Post by CWF Host on Aug 16, 2014 10:16:51 GMT -5
This is a quote from the Wrestlingfigs.com forums here is the link to the original. After reading this I just couldn't post there anymore and you shouldn't either. Jack Specific is a horrible person.
"Uh-oh, looks like three pages of discussion are gone and we all might get put in time-out. Great...
Just so you know, with all due respect- I disagree with your 'Administrating' (and pointless threats to "shut down" the only reason to come to this ridiculously hyper-sensitive, overly-authoritative, childishly-run forum). I don't know you, but I respect you the same way I respect everyone else. With that said, I hope you allow me to explain myself, respectfully. I mean nothing personal, I'm just stating my beliefs on what is wrong with this picture. I've felt this way going-on fifteen years now, so I'd appreciate if you'd allow me to vent. I can assure you it is on-topic, yet will likely be glossed-over due to its length. But I have some things I need to get off my chest.
It's ridiculous. This is just the latest example of yet another failure in micro-managing and over-moderating this discussion forum. Guess what? People argue. People argue over dumb BS all the time. Stupid, trivial nonsense... especially when the premise and foundation of the argument is manifested BY the site at which the argument is taking place ITSELF. Human beings argue. This is normal.
I'd just like to say my piece here, and if you could leave it up, I'd sincerely appreciate it. Consider this my 'shoot interview.' I've had it, and I gotta tell you my story, because I don't think you know me. All I ask, out of courtesy, is that you respectfully leave this post up. As I've said, it will be so long that I'm sure it'll be ignored anyway...
When I was twelve years old, I picked up an issue of ToyFare Magazine from my local comic book store, and stumbled upon a small box in the corner of the "website review" section, with a picture of a Jakks BCA Undertaker, for WrestleWorld.com. the small, short review described the website as the place to go for news regarding wrestling figures. I went there and discovered their discussion forum, and came across the "Customs" board. It was my first time being exposed to custom wrestling figures. I joined that first day, started repainting & cracking figures open, and buying my first brick of SuperSculpey that same week. I finished a custom, my first custom- and it was terrible. But, I was happy. I was ready to share it with the world.
Upon posting my first custom, I was greeted with several negative comments. The forum was not *so* censored, like this place is today. Only the "F" and "S" words were censored. With that being said- I'm sure you can get an idea of how the general emotion behind the majority of responses was.
The board was very active at that point in time (1999). Plenty of fantastic customizers called WrestleWorld's Customs Forum 'home.' So I sat back and watched as replies to my first custom came-in. I read all of them intently, good or bad.
Some offered constructive criticism. Some offered nothing but negativity. At 12 years of age, I was emotionally invested in my work, and reading the negative comments upset me. So, I argued back with the negative people. I realized fairly quickly that I was swimming with sharks, and was in over my head. It made me realize that I *wanted* to get better, I wanted to succeed, I wanted to follow the examples posted by others, and wanted to take the advice that was given to me... constructively or otherwise. I grew thicker skin after reading the negative comments and reacting. My second custom was better. My third was much better, and so on...
My point is: there was no jackass there waiting to delete all the internet arguments that were had over action figures. There were no discussions being "locked." People shared their work, argued back-and-forth, and moved-on. Guess what? The world kept turning. There were no casualties. No child's youth was destroyed because someone cursed at them over the internet.
Then one day, Jack Specific joined-up, and didn't really visit the Customs Board too often- he mostly posted in the General Discussion forum. He quickly became a frequent and recognized poster. He inevitably purchased WrestleWorld from it's owner, Matt Pearson, and changed the name to WrestlingFigs.com. The WrestleWorld Forums were replaced by a WrestlingFigs.com InVision ProBoard, and at the time we were told it was only temporary. And here we are 14 years later, on a ProBoard... littered with too many mods, and too many rules.
When Jack Specific took over, he promised more thorough moderation of the Customs Forum, and vowed to weed-out the negative comments by enforcing a "constructive criticism" rule- that, if you didn't have anything constructive to contribute, and your post was negative, it would be deleted.
Of course, a small handful of the known-to-be-over-emotional posters were thrilled with this news at first. Then, within a few months of this new style of "thorough" moderating, the Customs Board died-off. It is still just as dead today, apparently. I don't think there's any coincidence there.
The Customs Board is not dead from lack of interest. If that were the case, we wouldn't have over 800 pages of work in this thread. Please allow me to offer my opinion on why the WrestlingFigs.com Customs Board has always sucked. This applies to the entire forum in general, too.
It's been nearly fifteen years, @jack Specific. Nearly fifteen years since you purchased the rights to "WrestleWorld.com: The Action Figure Resource." Fifteen years... and we're still on an InVision Pro Board. It looks cheap. Never been a fan. But seriously... the biggest wrestling figure discussion forum on the internet- is an InVision Pro Board... that literally any one member of this forum could start the same identical type of message board, absolutely free of charge with? That says a lot. This forum was started for free, is free to join, and operates as such. Cheaply.
Too many "Chiefs," and not enough "Indians." You've got plenty of Mod's & Admin's, to oversee the other members... but too much oversight kills the discussion. You kill the discussions, and people will justifiably leave. Leave, and choose not to return.
Too many rules, ridiculous censorship. You tell people what they can and can't say, and it's taken WAY too far. For God's Sake, let people be themselves, and keep it simple with the rules. "This goes here, that goes there" "DO NOT post that on this board" "Any discussion of ______ will be deleted immediately" "Ask questions here" "Discuss auctions here" "Discuss TRADING ONLY here" "Post CUSTOMS ONLY here" "This thread is for fix-ups ONLY" "Discuss custom accessories ONLY here" "Do NOT quote pics" "Keep arguing and I'll shut-down this thread." Really? This is and has always been the biggest problem, and the biggest turn-off with this place. Over-organization, too many unnecessary sub-forums kills discussion and traffic, too, and confuses the new poster.
You know how many great customizers and good people have been turned away from this forum because of the overwhelming rules, censorship, and general lack of freedom? A lot. When you killed-off WrestleWorld, you closed a chapter in my life, and the lives of many others. I built friendships with people through that message board that I still have today. People I met through the forum that this place used to be...
Jack Specific himself deleted the *entire* original version of this thread- the only semblence of an ongoing customizing discussion that we have- before. He did this accidentally, while "cleaning up the thread" after an argument had taken place. This thread would most likely be somewhere around 1,800 pages or more had it just been left the hell alone, but no... some petty argument HAD to be deleted- and it resulted in the entire thread being accidentally deleted (because it's a basic, simple, InVision Pro Board) and several hundred pages of people's work lost (and it wasn't the first time, sadly). Vanished into thin air. All because an argument HAD to be deleted, before Heaven forbid some poor child's feelings got hurt. In the beginning, Jack must have said, "Better make sure we censor every possible curse word, right down to words they don't even bleep-out on TV... I couldn't bare the thought of some poor child's youth being destroyed due to some stranger cursing at them over the internet. No, not on my watch..."
... and here we are.
You might say, "Well, don't argue, and it won't be deleted." Actually, that is what you'll say... you've said it before. But that's the problem that you, the rest of the Moderators and Administrators, and the owner of this forum don't seem to understand. People are going to argue. When they're done arguing, they'll move on. This is something we call "Human Nature." It is normal to have arguments. It is normal to have disagreements. It is normal to get annoyed. It is then normal to say something. Do you understand where I'm going with this?
What is sad, and what turns people away, is the inability to have a discussion... on a DISCUSSION FORUM. It's incredibly sad to see what this place has become.
And the irony of it all? Without the over-abundance of rules and censorship, the entire argument would not have taken place... because there would be nothing to argue about. You CREATED the premise from which the argument started, by insisting that "customs go here" and "fix-ups go here." That is simply the reality of the issue at hand. Had there not been any mention of any 'Rules,' based on one's definition of what is and is not considered a "custom," the argument would not have taken place. A debate, perhaps. But an argument, no. Doesn't matter, really... argument, debate... they're one and the same in the eyes of those of you in charge. But nevertheless...
FFS, this should be REALLY simple to understand: we are taking figures out of their boxes and modifying them. Tailoring them. Switching parts and *customizing* them, to fit the description of what *we* personally want the figure to look like. That is a "custom." Call it "fixing-up," "slightly modifying," or "part-switching"- you still customized a figure for yourself. This website should NOT be so complicated as to have rules differentiating between the levels of customization done to an action figure. Life is short, keep it simple, people.
If the overwhelming amount of rules and oversight did not exist, I guarantee there would be less arguments. If this website allowed for people to have un-edited discussions about customs, and wrestling figures in general- without the fear of being banned or having your post deleted- you'd see a lot more cooperation, a lot more happy posters, and a lot more positivity, and people being less emotional. It's when you limit free-speech and start over-regulating a public message board that you get mostly negative results. People arguing semantics, arguing about the very rules which the website itself has set, while six other people chime-in with "Guys! Stop!! Before the thread gets locked again! Quick! Everybody love everybody! NOW!! I hope I don't get banned!"... Am I the only one who sees how sad and unnecessary this is?
Seriously... loosen-up. Let this place live a little bit. To those of you in charge: do you not see the sense in what I'm saying?
Think about this: We all buy and love Mattel's WWE products. A guy decides to make custom clothing fitted for these figures, shares his work with the world and sells them- and thus, we are banned from merely speaking his name. In fact, if you referred to him by name, it came up censored. If you made the mistake of referring someone to where they could possibly purchase some of his work, you'd be banned from the forum entirely. In fact, it wasn't until the guy *died* that we could ever speak his name again. Think about that, seriously. It wasn't until Ralph died, that we were even allowed to speak of him. That's what it took for the 'powers-that-be' to realize that crusade was stupid.
This entire crusade against human nature is stupid. Why don't you let people be themselves, unfiltered and comfortable, posting their true feelings and opinions- instead of feverishly "cracking down" and "cleaning up," let people be real, and do what good Moderators are supposed to do- like watching for trolls and keeping them away, helping fellow members, deleting and watching out for spammers, and only stepping-in when someone takes things *way* too far? Otherwise, I don't see why posts should be modified or deleted. The BEST rule you could possibly enforce would be simpy "Don't say anything that you wouldn't say to someone's face." It really gets no more complicated than that. If you have set that precedent, it makes for a much more peaceful & positive environment. Speaking from experience here.
Let's stop with the BS of differentiating between a "custom" and a "fix-up." We should rename this the "Official Modified Mattel WWE Figures Thread." You will see varying levels of work here- from simple part swaps, to people putting a custom t-shirt on a figure, to complete repaints with shrunken Jakks heads, etc.- your work will be heralded as such. If your pictures show up, and your figure appears, people are going to respond. The level of criticism and/or fandom will vary, based on the individual/artist and the amount of work/effort put in. If you post something cool, don't worry- someone is bound to tell you it looks cool. If you post a piece of artwork, such as a handful of people here do- completely repainted, with a modified Jakks head and sculpted parts- you are going to receive plenty of praise for your artwork.
There are people here that have innovated the art of customizing. People that have helped others. It's a tight-knit community, and in it's natural state, may not always be so inviting to newcomers- as is just about *any* artform. Let's be real with eachother, and you're bound to see less people getting hostile and emotional.
I know it sounds crazy, but I've seen it work. Let people be real, let them argue, let them have it out, and eventually any negativity will pass. If it veers off-topic, it will likely end there.
In that argument that was just deleted, I had a post quoting and addressing a certain member involved in the argument. I asked this person, whom I have done business with and consider to be a good person and a friend, someone that I respect and admire, an important question. This had NOTHING to do with the argument (which had already died-down), but of course, because it was part of the discussion- was deleted. The thread was already headed back in the right direction. I don't see why that needed to be deleted, when I was simply trying to get in touch with someone.
I stand by my beliefs. The silliness needs to stop. That argument would not have taken place had the premise not already been set by the rules of the board... and you'd have a lot more good traffic, and a very busy customs board, if you changed the format, loosened-up with the rules and micro-managing, super-organizing, forcing-things-into-sub-forums BS, have the Mods focus on spamming and trolling, instead of playing the parent-role, breaking up the sibling rivalry all the time (seriously... Mods are meant to be hall-monitors... *not* parents...), and for the love of all that is sacred: change to a professional message board. A more professional forum would benefit EVERYONE. Mods, Admins, Members- everyone. Let's get something better than a ProBoard.
I have said my piece. These are the reasons why I choose to observe and not post. Thank you for reading, and if I am banned for stating my beliefs and opinions- thank you SO MUCH to the artists & individuals alike that have made this thread a pleasure to participate in. I have learned thanks to the previous deletion of arguments (and the entire thread) to save pictures of great custom work, and I have a gallery of over 200 pictures from several different artists & customizers. Thank you all for the amazing, inspiring work- and the fantastic tips & tricks shared throughout the thread. Thank you specifically, Dean, for the decals I have purchased from you. Your work inspired me and got me back into customizing. I'd like to speak to you, if you read this, please contact me.
To the rest of you: keep up the great work, keep improving, never give up, and keep posting your work in this thread, no matter how minor of extravagant it may be- so that I have a reason to continue to visit this forum. Thank you all so very much, and thanks again for reading. Hope you all have a wonderful day."
"Uh-oh, looks like three pages of discussion are gone and we all might get put in time-out. Great...
Just so you know, with all due respect- I disagree with your 'Administrating' (and pointless threats to "shut down" the only reason to come to this ridiculously hyper-sensitive, overly-authoritative, childishly-run forum). I don't know you, but I respect you the same way I respect everyone else. With that said, I hope you allow me to explain myself, respectfully. I mean nothing personal, I'm just stating my beliefs on what is wrong with this picture. I've felt this way going-on fifteen years now, so I'd appreciate if you'd allow me to vent. I can assure you it is on-topic, yet will likely be glossed-over due to its length. But I have some things I need to get off my chest.
It's ridiculous. This is just the latest example of yet another failure in micro-managing and over-moderating this discussion forum. Guess what? People argue. People argue over dumb BS all the time. Stupid, trivial nonsense... especially when the premise and foundation of the argument is manifested BY the site at which the argument is taking place ITSELF. Human beings argue. This is normal.
I'd just like to say my piece here, and if you could leave it up, I'd sincerely appreciate it. Consider this my 'shoot interview.' I've had it, and I gotta tell you my story, because I don't think you know me. All I ask, out of courtesy, is that you respectfully leave this post up. As I've said, it will be so long that I'm sure it'll be ignored anyway...
When I was twelve years old, I picked up an issue of ToyFare Magazine from my local comic book store, and stumbled upon a small box in the corner of the "website review" section, with a picture of a Jakks BCA Undertaker, for WrestleWorld.com. the small, short review described the website as the place to go for news regarding wrestling figures. I went there and discovered their discussion forum, and came across the "Customs" board. It was my first time being exposed to custom wrestling figures. I joined that first day, started repainting & cracking figures open, and buying my first brick of SuperSculpey that same week. I finished a custom, my first custom- and it was terrible. But, I was happy. I was ready to share it with the world.
Upon posting my first custom, I was greeted with several negative comments. The forum was not *so* censored, like this place is today. Only the "F" and "S" words were censored. With that being said- I'm sure you can get an idea of how the general emotion behind the majority of responses was.
The board was very active at that point in time (1999). Plenty of fantastic customizers called WrestleWorld's Customs Forum 'home.' So I sat back and watched as replies to my first custom came-in. I read all of them intently, good or bad.
Some offered constructive criticism. Some offered nothing but negativity. At 12 years of age, I was emotionally invested in my work, and reading the negative comments upset me. So, I argued back with the negative people. I realized fairly quickly that I was swimming with sharks, and was in over my head. It made me realize that I *wanted* to get better, I wanted to succeed, I wanted to follow the examples posted by others, and wanted to take the advice that was given to me... constructively or otherwise. I grew thicker skin after reading the negative comments and reacting. My second custom was better. My third was much better, and so on...
My point is: there was no jackass there waiting to delete all the internet arguments that were had over action figures. There were no discussions being "locked." People shared their work, argued back-and-forth, and moved-on. Guess what? The world kept turning. There were no casualties. No child's youth was destroyed because someone cursed at them over the internet.
Then one day, Jack Specific joined-up, and didn't really visit the Customs Board too often- he mostly posted in the General Discussion forum. He quickly became a frequent and recognized poster. He inevitably purchased WrestleWorld from it's owner, Matt Pearson, and changed the name to WrestlingFigs.com. The WrestleWorld Forums were replaced by a WrestlingFigs.com InVision ProBoard, and at the time we were told it was only temporary. And here we are 14 years later, on a ProBoard... littered with too many mods, and too many rules.
When Jack Specific took over, he promised more thorough moderation of the Customs Forum, and vowed to weed-out the negative comments by enforcing a "constructive criticism" rule- that, if you didn't have anything constructive to contribute, and your post was negative, it would be deleted.
Of course, a small handful of the known-to-be-over-emotional posters were thrilled with this news at first. Then, within a few months of this new style of "thorough" moderating, the Customs Board died-off. It is still just as dead today, apparently. I don't think there's any coincidence there.
The Customs Board is not dead from lack of interest. If that were the case, we wouldn't have over 800 pages of work in this thread. Please allow me to offer my opinion on why the WrestlingFigs.com Customs Board has always sucked. This applies to the entire forum in general, too.
It's been nearly fifteen years, @jack Specific. Nearly fifteen years since you purchased the rights to "WrestleWorld.com: The Action Figure Resource." Fifteen years... and we're still on an InVision Pro Board. It looks cheap. Never been a fan. But seriously... the biggest wrestling figure discussion forum on the internet- is an InVision Pro Board... that literally any one member of this forum could start the same identical type of message board, absolutely free of charge with? That says a lot. This forum was started for free, is free to join, and operates as such. Cheaply.
Too many "Chiefs," and not enough "Indians." You've got plenty of Mod's & Admin's, to oversee the other members... but too much oversight kills the discussion. You kill the discussions, and people will justifiably leave. Leave, and choose not to return.
Too many rules, ridiculous censorship. You tell people what they can and can't say, and it's taken WAY too far. For God's Sake, let people be themselves, and keep it simple with the rules. "This goes here, that goes there" "DO NOT post that on this board" "Any discussion of ______ will be deleted immediately" "Ask questions here" "Discuss auctions here" "Discuss TRADING ONLY here" "Post CUSTOMS ONLY here" "This thread is for fix-ups ONLY" "Discuss custom accessories ONLY here" "Do NOT quote pics" "Keep arguing and I'll shut-down this thread." Really? This is and has always been the biggest problem, and the biggest turn-off with this place. Over-organization, too many unnecessary sub-forums kills discussion and traffic, too, and confuses the new poster.
You know how many great customizers and good people have been turned away from this forum because of the overwhelming rules, censorship, and general lack of freedom? A lot. When you killed-off WrestleWorld, you closed a chapter in my life, and the lives of many others. I built friendships with people through that message board that I still have today. People I met through the forum that this place used to be...
Jack Specific himself deleted the *entire* original version of this thread- the only semblence of an ongoing customizing discussion that we have- before. He did this accidentally, while "cleaning up the thread" after an argument had taken place. This thread would most likely be somewhere around 1,800 pages or more had it just been left the hell alone, but no... some petty argument HAD to be deleted- and it resulted in the entire thread being accidentally deleted (because it's a basic, simple, InVision Pro Board) and several hundred pages of people's work lost (and it wasn't the first time, sadly). Vanished into thin air. All because an argument HAD to be deleted, before Heaven forbid some poor child's feelings got hurt. In the beginning, Jack must have said, "Better make sure we censor every possible curse word, right down to words they don't even bleep-out on TV... I couldn't bare the thought of some poor child's youth being destroyed due to some stranger cursing at them over the internet. No, not on my watch..."
... and here we are.
You might say, "Well, don't argue, and it won't be deleted." Actually, that is what you'll say... you've said it before. But that's the problem that you, the rest of the Moderators and Administrators, and the owner of this forum don't seem to understand. People are going to argue. When they're done arguing, they'll move on. This is something we call "Human Nature." It is normal to have arguments. It is normal to have disagreements. It is normal to get annoyed. It is then normal to say something. Do you understand where I'm going with this?
What is sad, and what turns people away, is the inability to have a discussion... on a DISCUSSION FORUM. It's incredibly sad to see what this place has become.
And the irony of it all? Without the over-abundance of rules and censorship, the entire argument would not have taken place... because there would be nothing to argue about. You CREATED the premise from which the argument started, by insisting that "customs go here" and "fix-ups go here." That is simply the reality of the issue at hand. Had there not been any mention of any 'Rules,' based on one's definition of what is and is not considered a "custom," the argument would not have taken place. A debate, perhaps. But an argument, no. Doesn't matter, really... argument, debate... they're one and the same in the eyes of those of you in charge. But nevertheless...
FFS, this should be REALLY simple to understand: we are taking figures out of their boxes and modifying them. Tailoring them. Switching parts and *customizing* them, to fit the description of what *we* personally want the figure to look like. That is a "custom." Call it "fixing-up," "slightly modifying," or "part-switching"- you still customized a figure for yourself. This website should NOT be so complicated as to have rules differentiating between the levels of customization done to an action figure. Life is short, keep it simple, people.
If the overwhelming amount of rules and oversight did not exist, I guarantee there would be less arguments. If this website allowed for people to have un-edited discussions about customs, and wrestling figures in general- without the fear of being banned or having your post deleted- you'd see a lot more cooperation, a lot more happy posters, and a lot more positivity, and people being less emotional. It's when you limit free-speech and start over-regulating a public message board that you get mostly negative results. People arguing semantics, arguing about the very rules which the website itself has set, while six other people chime-in with "Guys! Stop!! Before the thread gets locked again! Quick! Everybody love everybody! NOW!! I hope I don't get banned!"... Am I the only one who sees how sad and unnecessary this is?
Seriously... loosen-up. Let this place live a little bit. To those of you in charge: do you not see the sense in what I'm saying?
Think about this: We all buy and love Mattel's WWE products. A guy decides to make custom clothing fitted for these figures, shares his work with the world and sells them- and thus, we are banned from merely speaking his name. In fact, if you referred to him by name, it came up censored. If you made the mistake of referring someone to where they could possibly purchase some of his work, you'd be banned from the forum entirely. In fact, it wasn't until the guy *died* that we could ever speak his name again. Think about that, seriously. It wasn't until Ralph died, that we were even allowed to speak of him. That's what it took for the 'powers-that-be' to realize that crusade was stupid.
This entire crusade against human nature is stupid. Why don't you let people be themselves, unfiltered and comfortable, posting their true feelings and opinions- instead of feverishly "cracking down" and "cleaning up," let people be real, and do what good Moderators are supposed to do- like watching for trolls and keeping them away, helping fellow members, deleting and watching out for spammers, and only stepping-in when someone takes things *way* too far? Otherwise, I don't see why posts should be modified or deleted. The BEST rule you could possibly enforce would be simpy "Don't say anything that you wouldn't say to someone's face." It really gets no more complicated than that. If you have set that precedent, it makes for a much more peaceful & positive environment. Speaking from experience here.
Let's stop with the BS of differentiating between a "custom" and a "fix-up." We should rename this the "Official Modified Mattel WWE Figures Thread." You will see varying levels of work here- from simple part swaps, to people putting a custom t-shirt on a figure, to complete repaints with shrunken Jakks heads, etc.- your work will be heralded as such. If your pictures show up, and your figure appears, people are going to respond. The level of criticism and/or fandom will vary, based on the individual/artist and the amount of work/effort put in. If you post something cool, don't worry- someone is bound to tell you it looks cool. If you post a piece of artwork, such as a handful of people here do- completely repainted, with a modified Jakks head and sculpted parts- you are going to receive plenty of praise for your artwork.
There are people here that have innovated the art of customizing. People that have helped others. It's a tight-knit community, and in it's natural state, may not always be so inviting to newcomers- as is just about *any* artform. Let's be real with eachother, and you're bound to see less people getting hostile and emotional.
I know it sounds crazy, but I've seen it work. Let people be real, let them argue, let them have it out, and eventually any negativity will pass. If it veers off-topic, it will likely end there.
In that argument that was just deleted, I had a post quoting and addressing a certain member involved in the argument. I asked this person, whom I have done business with and consider to be a good person and a friend, someone that I respect and admire, an important question. This had NOTHING to do with the argument (which had already died-down), but of course, because it was part of the discussion- was deleted. The thread was already headed back in the right direction. I don't see why that needed to be deleted, when I was simply trying to get in touch with someone.
I stand by my beliefs. The silliness needs to stop. That argument would not have taken place had the premise not already been set by the rules of the board... and you'd have a lot more good traffic, and a very busy customs board, if you changed the format, loosened-up with the rules and micro-managing, super-organizing, forcing-things-into-sub-forums BS, have the Mods focus on spamming and trolling, instead of playing the parent-role, breaking up the sibling rivalry all the time (seriously... Mods are meant to be hall-monitors... *not* parents...), and for the love of all that is sacred: change to a professional message board. A more professional forum would benefit EVERYONE. Mods, Admins, Members- everyone. Let's get something better than a ProBoard.
I have said my piece. These are the reasons why I choose to observe and not post. Thank you for reading, and if I am banned for stating my beliefs and opinions- thank you SO MUCH to the artists & individuals alike that have made this thread a pleasure to participate in. I have learned thanks to the previous deletion of arguments (and the entire thread) to save pictures of great custom work, and I have a gallery of over 200 pictures from several different artists & customizers. Thank you all for the amazing, inspiring work- and the fantastic tips & tricks shared throughout the thread. Thank you specifically, Dean, for the decals I have purchased from you. Your work inspired me and got me back into customizing. I'd like to speak to you, if you read this, please contact me.
To the rest of you: keep up the great work, keep improving, never give up, and keep posting your work in this thread, no matter how minor of extravagant it may be- so that I have a reason to continue to visit this forum. Thank you all so very much, and thanks again for reading. Hope you all have a wonderful day."