It is quite obvious that there are a handful of people bent out of shape as of late. We all need to take a deep breath and consider a few things. First of all, I can assure you this forum is in no way, shape, or form anti-conservative or anything of that nature, and I really have absolutely no idea how anyone could come to that conclusion (more like the exact OPPOSITE). If any of you had a chance to talk to I (Travis) or Texas1911 (Alan) on some of our personal beliefs about politics, society, economics, you would find we are both downright Libertarian, with some beliefs bordering on anarchy in some people's minds (Constitutional carry, almost no gun laws, repeal NFA/GCA, disband IRS, ATF, Federal Reserve, etc). So that's us, and probably the general feeling of many on the site. Regardless, even if some of you have more Liberal, Centrist, or any other type of beliefs, THAT'S FINE! As long as we keep things civil, agree to disagree whenever there are disagreements, and don't resort to personal attacks then everything can run smoothly with civil discord.
Next thing. People are going to disagree. That is fine, and civil discourse is encouraged. After all, that is the point of having this website. What is not encouraged is people constantly berating and hassling others for their different beliefs, and using subtle passive, aggressive tactics to constantly turn every thread into an argument that resorts in name calling and threats being lobbed back and forth. This is childish, and it WILL stop. People engaging in these tactics will be banned, and if it is a serious enough issue, in rare cases there will be a permanent ban. Bottom line, keep a level head, keep everything civilized, and everything will be cool. It doesn't matter what anyone's beliefs are, and whether they are different from the majority here. No one will be persecuted for this. People acting childish and creating a serious disruption on this forum are not being persecuted, they are being punished for breaking forum rules and ruining the atmosphere for everyone else, simple as that.
Another thing. If anyone has any honest problems, concerns, about the site or feels as if they are being treated unfairly LET US KNOW. We can't do anything if you don't TALK to us. I promise you, we are open-minded and want to treat everyone fairly, and we want everyone to have an enjoyable experience here. If no one brings problems to our attention, then we might not be aware of them, and then nothing can be done to correct these issues. Don't be afraid, let us know. I think this fear that some of you might have with speaking up and "persecution" is due to a few trouble makers whining about being treated unfairly when they only got what they deserved for being antagonistic trouble makers with many other people on the forum. Don't fall for this mindless banter and listen to their whining. Making fun of someone's disabled child, practically forum stalking members and replying to their every post with antagonistic dialogue is not productive forum activity and it will not be tolerated. If you think this is unfair, go visit some place like 4Chan if you want a flame fest. We have tried to avoid the permanent ban, as it is a last resort. There are probably a few still active here that should have been perma-banned in the past, but everything has built to the point where we can now no longer tolerate it. When tons of posts by a handful of people are being reported, and there are constant issues every day, and forum-stalking is occurring, etc, we can not allow these things to continue, otherwise this forum will unravel. I don't know how to state it more plainly than that.
Lastly. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes here that I think many of you might not realize. It is a lot of work keeping up with everything here, and dealing with our daily lives. On top of that, we certainly aren't making money and getting rich off it. We created this website for fun and because we felt that we Texans deserved our own gun website. As open, helpful, and accepting as we have been to others, we have also been taken advantage of in the past, of which I will not discuss specifics so as to not start any big fiascos. We have bent over backwards for some people and put ourselves out there to help some people, and our kindness has been taken advantage of several times in the past. On top of that, there have been a few people that have even spread bad words about us as if we are some predatory force on the community with only our own success in mind. I cannot help but feel used and saddened by this, as we have only ever had the best intentions with this website and have never done anyone wrong. I don't understand where it comes from. Our community needs to stick together.
I implore you all, push aside some of this third party accusation of our character, and instead interact directly with us to find out our true character.
Now can't we all just get along?
Next thing. People are going to disagree. That is fine, and civil discourse is encouraged. After all, that is the point of having this website. What is not encouraged is people constantly berating and hassling others for their different beliefs, and using subtle passive, aggressive tactics to constantly turn every thread into an argument that resorts in name calling and threats being lobbed back and forth. This is childish, and it WILL stop. People engaging in these tactics will be banned, and if it is a serious enough issue, in rare cases there will be a permanent ban. Bottom line, keep a level head, keep everything civilized, and everything will be cool. It doesn't matter what anyone's beliefs are, and whether they are different from the majority here. No one will be persecuted for this. People acting childish and creating a serious disruption on this forum are not being persecuted, they are being punished for breaking forum rules and ruining the atmosphere for everyone else, simple as that.
Another thing. If anyone has any honest problems, concerns, about the site or feels as if they are being treated unfairly LET US KNOW. We can't do anything if you don't TALK to us. I promise you, we are open-minded and want to treat everyone fairly, and we want everyone to have an enjoyable experience here. If no one brings problems to our attention, then we might not be aware of them, and then nothing can be done to correct these issues. Don't be afraid, let us know. I think this fear that some of you might have with speaking up and "persecution" is due to a few trouble makers whining about being treated unfairly when they only got what they deserved for being antagonistic trouble makers with many other people on the forum. Don't fall for this mindless banter and listen to their whining. Making fun of someone's disabled child, practically forum stalking members and replying to their every post with antagonistic dialogue is not productive forum activity and it will not be tolerated. If you think this is unfair, go visit some place like 4Chan if you want a flame fest. We have tried to avoid the permanent ban, as it is a last resort. There are probably a few still active here that should have been perma-banned in the past, but everything has built to the point where we can now no longer tolerate it. When tons of posts by a handful of people are being reported, and there are constant issues every day, and forum-stalking is occurring, etc, we can not allow these things to continue, otherwise this forum will unravel. I don't know how to state it more plainly than that.
Lastly. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes here that I think many of you might not realize. It is a lot of work keeping up with everything here, and dealing with our daily lives. On top of that, we certainly aren't making money and getting rich off it. We created this website for fun and because we felt that we Texans deserved our own gun website. As open, helpful, and accepting as we have been to others, we have also been taken advantage of in the past, of which I will not discuss specifics so as to not start any big fiascos. We have bent over backwards for some people and put ourselves out there to help some people, and our kindness has been taken advantage of several times in the past. On top of that, there have been a few people that have even spread bad words about us as if we are some predatory force on the community with only our own success in mind. I cannot help but feel used and saddened by this, as we have only ever had the best intentions with this website and have never done anyone wrong. I don't understand where it comes from. Our community needs to stick together.
I implore you all, push aside some of this third party accusation of our character, and instead interact directly with us to find out our true character.
Now can't we all just get along?
