Posted on 12/20/2002 9:41:23 AM PST by Tree of Liberty
TFL to Close At End of 2002
To All Members;
TFL will cease operation on or about January 1, 2003. The entire site will remain up, in perpetuity, as a monument to what we have built together. The search function will continue also. However, new posts will not be possible after that time. New registrations have already been closed down to avoid confusion. The Buy/Sell Forums are now closed for new Posts…please use PM and Email to complete pending transactions. (The Private Messaging system may well survive the transition. If so, we’ll leave it up for your continued use.)
I know this is a shock to many, and you deserve an explanation. The answer is quite simple: I’ve been at this for more than four years and am simply burned out. Having taken on new commitments, I find my time more and more limited…to the point that 7 days is not a long enough week. As a result, I have allowed a lot of things to suffer, including management of TFL. While the Members and Staff have done an outstanding job of honoring our “culture” and goals, an endeavor such as this requires daily hands on management.
Some will ask. “Why not just appoint a new chair”. This is a very difficult question to answer and we’ve wrangled with it in the Staff Lounge, as I have personally. TFL was started by me in October 1998 as a Social Experiment: I believed that firearms discussion sites, with few exceptions, were being run improperly. I believed that, if we set up a site, without commercial advertisement and requested only your adherence to a few rules of polite behavior, it would be overwhelmingly successful in promoting Responsible Firearms Ownership.
Evidently, about 18,000 of you agreed. Today, TFL has a reputation for being the standard to meet in providing information, political insight and camaraderie for firearms enthusiasts around the globe. And so it is, that we end on a high note….with TFL still available as example and reference, long into the future. While the Staff is split regarding my decision, I believe I can say that I have their unanimous support in granting me the right to make this call.
We hardly intend to leave our Members in the cold. Even now plans are being drawn up for the launch of new firearms boards, and I encourage each of you to go forth and multiply. Take what you’ve taught us and what you’ve learned from us and teach it to others. Don’t set out to meet TFL standards: Surpass Them. Consider spending an hour less per week online…use that hour to get involved Politically; Go shooting; Get some fresh air….Teach Our Children about The Bill of Rights…all of them.
Is it possible we’ll be back? Perhaps. After all, I’m the one who will probably miss this place more than anyone. However, don’t expect to see that in the next few months. You have equipped each other to better promote the cause of Freedom in America….put it to good use.
On a personal note, I’ve made lifelong friends here: Staff and Members. We’ve done great work together: from beating HandGun Control into submission over their name. to making the JPFO Documentary, Innocents Betrayed a reality. I’ve learned more about myself, more about listening, more about loyalty and more about leadership here than any business school could possibly teach.
My special thanks and heartfelt admiration for a Volunteer Staff that, if it had a mind, could turn United Airlines around! Mykl, DC, Rob, Dennis, George H., Gary, Art, Al, Barclay, Bill, Bud, Byron, Dave, Denny, Don. Erick, George S., Harley, Ian, John, Johnnie, Justin, Mal, Marko, Matt, Oleg, Scott, Shawn, Son and Tamara. I’d follow any one of these people down the barrel of a cannon!
To our Members: before you email me, think about a few things:
- TFL emails are a large part of my time burden. Please don’t attempt to engage me in long conversations about this decision. It’s done.
- If you believe that we somehow “owe” it to you to continue, please don’t email us at all. We owe no debt that must be paid with indentured servitude; any more than you “owe” us for the last four years of free service.
- If you believe that TFL should be passed on to a successor, we’ll gladly comply: simply post the location of that successor board on the discussion thread below. We’ll take a look and if Staff approves, I’ll include the site in a final, permanent Announcement on all of the Forums, in addition to a mass email. In short, I don’t think any Member will be at a loss for a new home. But please don’t ask me to surrender the data files, so long as they remain available for reference.
Housekeeping issues:
- We suggest that all Members take this opportunity to check your profiles and email addys…many of them are not correct. (You should be able to change them even after we close the board to new posts.)
- To check your email address: http://TheFiringLine.com/forums/mem...ion=editprofile
- If you wish to make your email addy visible for members to be able to find you or be notified by email should someone send you a Private Message (PM): http://TheFiringLine.com/forums/mem...ion=editoptions
- To change your password: http://TheFiringLine.com/forums/mem...on=editpassword
Member comment is encouraged...you deserve closure. But remember this: our legacy is not determined by the way we start things, but by the manner in which we end them. You needn’t agree with my decision, but I hope you’ll respect it.
Thank You and God Bless You All-
Rich Lucibella
"Proud TFL Alumni..."
I originally found FR though TFL.
In 3 years of membership I posted under 150 items over there, but I still enjoyed reading and learning over at TFL.
Same here. Sad to see it go.
I've already emailed him to advise when it's ready to accept new or migrated members.
So far about 10,000 of the members there seem to have checked in to read about TFL's inactivation, so it will be interesting to see just how many will migrate.
You introduced me to this site about 2 years ago. Hate to see it go.
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