for another time to crank out a thread extolling Adam's virtues, this one is to give Hos an attaboy... it's my hope that reading what we think about him might lift his spirits, and make the acrimony a bit more bearable for him...
So help me out, gang... I'll start it out by making myself fair game-- Hos, I love ya, man... if you ever needed a kidney, I'd go get myself tested... they just don't come any better than you...
Well, my first thought was to come to defense of ol' Hos, if only because there is no one I've ever met on the net who is more decent, more honorable, more caring than that man... I wanted to light into those who were slinging insults at him. but sitting here now, I realize that he wouldn't appreciate that...
So instead, I first intend to defend him, then perhaps try to help you understand what his mindset is (and I hope I get that right), then finally to ask a favor of some of you...
In defense of him, I saw him labelled "arrogant" more than one time, and other personal insults (which I thought were against board rules), dropped on him... well, folks, I am here to tell you that you could look high and low, and you'd be hard put to find a man LESS arrogant than our inappropriately-named Hostile... in fact, anybody on this board who has ever needed a kind ear, or a few sympathetic words, could always count on getting them from Hostile, if they'd just bother to contact him via PM, and vent a little... I know from personal experience, I have experienced his kindness and his decency firsthand...
Then there's those who sneer at his periodic suggestion that he has some inside sources; to those of you who think that he's just making himself look important, I'm quite confident you're wrong... you see, Hos talks to a LOT of people via PM, and he has given me some indication of what those sources are, how he came to establish those contacts, and his story is quite plausible...
I also know that he has gotten some REALLY good inside info that he's passed along to me; last season, he told me via PM about the move for Roy weeks before it hit the papers, weeks before it happened... and this spring, right before the draft, I remember vividly him telling me just a few days before the draft that the Boys planned to draft 3 DBs... I found this astonishing, hard to believe, but it sure turned out to be true... he's not always right with his inside tidbits, but he gets it right a lot...
So why, you ask, if he has such sources, is he so COY about them?? Well, for the same reason that AdamJT13 doesn't discuss his sources either; if he reveals those sources, they'll stop talking to him... not only that, it might put those sources in an awkward position, might even put their jobs in jeopardy...
But I for one have absolutely no doubt that he really does talk to some people in the know on the Valley Ranch scene... and I believe this board is richer for him sharing some of what he learns from them...
And for those who suggest that if he finds being a moderator to be such an unpleasant chore these days, he should just quit, they should know that this board would never, ever be the same without him in this important role... the man is nothing less than the heart of this board... in addition, I wouldn't be surprised if Reality decided to shut this board down if Hos ever did give it up (I'm not speaking for Reality here, I just know how much trust and responsibility he puts on Hos)...
I'll tell you, without him running things here, I don't know if I'd continue participating, and I don't know if many of the current mods would remain in their jobs either... and no, I'm not being melodramatic here, I honestly believe everything I've just typed...
Now, to try to explain what's really in Hos's heart these days... I feel that what's bothering him right now started with the loss of our Pops... Hostile was kind of down on himself in the days following Cbz's passing, too hard on himself, IMO... we exchanged a few PM's on the subject, in which I tried to get him to lighten up on himself... perhaps I give away too much of our private conversations here, but it's in a good cause, so I hope he'll forgive me...
In short, I think Hos is still missing Cbz, our Pops, big-time... I think he's still hurting... and he sees the ugliness transpiring between various cliques in here, and he's telling himself that it might not be so bad if only Pops was in here, dispensing good humor and wisdom... this makes his grief hurt more, and makes the rancor in here sting a bit more... I think that's what he means when he says that the current tenor of the board upsets him...
And to tell you the truth, that's part of the reason why I haven't been more a part of the unpleasantness... I feel a bit the same way, I don't like how ugly things have gotten, and I don't want to contribute to it...
IOW, I don't think that Hos was attacking the cynics with this week's "Touch of Hostility" thread, he was just telling us that he finds the board to be kind of depressing these days...
With that in mind, I have a favor to ask of some of the board, that segment that appreciates the contribution that Hostile makes to this forum, both as a poster and as a forum... I'd ask you to use this thread to let the man know that he is appreciated, both as a poster, and as a mod... I ask this of the regulars and the lurkers alike...
And while I realize this is a lot to ask, I also ask the posters who have been giving him such grief to hold your opinions, just this once... we know which ones of you dislike him, though for the life of me I can't figure how ANYBODY could dislike the man...
Hostile is my friend, and a man I admire greatly... actually, he's been more than a friend to me, he's been a confidant when I was angry, or hurting, or just a little depressed... dropping him a PM is almost guaranteed to lift my spirits, just because I know I'll get a thoughtful and uplifting response... he's also one of the most valuable members of this forum, as far as I'm concerned... the only other poster I know who comes close to matching his contribution is AdamJT13, who while not nearly as prolific as Hos is, offers information none of us can get somewhere else...
But I'll wait for another time to crank out a thread extolling Adam's virtues, this one is to give Hos an attaboy... it's my hope that reading what we think about him might lift his spirits, and make the acrimony a bit more bearable for him...
So help me out, gang... I'll start it out by making myself fair game-- Hos, I love ya, man... if you ever needed a kidney, I'd go get myself tested... they just don't come any better than you...
