# My two cents



## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I've had the privilege of getting to know quite a few of you personally and I can say I've made alot of personal friends being on this forum. I've gone from the new guy in the freshwater area when the forum was only 300 members or so (there was no saltwater section back then) to being a moderator on here. 

Over the years the community on this forum has grown to be a very tight knit family of individuals that span a wide spectrum of life. You never know who you'll meet when getting a frag or fish from another forum member. 

As time goes by, most of you have noticed that the forum has gone under managed and not maintained. This was due to the sale of the forum to a corporation, and the moderators moving on to better things in life. 

This being the last post I'll make on this forum, I'd like to thank the friends that I've made for a great experience and to please keep in touch. 

I'll lurk in the shadows
Good Luck with your tanks.
And as my good friend Greg use to say "Do not play chess with a pigeon, he will only knock over the pieces and shit on the board."


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## guelphjay (Mar 10, 2014)

Long time lurker here. 

Sorry to see you go Alt! We've met briefly passing through various LFS. 

I have to say that I have definitely appreciated your, as well as other long time members contributions. I've learned a lot over the years as well as use the search function religiously. 

This forum has seemed to turn more into a buy and sell location then discussions recently. 

All the best.


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## saltmeup (Nov 12, 2015)

Who's the corp ? 
Where is the announcement of a sale ?



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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

I am seriously disappointed that you are not going to post anymore Alt.

I agree that this forum has become more like KiJiji and that there are some new members that look to abuse this captive audience by pretending to be swapping and trading and in fact are selling above their costs.

If no one monitors this, then good luck to us all. It makes every new member suspect and undermines the retailers who work within the rules.

Why was this a bad thing to point out and why do people feel the need to attack?

I have enjoyed your posts Alt and look forward to when you are done your self imposed exile.


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## Rookie2013 (Jan 17, 2013)

Hi Dave of all the wonderful people here that i have met/dealt with you definetly stand out the most. I definitely don't want you to stop posting but I totally understand where you are coming from no worries we will bug you on your Friday night thread lol...stay safe keep reefing bro and please come out of your exile as soon as you can....


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## Greg_o (Mar 4, 2010)

While I suspect Dave will be back (he no doubt has a lot of friends here) I can appreciate the point he raises.

Since the sale of this board to VS there has been a marked change in this forum.

Web savvy users can get past the ads, but there is still a different vibe here.

Likely related is the mod situation. It seems ad hock and inconsistent at best.

There was a time where the buy and sell was monitored with an almost machine like diligence (cough Y2KGT cough), but now it seems extremely sporadic.

And yes, I get that there is a responsibility is on us, to use the report button, but I don't think that appeals to everyone.

The Ramez saga was an eye opener - that went on far too long. IIRC WTAC implied he personally wasn't too vested in moderating this sub which seemed like a pretty weak reaction to the specific situation. (WTAC apologies if I'm wrong on this)

Then we had the SaltwaterEmpire guy from Cornwall.. I suspect he was banned, if so, compared to the Ramez timeline seems like an overly swift and heavy handed gesture.

Just my thoughts after a long day. I know these things aren't perfect but overall there is a lot of room for improvement these days.


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## Greg_o (Mar 4, 2010)

Rookie2013 said:


> your Friday night thread lol...


Yeah Dave, at least consider joining us in that thread to shoot the $#!%


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## guelphjay (Mar 10, 2014)

Speaking specifically about the livestock sales, for the most part I really have no idea about pricing. Unless you have a decent handle on that, it is really hard to decide if frags are way over priced or on the flip side, too good to be true. There are simply so many sellers. I have a mental list of sellers that long time members have vouched for. Other then that I stick to a few LFS that I trust. 

I personally had a run in with Ramez and partner. I was lucky enough to walk away, but they really he me questioning things. Hat tip to Tom G for contacting me. That whole saga went on far too long. I'm also fairly certain he joined another board under another handle, got caught, denied, then admitted and was banned. But he was on and off of there in less then a week. 

It definitely takes a community but the ship also needs a captain ...and sometimes the ole ban hammer.


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## Rookie2013 (Jan 17, 2013)

guelphjay;
It definitely takes a community but the ship also needs a captain ...and sometimes the ole ban hammer.[/QUOTE said:


> correctly said...


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## cica (Feb 10, 2013)

It is sad to see good, helpful people to go because of some ...........
This forum is definitely not what used to be.
Keep in touch Dave.


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Sry to see you go alt. There will always be a seat at the table for you 

I'm not on here as frequently as I used to be and time constraints with work and family dont help matters as a mod of this sub forum. My handling of the Ramez, in hindsight I should have shut down the thread much earlier. 

If it seems necessary, I will gladly pass the mod torch to someone that is more active than I am and in touch with what's going on here.


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## janos1 (Apr 3, 2017)

Hi to all.As a new member sad to see older knowledgeable members go out,because the reef hobby not simple and easy,and there is always need for good advice.As the buy and sell,everything have good and bad site.As a new start for me buy used tank with the stand was very big help and the seller(Thaile601)was very honest and nice guy.Second buy Live rock came out very bad because another member(Ostro)was dishonest and take me for a ride.But all after that here is lot of honest and knowledgeable member.


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## nc208082 (Jun 27, 2013)

janos1 said:


> Hi to all.As a new member sad to see older knowledgeable members go out,because the reef hobby not simple and easy,and there is always need for good advice.As the buy and sell,everything have good and bad site.As a new start for me buy used tank with the stand was very big help and the seller(Thaile601)was very honest and nice guy.Second buy Live rock came out very bad because another member(Ostro)was dishonest and take me for a ride.But all after that here is lot of honest and knowledgeable member.


Why are you crapping on this thread? This is for alt to say goodbye. Leave your drama in your own thread please.

Alt sorry to see you go. But your right, this site is going downhill fast.

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