A message to our members

[Mithadan]

There have been a lot of changes here at the Barrow-Downs over the past year. We hope that most of the changes have been for the better. However, we cannot make everyone happy all the time. Some members have not liked the changes and have left. This is their perogative. Some have set up their own websites in an attempt to do things the way they think they should be done. We wish them well.

Some people have made posts on these other websites which are openly critical of the Barrow-Downs and its management. We can't do anything about this. If some people want to expend their energies on being negative rather than upon creating their own on-line community, that's their business. But please do not post on these websites attacking them or their members.

We have received complaints of several people posting on other websites in a manner critical of them while "defending" the Barrow-Downs. This is not the right way to "defend" the Barrow-Downs. The right way to support our site is to make good posts here, not bad posts somewhere else. When someone flames another site "in the name of" the Barrow-Downs it reflects poorly upon us and our members and only serves to make people stay angry. This benefits no one.

With the cooperation of the webmasters of other sites, we can track down who is posting flames there. We have already done so on a few occaisions. Once, it was a disgruntled former member seeking to make trouble for us. On other occaisions, it was current members angry that others had left or at what they were saying. We have a policy here against flaming on our boards. We must extend the same policy to members of this board who flame other sites "on our behalf." Any such flaming will be dealt with harshly.

If you like the Barrow-Downs and enjoy posting here, please just use your energies to make good posts here and make our site better. Causing trouble elsewhere is the same as causing trouble here and solves nothing.

Thank you.