07-27-2015, 08:07 PM
As most of you have seen, our community here has made good progress lately. We are certainly headed in the right direction, and our future looks bright. Allow me touch on a couple of points though...
This forum isn't about one person. It's not about being the top poster, the person that seems to find the most/best stuff, the member who is the most popular or any of this kinda stuff. Not even close. Instead...
This place is about you guys, treasure hunters. Once someone signs into this site, everyone is equal...period. Yes, some might have more in the field experience, some might use equipment that's more sophisticated or expensive, and some may even have the luxury of hunting more and posting more frequently, however, again, once you're here, we're all on the same footing. End of story.
With that in mind, we ALL have a responsibility of keeping this place humming. A community (ANY community) is what you make of it. This means getting involved, being as active & vocal here as your time allows, pitching in, and helping to further build the village. We're growing, and we'll continue to grow, but our foundation needs to be rock solid. YOU are the foundation. Without the people, a community is simply an empty ghost town.
I'm not striving for this place to be the biggest. Too difficult of a task, and really not even necessary, IMO. However, I DO want us to be the best we can be. And it all starts with every one of you, each individual member.
If anyone cares to look around on both the classifieds and the forum, you will notice no corporate sponsor, advertiser, paid ads or anything of that nature. Not a single one. Everything about this site comes out of my own pocket, and I do mean every everything. I've had people question why I do it, how I can do it, tell me there must be a hidden catch or some big, behind the scenes entity controlling the sites, etc. I can assure you, it's just me. As to why I do it...
Discovering this hobby is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It provides me joy in what can be a cold world. I'm not the best hunter out there, I'm not the smartest hunter out there, and I haven't made any world class, mind blowing finds. Yet, this pursuit brings me happiness. And adventure. And many other good things. And I wanted to give some of that back.
There's nothing wrong at all in wanting to make a buck or two in this world, but a lot of the other forums out there seem to operate simply by dollars and cents, very corporate. Sterile. However, this is supposed to be a FUN hobby. A fraternity of likeminded brother & sisters. I wanted to create a gathering place where the good ideals of this hobby would shine through. No fuss, no muss, just a great group of people sitting around a campfire telling stories. That's us.
Together, let us build this community ~ stone by stone ~ and make it something we can all be proud of. Get to know your fellow member. Help someone out. Offer praise or assistance. Share something about yourself. All of the free gifts, all of the exciting contests, and all of the prizes are wonderful, but they're simply gravy in the grand scheme of things. We have something MUCH more rewarding right under our noses, if you care to stop and smell the roses.
This community is like a child to me, it means that much. So, I'm in tune with every detail. I see who the givers are, the takers, the members who get involved, the members that don't, the people who seek to help, the individuals who go the extra mile, and the guys that don't just give a damn. Fortunately, most people DO care about this hobby, and want to help this community succeed. But it's not enough. We can only grow this place properly with ALL of you on board, and along for the ride.
A community is what you make it.
This thread is closed.
Joe
This forum isn't about one person. It's not about being the top poster, the person that seems to find the most/best stuff, the member who is the most popular or any of this kinda stuff. Not even close. Instead...
This place is about you guys, treasure hunters. Once someone signs into this site, everyone is equal...period. Yes, some might have more in the field experience, some might use equipment that's more sophisticated or expensive, and some may even have the luxury of hunting more and posting more frequently, however, again, once you're here, we're all on the same footing. End of story.
With that in mind, we ALL have a responsibility of keeping this place humming. A community (ANY community) is what you make of it. This means getting involved, being as active & vocal here as your time allows, pitching in, and helping to further build the village. We're growing, and we'll continue to grow, but our foundation needs to be rock solid. YOU are the foundation. Without the people, a community is simply an empty ghost town.
I'm not striving for this place to be the biggest. Too difficult of a task, and really not even necessary, IMO. However, I DO want us to be the best we can be. And it all starts with every one of you, each individual member.
If anyone cares to look around on both the classifieds and the forum, you will notice no corporate sponsor, advertiser, paid ads or anything of that nature. Not a single one. Everything about this site comes out of my own pocket, and I do mean every everything. I've had people question why I do it, how I can do it, tell me there must be a hidden catch or some big, behind the scenes entity controlling the sites, etc. I can assure you, it's just me. As to why I do it...
Discovering this hobby is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It provides me joy in what can be a cold world. I'm not the best hunter out there, I'm not the smartest hunter out there, and I haven't made any world class, mind blowing finds. Yet, this pursuit brings me happiness. And adventure. And many other good things. And I wanted to give some of that back.
There's nothing wrong at all in wanting to make a buck or two in this world, but a lot of the other forums out there seem to operate simply by dollars and cents, very corporate. Sterile. However, this is supposed to be a FUN hobby. A fraternity of likeminded brother & sisters. I wanted to create a gathering place where the good ideals of this hobby would shine through. No fuss, no muss, just a great group of people sitting around a campfire telling stories. That's us.
Together, let us build this community ~ stone by stone ~ and make it something we can all be proud of. Get to know your fellow member. Help someone out. Offer praise or assistance. Share something about yourself. All of the free gifts, all of the exciting contests, and all of the prizes are wonderful, but they're simply gravy in the grand scheme of things. We have something MUCH more rewarding right under our noses, if you care to stop and smell the roses.
This community is like a child to me, it means that much. So, I'm in tune with every detail. I see who the givers are, the takers, the members who get involved, the members that don't, the people who seek to help, the individuals who go the extra mile, and the guys that don't just give a damn. Fortunately, most people DO care about this hobby, and want to help this community succeed. But it's not enough. We can only grow this place properly with ALL of you on board, and along for the ride.
A community is what you make it.
This thread is closed.
Joe