OOAK Table Tennis Forum

You should ask the owners of the DTTB or Affordablett forums why they banned him. Nothing to do with me.

_________________



The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

I'm not interested. I'm not members there. They banned him. That's there right. I judge him by what he did here. I stand by what I say. He did a lot of good for this forum but he's not perfect and I don't agree with how he left. But that doesn't mean I dismiss the good he also did here, just like I don't dismiss the good you do here even though there is a lot I don't agree with you that you do and say.

The connection with speedplay and tassie as you know is that they offer different opinions to you. The world would be a boring place if everyone agreed.

I normally don't participate in this thread even though I seem to be the focal point of it a lot of the time.

But I felt I should comment on this "void" you claim is present since a certain member left. I would submit that the OOAK forum has never been better than it is right now. I also submit that endless feuds said member had with many members of this forum, not just me, was a problem not unique to this forum.

I guess you're claiming I'm a bully and joining Tassie's "Tribe" to stand up to me? It just seems to be a step backwards for the forum. That's all I have to say on the matter.

_________________



The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

MNNB did you actually bother to read the whole of my orginal post you quoted me from or did you just chose to pick up on a "sound bite" and customise it to suit your own purpose? Please read again my original post - you'll actually find it doesn't put me in Tassie's Tribe at all.

I am a member of no tribe - I don't feel the need to have friends here to back me up and protect me, I can and will do it myself. Also my opinions can and do change dependant on what people post - you could say I'm a floating voter. And I find your comment amusing as it's you who chooses to brand me one of Tassie52's tribe even though in reality Tassie52 and I have shared a few pm's where different opinions have been expressed politely but forcefully by both parties. Now why would you chose to brand me that way? Perhaps Tassie should have included another aspect to his tribe analogy - the need of others to categories individuals regardless of how those individuals perceive themselves - you're either for me or against me.

MNNB I'm actually ambivalent towards you and Tassie. Reply, don't reply, it really doesn't bother me.

When we say “us”, who do we mean?

Pre-discussion disclaimer:
This is a general reflection. In order for it to make any kind of sense, I have to use examples drawn from the forum. It would be a mistake to think that my comments here are about any one topic in particular. When I ask, “Who do we mean when we say ‘us’?”, this applies to any and all threads which claim to speak for “us”.


This post is a reflection on something I regularly read in the forum: often comments are made as if the poster is speaking on behalf of all the members of the forum. As an example, take this comment from the thread on starting an independent players association:

At face value, this seems a pretty reasonable comment to make, but on reflection I think that there are some gaps in its claims. What if, for example, I’m an “elite player”? William Henzell is a regular contributor to the forum: as an “elite player” is he represented by the ITTF? Does he have a “vote or say in things that affects our sport”? Reading his posts, I would argue that he has as many issues with the ITTF as many of our “grass-root and amateur/club players” do (quite probably a whole lot more than many, many players who have never even heard of the ITTF let alone have issues with them).

A second issue is hidden under the claim “we have no direct vote or say in anything that happens to our sport”. Surely those who are elite players would claim that TT is not just “our sport” but is also their sport. And what about all of those good folk who do not play the game but who have dedicated themselves to TT – the umpires, tournament directors, club officials, parents who ferry their children to and from training. Is it not their sport as well?

The third issue is also hidden under the generalizations in the idea that “there's really no-one that represents players like us”. Well, who exactly makes up “players like us”? Because I’m pretty sure that no two players are exactly alike, particularly when we take up a bat and step up to the table. I play with a bunch of “grass-root and amateur/club” players and they are a very varied bunch indeed. We have double winged loopers, blockers, choppers, Seemiller grippers, anti and LP players, chicken wingers and pushers, J-pen, C-pen, and “Oh-my-goodness-what-have-you-done-to-your-bat” players. Perhaps the one thing that is common to many of them is that they care very, very little about their equipment, but even there we find exceptions to the rule: amidst the guys with 30 year old, chipped and worn, super slick rubbers, we even have some EJs.

So just who are the “players like us”? Is it merely those who make up the non-elite? So, unlike the ITTF, our very own ITTPA would represent “us", right? Wrong.

Think about this post for a moment:But wait one cotton picking minute: aren’t the members of TTDaily also “grass-root and amateur/club players”? Aren’t they “players like us”? Don’t they also get to express their opinion? And if their opinion is that they have no objection to the mythical new ball, is the new ITTPA going to represent their views as well?

Some time back there was a poll which showed us something about the membership of our own forum: What combination of rubbers do OOAK forum members use?. To nobody’s surprise, the majority of those who voted is made up of players who do not use only inverted rubbers. Even so, 37% of those who took part use what is the most popular setup in the wider world of TT: inverted on both sides of the blade. If a similar poll was conducted on TTDaily or about.com or MyTT, I wonder if we would find confirmation that double inverted is the norm and not the exception?

Are double inverted players “players like us”? If the ITTF makes decisions which favour double inverted players are they representing those players? If they are the majority of players, shouldn’t the ITTF lean in their direction rather than towards those who make up the minority? If TT was a country – a democratic country – wouldn’t we expect that the majority rules and wouldn’t we expect decisions to be made in favour of the majority of voters?

Perhaps it might be more accurate to rephrase the original quote from above to read: Except, of course, I've left out the crucial lines: "we have no direct vote or say in anything that happens to out sport. By 'us' I refer to the grass-root and amateur/club players, who are the prime source of new Elite players, but have no vote or say in things that affects our sport."

Again this seems quite reasonable at first glance. But at second glance we should recognise the problem. The majority of forum members come from democratically governed countries. USA, Europe, Australia and NZ, India are all countries run by people who are elected to govern on their behalf. But not one of those countries allows the general population to have a "direct vote or say in anything that happens" in their country, with the exception of referenda. All of the laws are made by parliaments made up of elected officials, not the general public. Government expenditure is not determined by the "average person in the street". Governments make decisions affecting education, health, welfare, armed conflict - all which directly affect people "like us" - without any direct reference to the people who elected them in the first place.

And if we don't like their decisions? We vote them out.

But, we cry, we can't vote out the ITTF. But that is simply reducing all of the issues in the world of TT to nothing more than our personal dissatisfaction with people who make decisions we don't like. "Banning LPs has cost me a fortune!" But inverted players are the majority and their viewpoint is perhaps best represented in this comment: Again this comes back to the issue of who are the “players like us”? It might be argued that the ITTF are doing a great job for “players like us” who don’t want to play against the more defensive styles, just as validly as we might argue otherwise. If we reduce the world of TT to “me and my likes/dislikes” then we’re sadly missing the point: “players like us” are not like us at all. And when we claim to speak for "us" we might be better off acknowledging the reality that we speak for ourselves alone.


Post-discussion disclaimer:
In a number of recent threads I’ve been accused of being hostile to the forum and negative in my contributions. In my most recent post I was basically told I was a complainer. Well… bad luck.

If the majority of ooakforum members believe that minority voices should be heard when the ITTF makes a decision, then it must also follow that minority voices should be heard on this forum. If that makes me a complainer, so be it.

While it might be nice to think that everyone here was of the one mind and that we somehow represented some objective, unarguable truth, the reality is that very few opinions expressed here are anything other than personal opinions. Someone once told me: Opinions are like noses: everyone has one. What is written above is my opinion. Perhaps the only unarguable, objective truth in all that I've written is that we are all different.

_________________
"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

As far as banning frictionless long pips goes, and whether the ITTF should cater to the double inverted players because they are the majority here's a thought:

According to the Internet, Cardinal Roger Mahony said (1998):
"Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members ; the last, the least, the littlest."

Looking at how the ITTF stomped over the frictionless users, who would have had to have been a pretty small minority, it doesn't say anything good about the ITTF leadership, does it? I vaguely remember Adham Sharara saying that the ITTF are concerned mainly with the elite levels of the sport, but I don't remember FLP being a huge problem at the elite level at any stage, so what gives?

And a second thought:
Back in the 1940 and early 1950's, pimpled rubber was by far the rubber of choice, and sponge was a small minority. Should the ITTF have catered to the majority of players back then, and banned sponge?

Personally, I don't mind the ITTF making changes as much if their intentions are honestly for the good of the sport as a whole. The two-color rule change badly affected antispin and long pip players back in the 1980's, but I think the ITTF made the change with the best interests of the sport in mind. Ditto the hidden serve rules, the speed glue ban, and maybe the 40mm bigger ball.

But the frictionless long pips rule just seemed kind of meanspirited and unnecessary, and the new plastic ball seems kind of a dodgy call too. Don't get me started on the pips aspect ratio changes either.

If the ITTF are doing a good job, they should be looking out for the interests of all their members (not just the majority) as much as possible, given that the good of the sport as a whole should come first. Of course, we probably all have a different idea about what "the good of the sport as a whole" actually means. But I think you get my point, such as it is.

_________________
Perth Table Tennis Club

I really enjoyed reading this response. It picks up my thread and critiques it honestly without trying to diminish any validity my comments might have.

Two responses:
1.
Exactly! While Greg’s contribution holds up the ITTF to scrutiny on the basis of how well it treats “the last, the least, the littlest”, it does not contradict my main contention: that when we claim to speak for all, we dismiss the voice of those who disagree with us.

If our criteria for judging the behaviour of others is how we treat our marginalized, then the ITTF does need to be held accountable for how it responds to the needs of the whole TT community and not just some, even if that some makes up the majority.

But we might equally adapt Mahony in order to ask ourselves a question: If our forum “is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members” then how do we respond to the voice of “the last, the least, the littlest” when that voice disagrees with the majority? Are we as guilty as the ITTF if we ignore those “players like us” if those players turn out to be not like us? Surely expecting the ITTF to listen to the voice of the minority is supremely hypocritical if we are not prepared to do the same.

2.
Again, I can't possibly disagree with this. Greg's illustrations of what he considers to be good and bad decisions shows a degree of balance.* The ITTF can't be 100% good or 100% bad; anyone who insists the ITTF is totally one or the other is adopting a totally prejudiced viewpoint which refuses to accept that their own viewpoint is less than perfect. (And no-one is perfect!)

So it does come down to how we understand "the good of the sport". It's not rocket science to recognise that we put our own needs/likes/thinking at the centre of any discussion. If we play with long pips then "the good of the sport" must be good for long pips players; but if we are a double inverted we would argue just as strongly that "the good of the sport" must be good for double inverted players. The problem arises for me when any one group claims to speak for all. How can double inverted players speak for all? How can long pips players claim to speak for all?

How does any sporting organisation make changes for "the good of the sport" if it is hostage to meeting the needs of all of the conflicting groups within the organisation? The answer, as I observe it anyhow, is that sporting organisations focus on play at the elite level. During the time I regularly played football, there were a number of really significant rule changes including changes to the offside rule and the four step rule for goalkeepers. As a goalkeeper I was significantly disadvantaged by both of those changes, as were goalies at all levels of the game, but... FIFA introduced those changes on the basis of making the game more attractive at the elite level. I can find lots and lots of similar illustrations from a huge range of sports - the current debate over the interchange rule in Aussie Football is a classic case in point - but it comes down to "the good of the sport" really meaning for the good of elite competition.

My question is then: is it possible to reconcile point 1 and point 2? Is it possible to listen to the voice of "the last, the least, the littlest" at the same time as making changes for "the good of elite competition"?


* Greg's comment - "I don't mind the ITTF making changes as much if their intentions are honestly for the good of the sport as a whole" - raises then the problem of how we determine other people's intentions. IMO, there is a ridiculous amount of opinion passed of as fact by opponents of the ITTF, as if somehow they know what other people's intentions are, regardless of what those people themselves say.

_________________
"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

You could easily argue it is the "last, the least, the littlest" who are making the decisions at ITTF level.

As for the good of elite competition. Define "good of elite competition". Table tennis, like to a degree badminton and squash is a popular racket sport. Popular amongst players. It's a first and foremost a participation sport - not a spectator sport, not unless you try and make it "sexy", athletic, fast etc. At the ITTF level, what is their aim - bums on seats watching the sport or players at the table playing the sport, or maybe even both. I sometimes think they are confused. Viewing figures are important for olympic participation - not the number of players playing the game or maybe the amount of money they can generate. Most people watch table tennis on a tv screen if they are lucky or youtube or other websites, but they do it through the video medium, so the ittf try and make the sport attractive to TV (video medium). But in my honest opinion they go about it the wrong way - trying to change the rules and the laws (often through the back door technical leaflets and the insistance of competitiors using "authorised" equipment). I've still yet to read anywhere what market research has been done by the ITTF to establish either what members think or want, or "the general publics perceptions of table tennis" and what "spectators" want.

If the ITTF loses sight of the fact that in my opinion table tennis is first and foremost a participation driven sport it will in the full test of time "cut it's own throat" and social players associations and non affiliated leagues will set up and the discussion around the ITTF and rule changes will be irrelevant as they and the ITTF won't apply to most grass routes and social players here.

As for the double standards being imposed on minorities on this forum. That's an interesting comparision. Except,

1. it's hard to comment without having access to "private pm's" and discussions which have gone on around member behaviour and
2. there is a huge difference between being criticised for being negative, being criticised for having a different opinion and simply not being heard

Opinion being passed off as fact is misleading and dangerous because not everyone has the facts or desire or inclination to question them. Opinion being passed off as if someone is the voice of the "moral" majoirty on the forum I don't have an issue with - it can be challenged and spotted for what it is and it may well actually be true.

Ultimately though some poeple like to be sheep, some like to be the shepherd. We chose our own role. And at least on this forum we have the opportunity to defend ourselves and put forward our opinions. I like reading your posts Tassie, they have a passion, just as others do. But sometimes I think you care too much what others think about you, or what you post.

If others on the forum seem to hold sway with opinion and you feel you are a minoirty, it's because others on the forum choose to let them and perhaps because you are a minority. Keep posting Tassie, but in my opinion it would be more interesting to read what you think the ITTF has done well to promote the game for "us" grass roots players than to read posts defending the ITTF from comments about what it hasn't done. Perhaps that is why there maybe a perception of negativity about your posts? You defend too much?

So back to your question, the answer for me depends on "how you define your target audience" and how you define "for the good of the elite".

Just as an aside, our league is affiliated to the ETTA and therefore indirectly adopts the ITTF laws of table tennis. At the time when the two colour rule came in to force (black one side, red the other) I was told there was a player, I think in his 60's who had been playing for many many years with the same rubber both sides (can't remember what type or if they even made it anymore at the time of the rule change). Rather than make him change his equipment which would have forced him out of the game, the league introduced a local rule to let him play on with the same bat and the same rubber both sides. He carried on playing and no one complained. Rules made by the ITTF don't have to impact on local leagues in a detrimental way if the committees of those local leagues don't want them to. But then table tennis isn't organised the same way the world over.

Dear Tassie , I need to ask you an important question



where is your Avatar?

_________________
Blade Ulmo Duality| FH Tibhar mx-p Black, Dawei 388D-1 red OX
NZ table tennis selector, ask a question
My Blog here..How table tennis objects are made
Table Tennis abbreviations, and acronyms

Much excitement in the magical world that is Tassie52! Last night I had the pleasure and the privilege of meeting haggisv!!!

Yes, it was only briefly, but briefly is much better than not at all. I'm on study leave in Adelaide while my wife attends a conference and had a spare half an hour to visit haggisv's club. As we are all painfully aware, he is out of action and so I didn't get to watch him play, but I saw enough of the rest of his team to know that he is about 47 levels better than I am.

I got to show off both Silky Sally and Black-eyed Suzie and we had a short chat about Ross's blades. It seems that he's reluctant to splurge on a blade with unknown playing qualities. I'm thinking we should club together and have one built for him (don't mention this to Alex) - I mean, even if it doesn't meet his exacting criteria for playing, at least he could just have it framed and hang it on the wall.

_________________
"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

HassisV has met me as well, I'm about 6inches taller than him

_________________
Blade Ulmo Duality| FH Tibhar mx-p Black, Dawei 388D-1 red OX
NZ table tennis selector, ask a question
My Blog here..How table tennis objects are made
Table Tennis abbreviations, and acronyms

It was an absolute pleasure to meet you Tassie!

We might not always see eye to eye on occasions on the forum , but I think we got on really well when we met! We probably could have spent a few more hours chatting if you didn't have to leave. Oh well, there's always next time, but it was really great to be able to meet you in person!

BTW It wasn't actually my club where we met, it was an 'away' match for us, but you still got to see everyone there.

Lucky you didn't see me play... you might not have left with the same impression of my level

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Which was my subversive agenda for meeting you - I don't have two heads after all!

yeah, that doesn't fool me at all. Your teammates wouldn't have you if you weren't up to their standard. And I know the only way I would get even a single point off one of them was if they were laughing so hard at my efforts that they couldn't see the ball. True.

Seriously? At 6' 2" I'm used to being the tall guy at the table. Perhaps we should get the three of us together and I can be the short guy on the team!

_________________
"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

So long, and thanks for all the fish


I've just finished re-reading GrumpyJoe's thread It's time to go. It's fascinating for a number of reasons.

First of all, it's great to read the words of concern and support for Joe from forum members. Their appreciation for him is heartening - without friends, life would be pretty miserable.
Secondly, it's sobering to realise that Joe's concerns remain unaddressed. Nothing has changed, and nor is it likely to.
Thirdly, there is a lot of comparing ourselves to other forums and patting ourselves on the back. We congratulate ourselves on being friendly, even though the evidence (Joe's imminent departure) would suggest otherwise.
Finally, Joe stayed. And, as far as I can see, has managed his ongoing participation without succumbing to the temptation to get dragged back into the garbage. What an extraordinary achievement that is. Joe, I salute you.

I fluctuate between awe and confusion about the ability of some (perhaps even many) members to be thoroughly pissed off by the behaviour of others and yet not get drawn into sarcasm and sniping. Why awe? Because I know that I simply don't have that same ability. Why confusion? Because I genuinely don't understand how it is possible to ignore the constant irritation of others.

Sad, isn't it, that a responsible, compassionate, 60 year old guy can't stop picking at scabs? Because that is how I'm increasingly spending my time on this forum. Rather than logging on to the forum with excitement, nowadays I do so obsessing about what landmines have been laid for me. Now I know that this is very unhealthy behaviour - mentally unhealthy, that is. The rational part of my brain tells me a number of things that my irrationality refuses to accept. I know that mnnb doesn't deliberately post his crap with the intention of baiting me; I know that those who post in the "guide to cheating" section are well within the rules of the forum; I know that TT is only a game and most definitely not a matter of life and death. I know all of these things and yet I can't stop picking.

So, it's time for me to go.

Except, of course, it's not that easy. There remains the question of the manner of my departure. There once was a member called Speedplay. His departure has caused all sorts of negative comments along the lines of "I don't agree with the way he left". Huh? He left. What was he supposed to do? Beg to be allowed to stay? Write a tearful farewell loosely based on Oscar speeches - "I'd like to thank my family for all their support and my agent and my dog and my agent's dog..." As far as I can see, Speedplay had had enough and he went. Good for him.

Unfortunately, I have an ego problem. (I take some small comfort from being honest enough to recognise that it is my ego problem. ) I know I'd like to receive the kind of support that Joe got and which convinced him to remain. And I also know that there is a certain level of support for my ongoing participation on the forum, even from one or two folk who actively disagree with me on most issues. But is the ego massage worth the aggravation of staying? I think not.

So I choose this as the manner of my parting:

1. I'm posting this farewell discourse here and not in a new thread. Hopefully that limits the amount of fuss.
2. There are a few things I want to put out there before I go (a last minute rant, if you will).
3. I don't want replies offering me encouragement to stay.
4. If anyone chooses to reply, I ask that they only speak about their own experiences and that they do so honestly. No sweeping, unsubstantiated generalisations; just, "this is how it is for me".
5. I'm not inviting people to PM me wanting to stay in touch. I am notoriously bad at corresponding and I'm also aware that I don't have very much in common with others. We may share a whole lot here, but friendship requires a real world relationship.
6. On Friday, 31 August, I'm going to log on for the last time. I'm asking that the next day haggisv will work his administrator's magic and remove me from the list of members and will make it impossible for me to rejoin. That way, it will be finished.

The final rant
1. Why is it not possible for me to express my opinions on this forum? Specifically, why is it not possible for me to criticise the negative behaviour of others? My inbox is full of two kinds of PM - those explicitly thanking me for my battle against the negativity of the forum, and those from mods telling me to pull my head in. "This is a friendly forum" goes the mantra, so I'm not allowed to be critical. But that same standard is not applied to those who are deliberately and unequivocally critical and unfriendly to Adham Sharara and the ITTF. The game seems to be that there anyone can say anything and they are not held to account. One memorable post even suggested that Adham's wife is unfaithful to him. And yet we're supposed to be a friendly forum. A number of PMs to me have pointed out that Adham is a public figure and therefore we can say whatever we like to say. On the other hand, pushblocker (who is also, given his widespread notoriety across the TT community, a public figure) can't be criticised for cheating. For me there is clearly a double standard at work, but my suggestions that this is so have fallen on deaf ears.

2. I don't believe in conspiracy theories. Sorry to be so blunt, but Elvis is not alive and well, 9/11 was caused by terrorists, and reptilian humanoids are not controlling the governments of the world. I know this may come as a shock to some. There is a certain amount of mindless conspiracy theorising that goes on in this forum. Never has anyone presented a shred of evidence to support their claims of corruption in high places, but that doesn't seem to matter. I guess that is one of the joys of being a conspiracy theorist: the lack of evidence proves that someone is hiding something! Sure. And my cat is the evil mastermind behind the frictionless long pips ban. I asked her and she refused to answer!

3. mynamenotbob has the greatest blog on this forum or any other TT forum I have come across. When it comes to passion for the sport, I don't think there is anyone to touch him. His level of commitment borders on obsession. But I find his contributions regularly demeaning of others, overwhelmingly blinkered when it comes to any kind of officialdom, and so negative as to be soul destroying. The latest farce is illustrative: his signature rejoices in the ignorant comment of one journalist about our game and he denigrates the comments of a different journalist who finds our game attractive - The best live sport I've ever seen. At the same time, he deletes posts from the thread (which is not his own blog) and doesn't have the courtesy to reinstate what were valid, on-topic comments. N.B. This is not an unfair attack on mynamenotbob; it is a simple statement of what took place. If you don't believe me, simply go to the thread. There you will find that the first post is mnnb's (as if he was the good guy who started the thread) and that the original posts were removed by him. Nothing has been reinstated, even though I have received a PM from another mod clearly stating that there were valid comments included in what was removed.

Given my own unhealthy obsession with mynamenotbob, is it possible for me to continue as a forum member? No. Being a wise forum member, I've checked the User Control Panel to see how I can limit my interactions with certain folk I deem to be "Foes". But, it's not possible for me to set mynamenotbob as a Foe. He's a moderator, and moderators are exempt from the mechanisms which I might use to limit my angst. Every single time he posts, up he pops in the View active topics, and - sick puppy that I am - I'm drawn back into the garbage.

4. What happens to those who don't like the direction that the forum is taking? As I said above, I have a number of PMs in my inbox supporting my efforts to hold the forum accountable for its behaviour. (You know who you are.) This isn't a game about who has the most support. This isn't childish pissing up the wall to see who goes highest. I know that on any given day of the week, mynamenotbob, roundrobin, pushblocker and smartguy all have far more allies than I have (and far more important allies). I know that, when it comes to level of support, I am in the minority on this forum. haggisv tries to tell me that this forum is open to all perspectives and opinions. While I admire his optimism, the reality is that he is not part of the minority that constantly battles against the negativity of so much here. How many times do we have to be told that the ITTF is ruining the sport? (Even though that may not be our experience.) How many times do we have to hear about the millions who left the sport when frictionless long pips were banned, even though there is no evidence to support that view? How many times do we have to hear how unpopular our sport is, how unwatchable it is, how boring it is? Quite frankly, I'm angry that this negative viewpoint dominates this forum.

Those of us who hold a different view are censored - we are not allowed to criticise because it is unfriendly.

Someone once said, "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem." If I'm unable to work towards a solution to the negativity of the forum (witness my comments continuing to be deleted from the previously mentioned thread) then simply staying silent makes me a part of the problem. There is much about this forum I have enjoyed and some I have loved. Alex's work as Admin. is quite extraordinary and his contribution to TT deserves to be recognised with some sort of award. I would never have got Silky Sally and Black-eyed Suzie if I hadn't read the inspirational posts by Ross Leidy. The guy is extraordinary and fabulous to work with. I've found Debater's posts really engaging and I've loved his willingness to test stuff rather than just accept conventional wisdom. I've enjoyed some trans-Tasman rivalry, wondered about the technicalities of balsa in Achim's blades, loved reading ian demagi's comments on short pips, plus I've spent countless hours watching videos - mainly of defenders.

And I guess this is my parting shot - my greatest critics haven't got a clue about who I am or what I like. Why have I been a passionate member of this forum? Because I am a defender. Joo Se Hyuk epitomises for me the extraordinary heights to which our game can rise. No, I don't think he's the greatest player around and no, I don't think he'd be world champion if he could play with flps. But that doesn't mean I don't watch and marvel at his skill. Others have been far more focussed on arguing with me than ever recognising a kindred spirit. Well, that's their loss I guess.

The following members are not welcome to leave comments here:

mynamenotbob
roundrobin
smartguy
pushblocker
(plus anyone else who treats their pips in order to cheat)

It's my blog and I will exercise my right to remove posts I find offensive.

I would ask haggisv one last favour (and he has already done me many, many favours): leave what I have said here. Others will judge me on the basis of what I say without any need for mods to step in and make it all look nice. After Saturday, normal transmission will resume.

_________________
"So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this" Sung by the dolphins in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

Well I guess I'll be the first to make a reply to this Tassie. Certainly not going to ask you to stay in a place where you can't find a "happy place", so this is not a "please stay" post by any means. I have been in similar shoes to you in bygone days when I too had a mod I did not get along with on the forum. Funnily enough it was the member you mentioned who left (Speedplay), and believe me, his leaving was not a choice simply due to not getting along with someone else (and certainly not due to me), there was a lot more to it (but thats another story - just not one that aligns with your own issues). Initially, given I was a fairly "hi-profile" poster on the forum and Speedplay was a mod, Haggisv simply asked us to ignore each other. This didn't work too well and I took a spell from the place. But then I came back and, in fact, I learned to get along with Speedplay long before he left. I did it, and found my "happy place" on the forum by simply ignoring things that I disliked in his behaviour and found things that I could agree with him on. Suddenly an all out war turned into a sympatic co-existence. Of course after he left, that all became forgotten history and I replaced him as a mod. (The place just wasn't big enough to have us both as mods before that you see lol). Speedplay also left Rob's forum around the same time due to a falling out with admin there, so I think a lot of Speedplays decisions came down to whatever was going on in his real life at the time affecting his online relationships, but that is only conjecture. Whether this bears any similarity to your own situation is for only you to consider. I simply convey these ideas because I am fully aware our forum attitude can be easily influenced by what we have going on (or perhaps even by what is missing) in our real lives. I'm certainly not suggesting you go down the same path with MNNB either, but if you did choose to stay I'm sure you could work through a way to recognise his good attributes (and believe me, he has many more good ones than bad in comparison with Speedplay - and I am not running Speedplay down here either because in the end he and I actually were on quite good terms - which just shows what is possible).

These days I like visiting the forum and catching up on what interests me. I perform my mod duties when I see a need to do so, but otherwise I simply enjoy what I want to enjoy out of the forum. I don't let the forum control my thoughts or feelings. I did let it once upon a time, and it makes it an unpleasant way to participate. Its a lot more fun when you forget the political feelings about the TT world and just observe and contribute in a more light-hearted way. I leave you this as a thought to ponder.

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.