Thank you and Goodbye

[Light]

I want to begin by saying thank you to Contrarian Expat, Winston, Publicduende, LFL, Zambales and Carnio for the information and advice they have given me since I joined in May. It will be useful to me when I move abroad and leave behind the United States and begin a new life abroad.

When I joined in May the forum appeared to be free of drama much unlike what I observed at varying points during my time as a lurker. The only exception was PAG who was easy to spot trolling and attacking other members.

Today I was proven wrong when I learned that drama still exists on this forum and that the forum is not really a safe place. When I logged onto the site today Truthseeker had sent me a PM I thought was a joke and I stupidly clicked the link. It could have contained a malicious code or something so I will not make that mistake again. What he was doing was not a joke and instead was accusing me of being the old forum member Tsar.

I would not play his petty game so I told him do what he wants to see just what he would do. He posted the alleged IP address of an old forum member which proved to me that this isn't a good or safe community if there are members willing to resort to those petty tactics and make false accusations. I can now understand why some old members probably left the forum.

That type of behavior isn't free speech. It is malicious behavior and harassment.

I don't think I want to be a member of this forum community after what I have seen today.

Good luck to everyone.

[TruthSeeker]

Light, you are welcome to come back. Just tell the truth. Most people know that you are Tsar.

Tsar talked about a Russia trip for years and then went. Why not give a trip report? You owe the forum that much.

[publicduende]

@Light

I would be sad to see you go but if that's your choice, I can't blame it (or you). This forum is great taken in small doses. From its founder Winston to several posters, including myself, we use HA as a drum to beat when we feel like venting our rage, our frustration, or to air some of the weirdest un-PC arguments the free web has ever seen.

It's what makes this forum and its community a mess but, if you believe someone who has been online since 1995, that's also what makes it a special place, a guilty pleasure of sorts.

I hope you'll be able to move on from these silly suspicions and have a happy life abroad. And maybe come back here from time to time to tell us what your tale is all about.

In bocca al lupo!

P.S. Guys, I really don't think 'Light' is 'Tsar', unless the latter guy likes to play with our minds (and time). Even if he was, so what? He's been an insightful and online persona. If he got what he wanted, in terms of advice, good for him. We're not here to lend advice to old members whose identity has been proven - we're not an online bank! We're here to share our life experience to anyone who asks for it.

[HappyGuy]

Winston could have done a better job at running this forum for sure. But then again the purpose of this website was never to create an awesome forum it was to give validation to a few good men in America or similar countries so they would get on that airplane. We didn't come here to join a community, I'm sure many men read this forum, had realizations which changed their lives, and then left to chase women without even paying the slightest tribute.

[Winston]

Winston could have done a better job at running this forum for sure. But then again the purpose of this website was never to create an awesome forum it was to give validation to a few good men in America or similar countries so they would get on that airplane. We didn't come here to join a community, I'm sure many men read this forum, had realizations which changed their lives, and then left to chase women without even paying the slightest tribute.

Why cant we have both? We are trying to have a community too. But the free speech here turns off some people. What do you propose? That we become politically correct? Where do you draw the line? Thats the hard part.

Yes I'm sure there are many lurkers here whose lives were changed by this forum and our message, but never made themselves known.

[HappyGuy]

The ratio of good to scum needed to be monitored more closely to protect the integrity of the forum, to keep good people from leaving in disgust and to keep it progressing in the right direction so it attracts more bright people in the future.

What do you propose? That we become politically correct? Where do you draw the line?

Of course not, just you should have installed moderators much earlier than you did and reinforced the message that the forum belongs to the original members and anyone else who arrives needs to fall inline.

[Yohan]

..... since I joined in May. It will be useful to me when I move abroad and leave behind the United States and begin a new life abroad.

Let me say, joining a few months ago and create about 100 posts is not much activity, regular members are posting thousands of comments over several years.

Moderation is not easy, in some forums members are complaining that moderators are deleting all and everything, in other forums members are complaining that moderation is not strict enough. No idea really what might be a good middle line for this forum, as members have totally different interests about totally different countries.

About trolls, spammers etc. - they are everywhere out on the internet.

Anyway you said, the forum was useful for you - good to hear that. You can come back for posting anytime, up to you.