Merged Hatter Thread

[Matt Deckard]

I was talking about the knowledge not the money.

 

[shoeshineboy]

i'll say it again...what about a small fee for having your website link in your signature....

there has been in the past, vendor(s) who has come on here and started posting like mad and would say "hey that it a great hat, but check out what I have"....this is a blatant misuse of this forum. These types of vendors have been reported as bad posts and the bartenders have dealt with this in a great manner.

having thier link in thier sig, alerts every reader this person is a Hatter and should possess some good useful knowledge.

I understand about cost of a server and what it takes to run one, we have our own for our dealership.

mark the shoeshine boy

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. Yada, yada, yada! He did this! I did that! It's your fault! No, it's your fault! I'm gonna take my football and go home!

I've seen this before, elsewhere. Someone makes a decision that someone else doesn't like and they take it as a personal affrontery and then other people jump into the mix and all hell breaks loose.

Let me ask you folks this - IS ANY ONE OF YOU PAYING FOR THE PRIVILEGE, YES PRIVILEGE, OF BEING ON THIS SITE?

No? Than let the man who IS paying call the shots. Hey, this is NOT a democracy; it's a privately owned and operated message board where people come to talk about hats and stuff. That's not to say that MK may or may not be open to suggestions. From what I've seen he sure seems to be. But bottom line is that it is his choice.

Now, PLEASE, stop behaving like two year olds. It tries the patience of others, disses the energy of this site, and casts a dark cloud over what otherwise has been a very happy experience for many.

If you're gonna leave, leave. And, for the sake of others, do so quietly for pete's sake...

All most of are saying is if we are the "family" we say we are, we ought to be able to work it out without any of the long standing members leaving.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I was talking about the knowledge not the money.

Well, you did put the word "money" in there.

Anyway, let's hope that things will cool off and that the dust will settle in a satisfactory way ... if dust can ever be considered "satisfactory".

.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I didn't say it was me, Matt. Quite frankly, it doesn't matter who did it. The point is that Mr. Lucky spoke too quickly.


.

And does that give one any more status than anyone else, besides the owner, around here?

This is the point - Stop (and I mean EVERYONE, including myself) with the petty crap. It's boring. It's pedestrian. It's useles drama and it's not what I/WE come here for.

I come here to learn, to share, to comisserate and to have fun! THIS, what is going on right now, is NONE of the above.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

And does that give one any more status than anyone else, besides the owner, around here?

No, it certainly doesn't. But it does give an answer to your very loud question: "IS ANY ONE OF YOU PAYING FOR THE PRIVILEGE, YES PRIVILEGE, OF BEING ON THIS SITE?" I reckon you weren't expecting that answer.


.

 

[Vermifuge]

And does that give one any more status than anyone else, besides the owner, around here?

This is the point - Stop (and I mean EVERYONE, including myself) with the petty crap. It's boring. It's pedestrian. It's useles drama and it's not what I/WE come here for.

I come here to learn, to share, to comisserate and to have fun! THIS, what is going on right now, is NONE of the above.

MKs owns the site sure, but it is a community and he should at least see there are members of the community that are very upset. But it seems like the solution could be simple. If hat makers had a special rank and maybe an icon to distinguish them from the other members this whole thread could be put to rest.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

No, it certainly doesn't. But it does give an answer to your very loud question: "IS ANY ONE OF YOU PAYING FOR THE PRIVILEGE, YES PRIVILEGE, OF BEING ON THIS SITE?" I reckon you weren't expecting that answer.


.

That's EXACTLY the answer I was expecting - as well as hoping for.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Good to hear it! :cheers1:


.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Many have links to their sites whether they be business or otherwise... could be myspace or livejournal...

Even if it were a link to Starbucks I don't think it shouold be taken out of a signature.

Though that's my opinion.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Wonder how this will all pan out? I have faith in both camps. They'll make it work somehow.


.

 

[Mojave Jack]

there has been in the past, vendor(s) who has come on here and started posting like mad and would say "hey that it a great hat, but check out what I have"....this is a blatant misuse of this forum. These types of vendors have been reported as bad posts and the bartenders have dealt with this in a great manner.

having thier link in thier sig, alerts every reader this person is a Hatter and should possess some good useful knowledge.

I think Mark makes a good point. The bartenders are always around to police up those types of abusive posts for the remainder of the non-hatter population of the Lounge. Wouldn't that be the same as the policy towards anyone that abuses their privelege to post, whether it is a blatant attempt to garner business or an off-color or inflammatory remark?

However, is there an expectation that a significant enough number of posts from unscrupulous vendors would overwhelm the bartenders ability to tend to them properly?

 

[Arctichighlandr]

Not that prolific

That is a temporary measure. Heck, I have probably racked up 15 posts in the last 15 minutes!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who reads and learns from the forum and doesn't post much. I read and learned for months before even registering. i suspect there are many more non members than members regularly checking the forum. And a huge number of members who have never posted for one reason or another. Having those web links are a valuable source of information to newcomers. Not to mention the great posts by all the friendly hatters. Why create a bunch of 'Mad Hatters' for no reason?

 

[RBH]

Wow...

As someone that has had contact with Steve Delk, there is no more of a Southern Gentleman than he is. I had my dealings with Steve before I ever joined the Lounge. In fact I think it was a posting by Matt, on another forum that lead me here.
Also with Art, he was more than gracious with my dealing with him. The same with PanamaBob.
As for the other vendors, I have greatly learned from what they had to offer the Lounge.
I would hate to lose them !
I hope there will be a middle ground for us to reach. Just as some postings I never check out, such as ones about stingy brims [sorry stingy brim lovers, my head is to big for one] most of the sigs I never paid any mind to unless I happened to want to look for a certain product.
The Lounge will live on, but it will be the lesser if it dosnt include
Steve, Art, Besdor, Duane, Atomic Glee, MTHatters, PanamaBob and I know I will leave out some but we need them all.

 

[jake_fink]

What about a grandfather clause?

The icon idea seemed reasonable. If websites can be linked in the profile page then flag vendors and hatters as such next to the avatar.

I know that revenue is only part of the issue, but the loss of knowledgable hatters and vendors would be significant. I hope some workable compromise is arrived at.

Fingers crossed.

 

[deanglen]

Wonder how this will all pan out? I have faith in both camps. They'll make it work somehow.


.

Hear! Hear! As usual, Marc puts it well, and I have the same faith.

dean

 

[koopkooper]

Look obviously we don't want people putting the bite on us each time we post something but I think that we as a group should support all business that reflects retro living. Now I have a question .....if these vendors supported classic style magazine through advertising or took out an ad on the Fedora lounge would they be subjected to the same treatment as our friend who posted.
Is this a commercial decision?

 

[koopkooper]

I just found my answer

here is the answer...commercial decision, make of it what you will,from MK

Hat Vendors

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have a business selling or servicing hats, please do not advertise your business, web site or products in your posts. Those of you who support the Fedora Lounge through banners or advertising in Classic Style magazine may include your web site address, but please keep all other promotion in the vendor forum.

Thank you for your cooperation.
__________________
http://www.classicstylemag.com

 

[Atomic Glee]

This site is significantly poorer without Steve, John, Art,
Atomic Glee, and the others, to say nothing of retailers
like Steven, BigSho, and Aaron.

Hey, I'm still here. I didn't even get a PM, but saw these threads and removed my link and several of my recent posts. I've pretty well decided to go back to exactly the sorts of things I posted pre-hatterness, because I don't want to ruffle any feathers or anything.

 

[MK]

wow

I go to a lunch meeting in town and come back and find all this. It is amazing how twisted things get with speculation. Let's try and look at this clearly.

1) This is not a new policy and not a slam against hat makers and sellers. This isn't meant to insult anyone. Companies have never supposed to have links to their websites in their signatures or posts. You can go back to three years ago and see this talked about. We became very slack on enforcing as of late...unless a vendor really stuck it out there.

2) If you sell or service hats for a living you will get business from the Fedora Lounge...unless you aren't very good or your prices are out of step. We have 3700+ hat wearers and we gain 200 more a month. If you are in the hat business and aren't making money from this community there is something really wrong.

3) If you are making money from this community, you should chip in supporting it.

4) If someone's agenda is to be a great humanitarian to hat wearers with knowledge and experience but has no desire to sell goods and services, then why would they need a clickable link to their business? And if they are not allowed to have a free link, would they be now unwilling to be a philanthropist and take their toys and go home?

It boils down to this: Those that are benefiting financially should contribute financially. What is wrong with that?

You will notice that Art, Duane and Aaron are not protesting or leaving. Why do you think that is?

Actually Art has been a fantastic example of how a vendor should conduct themself here. He was a member before he put himself out there as a custom hat maker. He has contributed in many different forums here. Not just hats. Art has shown he is here for the long haul. Never the less, he is very low key about promoting himself here. He lets his customers do the selling. He actually errs on the side of caution because he is a Bartender. Art has been the consummate gentleman and has never abused his authority here.

There are Classic Style magazines on their way to every hat retailer in the country. We are about to have a tidal wave of them logging on here and a many of them won't have integrity like Art. Do you want The Fedora Lounge to become a flea market? We have to have policies in place for this or be run over by it.

The bottom line is this. We all love hats. We will further the cause through unity and not by being divisive. The Fedora Lounge and it's members have single handedly driven up the price of hats on E-bay. We are making a difference and that influence is increasing. If you are in the hat business, do you want to add momentum to this or slow it down?

I have to make decisions as we grow to keep the place from going out of control. We can't operate like we did when we just had 300 members. I am not asking anyone to like the policies, but I expect them to be respected. If some feels that they can't be a member here unless they have a link to their business...I am ok with that. My hope is that those who have a passion for fedoras and dress hats will see the value of being a member here.

I trust this clarifies where I am coming from. Thanks guys.