I would just like to wish Aric a kind sendoff, as he leaves this forum.

I for one, have always enjoyed his posts, and know the amount of effort that was put into his testing and well written posts. I am somewhat certain that I am not a minority in saying so. I fondly remember RC.com when it was a useful forum for sharing knowledge, and actually had a sense of community to it, and Aric's posts brought about meaningful conversations, and equipment analysis reminicent of those days.

Adatesman, if I ever meet you in person, I owe you a beer.

I clearly missed something, what the fuck went down that would cause Aric to leave?

I'm not sure what went down, but I heard about it this morning in this thread. I truely hope that it wasn't USN that finally got to him enough to make him leave, but that would be my guess.

For those who don't know what went down see here, and here.

Can someone please summarize? That's a lot of thread to cover. By summarize, I mean the chronological, factual events which occurred, not people's opinions about them. If this is not appropriate for this thread, I would be happy to be PMd or take it to a new or different thread.

I for one enjoyed much of the original hard work and material adatesman contributed, and I am curious as to what occurred.

Much as I would like to know, I don't think it is appropriate for this thread. There is clearly too much that is emotionally inflammatory to the parties involved for it to be here, where we are expressing our loss at Aric's leaving.

I appreciated his work and respected the guy.

Deleting all of that useful content he provided is the act of a big cry baby who wants to punish everyone for what a few people might have said about him. I don't get why I need to be punished for some argument someone else had.

Bummer everyone suffers because of some stupid argument that will be fairly meaningless next week.

Dave

Have to disagree. His "contributions" were minimal at best and in some cases potentially harmful. Unfortunately Aric seldom understood the limitations of his knowledge, which often resulted in ill-conceived tests and/or poor interpretations of the results. Like much of pseudoscience, it sounds reasonable to the uninformed. And he'd get overly defensive when errors were pointed out. In the long run, this forum is truly better off without Aric.

Five internets to Aric.

Thanks Aric!

I clearly missed something, what the fuck went down that would cause Aric to leave?

Hey Aric, I hope you are reading all of these well wishes. All the best for the future where you land in the cyberworld. I have nothing but good things to say about you mate and very much wish that I will run into you someday buddy. I'd definitely buy you a beer even though I don't drink.

Holy Fuck I must have missed something too.

If this is the real deal... Aric, should you end up on the Canadian side of the border, drop me a line (doesn't matter if it's for beers or climbs). the_climber at hotmail dot com

What the Crap!! Not sure what went down Aric but I appreciate all the hard work you did in The Lab.

Supra

Supra,

Aric is gone because he has childishly decided to leave RC.com (and take all his content with him) after being reprimanded and then relieved of his duties as a moderator for abusing both his authority and some of the site users here. I also appreciate all the work Aric put into the Lab Forum--but to feel sorry for him is, in my opinion, way off route.

Curt

Have to disagree. His "contributions" were minimal at best and in some cases potentially harmful. Unfortunately Aric seldom understood the limitations of his knowledge, which often resulted in ill-conceived tests and/or poor interpretations of the results. Like much of pseudoscience, it sounds reasonable to the uninformed. And he'd get overly defensive when errors were pointed out. In the long run, this forum is truly better off without Aric.

So are you volunteering to pick up the reins since you obviously can do better?

Supra,

Aric is gone because he has childishly decided to leave RC.com (and take all his content with him) after being reprimanded and then relieved of his duties as a moderator for abusing both his authority and some of the site users here. I also appreciate all the work Aric put into the Lab Forum--but to feel sorry for him is, in my opinion, way off route.

Curt

My point is that he put the effort forth and at a minimum started conversations around testing and provided some real data, which is more than most of us can say.

Can somebody objectively and chronologically explain what happened? Not someone who was involved in the argument.

For those who don't know what went down see here, and here.

Two things:

1. This is stretching the truth to within an inch of breaking point.
2. With all that's gone on over the last couple of days, was that really necessary?

I know you're at least 20 years my senior - but seriously, grow up.

1. My above summary for Supra is completely factually correct. Since you supposedly employ the scientific method for a living, I can't believe that you of all people, still support Aric. Open your eyes, go back to the "Suggestions & Feedback" forum and re-read ddt's comments on why he took the particular actions he did.

2. Was my post necessary? I'm not sure, but I'm certainly not going to let people continue to have the mistaken impression that Aric was somehow a victim in this mess. He caused this mess. And in fact, because he has willfully screwed up the usefulness of the "Lab" forum, he is the only person involved in this entire fiasco who has acted with malice and intent to do harm.

Curt

I have to agree with roy here. I think Aric was well intentioned but misguided a bit. I have 16 years in materials science, including overseeing QA labs for a Fortune 50 company, so I know a few things about testing. Aric's methodology, equipment, and interpretation of data left me cringing many times. The homemade cam competition etc. was a great idea however. He must have his reasons for deleting all his posts, but it does leave a mess.

A circuit does not blow a fuse unless someone overload the device. you boys did a good job cranking the power till sh*t fell apart and now we have to suffer over some elementary level BS.

I concur.

All that being as it may, this is far from the time or place, unless you truly feel that Aric deserves to have you personally strip him of any and all recognition others of us would like to express.

... there is one unique thing that Aric brought to the party--and that was an incredible amount of energy, hard work and initiative. He may not have been the most knowledgable person on the site, but it will certainly be difficult to find anyone else who will put in the time and energy he did to conduct the testing, etc. In my opinion, that is what will be missed--and I will miss it too.

1. My above summary for Supra is completely factually correct. Since you supposedly employ the scientific method for a living, I can't believe that you of all people, still support Aric. Open your eyes, go back to the "Suggestions & Feedback" forum and re-read ddt's comments on why he took the particular actions he did.

2. Was my post necessary? I'm not sure, but I'm certainly not going to let people continue to have the mistaken impression that Aric was somehow a victim in this mess. He caused this mess. And in fact, because he has willfully screwed up the usefulness of the "Lab" forum, he is the only person involved in this entire fiasco who has acted with malice and intent to do harm.

Curt

No, Aric was not "reprimanded and then relieved of his duties as a moderator for abusing both his authority and some of the site users here."

Aric's degreening came about because (1) he requested it, and (2) he proved unable to rise above the fray and instead of stepping back or trying to defuse the situation, participated in its escalation...

And then finally, back to this case: I've temporarily relieved adatesman of his duties pending further conversation with him about his future as a moderator.

Many have asked why I would allow a contributor like Aric to be "pushed" off this site, while not taking any action against those who did the "pushing", so I'd like to offer a brief explanation.

Let me start by clarifying why I relieved Aric of his status as a mod. Two reasons:

1. He requested it from me
2. Earlier in this thread he posted a blatant personal attack on another user. Moderators are not above the rules.

Why no action against anyone else? Well, as far as I am aware, no one else violated any rules or regulations that warranted action. Sure, there were some harsh words, but all well within what I consider to be tolerable when applying the norms for "personal attack" and "abuse" on this site. Persistence in making heated arguments is no reason for action against a user, nor is our perceived "value" of someone as a contributor on the site or the degree to which we like or dislike them.

Whatever you say, Tristan


and:


Curt

How is posting a personal attack abusing authority? It is pretty clear from blondgecko's statement that Aric's "reprimand" was due to his asking to be relieved and for his comments about JT's stature.

...as I am aware, no one else violated any rules or regulations that warranted action. Sure, there were some harsh words, but all well within what I consider to be tolerable when applying the norms for "personal attack" and "abuse" on this site. Persistence in making heated arguments is no reason for action against a user...

Curt, give it a rest. There are plenty of other threads if you still have some reason to go on. Even Jay has stopped...

Well said Curt, and spot on.

I would just like to wish Aric a kind sendoff, as he leaves this forum.

I for one, have always enjoyed his posts, and know the amount of effort that was put into his testing and well written posts. I am somewhat certain that I am not a minority in saying so. I fondly remember RC.com when it was a useful forum for sharing knowledge, and actually had a sense of community to it, and Aric's posts brought about meaningful conversations, and equipment analysis reminicent of those days.

Adatesman, if I ever meet you in person, I owe you a beer.

Toss me a PM if you find a better home to share your knowledge. You will be missed.

summerprophet

Justin Turnbull
Head Guide, Central Washington Climbing Guides
Vice President, Central Washington Mtn. Rescue


P.S. Please respect my wishes as the OP, and avoid replying in bad taste. There are other posts for that bullshit.

I started the Lab years ago as a single thread. I fought for it to become its own forum. But it wasn't until I "hired" adatesman to run it that I saw my humble idea blossom into more than I ever expected.

And, at the moment, it sits in ruins.

I will stop posting in this particular thread, however.
Curt

Actually, you could stay out of it too.

When I praised his contributions, you said this:

...but when I try to show the other side of the coin, you complain. I will stop posting in this particular thread, however.

Curt

Sorry. I should have said "for a blatant personal attack on another user," (to use the exact language) which is certainly not something blondgecko mentioned.

However, Aric did abuse his authority by banning me from the "Lab" forum. According to ddt above:


Curt

Aric's degreening came about because (1) he requested it, and (2) he proved unable to rise above the fray and instead of stepping back or trying to defuse the situation, participated in its escalation

A few pertinent posts of yours from that thread - before you were banned, and before Aric's PM to you:

You got to be kidding right?
As someone on the outside looking in, DDT and blondgecko's comments are in line with one another.

As far as abusing one's powers, here is what you posted that got you a timeout before any intervention by DDT, you are taking his statement way out of context.
Calling someone short is relatively benign compared to referring to them as an idiot IMO

Right on Majid! I'm only showing up to wish Aric the very best! The recent Painted Bird exercise notwithstanding and best left undiscussed, thanks for some amazing work and pull tests Aric.

Hope you start up a blog with this stuff, and that the traffic you get makes you some serious scratch.

Warm regards

Bill

Aric did send me a page long email explaining how circuit melted down but he is going to get his own page and post his stuff again.I support his idea and look forward to help him with whatever.I am still pissed off over ninga boys and associates going after a guy who did nothing but serving the climbing community.

Every three months, we have an ebola outbreak with members attacking each other and I just do not understand it why these RC Hyenas and Lyons can't just leave shi* alone

Here, this how it looks in the real world

http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoaftMFx.html

To follow up.

RC.com is just a cesspool. To bad that such an internet address has been fouled. Daniel Du Toit will continue to drive this site into the ground.

Does anybody have his email address? Could you please PM it to me. Thanks.

Daniel may have over-commercialized the site, but he did not drive it into the ground. The users themselves are responsible for that. In another current thread, blueyedclimber complains about the signal-to-noise ratio on the site. But the fact is that the majority of the site's users don't want signal; they want noise. They live for it. It's why they come here.

If a user posts a question about whether his first pair of climbing shoes are too tight, it doesn't matter that it's the third time that the question has been asked that week. Simply ask the user to look at current threads, never mind actually do a search, and you are attacked left and right, while a plethora of users are all too willing to rehash the question yet again.

This site is all about the noise. Sure, there are steps that management could take to reduce the noise, but you really can't blame Daniel for not taking them. He's just providing a forum for what the majority of people want: blather.

Jay

Flaming someone who is in pain (or has a very common question about shoes), is willfully choosing to do battle. You are part of the problem of increasing noise.

I'm not out to flame anybody, Jay, even you. I just want to help people, even when those I'm helping need assistance with what I perceive as someone who is a bit of an internet bully.

Dozens upon dozens of people over the years have told jt512 he is a huge part of the perceived noise problem.

He's too proud to listen. He never ever looks in the mirror.

But he is certainly willing to impose his will on others. Oh yes, he will certainly do that.

DMT

Dozens upon dozens of people over the years have told jt512 he is a huge part of the perceived noise problem.

He's too proud to listen. He never ever looks in the mirror.

But he is certainly willing to impose his will on others. Oh yes, he will certainly do that.

DMT

Dozens upon dozens of people over the years have told jt512 he is a huge part of the perceived noise problem.
DMT

The problem is that people respond to jt512. By his 2nd post in any thread, it ought to be obvious that he should best be ignored.

Thanks a lot, Rob. If you really must hop on the bandwagon of haters, you might at least have the decency to be truthful.

Jay

1) Restore it, as before.
2) Nuke it--and transfer non-Aric vandalized threads to "Gear Heads."
3) ???

The lab is now dead.

This Lab forum was probably the only thing worth reading on a somewhat regular basis on RC.Com. thanks for the tests Aric, regardless of the methods and standards used, it was still interesting.