Any chance that whatever caused the rift amongst the various parties can be resolved so that the rest of us who neither know nor care about the details aren't drawn into what is becoming a very public dispute?
Just a suggestion ...
I need to reply to this....
Kevin, this rift began last spring, maybe before. But first some history: Three years ago, Doug turned his site over to me to moderate and upgrade. I spent a huge amount of time (unpaid) working with Qnet and UBB, first moving the board over to a new server (since the old would not support the new database software), then upgrading to the new message board software. Moderating involved removing some tired trolls as well. I cannot count the number of times people thanked me or commented how much better the forum was compared to years past.
More than a year ago, I also worked on the web cam setup, acquiring and installing software, buying a camera on ebay, and working on an installation. I sent it all over to Doug, and wagga and I walked Doug through the installation steps for the initial install. Then on the group hike weekend, we installed an even better camera and a better mounting setup, with wiring through the wall, and the camera mounts bolted to the side of the hostel.
About the same time Doug turned the board to me, VersatileFred was creating and compiling his extensive Orientation Notes and other work so new hikers could quickly and easily find all the valuable information that is buried in the forum. It quickly turned into the most heavily visited information on the forum. I have seen SO many people writing how invaluable his Orientation Notes have been.
Unfortunately, last spring Doug began lashing out against Fred and several others who often posted helpful answers for the newbie queries. Many times it was simply to point them to the topic within Fred's work. At one point, he banned VersatileFred. Privately, I pointed out to Doug that Fred's work had over 50,000 hits in just two years! But he ignored all of that, and requested that I remove all of Fred's work.
So with the support of some of the message board members, we contributed the money required to start this new site. The Orientation Notes are here and some of the helpful threads have been moved over, but there is still much more to do.
After removing all the helpful info, Doug commented to me that he thought the board was running better. He went on to say the old software was better, and his original web cam setup (before my time) was better than what we had currently. (It was some sort of video camera hooked to a computer that stopped working when his computer died.)
By the way, several times, I mentioned to Doug that we were setting up a new site with a forum and Fred's work. The second time was the group hike weekend. Both times, he acknowledged, and said "That's ok."
Then, several weeks after the group hike excitement died down, I posted an announcement on wpsmb about our new site, stating that the Whitney Hikers Association was working in tandem with Doug and the Hostel to support the web cam.
Doug hit the roof, posted a short statement that he was not cooperating and that he was the owner of the hostel and store. I saw his statement the next morning and spoke with him on the phone. He said I was trying to take away 15 years of his work, and that he was going to remove me from wpsmb and remove the web cam. So he has acted on that.
I am not sure what he is more angry about, that another site was using the web cam running from his building, or that there is now a second Whitney forum. I guess that doesn't matter.
