05-21-2010, 07:59 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-21-2010, 08:06 PM by liquidaluminum.)
This is more than likely going to catch me a lot of flack, so please understand that I'm not saying this as a slam, this is just how I see it...1st. I love the forum how it is, however I would kind of like to see some sort of separation in the classifieds section, maybe a section just for masks and and another for everything else, because sometimes it can be a little bothersome when it's full of pages of hockey masks and "whitey" masks and then a random glove in between but that's just me. If it never changed, I'd still go on not complaining.2nd. This IS kind of a big deal to me. I'm really sick of seeing "This is Justin's forum" thrown out anytime someone has a suggestion of disagrees with something. I along with the rest of this community I'm sure are very well aware that this is Justin's forum, but lets be perfectly honest about something...if it weren't for this forum, Justin wouldn't have the booming business that he does, plain and simple. Don't believe me?...kill the forum and see what it does to business. A lot of us don't get the chance to go to conventions left and right and see his stuff up close and I personally have NEVER seen an advertisement for NIGHTOWL on any other site that I've ever visited.I only found out about this place through a friend who posted here and I had no idea that it was linked to a business until AFTER I had become a member. I just figured this place was another horror collector community just like the one I came here from. I say this because I for one had NO IDEA who Justin was until I came to this site. That's the kind of advertisement that you don't just get with word of mouth. I'll be the first one to agree that his business would survive without the forum, or having it up for order taking and tracking purposes only, but it would severely cripple his income in doing so.Justin is a very smart person obviously, he has a successful business and one of the most successful horror communities in this hobby but he is well aware that it is people like us that frequent this forum on a daily basis that keep the business constantly thriving. Look at it like this...if you come over to my house and sit down to watch a movie, or play with my stuff or even read one of my books and you stood up and said "I don't like this quality or this movie sucks" at no point EVER, would you hear a member of my family, one of my friends or myself stand up and say "Well keep in mind, this is Joe's stuff and he really doesn't need you to keep looking at it if you don't agree with it.Let's be real for one second...the only person who even has the right to throw that around is Justin himself and in the years that I've been coming here, I've only seen him say it one time and that was because a member was being harassed in real life by another member of the boards. Justin earned a lot of respect from me and I'm sure several others when that went down and he told it like it was, "this is my forum and I will not tolerate that kind of stuff" I was proud of him because a lot of people would have just let that fly. I love this place, and I truly hope this doesn't get flamed, and I understand that sometimes there might be an instance where someone needs to be reminded that this site is not belong to them, but this "Justin doesn't have to let you come here or keep the forum open for his business" is really getting stale.Just my opinion though...also, I miss the Shoutbox...bring it back!-Joseph