Letter of resignation
It is with deep sadness but complete resolve that I’m forced to write this letter. I have never written a letter of resignation before, so please forgive the fact that it probably follows no standard form. The two purposes I hope to achieve here today are simple. Firstly to state that I am stepping down as mod to pursue my own education, and secondly, to provide a last effort to show that I have been unfairly treated here.
Firstly I’d like to say that it has been a pleasure, other than a few minor occasions, being a part of the management team here at Kirupaforum. I have thoroughly enjoyed working side by side with many of the members over the last three and a half years to produce a community which is warm, welcoming, and helpful to even the most inept Flash user. Most importantly, I have attempted to treat each member, regardless of age, or aptitude of the language, as an adult. Respect I have given to actions, not to age, prestige, or skill. I have helped to design tutorials, structure for the site, games, and other pleasurable activities. I have taken this post seriously, believing it to be a true job. I have attempted to promote fair play, and logical solutions to problems between members. I have been praised by most for my efforts, and that to me was payment enough for all the hard work that I put into it. If bleeding would have promoted the site, I would have cut myself.
It is my personal feeling that Phil is doing a great job as a friend to the people of Kirupa, something that is most certainly needed here. Friends are what this community started as. I do however believe that he is doing a poor job as moderator, and that his friendship of the members and other mods has produced a situation where by no mod will bother to call him on the real issues. Alas, since I am the one who petitioned to have Phil made a mod in the first place; I suppose that I have no one to blame but myself for that. It does explain somewhat why I would be harder on him than another, but I honestly do not see that as being the case. I am hard on anyone who damages Kirupaforum, just as I have been hard on myself the few times I have added to its degradation.
The evidence for Phil’s neglect of the members of this forum is evident not in the few minor posts that he has conveniently deleted from record, but luckily in the very nature of the random section. He has said it himself, you cannot expect to start a thread in the random section and not have it turn to a complete “spam” thread. I’m sure he thought that he was saying the right thing there, but the truth is in the words, he’s not doing what the Kirupian community needs him to do. Management of a forum is about control, not about freedom. Freedom comes naturally as part of the human condition; it exists in us all regardless of chains, or rules. Chaos has never been proven to be a good thing for the human condition. The boundaries for freedom always lie where they infringe upon another’s freedoms. Those boundaries are enforced only through order. Order requires work, and Phil does not do any work to create order. It is sad that I had to have Phil attack MY beliefs before I realized what he was doing. That was poor action on my part.
The worst part of it all of course is not Phil’s actions. Phil could learn to be a great man, in time, with care, nurturing, and some times tough love. No, the worst part, in my mind is that Phil will not become that great man, because he is A) unable to take any criticism without assuming that it is a personal attack, and B) because others find him much to enjoyable to ever take the stance of “tough love” with him that he needs in order to be great. We are not great because we are born great, we are great because people and situations have pushed us to excel.
I believe the proof of these allegations lie deep in the posts here at Kirupaforum. That any person may look at various past posts of Phil’s and see him for what he truly is. I can only hope that some bother to do so before something as great as Kirupaforum is damaged further by his actions. Of course some of you, being newer, may not know me so well, and even more will assume that I’m just saying crap about Phil to get back at him for some slight or another, and to a degree I wont deny that I’d like to get back at Phil. Despite my turn the there cheek policy which is a proven fact about me, in my posts and my attitude, I would love nothing more than to simply slap him back. That is not however the case here. The past three skirmishes between Phil and I have always been about his mismanagement of ideas, his insult of other people’s belief structures, and his inability to even bother to defend his statements. I have just never been able to formulate that complaint in any way that doesn’t upset the rest of you. I’m sure that Phil will complain about this letter, stating that I’m making him look bad. The only thing that I can say about such things is that one looks bad because of their actions, not because someone points out those actions. I do believe that much of my persuasive power was lost in how I brought my complaints to the mods. On occasion I have been upset, as many of you mods have been in situations. In the skirmishes with Phil I have obviously not always held to my own principals, as one often doesn’t when they are angry over an issue. I would submit though that my display of the complaints, no matter how it was put, does not invalidate the truth of the statements.
I think one thing has upset me most though out all three of my skirmishes with Phil. This is the fact that almost all of the mods have supported my arguments in private, but seem unable to simply formulate that to Phil. Instead, I have chosen each time to take the road less traveled by man. By request from the management I have backed down, and I have apologized even when I didn’t feel it was right to do so. Even when I was supported in my arguments I still opted, because of Phil’s unshakable pride, to choose to turn the other cheek. Yes what has upset me most is the fact that the rest of the mods, even knowing that I was correct in a situation, would rather I take the slap in the face than have to have a “bummer” of a day by reading some sort of recent fight. I feel that I have been betrayed when I have never done so to others. Even by you, Kirupa I have been betrayed. Your failure is only that you’d like everyone to get along, which is hardly a major failure in my book. I think it’s completely noble of you, and a dream I share. Alas, being a realist I know that this is not the case. People need management. I feel that it is up to you to enforce what is right, over what is wrong between your mods. You instill power and you alone have the ultimate responsibility having your name on every piece of this site from soup to nuts. If you mods, and Kirupa truly feel you’ve taken the correct stances in the past, worry not, I forgive you all for my perception of your inactivity. I know that not a single one of you ever had any intentions to malign me. You will learn in time what is the right course of action, through experiences like this one. I can assure you though that you will not learn a thing if you chose to turn a blind eye, rather than take action. Support, ultimately is all that would have been required to sooth these situations. Support for either one argument or another. A lack of support for either, and a stance that it would be better for all if the situation were simply swept under the rug is what has led me to cite irreconcilable differences with the way that the site is being managed.
In conclusion, I am stepping down as a Mod of Kirupaforum. I simply have not the strength to continue to be the only voice offering constructive criticism of poor mod behavior if no one has a desire to hear it… As a manager I may suck, but at least I bothered to try. I hope that the majority of my lessons were not lost on you all. That some piece of the honor I have always attempted to instill in this board continues to thrive and push for better and better behavior, and that always you make the new guys feel welcome as you have always done in the past.
Peace,
David Haisley
PS ~ if this letter is a “bummer” to your day, tough. Life is not always a pleasant thing. Deal with it and move on, as I am.
PPS~ the thread is locked. This is not meant as a post to be replied to, simply to be read.
