When did Golf Club Atlas "jump the shark"?

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Darren,
I will be the first to admit I have taken sabbaticals from the site in an effort to rebuild the foundation of my everyday life that has been broken by particpating and contributing on this site and wasting way too many important hours of the day. It is as much as an addiction as food is to me, and that's as personal as I want to get with you, because personally from all I have read on this site about you, I neither want to get to know you or have anything to do with you.

Simply put, you not my kind of people.

But that doesn't mean I can't respect your opinon in relation to Golf Architecture, when its about Golf Architecture. For that, I'm always freely open to anyone's comment or opinion. I don't mean this in any mean-spirited way, nor want you offended by it.

Do I come back? Yes, undoubtedly, and usually rejeuvenated ready to contribute, but, I have to say that its the verve of your post that reveal you as a demaguogue of "Jumping the Shark."

If you don't believe me, then just click on the tab at the left that says "Contributions" to see if you have any foundation at all of being critical of Ran Morrissett and this wonderful golf architecture website, that unlike you, someone who feels he is without fault, actually does have quite few of them.

Cheers

[Jeff Fortson]

[Mike Benham]

For you waterskiing phanatics out there, what brand of skis is the Phonz on?

The winner will get a batch of my almost trademarked margarita mix (with tequila) at the KPIII ...

[Darren_Kilfara]

Can I just make one suggestion? I'm often told that if I don't like the subject of a particular thread, I don't have to click on it or view it. Similiarly, if you don't think there's anything wrong with the current state of GolfClubAtlas, why bother post in this thread? Or if you do post, a simple "I don't think there's anything wrong with GolfClubAtlas" would probably get the same point across.

Tommy, even if the feeling were mutual (re: "getting to know you or having anything to do with you") - and really, how would you know if I was or wasn't "your kind of people" until you actually met me in the flesh? - I sure as heck wouldn't post an all-encompassing statement like that on this website. See, I've just gone and tried to write a thoughtful, considerate post which from my own perspective answered the question posed by Mike at the start of this thread (I wouldn't have dared start such a thread like that myself); for that, several people have apparently used my post as the impetus to write "chill out!" messages directed both at me (individually) and at everyone else who has posted discouraging thoughts on this thread (collectively), and at least one person has chosen to take a nasty, personal potshot at me. This makes me sad, and I use that word in a very strong and personal sense.

So...if, every time I put any emotional effort into this board, I end up feeling sad, I guess it would make sense for me to no longer come here, wouldn't it? (I know that the internet tends to foster such feelings of paranoia and unwantedness, but I can remember a time when GCA.com made me feel happy - and, believe it or not, when I felt as though my own posts were making others feel the same way....)

Cheers,
Darren

[Kevin_Reilly]

Maharaja..I've butchered it but I had a skateboard by them as well.

[SPDB]

Maherejah no?

[Michael Moore]

I never said anything about Mr. Huckaby, except for the time that he appeared in one of my dreams.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Darren,
Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I agree with about 100% of your original complaint. In fact, I think its spot-on.

I just object to you villifying Ran Morrissett for his lack of effort to police the site and then you portraying yourself as a victim in all of it--especially when you are anything but that, and far from innocent in regards to your feelings of me, which I'm trying to tell you in the most polite of ways--it doesn't matter.

One of your fellow Harvard grads and a hero of mine, once said, "Ask not for what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" I ask you Darren Kilfara, what have you done for your country, that it in return can do for you?

You complain about Ran not policing the website, yet don't contribute anything to this maintanence policies that you suggest or demand then somehow you invoke my name into it. You then come back as the innocent victim, as if you were a true victim in that post some months back.

Darren, I'm sorry you feel sad, because I haven't been feeling too chipper myself lately, so pull yourself out of your rut, get with it, and help make it the way you want it to be. Maybe this will help.

[THuckaby2]

I never said anything about Mr. Huckaby, except for the time that he appeared in one of my dreams.

Michael - no hassles man - and re me appearing
in one of your dreams, well... I am honored.

 

[TEPaul]

SPDB:

I didn't think I was bidding Golfclubatlas.com adieu. I just feel like I'm getting stale--things and subjects were recycling and the site sometimes seemed more like just a chat-room to me probably because I was doing way too much useless chatting myself anyway. There're some other things I want to do too and they were falling by the wayside I was on here so much. I expect to be looking in but if not it'd be nothing more than a natural progression I guess. Not much different than that time I was gassing up my kawasaki in some gas station out in the middle of Virginia and that black dude looked over at me from the other side of the station, gave me a thumbs up and yelled over;

"Hey, Brotha, let da gooood tiiiiimes rooool!"  

[THuckaby2]

TEP:

You can't fool me - you're just covering your butt because I've snuck within 3700 posts of you.  

You know as well as anyone how this all goes...cycles of topics and interest in them around and around and around... we just seem to be in a little self-examination mode right now.  Kevin Reilly explained it well above.  Sure it does get chatty in here, and at times it seems there's nothing new... but then a topic comes along that is new, and it's all great again.

So oh yes, let the good times roll for sure... that never should ever stop, no matter if one is at 10,000 posts here!

Just don't be a stranger too much.  This place does need its senior doyen, as we are often woefully short on wisdom.  Besides, if you stay away too much, just think how uppity Mucci will get!

TH

[Dan Kelly]

... several people have apparently used my post as the impetus to write "chill out!" messages directed both at me (individually) and at everyone else who has posted discouraging thoughts on this thread (collectively) ...

Darren --

I really don't want to fight with you, but I do wonder:

What's wrong with using your post as the impetus to write "chill out!" messages?

Is "chill out!" an unacceptable opinion, for some reason?

I understand your unhappiness at having your personality attacked. It's happened to me twice here, and I was unhappy about it both times. But I do think you (and the Treehouse generally) need to separate attacks on one's personality (motives, agendas, etc.) from attacks on one's ideas.

The former are unacceptable; the latter are necessary.

IMO.

Dan

[Darren_Kilfara]

Tommy, I don't think I was villifying Ran - I apologise if that's how my post came across. However, I disagree with your assessment that I've never tried to do anything: I can remember a few threads in which Tim Weiman, myself and a few others were urging Ran (or someone else) to take a more forceful approach to moderating the board. Ultimately, though, Ran either didn't respond or responded in such a way as to preclude that possibility (I forget which - it was probably different on different threads). I've since concluded that it's pointless for me to try again; apart from that, what else would you have me do? It's not like I can police the site myself.

I'm sorry if you felt victimised when I brought your name into the discussion - I thought the winking smiley face was a hint that I was mostly joking. (When I say that GCA makes me sad, I'm fully aware that I myself contribute to that sadness...I seem to have a tough time keeping my foot out of my mouth on occasion, and my attempts at humor - such as they are - often seem to backfire like this.)

Dan - point taken.

Cheers,
Darren

[Dr Katz]

It's high time all of you take your naps my little beligerent bunnies! Enough of this fooling around trying to jump sharks. All of you go to your rooms and get into your beds. If you don't obey me then personality pills will cease to be optional!

Dr Katz

[Dr Katz]

redanman, you're a jerk, as always, and a humourless jerk, at that. Do not despair, I have both therapy and pills for that as well.

Dr Katz

[Tim_Weiman]

Darren,

I'm sorry to see the exchange between you and Tommy. Golf architecture should be a source of joy and happiness, not something that makes people sad.

As for trying to encourage a certain kind of dialogue at GCA, I haven't given up and still occasionally throw my two cents in. I feel passionately that our discussion should avoid personal attacks, avoid "chat" like posts and work towards attracting more industry and international participation.

But, there is only so much one can do. Honestly, I haven't seen a clear indication that Ran, as the site's owner, shares the same feeling. So, I throw my two cents in less frequently and I spend far less time on the site altogether. However, I still feel everyone here should follow the guidance that has been provided on the home page - that golf architecture is supposed to be the focus here.

Every discussion group occasionally looks at itself. To be fair, GCA is probably far better than most. But, reading your posts reminds me of a story Professor Marion Levy once told about Woodrow Wilson who served as President of Princeton before servng as President of the United States.

When asked to compare the challenge of being president of the US with being President of a university, Wilson told the Washington press corp that being the latter was far tougher.

Levy cynically gave his sociology students an explanation for what makes this so: "the stakes are so low" in university politics.

This stuff can seem like the end of the world, but it really isn't, as I'm sure you know quite well.

Hang in there. Get what you can out of GCA. Make a few friends and try not to let the rest bother you. Sometimes life is two steps forward and one back. GCA has already come a long way.

Regards,

Tim

[Dr Katz]

Ethically I can only say that would appear to be inappropriate as it appears the psycho is not in the tropics.

Dr Katz

[Lou_Duran]

Tommy,

Please tell me that you didn't mean this: 'One of your fellow Harvard grads and a hero of mine, once said, "Ask not for what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"?'  Talk about the quintessential example of form over substance!  And I was hoping for a peaceful coexistance during the KPIII.  

I am probably as guilty of wandering from the reservation as anyone on this site.  I happen to see many tangents in various topics (golf, politics, and life), and at times I suffer from a terrible, irresistable malady not all that uncommon to others on this site- a compunction to tell.  Fortunately for most, the cure is simply being ignored, which generally results in it passing for a period of time.  (I've been seeking help from Katz for a long time, but even he ignores me.)

From my couple of years on the site, I can't see a decline.  People come and go; interest ebbs and flows.  Most of us love golf, golf architecture, AND many other things (family, college football, politics, business, fine food and drink nice looking women, etc.), and it is natural for these diverse interests to flow into the discussion.

There are a few very serious guys on the site, and that's great.  From time to time, a tasteless wacko, generally in-cognito, appears.  Most of us are much closer to the center- not always as reverent as we might be considering the import of the subject, but not that offensive either.

Until Mr. Morrissett tells us that bandwidth is a real problem, if we are to err, I hope that we do so on the side of free-flowing ideas as opposed to carefully crafted threads and responses sanitized as to say little that might be controversial.  My only advice is that we eliminate the name calling and minimize the attribution of motives.

One other thing.  When photographing people swinging a club, let's get more front-side views.  Nearly all of the rear shots are neither attractive or of value from an architectural standpoint.



 

[Brian_Gracely]

One other thing.  When photographing people swinging a club, let's get more front-side views.  Nearly all of the rear shots are neither attractive or of value from an architectural standpoint.

ok, I'll bite.  does anyone know of a relatively safe way to take frontal pictures of swings?  I trust my normal group for the most part, but as they say....SHANKS HAPPEN    

and just be glad that nobody has figured out the syntax needed to post MP3 movies or other live formats to GCA.com

[Lou_Duran]

Huck,

Exactly!

[Bill Gayne]

The only diagnosis for all of the off topic posts and how often and frequently it happens is that this site suffers from the electronic version of Attention Deficit Disorder.

[Jeff Fortson]

I can't believe it!!!

Lou and I agree on something!

 

Nice post, Lou!


Jeff F.

[THuckaby2]

Bill:

What was that?  I was posting at Sons of Sam Horn while whipping up a mean batch of huevos rancheros and doing my taxes.  Were we discussing something here?

 

[Mr_Chill]

... several people have apparently used my post as the impetus to write "chill out!" messages directed both at me (individually) and at everyone else who has posted discouraging thoughts on this thread (collectively) ...

Darren --

I really don't want to fight with you, but I do wonder:

What's wrong with using your post as the impetus to write "chill out!" messages?

Is "chill out!" an unacceptable opinion, for some reason?

Please note that I have trademarked and copyrighted the above phrase that is incorporated into my title ... someone owes me a few nickels ...

[Dan Kelly]

From my couple of years on the site, I can't see a decline.  People come and go; interest ebbs and flows.  Most of us love golf, golf architecture, AND many other things (family, college football, politics, business, fine food and drink nice looking women, etc.), and it is natural for these diverse interests to flow into the discussion.

There are a few very serious guys on the site, and that's great.  From time to time, a tasteless wacko, generally in-cognito, appears.  Most of us are much closer to the center- not always as reverent as we might be considering the import of the subject, but not that offensive either.

Until Mr. Morrissett tells us that bandwidth is a real problem, if we are to err, I hope that we do so on the side of free-flowing ideas as opposed to carefully crafted threads and responses sanitized as to say little that might be controversial.  My only advice is that we eliminate the name calling and minimize the attribution of motives.

Great post. Great advice.