Please let me jump in here. I guess this came to a head with the addition of the filtering system which I put into place for a couple of reasons. One, to limit the number of days posts so the board could load quicker. And two, to attempt to bring back some people who had left because they considered this board haunted (their words not mine). And then yesterday morning I awake to read that this act was not only squelching people's free speech but that it was just another in a long line of intimidation and deception on my part against Kent. In private email I attempted to work out the situation by acknowledging that there were some areas I could change to make as many people as possible happy. The response I received in return was more or less a big fuck you. So again, I attempted to address the situation in private email only to find my words and actions misrepresented on this board. It was in this period that I vented to Pat and I guess you saw what happened from that. When I awoke this morning I pretty much assumed that Pat's departure was a forgone conclusion, so I wasn't surprised when I read it - rather just dissapointed that it did come to that/this. I will admit that I made the first mistake of deleting a post and for that I am truly sorry. But like I said before, I am in a unique position to be both a participant and the maintainer of this board. As a poster, I could care less what the ramifications of my posts will be. But as the maintainer I read most posts with an eye to the effects. The posts I deleted, I truly felt would do nothing but cause harm. But like I mentioned in my sincere email to Kent, I would no longer play the role of moderator regardless of the content. But the real issue with me - and one that I am still struggling with - is how Kent misrepresented my words and actions on this board. I take great (maybe the greatest) offense to the accusation that I threatened him via email the way he said I did. And the matter was only fueled when I received nothing in kind to my attempts to resolve the issue privately. It might sound trivial to some - but to me it meant a lot. How this plays out, I'm not sure. I do know that one person who saves my ass everytime I run into a problem with this site will probably be less than enthusiastic to lend a hand any further. Trust me, that is a loss beyond any additions he made to the conversation around here. And I do know that there is now a widening rift between me and Kent that I attempted, in vain, to close last night.

I'm leaving in a few minutes on a plane back home to West Virginia. I hope everyone has a great relaxing holiday and I hope to see everyone next year.

Dan