[BigUmp56]

Originally posted by LDUB



1. Who made you in charge of what is posted on the internet?

Well, Luke, As a man, a father, and a free born American citizen, I'm in charge of whatever is within my legal rights to feel I need to be in charge of. If I feel the need to try to get change implemented on an existing law, for example, it's my right to attempt to implement that change by any legal means I deem necessary, and call to my aid any who are of a like mind willing to help.

On the McGriffs issue, I did just that. I'm not in charge of Gary's forum, he is. He is free to do whatever he chooses, as am I. He chose to run a site that become a menace to the officiating community, and I chose to try to institute change to the operation of that menace.

Do a Google search on the word "umpire." The first hit you'll get is the Refferee Umpire Homepage. So, the first site an new umpire, or an umpire new to the internet will visit for asking questions will be that forum. Do you think it's appropriate that they find the debauchery that was taking place on that forum under some of our aliases? I know I don't. I believe someone on this forum called me a zealot.
I wonder if they understand what kind of good company that would put me in were it true.

I simply will not be swayed to feel apologetic for what took place. I believe myself to be a man of action. McGriff's was the first forum I found to post on, so that's where I started posting. After I was defamed in all sorts of profane manner, I simply chose to stand my ground and put up a fight. I could have gone running like a dog with my tail between my legs as others have, but that's not my style. I took a firm stand, and you need to live with it.

2. Gary has ads, so I assume he is making some sort of profit off the site. Who are you to blackmail him, causing the baseball portion of his forum to into disuse, inturn costing him income?

I won't get into the "who are you" discussion with you again, Luke. I will tell you that this is one of the less intelligent thing's I've seen you post. Do you really feel that the type of individuals posting on the baseball side of McGriffs were bringing him income? Most likely, they were costing him money. Sure, Gary needs traffic to turn a profit, but the kind of traffic he was getting was chasing so many people away, it had to become a losing proposition for him. You could tell from the writing styles and comments that there were teenagers frequenting the board. How many of them do you think purchase officials equipment?

3. If you wanted to take on an internet site, why did you chose the baseball forum of McGriff's website? There are many websites which make our society look much worse than that forum.

If I wanted to frequent an Aryian Nation board and all I found was baseball umpire talk, I might consider trying to get the site administrator to make some changes. If I wanted to frequent a board for homosexuals, and all I found was baseball umpire talk, same thing. The point is, I chose to frequent an umpires board and found both of the two aforementioned groups on it, and decided to try to get change implemented there.

4. Possibly the Google Youth Baseball Umpire Forum is more detrimental to umpiring that McGriff's forum ever was, for that group of Smitties you have assembled there makes us all look bad.

Perhaps, but before you shoot your mouth off and insult an entire group, I suggest you find out who it is you're insulting. If you want to insult me and call me a smitty, go right ahead, but some of the members of my board have obtained status within the umpiring community you could only hope to obtain.


Tim.