bgum wrote:
To the moderator:
Everything I said was respectful. All issues like this have more than one thing going on. I asked a question about why it was where it is. My question was more respectful than your biased reply. You are a moderator. Moderate don't inject your opinions in a somewhat heavy handed manner.
I have opinions. I'm sorry you find them heavy handed. Truly I am. That's not a sarcastic response.
This is a topic that is near and dear to me. Access to public lands is a topic that has been discussed often over the years and it's truly crucial to the Toy Hauler community.
The interesting thing about this specific issue is the symbiotic crossover between the OHV community and ... I'm kind of struggling for the right word(s) here ... I guess a picture is worth 1,000 words in this case. I don't want to use any pejorative labels (because I don't think negatively about this group), but if you look at the photo of the volunteers, they look diametrically opposed to the typical OHV enthusiast. These are two very different demographics whose Venn diagrams intersect in a meaningful way. It's fascinating to me. Look at their picture and then envision the average OHV enthusiast; they're very different critters.
As far as my request to try to cordon off this conversation and limit it to the Toy Hauler community, this isn't a unique situation here on RV.NET. Discussions often go off the rails when someone unfamiliar with the topic (and I don't think that's an unfair description of you in this case--respectfully) joins a conversation within a group they are unfamiliar with. We see it here all the time when someone with a Class A joins a Truck Camping conversation or someone with a Travel Trailer posts about 5th Wheel hitches.
Each of the specific forums has a characteristic style and point of view. And each forum has topics that make a lot more sense to the members who have not only participated in the discussions for years but traveled and camped in the areas being discussed and have unique firsthand experience.
You have my sincere apology that my comments seemed heavy handed, but I don't apologize for having an opinion (and even a bias) on a topic that affects my ability to recreate. I'm not just a moderator, but a participant.
As a moderator, my objective is to keep the discussion on topic and even prevent any discord before it occurs. Maybe it wasn't your intent (or perhaps it was), but your comment about hearing from the other side came off as nay-saying. As the moderator, that catches my attention and I try to head off any conflicts before they occur.
Again, I meant no disrespect and I hope this discussion will continue as constructively as possible.
