New Members

[TazKristi]

Hey, everyone:
I'm struggling with this one. I'm struggling because I'm so disappointed. This is a little long, but I thank you in advance for reading it completely.

I spent a good deal of time this morning removing several posts filled with accusations (stemming from assumptions that are not true) and negativity from the calendar contest thread.

I know we've discussed it on the forum in year's past. I know we've explained that we will not place a minimum number of posts or length of time on the forum as a requirement to participate. I know that we've explained time and time again that we value each and every one of you. I know that we've explained that we also, equally, value those who lurk. We listen to everyone's opinion. We've heard you. But at the end of the day, we'll run our forum the best way that we see fit. For us, that includes welcoming new people.

I can guarantee that comments like what I removed (some, stellar examples of passive-agressive behavior) won't encourage someone who lurks to make an account and post. I can guarantee that someone who's been lurking, who took the step to create an account and entered the contest, only to see those comments... they won't post again. They won't ask questions or offer their experience.

This forum isn't a popularity contest. Someone with 10,000 posts is EQUALLY as important as someone with 50 posts (just picking a number below 100 because apparently that's a number in someone's mind). Someone who posts daily is EQUALLY as important as someone who only posts once a year. This forum is about community and substance. It's not about who can spend the most time or type the most words. It's about shared experiences, shared interests, and Edge-U-Cation. It's meant for people from all around the world, from every walk of life.

Keep in mind, we moderate each new member. If you can see it, we've approved it. Were there a couple of entries that left me with questions? Yep! But I do what I always do, I reached out to the new member and asked for clarification. What some of you assumed was going on, isn't at all what was going on - that's why you see both posts.

One of the new members who joined to participate in this year's contest is a huge Spyderco fan with a very busy life. One that doesn't lend itself to spending time on the forum - they're not always in an area with internet service. Oh and they aren't a professional photographer either, but I could see how someone might make that assumption because they put a lot of effort into their submission.

We have a saying here that comes up in challenging times. WWSD - What Would Sal Do? If there's any question about what he would do, please take a scroll through the Calendar thread. You'll find him Welcoming every new member - just like he always does.

This is a fantastic, special community. It is not however, a gated community. Moving forward, posts like the ones I removed this morning will not be tolerated. When you say something negative or imply something nefarious without any details, you're not really saying anything about the new members. It doesn't reflect poorly on them at all, but it does say something about you.

I'll end this with something I was raised with that I think has great value. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Kristi

[Red]

I am new here and have been very, very impressed with this forum. I have learned more here about Spyderco’s and knives in general over the last several months than I have in a lifetime of collecting/using knives. I absolutely love it and am thankful and appreciative of the way it’s run. Thanks for keeping it a hospitable and welcoming place to share our love for Spyderco’s!!!

[MichaelScott]

There are always a few mean spirited people hiding behind their keyboards. Good riddance I say. Thanks Kristi for all your hard work. No fun but necessary and you do it well.

[kennethsime]

Thanks Kristi! I didn't pay attention to the calendar issue, but I appreciate your boundary-setting and taking the time to explain why.

[The Meat man]

Kristi, I apologize if any of my posts in that thread crossed the line. I consider myself still rather new here, and I am very grateful for the warm welcome others have given me: and it is certainly my wish to share that kindness with other new members.
Thank you for the tireless effort you put into making this forum the best place on the Internet. And also, thanks for giving us the calendar contest! :)

[RustyIron]

I'll end this with something I was raised with that I think has great value. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Heyyyyy... Kristi.
Did you know my mom? She used to tell me that all the time. It took me a long time to learn that lesson, and even today I sometimes forget.

[TkoK83Spy]

I'm sorry Kristi,

I really hope my opinion on this doesn't get me banned...but I think it's a bit BS. It's so incredibly obvious that some of the submissions are strictly for the opportunity at a calendar or a free knife or two. How in the world is someone that's here on a daily basis, supporting this company, welcoming new members, spending thousands of dollars every year on your products, interacting with all the other members here that are also spending all that money as well, learning, gaining knowledge, having great in depth discussions on your products that we love, forming friendships...even outside the forum, but real life friendships!!....the same as someone who posts once or twice a year...and only in this thread? Submitting a picture with a couple sentences, because that's what required. How are these people equal to every other "forum" member for the "forum calendar"??

I'm honestly not trying to be disrespectful towards you, I'm just a bit perplexed. Posting photos once a year with no content is valued by Spyderco, the same as people that are constantly pushing your products and providing information for so many new members that join here?? That's on us, the members that new people search Google and find this forum, create accounts and posts their first questions...it's us that answers them and keeps them around, not the strictly "calendar submission" members.

Again, I'm not trying to be disrespectful towards you or Spyderco, just voicing my opinion. The calendar is for fun, always turns out amazing. "I" just think that a lot of us feel a bit let down or betrayed...that maybe loyalty really doesn't matter around here :confused:

[SG89]

I agree with Rick.
I apologize for snarky language in the calendar thread. I hope my thousands of positive, helpful, welcoming posts will outweigh a moment of weakness.

[funguy]

I just joined these forums. I joined because I wanted to be able to ask questions about some of the many products that Spyderco offers, and express my excitement about new knives that I buy. When I joined today I only owned one Spyderco knife, a Tenacious that I bought at Walmart. I've always been a ZT fan, but wanted to try Spyderco knives because they are will regarded among knife nuts. I'm very interested in picking up a MT28 when they are eventually released, because it sounds like a fun project, and I would like to try out SPY27. After perusing the forums for a bit I found out about an exclusive Manix 2 in 20CV that was going to be discontinued. I bought it from DLT Trading right away because it's gorgeous and I love that steel. When it gets here it will be my second Spyderco knife.

I only found out about the calendar project today, AFTER I joined the forum, so I wasn't able submit a photo to be entered. Oh well, these things happen. It looks like it was a fun event, and getting a free calendar would have been pretty cool TBH. However, after reading some of the comments in this thread, I'm glad I didn't get the chance to post in that thread. Honestly, if I had seen some of these comments before joining this forum or buying that Manix 2, I would have done neither. No one wants to be part of a toxic environment. No one wants to read posts that make them feel like they shouldn't get involved because they are less active or spend less money on products. Especially someone who was just starting to take an interest in this brand. Loyalty doesn't mean discouraging other people from taking part, and the attitude I've seen is harmful to the brand and to this forum community.

I never saw any of the posts that Kristi removed from the calendar thread and I'm glad. Because this small sample that I have read in THIS thread alone has me second guessing my decision to join this forum.

[Evil D]

I'm sorry Kristi,

I really hope my opinion on this doesn't get me banned...but I think it's a bit BS. It's so incredibly obvious that some of the submissions are strictly for the opportunity at a calendar or a free knife or two. How in the world is someone that's here on a daily basis, supporting this company, welcoming new members, spending thousands of dollars every year on your products, interacting with all the other members here that are also spending all that money as well, learning, gaining knowledge, having great in depth discussions on your products that we love, forming friendships...even outside the forum, but real life friendships!!....the same as someone who posts once or twice a year...and only in this thread? Submitting a picture with a couple sentences, because that's what required. How are these people equal to every other "forum" member for the "forum calendar"??

I'm honestly not trying to be disrespectful towards you, I'm just a bit perplexed. Posting photos once a year with no content is valued by Spyderco, the same as people that are constantly pushing your products and providing information for so many new members that join here?? That's on us, the members that new people search Google and find this forum, create accounts and posts their first questions...it's us that answers them and keeps them around, not the strictly "calendar submission" members.

Again, I'm not trying to be disrespectful towards you or Spyderco, just voicing my opinion. The calendar is for fun, always turns out amazing. "I" just think that a lot of us feel a bit let down or betrayed...that maybe loyalty really doesn't matter around here :confused:

I kinda understand their perspective, they want the forum to be all inclusive and welcoming and I think 99.99999% of the time it is, but this one thing doesn't make any sense to me and it's a similar situation to when people buy up all the forum knives when those people are never around. It's something I don't agree with but it's not my forum so it is what it is. To me it's like saying I'm part of a neighborhood just because I drive past it on my way to work everyday despite the fact that I don't live there and don't know anyone there and never interact with those people.

I really didn't see any of this though. I was lucky enough to win 3 times so unless the prize is something I really want I sit it out so others have a chance to win (not because I'm just that great or anything, it's just one less submission to consider). But then, since the entire knife community knows about this and enters whether they're a part of the forum or not, I guess it really doesn't matter so maybe next year I'll join in again.

[ladybug93]

i 100% understand what you all saying and agree with the sentiment to a degree, but at the same time, there's no way to know if a new member posting an entry will stick around and become an active member and there's no way to know if those that have been members but never post anything else are really here often without posting because they feel they have nothing to add and just love photography.
at the end of the day, it's spyderco's calendar featuring their products. they could just make a calendar separate from the forum altogether and give none of us a chance at anything, to include the calendar itself. based on this thread, i have a feeling spyderco could end up feeling inclined to do just that to avoid all of this.
in an ideal world, the forum calendar would be filled with submissions from active forum members. i think there are enough of us here that enjoy making pictures that we could make it happen if we stepped up our game a little and submitted more great images for spyderco to choose from. it's a competition, so let's just show up and win.

[wrdwrght]

Some here want this place to be a club, a place where you earn your stripes so you can show your chops.

I believe Spyderco has just said this place is more than that.

If you want to distrust/disdain the motives of newcomers, just do it quietly. Whatever their reasons for coming, they don’t cheapen yours.

[James Y]

I have no dog in this fight. I wasn’t even aware of a Spyderco calendar contest or a thread about it.

I will say that when communicating with others online, my policy has always been to only say (post) to someone what I’d be willing to say to them in person, face-to-face, as I would want to be spoken to, whether we agree or disagree. In fact, I’m even more polite online, since tone, meaning, nuances, etc., often don’t translate to typed/written words.

In all my years as a member here and on BF, not only have I never posted a photo, but I have never even taken a picture of a knife before(!). Ever. I wouldn’t even know how to post one, even if I wanted to.

Jim

[TkoK83Spy]

I have no dog in this fight. I wasn’t even aware of a Spyderco calendar contest or a thread about it.

I will say that when communicating with others online, my policy has always been to only say (post) to someone what I’d be willing to say to them in person, face-to-face, as I would want to be spoken to, whether we agree or disagree. In fact, I’m even more polite online, since tone, meaning, nuances, etc., often don’t translate to typed/written words.

In all my years as a member here and on BF, not only have I never posted a photo, but I have never even taken a picture of a knife before(!). Ever. I wouldn’t even know how to post one, even if I wanted to.

Jim

Yes Jim, you are definitely one of the most cordial people around! Always pleasant in your interactions with others. Also...I'm mind blown you've never taken a photo of any of your knives!

[ChrisinHove]

Nicely put, Kristi, although I think maybe also it’s a reflection on how much people value this Forum that they are so protective of it.

The contest should be interpreted as a “Forum Contest for the Spyderco Calendar”, not the “Contest for the Spyderco Forum Calendar”.

If there were fewer than 12 good entries I would assume that professional photographs would be used, as well. This is about projecting the good name and products of Spyderco in workplaces and homes all over the world, after all.

[James Y]

Yes Jim, you are definitely one of the most cordial people around! Always pleasant in your interactions with others. Also...I'm mind blown you've never taken a photo of any of your knives!

Thanks, Rick!

TBH, I don’t take photos much, period. I haven’t taken one in years. My cell phone is an old flip phone that I don’t even think has photo capability. My niece gave me a digital camera years ago, but it’s still in its original packaging. My iPad has a camera, but I’ve only used it for scanning documents. I live alone, so for me, there’s really no reason to take pics of myself.

As for knives, I’d only take pics of them if I knew how to post them. And, many people have an artistic sense for taking knife photos. I do not. I am artistic at drawing, but not photography. So I think if I took any they would suck. :) It’s one of the reasons I don’t post/contribute much on the Spyderco General Discussion forum.

Jim

[MichaelScott]

Some here want this place to be a club, a place where you earn your stripes so you can show your chops.

I believe Spyderco has just said this place is more than that.

If you want to distrust/disdain the motives of newcomers, just do it quietly. Whatever their reasons for coming, they don’t cheapen yours.

I agree. I suspect there are many here who do not post but enjoy (mostly) the conversations and information presented.

I don’t think veterans should enjoy special privileges over newcomers. We were all new here once.

[bearrowland]

Exactly.

There are always a few mean spirited people hiding behind their keyboards. Good riddance I say. Thanks Kristi for all your hard work. No fun but necessary and you do it well.

[Evil D]

Some here want this place to be a club, a place where you earn your stripes so you can show your chops.

I believe Spyderco has just said this place is more than that.

If you want to distrust/disdain the motives of newcomers, just do it quietly. Whatever their reasons for coming, they don’t cheapen yours.

I agree. I suspect there are many here who do not post but enjoy (mostly) the conversations and information presented.

I don’t think veterans should enjoy special privileges over newcomers. We were all new here once.

Some of you are putting a little too much emphasis on "veteran". I just would like people to participate, otherwise things like "forum knife" or "forum calendar" are meaningless in those terms and become simply another form of sprint or exclusive items. It would be nice looking through a calendar at those pics and seeing familiar screen names at the bottom instead of names I've never seen before and will likely never see again. I really don't think that's asking too much or wrong or elitist or whatever. Maybe I have the wrong understanding of what these things mean or maybe I wish they meant something more than they do.


For the record...I don't think I even opened the calendar thread this year beyond the very first time I opened it when Kristi first posted it so whatever comments were made I never saw.

[ladybug93]

There are always a few mean spirited people hiding behind their keyboards. Good riddance I say. Thanks Kristi for all your hard work. No fun but necessary and you do it well.

i don't think it's fair to characterize active forum members as mean-spirited just for bringing up concerns. and saying good riddance to over voicing opinions seems contrary to the point of this thread as well. i agree with the rest of what you said though.