RaceCraftBearings said:
Humm what a boring and useless topic, even if it is read by Marty I very seriously doubt that he will ever respond to it or for that matter make a post on IW! As a matter of fact he has not been here since he first signed on 3 days ago.
This is IW lets keep it that way, please?
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Ron:
Yes, I probably will reply.
I appreciate some of the very generous kind words that I read on this thread.
Many of you that know me, know that I seldom have been known as Mr Personality or one with a lot of "tact". I am the kind of guy who tends to skip the BS and cut to the chase.
The Listbot, with it's 1800 or so members was something that I started for one reason. I wanted to give somthing back to the hobby that had been so consuming and good for me for 25+ years. It is no easy chore to keep 1800 model boaters (most of which are very competitive) in any sort of reasonable order. I decided from the start that I wanted to be able to know who I was talking to - the reason for the full name requirement. The Listbot served as a valuable mechanism to distribute information and experiences. It still does.
The RCboat.com website was even more specific and was set up for 2 reasons ONLY. It was set up to efficiently organize my experiences and in many instances, my mistakes (I am one that learns better from mistakes than from inovation). The second reason was in order to make the Engine Analysis Software available. The Late Tom Grannis and I developed the software for our own use and it was such a valuable tool, that we decided that it MUST be made available to everyone.
The Web Hosting company that I use costs me $200 per month and has for MANY years. Do I make $200 a month from the Software - HECK NO. Not even close. I decided long ago to do this for the hobby as some sort of payback for all the great years of enjoyment.
As for the few people who have had trouble with me over Listbot Etique, I can say that there have not been a lot. I have always used the approach that if I have a problem, I dispatch it quickly and move on. I used to get all upset and get in a P'ing Match" with people. I have long ago stopped doing that. It made me HATE the forum and the interchange.
As many of you know, I decided a while back to retire from boating. Had nothing to do with health, old age, etc. I was just kind of used up and the preparation that it took to compete on the highest level was taking a toll. I also had moved to Florida and the situation here was in turmoil. I didn't want to get involved with that. I "bleed IMPBA" and wasn't willing to make that change. I still enjoy helping people with questions and occasionally get involved with a discussion which I might be able to contribute.
Regarding Brian Callahan and past experiences with a couple people: The Listbot belongs to both Brian and Myself now. I told Brian several years ago that when I decided to get out of boating, I would let him run the Listbot. He has not really been able to do that at this point. He is in the final presentation of his Doctorial Thesis and won't be complete for a couple months. He also got married and will be seeking employment after he completes school. I think that maybe Brian has a little thinner skin than I have in his Listbot Management Style. It took me a while to develop my style and I am sure it will take him some time also.
I have watched Tom take this Forum and develop it extremely well. The open style of the forum is great and I am sure nice for people to let their hair down. Tom has his style and I do also. Not that one is any better than the other, just different. I have enjoyed looking around as a "fly on the wall" and seeing many interesting discussions.
One thing I did not understand was someone saying that I was just interested in making a lot of $$$ on the Listbot or RCboat.com. NEVER has been that way and NEVER will be. I have never charged anyone that I featured on the Listbot or RCBoat.com a dime for being on there. I put them on, IF I thought that other boaters should know about them. I almost forgot that I did have a couple other links that went to short term things that I tried to sell (Ceramic Bearings). Maybe that was the reason for the statement. When we helped Boca develop them (Ackerman, Sparks, Kramer, etc), we thought that they were something that were going to be awesome for us. Didn't turn out that way and I turned my attention to other areas.
The Prop Duplicator was another item that we kind of fell into. One of my close friends figured out how to make a mold of my best props and thus be able to create a duplicate. I again decided that I wanted to make my best props available to everyone who wanted them. Couldn't do it free, so I charged enough to make it pay for itself and a little more. I have sold that item to Frank Bonnano and he is adding new props and I sent him some special, special props which he made molds for.
If you are really working at the hobby, it is very satisfying to give away the technology which was developed by you and your close friends. Anyway, if you did that, it made you work harder on new projects. Elevated the entire hobby and let more creative ideas be developed.
I can tell you that I usually don't write a lot of "blather" like this, but when I see people cutting me, and saying things which are not true it makes me HAVE to respond.
Well, anyway, thanks for letting me vent on this.
Marty Davis, Newbie
