To BOD & M & A's. I'm done

[SteveColes]

When I was elected to the BOD, most of the existing BOD was suspicious of me. They seemed to dislike and distrust everything about me. For some reason that I will never really understand. I basically said that if we couldn't have some mutual trust and respect, I would not take the seat. We then spent about 3 hours clearing the air and promising respect and trust. This consisted of me apologizing for everything I have ever done that was on their minds. I think I may have also apologized for the war in Iraq.

A few days before I was officially the webmaster, I decided that if the board was suspicious and distrusting, the M & A's would be too. So I decided to attempt to clear the air with them. Eventually most contributed and I apologized and then tried to demonstrate to everyone that I had indeed heard your complaints and was immediately attempting to address them. From Ray Martin, i received open and continuous hostility no matter what I did.

Some of you complained that I was not including you guys in some things. Well, I tried to get you all into the middle of the process I was going to do myself. No real success there except for Barbara. One of the reasons that was given and several echo'd it. You were not policy makers just policy followers. In the same breath I was informed that they wished I would have consulted on the short term policy of the OT forum.:swoon:

Meanwhile two of the BOD members who I guess had nothing better to do, decided they would supply "constructive criticism" on the OT forum discussion.

So after 30 days or so, i have been met with continued distrust and a complete lack of respect and criticism for the sake of criticism. It has become apparent that no matter what I say or do , it will continue to be met that way.

It boggles my mind that for four years I got nothing but praise and thanks for the wonderful job I was doing. Now, one short year later I have turned into the devil trying to destroy your website. My sense of the things that will work and those that will not seems to have totally disappeared.

Has this developed into a personal conflict. You bet your bippy. I no longer feel welcome with most of you.

So I must resign effective immediately and leave you people to own devices.

 

[toolferone]

I guess I am just know nothing about what is going on with the BOD and such, but I what I do know is that this is just plain WRONG! I do not understand! Steve has nothing but the best intentions and thoughts on this great web site and to think otherwise is outragious. There needs to be some real soul searching going on. If the creator of this site is fed up with us, then I really feel sorry for us! THIS IS OUR LOSS! and must be fixed somehow. I don't think Steve will be part of fixing this, but we must figure out to take his vision and love of this community and make it right. Make it a place that he will want to be a contributing part of. Do I sound ****ed, yes I am! I had lunch with Steve today and had no idea he felt this way. I wished I had known. I don't know what I would have said or done, but this is my start. I can only tell you what I feel about the policys and guide lines. I don't know how to fix them, but we have no choice but to do it.

:kamahlitu:gar-Cr:kamahlitu:gar-Cr

 

[b4man]

I echo Tom's remarks.

Whatever started this conflict between The Board and Steve was handled poorly. It feels like some ego's were stepped on and it's turned into a schoolyard brawl.

When we announced the BoD nominations and got disappointing results in the lack of activity I tried to explain some of the hesitations general members had. What did I get for that? A bunch of lame crap excuses with a heavy dose of denial. At one point your excuses almost convinced me. But, like all truth, it's prevails.

Yes, I am angry too. Just like the Harbor Freight story, you guys were given an opportunity to grow a grain of sand into a pearl, only to throw the sand in our eyes.

All this because of what? To save Jeff Mills from permanent suspension? To show the forum you were smarter the Steve? The majority of this site want's and has been happy with the purpose and implementation of NCWW. Why aren't you?

Oh, and thanks so much for all the support and participation in the Goals thread. What were you waiting for? This very day to once again try and get your way?

Thanks Steve, I can't say as I blame you.

Barbara

 

[McRabbet]

I was saddened to see our founder and long-term benefactor Steve Coles resign from the Board of Directors and because of my low-level of participation over the past 2 months following the death of my wife, I am as perplexed by his sudden action as most of you are. Steve has always been a Champion for this organization and his direct involvement in the management of the website will be sorely missed. Woodworking is a passion for most of us and it is sad to see a passionate, hard working individual like Steve see his dreams dashed by petty criticism while he was striving to make real improvements in the site. Steve, you will be missed being in a key slot, but I for one hope you will continue to help keep this site moving forward. I know I will continue to help us in that effort.

 

[Bas]

Steve,

It saddens me that you're leaving. The one thing I don't understand is the distrust. As I've said before, your personal style tends to clash with some people. Nothing new there. But why anyone would question your motives is beyond me. At the end of the day, we all work to make this the best place possible, and it's too bad we can't resolve the differences in a more constructive manner. There are many things the previous BoD did that I didn't agree with, but I never questioned their dedication to North Carolina Woodworker.

I disagreed with closing the OT forum. And I found the (re)writing of the goals somewhat frustrating. So I stated my concerns, and moved on. I'm not the web master. Steve is (was). I don't doubt for a minute that Steve believed closing the OT forum was in the best interest of the site. And it's good we review the site policy & procedures on a regular basis. We can disagree on policy, we can disagree on style, we can disagree on priorities, we can disagree on method, but questioning someone's motives...no.

To the rest of the team: I think not having Steve as web master is a big loss. There is a lot of technical work to accomplish, and nobody can match Steve in experience, skills and time in this area. I love the setup that was created on the test site, especially because it addressed many of the concerns Jm and I had raised about doing the admin work. That counts.

 

[Gotcha6]

I'll echo Bas' comments about style, personality, and expertise. I've had a lot on my plate lately so I haven't been able to focus as much attention to the site as I'd like. As for the OT closing & redefining of goals, I feel that task is the responsibility of the BoD ultimately so I didn't feel comfortable putting in MTCW. Perhaps setting up a discussion among Corporate Members would get a better feel for the direction the site may go.
I wish you the best. You certainly gave us yours.

 

[TracyP]

This too saddens me greatly. I really looked forward to working with you as assistant Webmaster; Steve. I would like to tell all of the BOD, Admins, and Moderators that the website will continue to operate in a structured environment that is in line with the visions of our Founder, Steve Coles. He single handedly built this site and community that we all enjoy and volunteer to maintain. I would like to state publicly among us, that at BOD election time I had reservations about some things relating to Steve being Webmaster, and I voiced those things openly. Never at any time was I worried about Steve being Webmaster; (that is where he needs to be). I was concerned solely about moderation practices that were pre-emptive in the past returning to that state, and I also voiced those things to the BOD and Steve. So to sum this up, we as a collective group have done a great injustice to Steve and we all should have our butts kicked:slap::slap: if we participated. I will do my level best to make sure Steve's values, visions, hopes and dreams for this site are upheld. And if you are really on board as staff and BOD members, you will too.

Thank You,

 

[toolman]

Will This is just down right sad!! :gar-Cr And I hate to see Steve go!

 

[froglips]

FYI, Steve no longer has access to the Mod & Admin forum, so he is not able to view the comments made.

Jim