A Banned Outlaw

[Badlands Walker]

As some of you may be aware, I was banned a few months ago from the SASS Wire.  I guess this makes me an Official SASS Outlaw!  I attempted to sign on yesterday to no avail.  I assume this is a permanent ban because of my views & open opinions on the Wire.  There are those who miss my wonderful posts & outlook on things & for this I am grateful.  Much obliged for the support pards.  There are those who are wrapped up in themselves & are elated that I am no longer on the Wire.  This is a sad thing, NOT!

I guess The Powers to Be are lookin' for an apology or some humble retraction on my part & I am here to tell you, this will never come to pass.  I was born an outlaw, I remain an outlaw & will die an outlaw.  This is just the way it is!  The Code of the West!

Y'all be good to one another & keep the powder dry!

[Big John Denny]

Badlands Walker, AKA: Official SASS Outlaw,

Take my word for it, you're not missing much on the wire. It's gotten to be you couldn't post a positive comment about a nursery rhyme without being flamed by a buch of others.

We all miss the feeling of anticipation of what your next post would be about. Don't agree with what they did to you and if I owned SASS I'd put you back on.

By the way, notice you're using an actual live photo as your new avitar on CAS.

[West Longer]

Well Pard
Your in a good place here!

[Advertising]

[Badlands Walker]

Badlands Walker, AKA: Official SASS Outlaw,

Take my word for it, you're not missing much on the wire. It's gotten to be you couldn't post a positive comment about a nursery rhyme without being flamed by a buch of others.

We all miss the feeling of anticipation of what your next post would be about. Don't agree with what they did to you and if I owned SASS I'd put you back on.

By the way, notice you're using an actual live photo as your new avitar on CAS.

BJD, you like my new live shot there pard?

Lots a folks was askin' what I really look like, so I had to place the real thing in the Avatar finally, lol.  Well, I ain't been on the other side of the tracks in a while now, but I been hearin' much of the same as to your recent post.  Things are sure goin' strange over there.  It's a real good thing that SASS is not what the Wire is.  If word got out that it was like the Wire, folks would be droppin' like flies.  A few pards on the other side of the river suggested that I contact em' & ask for forgiveness & apologize.  Hell, my sides still hurt from laughin' so dang hard!

[Badlands Walker]

West ol' pard, you sure got that right.  This is the only place to be.  We got the friendliest folks, a great Marshal & a mighty fine town iffn' ya ask me!  I'm part of the CAS Posse & even got me a badge to prove it!  I wear that one real proud & leave the other one at home, iffn' ya get my meanin'.

[Book Miser]

Pard,

The West was not won by people who backed down from their opinions or were easily offended.

In this sport, it is unfortunate that the phraseology "cowboy way" and "spirit of the game" ever got started, because these are pointless abstractions. MOST of us agree to what is meant by these little neologisms, but many use them to cudgel people whose views or personalities push the edge of their comfort envelope.

Colonizing the west was not about comfort, cleanliness or subtlety for the most part. Not that such things were objectionable, but that they often stood in the way of the core mission.

I would consider being banned from TOB as a badge-of-honor.

As far as the organization calling itself SASS is concerned, a small flock of entrepreneurs in CA and NM seem to have set themselves up as gatekeepers and arbiters of this sport, often to the detriment of the vast majority of us who are in fact not "members," but CUSTOMERS of SASS.

Were it not for the necessity to be a SASS member to shoot at one or two of the clubs hereabouts, that flock of peckerwoods in Yorba Linda would never see another dollar from me.

As our pards in Oz would say, Good On Ya!

 

[Bar Stool Billy]

 I am a forum freak and I see this happening on a lot of forums. I don't know if the power goes to the moderaters heads or what. I was on Deisel Truck Resource and found out that the guy that I order accesories from has been banned. It just makes me want to order more from him not the other bozos that are there trying to get business. The same thing happened on Detail City with Adams Polishes. It just makes me want to do business with OUTLAWS! What ever happened to free speach. I am not one of those hippie types that thinks that you can say anything any where but this is a place to post your oppinions. Not post your oppinions only if they are the opinions of the moderators.

I will step off my soap box now! BSB

[Book Miser]

Billy, if this phenomenon were limited to online forums it would be easy enough to ignore.

But we have allowed our world to become a place where the normal discourse seems to be not, "I respectfully disagree with you," but instead, "You are not qualified to hold an opinion that differs from mine," or even "I demand an apology because my delicate sensibilities have been offended."

It's disgusting.

My friends consider me a life-support system for a set of strong opinions. I relish discussions in which opposing viewpoints are exchanged, respectfully and without ad hominem attacks or attempts at manipulation. Now and again, someone engaged in such an exchange actually finds himself enlightened, and converted to the other person's viewpoint. But when discussion breaks down to a childish level, all we accomplish is wasting the limited time we have on earth to live our lives.

My advice, relative to the metaphorical soap box, is never to step down from it. By continually stepping on and off the soapbox, one runs the risk of tripping over his own feet. 

Until the recent server crashes, some of us were evolving a nice little place called The Rugged Individualist. A wealth of information and opinion was exchanged there, and we had managed to eliminate systematically those who refused to keep the discussion on civil terms. Now that the Frontier Spot has been reincarnated, in a decidedly namby-pamby form, I have given up all hope that this convivial group will ever again find a place to convene. 

Relative to Badlands Walker's experience on The Wire, suffice it to say I have been tossed out of far classier joints...
 

[Joyce (AnnieLee)]

Book Miser, I respectfully and firmly disagree with your opinion on the Rugged, and have a deep seated and sincere hope that CAS City does NOT become a home for the discussions once found there.

I also find it disheartening that "other forum" bashing has gained a toe-hold here. I think this is a lighthearted and friendly place that the Marshal has cultivated, and would like to keep it that way. I am sorry folks have grievances about other message boards, but this board isn't them. Why not relish and delight in all that is good, here?

AnnieLee

[Badlands Walker]

Book Miser.  I like the way you think pard & would be proud to ride the river with you any time!  I'm just a good ol' boy who has some old fashion beliefs and I stand by what I believe no matter what.  Many times that has gotten me in trouble, but I stand firm on what I believe to be right.

AnneLee, you have an excellent point also Darlin'.  CAS City is like no other & that is why I am so happy here.  Marshal H. has worked hard to make this a fine place to be & I also hope it never becomes like some others on the other side of the river.  If I think a topic is questionable, I will emule the Marshal before postin, as I did my PWDFR Posse.  I want to play by the rules & have fun here in town, but at the same time, stand my ground for what is right.

[Badlands Walker]

Pard,

The West was not won by people who backed down from their opinions or were easily offended.

In this sport, it is unfortunate that the phraseology "cowboy way" and "spirit of the game" ever got started, because these are pointless abstractions. MOST of us agree to what is meant by these little neologisms, but many use them to cudgel people whose views or personalities push the edge of their comfort envelope.

Colonizing the west was not about comfort, cleanliness or subtlety for the most part. Not that such things were objectionable, but that they often stood in the way of the core mission.

I would consider being banned from TOB as a badge-of-honor.

As far as the organization calling itself SASS is concerned, a small flock of entrepreneurs in CA and NM seem to have set themselves up as gatekeepers and arbiters of this sport, often to the detriment of the vast majority of us who are in fact not "members," but CUSTOMERS of SASS.

Were it not for the necessity to be a SASS member to shoot at one or two of the clubs hereabouts, that flock of peckerwoods in Yorba Linda would never see another dollar from me.

As our pards in Oz would say, Good On Ya!

 

Well Sir, I guess you could say that I do wear it like a badge of honor.  It's right there under my name for all to see & it makes me proud!

[Derby Younger]

Well now, you're going to have to check the Marshal on this, but a case can be made that the SASS wire evolved partly because of "bashing", etc on the old CAS-l.

Everybody has the right of opinion. Everybody has the right to follow their own road. Now, in this thread we seem to be bashing SASS for, among other things, "bashing". Seems kinda odd.

Course now, I could be wrong.

Derby Younger
Duelist is Coolest

[Badlands Walker]

Well now, you're going to have to check the Marshal on this, but a case can be made that the SASS wire evolved partly because of "bashing", etc on the old CAS-l.

Everybody has the right of opinion. Everybody has the right to follow their own road. Now, in this thread we seem to be bashing SASS for, among other things, "bashing". Seems kinda odd.

Course now, I could be wrong.

Derby Younger
Duelist is Coolest

Well pard, I believe it may be 50/50 here.  Yeah, there is a bit of bashing goin' on I guess; but I feel I was banned for something that others were allowed to continue & still do.  I now laugh about it & I ain't lost one minutes sleep over it.  The Wire is NOT SASS & that's what keeps me bein' a member.  Yeah, I don't agree with a lot of what goes on over there, but it's not my game.  I am just a participant!

[Danny Bear Claw]

I'll start this off by stating that I am currently in my second and final "self-imposed-exile" from the SASS wire.  I left the first time after the giant flap that went on regarding the "elitism" of about a dozen members who were running off new comers and generally acting like the south end of north bound mules.  This was the very incident that brought about the existance of the Moderators and the removal of the #'s of posts.  Some of these people got banned from the SASS wire while a few others who sympathized with them went over to TFS and proceeded with a campaign of "SASS bashing" which went on for months.  I stopped going to TFS because of it.  Most of these folks are back on the SASS wire now.  I was in my first self-imposed exile from the SASS wire then.  I came back to post some American Indian posts as a tribute to a Native American friend who passed away.  Recently, I put a post in the SASS wire Saloon about Jesus.  All response posts were positive up until the last one.  It seems this negative post came from a guy who thought the post was inappropriate for the SASS wire Saloon.  (I thought the Saloon was for non-SASS related posts...?).  He had a post in the Saloon that same week bragging about having X,000 posts.  Other than stroking his own over inflated ego, I saw no real relavence to the post at all.  I deleted my entire Jesus post and posted in it's place - "Post deleted by me because I apparently trampled on someone's delicate sensibilties".  At that point the SASS moderators decided it was "over the edge" and pulled the entire post.  When I first joined SASS there were around 4,000 members and the number of registered users on the SASS wire was around 3 or 4 hundred.  I watched the downward spiral of the wire over the years.  Seems the more registered users came in, the worse the wire got.  The new software update prevents me or my wife from loggin in but, it's ok, because I have no intention of participating in the SASS wire ever again.

 Now to Book Miser, and others who feel like they must pay SASS dues in order to shoot in matches, I feel for you.  I got myself and the wife life memberships in SASS because I figured, in 7 or 8 years I'd have spent that much money anyway.  I shot several matches that first year, but after that I've had to pretty much work every weekend so, haven't shot a match since then.  I get together with other old west type gun collectors like myself and we shoot single action revolvers and lever action rifles informally.  There's also NCOWS and this new fangled 3WG going on, so in reality SASS is not the only game in town anyway.  Also, if you want to still have an in-put of some kind with SASS do like I've done, start writing articles and reviews for the Cowboy Chronicle. 

Sorry this turned out so long.  I'll get off the soap box now too.  Shoot straight, shoot fast and God bless you all.

[Badlands Walker]

DBC,

Excellent post there pard.  It's a shame there are those self-appointed keepers of the gate that feel they have the right to remove or keep something, just because they don't like the person posting or it don't conform to their way of thinking.  I strayed away from here a while back & spent alot of my time on the Wire.  That was a mistake!  My home is here at CAS City and there is no place like home, iffn' ya get my meanin'.  I have found most folks here to be more open minded & friendly, willing to listen or give their point of view without right away wanting to condem or do away with a post.  The Marshal is a fine man & has worked very hard to keep & maintain this site for all to enjoy & learn from.  I know my posts at times seem a bit radical or out in left field, but I never try to tread on a persons feelin's and I always speak my mind, right or wrong.  I have found that here, I can say what I think or feel and have others share their approval or disapproval, without fear of argument or hostility. It's good to see ya here at CAS City & hope to see ya here for years to come.  Stick by what you believe, right or wrong... and you'll be a better person for it!

JMHO!
Badlands.

[Danny Bear Claw]

I agree with you Badlands... CAS City is the best of the Western Shooting type wires around which is why it's now the only one I post on.  The Ruger Forum Discussion site has a CAS section but it's not active enough to hold my interest.  I too, consider this to be my home now and also think the Marshall has done a great job of setting up and running this site.  His hands-off approach is quite refreshing as far as opinionated posts.  Folks here do seem much friendlier than those on other wires.  I pray it stays that way.  We can agree to disagree sometimes and still treat each other with respect.  When I read a post I don't agree with or don't particularly like, I just ignore it.  Momma used to say, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all".  Words to live by.  God bless.

[Angus McKechnie]

I'll throw in my dos centavos...

While I have not had the "honor" of being banned from the SASS wire, I prefer CAS for simple reason that it's independent and not a creature of SASS. Like many, I have my issues with SASS and while SASS bashing may put off some, what about legitimate criticism? When people say "no SASS bashing", it almost sounds like "shut up or the big SASS satellite in the sky will find out and rain death on everyone..." OK, maybe I'm exaggerating things a bit but I think you get the idea.

I don't believe in bashing for it's own sake or stirring up trouble for the fun of it but if someone has a beef, let them state it. You don't have to agree with it but there it is.

Personally, I wish more people would realize that you don't need SASS to do the "western thing"- I love many aspects of doing the west, whether it's shooting, reenacting, or simply riding my horse and I don't need the  approval of SASS or some other organization- this is America, right?

Anyway, after the way SASS treated some us at EOT 2004 it really made me reconsider the whole SASS thing (I won't get into details but basically it's about broken promises and how you treat people). Sure, I'm from California (yeah I know, spare me the "I hate California" bit) but neither myself nor my pards have any "control" on anything but it sure seems that they raised the middle finger when they left- sort of like "we've drained this town dry". The whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth.

O.K., I've droned on long enough and I'll probably get a load of buckshot for it but I'll say it again: you don't have to be SASS to do Western and if they can't handle truthful debate, then so be it. I value independence and I value people being able to speak out (without being jerks)- this is America after all (last time I checked). Anyway, hats off to CAS City.

<I'll now hunker down in my bunker and await the incoming... >

Angus McKechnie

[Marshal Halloway]

First, thanks for all the nice comments about our town.

Knock on wood, in the 10 years promoting CAS on this site and through the caslist, we have never been forced to ban one single member. I cannot guarantee it will be that way, but I sure do whatever I can to prevent it. My approach has always been to make internet communication so close to a live debate as possible as if I am eye to eye with the one I am "talking" with. If things get out of hand, we try our best to take individuals "outside" for a nice chat and to reestablish respect and friendship, to sort out misinterpretations and misunderstandings. In some cases, it ends with a respectful agreement to disagree and move on.

There is a fine line between bashing and constructive criticism depending on who is the sender and the receiver. The more rules, the more difficult it is for moderators to do their job, mostly because we deal with people, the most complicated "machinery" on earth. We don't have many rules here, but depend on common sense and communication in the same way as we do when meeting fellow members at the shooting range.

However, some people tend to change personality "being alone in front of the computer". Some go far in playing their CAS character online and resume back to "normal" when talking to fellow shooters live. Some times we have to take this into consideration.

There is no black and white approach when it comes to treating CAS people online. It is difficult, challenging, but it is a lot of fun and rewarding at the same time.

Fun and rewarding is in fact the main issue here in town. With respect and empathy attached to all this, we keep the peace in town and together with all of our wonderful fellow citizens.

Have a great day and don't get your spurs tangled up.

[Badlands Walker]

Well stated Marshal H.  I really want to thank you for all your hard work & dedication to the cowboy way of life and this here site we call CAS City!  This is truly a fine place to be and I am indeed honored to be a part of it all and even more honored to be excepted by all the towns folks & yourself.  I know I can be contraversial at times, but I do my very best to keep it clean & friendly!

[Badlands Walker]

Angus ol' pard, well said my friend!