To all IGKT and IGKT-PAB members and guests: I am often outspoken and often rude and this is not the forum for that. It will be best for the Guild if I resign my postion with an apology to all whom I may have offended. My term of office in PAB is officially complete in June at our AGM, so I am sure PAB will elect someone who is far better suited to the task than I. I am sure PAB will work for a month or two until the June AGM without an acting “PRES”.
Since it is at this site that my posting has been offensive I’ll refrain from posting here, in the name of PABPRES or anyother. This is a great site and I hope all who have visited here willl continue to enjoy, learn and teach. I can not be more sorry for my conduct than this nor can I find any way to make amends except this.
Good knotting to you all.
Y’know, lately there have been a number of people posting who, while not outright trolls, have been … on the inflammatory side. While some valid points were made, I don’t think that anyone would deny that “What’s with this place?” is phrasing designed to demand a response. This, of course, is not the only instance. The flip side to the troll is the overly sensitive soul. Taking offence at the inoffensive and lashing out at people who are trying to help. They must be taken with a grain of salt (or a sp-oonful of sugar (wow, that’s an overly sensitive censorship routine 8))
Roy, I don’t think you’ve done anything that you need to fall on your sword for.
I recognise that I am one of those of whom Carol speaks. My comments can be, and often are too direct and can cause offence where none is meant.
I am sorry if I have caused people to feel the need to act out of character and I feel this is the case with Roys concern.
Roy, please reconsider your decision. It is me who should be leaving this forum, not you leaving the position of PRES’
Derek
Carol speaks for me, too Roy. Fortunatly, in the US we have freedom of speech. My dictionary calls a forum “an assembly for discussion of public affairs”. I would hope that you are free to speak your mind. You are who you are, there is no denying that.
You were duly elected, and you are serving with distinction. Any office holder also gets a slew of detractors, name callers, whiners and blowhards. Look at GWB with his 38% approval ratings. If you run, you let the whiners win. Why not let the people asking for your resignation bring their concerns to a public forum?
I know your apology is sincere and I hope it will be accepted by anyone who may have taken offense at your post. But rudeness is not a crime, and being outspoken is something many people who post messages are guilty of. Please reconsider your resignation.
Patrick Ducey
Secretary, IGKT-PAB
Roy,
I entirely echo the comments made by Patrick, Derek and Carol, to which I add my own sincere wish that you return to the forum and to your next two months as Pres. A lot can be achieved in that time and, if anyone can, you can! Thanks for calling me and letting me know of your concerns - I greatly appreciate your actions and your words - as Patrick said, you are who you are! With all this support as well, you are all who you are. CU soon?
Lindsey
personally i see no reason to resign. and i see no reason to apologize for anything. u are by far not the rudest and i know u dont mean it the way it sounds. for me u are a mensch! ???
I can just agree with the rest. I have just seen your words here on the forum, but I see no reason for walking to the scaffold!
Yes, you have been outspoken at times, but if that is such a crime, there will be more of us standing in line to that scaffold! (Me one of them, I think…)
Unfortunately there is a phenomenon that occurs on all forums I have frequented so far: “Guests” or newcomers that crash in and demand VIP treatment, burst into flames at the slightest sign of not being immediately handed what they want on a silver platter, call the regulars “elitistic”, and so on. They seem to believe that “freedom of speech” means that there are no restrictions whatsoever, and that they may not be questioned - which is very obviously wrong.
If you ask me, they are a problem - not you.
I would think it a loss if you pulled up your stakes and left the forum.
LC
Roy,
As I have only read your posts after you had edited them, I do not know if the orrigional posts did justify this drastic step.
But I would like you to stay around and keep contributing your knot knowledge.
But take your own advice and take a very difficult password so you do not remember it when you are in no state to post.
Willeke
Hi all,
I am trying to learn to compose off line and “cut and past” in the future. The internet is often too imediate for me. I’ll be back in the swing of the forum in a day or two and I’ll have learned to keep more control of my keyboard and my emotions. Thank you all for your kind encouragement. I’ll still be around as “PABPRES” (at least intil the June AGM). My term of office is over then. While our bylaws permit me to run for a second two year term I’ve asked our membership to consider some new candidates. It really is an easy job and great good fun so we’ll see who is PABPRES after June 30! I am having fits of temper with my ISP today… only 24kb during the day, which is one of the temptations of posting at 2AM when I get 45kb.
Hi Roy,
Welcome Back ;D
I hope you get your server problems sorted out, after switching to Broad band, I would hate to have to go back to Dial up now. it can be so slow and frustrating at times >:(
Take Care,
Barry 
Can we all agree to extend to dear PABPRES a heartfelt and irrevocable “do-over” over this??
Meaning whenever the volcano settles & the phone lines buzz again, PABPRES please come back with a razzy “psyche! gotcha!” or “April Fools!” or some such. Can we all agree to laugh at his joke on us & raise our cups in welcoming toast to our Friend??
Some of us advocate the permanent cessation of censorship. What you’re contemplating is a permanent self-censorship! Isn’t that a “step in the wrong direction”??
If you must, you must; but you’re not the problem. Therefore this won’t actually solve anything. Please don’t do this if you don’t have to.
OTOH, why “only” “PAB” Pres?? “IGKTPRES” would fit better… Or is there even one of those? I’d vote for you, even if I had to “join something” to do so!!
They seem to believe that "freedom of speech" means that there are no restrictions whatsoeverUh...
I know it’s hard to see this from a certain perspective, but that is exactly and precisely what “freedom of speech” does mean, Lasse_C.
Freedom to say whatever’s on your mind, even if someone else may object, even if the “ruler” may object, even if you actively offend someone. But also freedom to question – using any words you choose – any idea or comment or thought that raises a question mark in your mind. And of course, freedom to verbally object as well, so please don’t take this as any kind of request to “shut up”! In some analytical circles (mine, for example), dissent is more valued than agreement.
It’s a tough concept to get one’s head around, but there are no “degrees of freedom”. You are either completely free or you are not free. And the people who invented this Internet (which PABPRES helped build) put that freedom on the top of our list of things we will not give up to anyone. The Internet itself represents that passion and that freedom.
The best news is, that freedom applies to “you” as much as to “me” or anyone else. Our highest law refers to “the people”, not citizens or subjects or members or anything else. Yes, I know it has been misinterpreted since it was written, I’m just going by the words themselves.
If there is anything I might do to help you understand this, please do not hesitate to ask, preferrably out in the open for all to see. I don’t know much, but I know where to find almost anything, so please, use me. Feel free.
Jimbo
Uh... I know it's hard to see this from a certain perspective, but that is exactly and precisely what "freedom of speech" does mean, Lasse_C. Jimbo
Uhh… No.
In all places in this world that I know of, where freedom of (public) speech is valued, and even protected by law, there are also certain legal restrictions to it! There are certain things that are illegal to speak out aloud! It can be rasistic opinions, groundlessly accusing someone for having commited crimes, etc. There is also something called common decency. (No law on that, but still..)
Freedom of speech (which I like to say that I am very much for, to avoid any misunderstanding!) does NOT mean that anyone can or may say precisely anything without having to take responsibility for it or facing the consequenses - which was what I originally meant by “no restrictions”.
(This is somewhat off topic, though, is it not?)
LC
(This [b]is[/b] somewhat off topic, though, is it not?)Once again, we have a failure to communicate.
Perhaps we need some external “authority” to tell us this is exactly on the topic of this particular thread, in case you missed PABPRES’ OP.
It will be best for the Guild if I resign my postion with an apology to all whom I may have offended.
In case it’s just too hard to think through without being told, let me tell “all whom” directly:
The speech police, the “Lords of Intolerance”, just cost this forum one of its most valuable resources ever.
Congratulations. And what of any others who “just left”? How much resource value has been discarded by this group, just due to arrogance, exclusivity, and censorship?
A half-century of experience just got up and walked away, and we must endure this lame “Bovine Scatology”:
In all places in this world that I know of, where freedom of (public) speech is valued, and even protected by law, there are also certain legal restrictions to it!I only know one place where "freedom of speech" (should I use quotes to mean "the dictionary definition"??) is protected by Law, and even here, it's suffering constant attack by small people with naught but prejudice, fear, superstition and envy to guide them.
Present company excluded, of course! :-/
And speaking of “present”, anyone who thinks any “law” applies here in “cyberspace”, please raise your hand.
There are certain things that are illegal to speak out aloud!Thank you for making my point for me. Again. It doesn't take a scientist to figure that one out, does it?
groundlessly accusing someone for having commited crimesis called "fraud" and that's not what we're talking about here, is it? Talk about "off topic"... ([i]Though I notice that [b]fallacies[/b] seem to be fairly well tolerated around here[/i]...)
There is also something called common decency. (No law on that, but still..)"..one can but hope"? Eh? Well, what if "common decency" included the directive to "avoid fallacious reasoning"? ??? You know how many people would be silenced by that one!
Freedom of speech (which I like to say that I am very much for, to avoid any misunderstanding!)I'm sorry, I'm not going to give the rest of that paragraph any "props" by quoting it. Besides, I'm allergic to BS.
Once again, I thank you for making my point for me. Not only that, but the parenthetical phrase goes to indicate hypocrisy as well. If you’re so “very much for”, why are so many of your posts “very much against”?
That’s the exact sort of ambiguous, unjustifiable, counter-intuitive, antithetical, “free-to-comply”, “win-by-losing”, hypocritical bull snit that can lead teenage girls to commit suicide.
Or Master Knotters to take up their cordage and go away…
:‘( :’( :‘( :’( :‘( :’( 
Au revoir, PABPRES. May farwud trees fall of their own accord across your sawbucks, unless you just feel like rigging that day. May your volcano always sleep soundly beneath you, unless you want to tie lava Thump Mats. May your Eye Splices remain uncrossed, your Turk’s Heads fair. And may the world, unworthy though it may be, never suffer the same loss of your words (and the able mind from whence they spring) as the IGKT just has.
Umm, Jimbo … he came back. On the 6th of May.
Once again, we have a failure to communicate.On quite a few points, apparently... ;) I have a feeling that it is more a matter of failing to explain to each other what we mean, not so much that we disagree in the basic ideas. I will just have to live with that, I guess.
By the way; you did not specify the only place you know where freedom of speech is protected by law, but I guess you meant the US? There are other places, actually.
As for the rest of your comments about me and my posts I exercise my freedom of silence…
Have a nice weekend!
Lasse