Earlier this evening, the BOD voted to ban TurboReef (formerly RandyAdamMartin). This ban was not taken lightly, and was decided after several months of repeated rules violations, user complaints, and generally inflammatory behavior. The deciding factor in his ban came as a result of an inflammatory post against Clearwater Aquarium with little in the way of facts on his side. When we removed the post and issued a warning, he reposted it and accused us of censorship and this being a 'boys club'.
Although he's gone, we wanted to take a moment to touch on those criticisms. Neither of these are true, but they do reflect a negative undercurrent that's grown stronger in the club over the past year. Some of it is COVID and the difficulties associated with navigating that, some of it isn't, and some of it's directed at the board. I acknowledge there's valid criticisms, but I just want to make it clear that we're trying.
The BAR mission statement is, "The primary purpose of BAR is to promote, foster, and encourage education and appreciation for the ethical husbandry and propagation of marine life." It's a pretty simple goal, but choosing the methods for how to go about achieving it can be anything but simple. We've come up with ideas. We're working on them. We're trying to expand events and get things back to more or less normal. We're trying to build more of a knowledge base for fledgling reefers. We're trying to rebuild relationships with LFS.
This is a community. If you're unhappy with something, we encourage you to tell us. Even better is to tell us what you're unhappy with and offer suggestions on how it can be made better. BOD meetings are open and we welcome participation. Message us directly. Be the change you want to see. I guess what I'm trying to say is, we're trying to steer the club in the right direction, but it's difficult sometimes to figure out exactly what direction that is.
I've had good experiences here, made friends, and people have been beyond generous. That's the kind of club I'd like to help make, and I'm always open to suggestions on how to do it.
Although he's gone, we wanted to take a moment to touch on those criticisms. Neither of these are true, but they do reflect a negative undercurrent that's grown stronger in the club over the past year. Some of it is COVID and the difficulties associated with navigating that, some of it isn't, and some of it's directed at the board. I acknowledge there's valid criticisms, but I just want to make it clear that we're trying.
The BAR mission statement is, "The primary purpose of BAR is to promote, foster, and encourage education and appreciation for the ethical husbandry and propagation of marine life." It's a pretty simple goal, but choosing the methods for how to go about achieving it can be anything but simple. We've come up with ideas. We're working on them. We're trying to expand events and get things back to more or less normal. We're trying to build more of a knowledge base for fledgling reefers. We're trying to rebuild relationships with LFS.
This is a community. If you're unhappy with something, we encourage you to tell us. Even better is to tell us what you're unhappy with and offer suggestions on how it can be made better. BOD meetings are open and we welcome participation. Message us directly. Be the change you want to see. I guess what I'm trying to say is, we're trying to steer the club in the right direction, but it's difficult sometimes to figure out exactly what direction that is.
I've had good experiences here, made friends, and people have been beyond generous. That's the kind of club I'd like to help make, and I'm always open to suggestions on how to do it.
