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Solved Changed my mind

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by FishBrain, Oct 25, 2016.

  1. FishBrain Expert Reefkeeper GIRS Member

    New London
    Ratings:
    +397 / 6 / -0
    due to the current situation and the way it went down I'm done with this club. I officially quit the club and will never return. I'm sure there will be more whether they openly say it or not.

    So I just want to congratulate you Bud, Craig, Ray&jen, for saving the club by running off members over nothing at all. Enjoy you dying club until the Macna money is gone.....
     
  2. xroads Veteran Reefkeeper Vendor

    La Porte City, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,014 / 6 / -0
    :joyful: Good bye
     
  3. DangerJ Well-Known ReefKeeper

    894
    Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +322 / 4 / -0
    ...what?
     
  4. MadManMadrid Well-Known ReefKeeper

    440
    Iowa City
    Ratings:
    +158 / 4 / -0
    That shows what the bod is alllllllllllllllll about that comment.
     
  5. MadManMadrid Well-Known ReefKeeper

    440
    Iowa City
    Ratings:
    +158 / 4 / -0

    Screenshot_20161025-185251.png

    @xroads@xroads in your favorite screenshot form.
    Heres what i posted in the bod.
     
  6. FishBrain Expert Reefkeeper GIRS Member

    New London
    Ratings:
    +397 / 6 / -0
    Yep your precious little club is all yours to dictate now....
     
  7. mindblowingcorals Vendor

    119
    Broomfield, CO
    Ratings:
    +29 / 0 / -0
    If the bs I heard actually happen tonight, I will be taking my sponsorship elsewhere. Belittling, name calling, racial slurrs, ect...
     
  8. Maureen Experienced Reefkeeper

    Urbandale, IA
    Ratings:
    +329 / 0 / -0
    I would like to say that the board was sorry to see this have to happen, it was based on years of documented problems. Documentation was pulled going back half a decade, a vote was taken and passed with a majority. I know there are rumors out there that are unfounded. Screen shots have been taken of private board member conversations and spread to the public as you can see from above posts. This is a problem that we find counter productive. In your work place if you leaked out information from a private meeting with your boss, it would be unethical and you would likely be reprimanded. We are trying to have GIRS be a positive place where everyone feels welcome, we encourage hands on participation and welcome everyone. We feel our actions will lead to GIRS being a place where people who put in a lot of volunteer time will feel good about what they have worked hard on and will look forward to helping out with friendly people with an I can do it attitude. In the past the GIRS I can do it attitude is what made MACNA happen in Des Moines. We are willing to work hard and explore new possibilities for the club, one where everyone is welcome.
     
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  9. Joe GIRS Member

    86
    Southeast Iowa
    Ratings:
    +13 / 0 / -0
    I liked the club and always have enjoyed the functions it has put on. I am not to sure what happened between the BOD and Armydog in the past and I don't care. However I do not want to be part of a club that has to get the little digs in as some of the comments I have seen written in the past 24 hours. I was going to keep my mouth shut and go on, as I thought this wasn't worth my time. Yet an election is an election and if someone wants to run for a position and paid up on their dues they should be allowed to run. This country will not stop a spoiled rotten man child and a untruthful woman run for the highest office in this country. Yet because of some past behavior as per Maureen stated a member is kicked out out the club and not allowed to run, not sure if Armydog could have won or not but never given a chance is not fair and not a club I want to be part of. I do know that Fishbrain was our trustee for a couple of months and he didn't like what he saw and stepped down (his choice) and another member took over. But a sharpe jab to that fact is uncalled for and should have been kept to ones self. I am not here to start anything just to get this off my mind. Also if this is the way we treat our Vets that defended the right for people's freedom of speech then you just offended a 25 year veteran of the military too. I will not be renewing my membership and I hope the club luck in the future.
     
  10. Maureen Experienced Reefkeeper

    Urbandale, IA
    Ratings:
    +329 / 0 / -0
    Joe please note that prior to the vote to ban Armydog, Armydog went on each post he was nominated on and declined the nomination. Armydog pulled himself from running before the vote was ever taken. The vote had nothing to do with the elections.
     
  11. Joe GIRS Member

    86
    Southeast Iowa
    Ratings:
    +13 / 0 / -0
    On the post he did reject it and the next morning he excepted it. That is what I read and went off of, yet it still don't change my mind and I have never met or know Armydog.
     
  12. Maureen Experienced Reefkeeper

    Urbandale, IA
    Ratings:
    +329 / 0 / -0
    I had no idea he had accepted the nomination after declining it, which goes to show you that it was not a part of the decision. I looked and I see you are right he came back on and changed his mind. What I can tell you is that prior to his changing the post it was in discussion on the board to stop the negative behavior. We were in discussion to ban Donny. I have an e mail with the exact time of Donny's post saying the process was going to start. There is no way the two could have been posted at the same time having knowledge that they were both sending at the same moment. We would not have known of Donny's intentions at the time this was started. How ever because of the screen shot you have seen in the above post it very well could have been known to Donny that we were in discussion, in consideration of banning him prior to his editing his post.
     
  13. Hunter

    85
    Garner
    Ratings:
    +24 / 0 / -0
    Joe as a veteran myself and not knowing the situation at hand. I have sat back and read the past few days. Personally I never would have guessed armydog was a veteran, or for that matter even over the age of 21.

    Service members are taught to be faithful, loyal, honorable, trustworthy, and most of all dedicated. Some might say most humans are taught the same morals. So to say being a veteran has anything to do with this it outrageous.

    If anything Armydog should have been held to a higher standard and given less slack in the maturity department.

    I believe in expecting more from my fellow veterans than I do a civilian, but thats just how I was raised.

    I am a new guy here, I take no sides, I don't know anyone. So take my comments how you will. Either way Armydog gave all veterans a bad name by causing so much drama.

    Adults are adults act like it or deal with it like kids and find a parking lot. Either way keep the dirty laundry behind closed doors where it belongs.
     
  14. hart

    hart Well-Known ReefKeeper

    730
    Ratings:
    +131 / 0 / -0
    Wow, what a shame to see all this happen. I don't know what exactly transpired, but sad to have happened at all. We all like fish and reef keeping - that is the entire point of the club and why we visit the site!

    Sounds like things had been building up for a while. I do hope the club can survive and become better from it. Internet = drama, seems to happen at every site I know, even when the forums are just about hobbies. Sometimes it's handled better than others, and the visibility can be different, but I really do wish everyone I have met in this club the best no matter what happens.
     
  15. mpivit Well-Known ReefKeeper

    494
    Dubuque
    Ratings:
    +28 / 1 / -0
    Personally I am sorry to hear a member has been banned. I have been on the site for several years, and agree that there have been negative posts, arguments and attacks posted by certain people. One of the nice things about this club, is that it really is a community and contains all the elements found in every community. From the extremely knowledgeable, helpful people pleasers to assholes starting trouble, sometimes the individuals are one in the same depending on the day. This is the only online forum where I have actually had the opportunity to meet "screen names" in person and can say that at the fests, I have enjoyed talking to everybody, they seem to be fun and while there are people that may avoid each other, I have never felt uncomfortable.
    Who is so offended that the board feels their only option is to ban people, or even discuss banning somebody? Threats of violence I can understand, but name calling, or creating drama?........... please, who cares?

    When you exclude the BUy sell trade convos, there really are only a handful of people that reliably post on this site, even fewer post interesting things. The offenders typically are the posters who have name recognition because they post quite a bit, both good and bad. I did not see the thread that sparked this, but to see Army Dog banned, Bud getting out, Xroads has different priorities and Fishbrain is done is a catastrophic for this club and 70% of its value as a resource for hobbyists has been destroyed.
    Over What? It must be really bad if the conversation has been stricken from the record.






    Sent from my iPad via App
     
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  16. GoodGreef Well-Known ReefKeeper

    681
    Clive, IA
    Ratings:
    +239 / 2 / -0

    I promise you 300% more participation from me and a 4% increase in actual helpful contributions.
     
  17. Joe GIRS Member

    86
    Southeast Iowa
    Ratings:
    +13 / 0 / -0
    Sorry if it sounds like I am defending Armydogs actions whatever they were. I am defending the fact that as soon as a member was nominated for President and he did turn it down and then returned and excepted it that all of a sudden it was a quick process to ban that member. I don't think that he might have won the position as it sounds from other members because of his actions. However he should have been allowed to run and win or lose he had the chance. That is my point. Yes maybe being a grown up would have been a better choice for him.
     
  18. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,818 / 14 / -0
    Joe, thank you for taking the time to post your comments.

    I understand that a lot of this at face value has the outward appearance to someone outside of the situation or new to the club to bee all about the election or recent comments.

    What you have to understand is that it is 100% not about that.

    Please read this Attention: Everyone

    That's ok if you don't want to know. But if you want to fully and completely understand the decision and all factors that went into making it, then you would have to know.

    I have nothing but respect for our Military Veterans and even give a steep discount to all active and retired military on my products (it's actually steeper than I give existing repeat customers).

    What I have zero respect for is people treating others with outright contempt, distain and disrepect. You will have to trust me that it took a very long time for me to reach the breaking point that I reached the other day. You will have to trust me when I say that I (probably more than any other board member in the history of GIRS) worked harder with Donny to bring him into leadership and worked harder than any other GIRS member to try and help him become a positive part of leadership. There were probably over 100 times that I would talk to him on the phone and try to steer him in the right direction after a post he made could have been taken the wrong way, a lot of the times because I would read what he wrote and err on the side of caution because his past actions tended to bias people towards assuming that he was being a jerk when I was pretty sure he wasn't, I knew what he was meaning to get at, etc...

    Believe me when I say I tried really really hard and believe me when I say it was an extremely personally stressful situation when I had to ask him to step down from the Trustee role.

    And now take my statement into account:

    And imagine what it had to come to for me to reach that point.

    It has absolutely NOTHING to do with military status.

    let me say that more clearly, because frankly I am really tired of anyone on the BoD being accused of treating out military badly

    NOTHING

    If anything, it was one of the reasons I went as far as I did with my efforts. I gave Donny just about every chance and every benefit of the doubt I possibly could justify.

    This whole bit above about 'nothing' in all bold pretty red italic underline is not directly towards you and your comment specifically Joe, that's in general to everyone who might be thinking that...my FB feed is pleasantly (for one) filled with nothing but Hillary and Donald junk...so I have only heard second hand what is being said, because I left a bunch of groups and blocked some people before this even went down. I already have an IBS and/or an ulcer, I don't need another acidic production source around me.

    But I think this right here says a lot
    But really, anyone in leadership **should** also.

    Bottom line is there are no excuses for the way you act sometimes.

    Myself completely included. I have owned up to my mistakes and shortcomings. And if anyone thinks I haven't, feel free to call me out on them. I've taken such a beating over the past few years mentally that there's nothing that really anyone else could say that's going to push me over the edge. I've got an all new, much improved tolerance barrier being constructed right now in my brain. I don't know who's actually building the wall but it'll be great and I'm making another country pay for it hahaalaoalloollll

    As for this
    I agree, in almost every case. And this is usually done, very well by the BoD. Because we do want to keep everything positive.

    But there are times when the only way to build it up is to just let it all burn down. This situation has festered for so long and affected so many people on multiple BoDs. I bet if I did the research, more people have quit the BoD over years because of drama more than any other reason.

    It was going to kill us no matter what

    This is a very difficult time for many of us. Things will wove forward positively. Eventually.


    To all.....
    Stick with us if you think that could be true. It might take a while, but it will pass.
    If you don't think it's worth it, that's understandable...and I'm sorry that you feel that way
     
  19. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,818 / 14 / -0
    Like I said Joe, I can see how at the face value of just looking at recent posts you could read that to be the case, it wasn't about that at all. His nomination wasn't even a factor, at all, not even a teeny tiny little one.

    If you took the time to talk to enough people and read enough threads and understand everything surrounding this whole long term situation, what you would understand is that his declining the nomination, then jumping back in and accepting the nomination, then nominating everyone else who is current on the BoD and to "keep everything exactly the way it is" (that was sarcasm on his part) was really the kind of thing that Donny is really known for. Meaning, being very disruptive, to put it politely.

    Making a mockery of things, that would be an accurate assessment as well.

    Also, as an explanatory point of order, we are not even done with the Nominations process yet. So the next phase is accepting or declining the nominations, and that won't start for a few weeks. But that's just a minor technicality...I don't care if anyone accepts or declines early, but there's no reason to do either until you know who all is running. It's supposed to be a calm, well thought out, and respected process.

    I have no respect for someone who makes a total mockery of everything.

    This wasn't a witch hunt or a power trip. If you got to know enough people on the BoD well enough, you would understand that this really is not the case here, I've been a part of 3 different BoDs (maybe 4?) and everyone who has served have been stand up people. I'll throw Craig under the bus a bit because he can be a real jerk sometimes too but he has the long term success of the club as one of his #1 priorities...he puts up with a lot less BS than I do before he goes off. So I will only run Craig over with the back bus tires instead of the one in front with the engine weight under it...because he can take it :p
     
  20. Bill Liebbe

    77
    LeClaire
    Ratings:
    +31 / 1 / -0
    Gosh I thought we were all her to talk fish and stuff
     
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