a place where everyone knows your name

Wow I must be special... I heard about the new owner in pm...


Jake, you haven't seen the Doug to English translator in the secret FAQ section?


+1 on keeping the can closed. I'm better off without it.

DevilsBrew said:

I wondered why it got a little uptight around here.

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Yes, I have the same impression. I miss the friendly banter that was so prevalent just a few years ago. However, I don't think closing the Ash Can is the reason for it to go.

thanks, have a day[/quote]
Hey just glad I got it right! Was afraid I might offend.

BB, you used to have some fun in the can...way back. I think the tone was always somewhat crazy, but after the Kenyan entered office a lot of folks went off the deep end. When da moslum got re-upped....well, that was sorta the end for a lot of folks. If they were off the deep end before, now they were somewhere lost in space!

As a translation, that means civility is dead...I didn't kill it, but it's still dead.

the transition IMHO seemed seamless, like it didn't happen in a lot of ways. as for the ash can, cest la vie , sometimes I enjoyed it sometimes I annoyed it (and vice versa). don't really miss it much.

I think webby, fish , and the mods are doing a bang up job on the site. makes it easier to keep on with its primary mission, educating folks on all things hearth.

"have a day"

I totally missed the sale of Hearth.com. Craig, let me say thank you for creating a site that helped me along when I was stuck with pellet stove questions and other DIY question I may have had. Let me also say thank you to the moderators who have shared their knowledge so freely.

I have been spending time on other forums lately, learning to fix my Jeep, and I can safely say Hearth.com is one of the most civilized forums I have been in. Other forums are just rough and unfriendly.

Anyway, good luck, Craig.

I missed it too. I have been in the midst of massive change in my life so I guess I have been ignoring hearth.com for a while. I hope things don't change too much and hope Craig got what its worth.
Who got the hearth.com corporate jet?

Flatbedford said:

Who got the hearth.com corporate jet?

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Unfortunately we lent it out to a less than responsible pilot. Now I'm hearth.comless and jetless.....

webbie said:

Unfortunately we lent it out to a less than responsible pilot. Now I'm hearth.comless and jetless.....

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yeah but you upgraded to a drone! gotta be more fun than sipping merlot in the back seat!

Spent this week teaching the kids in "da hood" about aerial robotics. Brought a smile to a lot of faces.....now they are gonna have to learn about how to keep things running or else all the drones I left there will become a spare parts depot.....

Turned out the gals took to them better than the guys...one of them who flew like a pro told me her dad is over in Kuwait and ground crew for military aircraft. The other one wants to jump out of planes after she joins up.

Shots are Camden, NJ and Philly in the background of one.

I say give the can another go.

Never was a big fan of the AC . . . checked it out a few times, but never got anything out of it.

Webbie,
It is soooo cool that you are sharing with kids! Knew you had things to do

I really hope this site doesn't go the way of the long lost (and lamented) Garden Web... (sigh)

But happy for the industrious man who created the site I've enjoyed so much!

Can I vote twice to not open the can?


Really all it ever did was stir up a lot of circular arguments that generated resentment without ever changed anyone's mind about anything; and led to a big subset of users becoming so infuriated that their "side" could not "win" the argument that they had a mass pouting session and quit to start their own site. I'm embarrassed that I almost got sucked into the middle of that drama. Its best not repeated.

jharkin said:

Can I vote twice to not open the can?


Really all it ever did was stir up a lot of circular arguments that generated resentment without ever changed anyone's mind about anything; and led to a big subset of users becoming so infuriated that their "side" could not "win" e argument that they had a mass pouting session and quit to start their own site. I'm embarrassed that I almost got sucked into the middle of that drama. Its best not repeated.

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The Can was a healthy exchange of ideas and discourse. I enjoyed it as much as anyone. It was bad for hearth.com, though, because some very knowledgeable and helpful members felt driven away by it when they realized not everyone shared in their ideas. I miss their input and friendliness in the wood burning areas. But it is also interesting that they decided to go somewhere else than face different ideas.

In the U.S., political discourse is much different than in other places. Here people try to keep their spaces separated from their politics to preserve the peace. In other countries I have been in, political ideas are exchanged everywhere. Not sure which I like more.

vinny11950 said:

I miss their input and friendliness in the wood burning areas. But it is also interesting that they decided to go somewhere else than face different ideas.

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I miss those guys too, and in truth i go over "there" from time to time to say hello. What turns me off is when some individuals try to make things political and express there displeasure other specific individuals here whom I respect, then i step away. Thats the "mess" I was referring to I didn't want to get involved in.

BrotherBart said:

Useless drivel that heated nobody's house.

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A bunch of hot air that heated nobody's house?

Craig, I only found this post because I was wondering where you were. Good luck to you for whatever you decide to focus on next!

BrotherBart said:

Useless drivel that heated nobody's house.

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Some people got so worked up about the Ash Can they did not need to heat their homes anymore.

The problem with some "thinkers" - and I use that word in quotes for a reason, is that they think everyone sees things the same as they do. You know, the "right" way and the god-fearing way and the "moral way according to them".

That's dangerous thinking....but yet so prevalent. Sure, we all have opinions and are somewhat set in our ways...but at the same time when you are in other's company you need to act a bit differently...especially when those others are people from all over the country and world.

It really does come as news to many that the whole world is not like their local or even their internet circles.....

This community has been great - can or no can. Tens of thousands of people are constantly helped in being safer and more efficient in their burning. As others noted, the political discourse in this country has ground to a halt....from Congress down to Main Street. Yeah, I'll chat politics with friends....even republican friends. After a few minutes they usually tell me they believe in all the "liberal" ideas but are republicans because they are in business or because they think we need two parties, etc.....
Heck, my mom votes republican and loves Mitt Romney, Ronald Reagan and anyone else who looks like a movie star and has money.....

I don't spend much time on the interweb discussing politics because of the divisiveness. It's not like it used to be where you could actually exchange ideas - now it seems like people just taunting others with how stupid the other guy or gal is. However, there is one exception - I spend a lot of time on Quora (hey, goose is on there too!)...... this is a place where all the real questions of the world (including politics) are answered by real people who know things.
http://www.quora.com

To give you some examples.....well, our friend the majority whip (Eric Cantor) is/was on there personally answering questions. Someone asked what Obama is like personally, and the fella answering (or multiple people) actually spent hours alone with the Prez. Craig (of craigslist) as well as many of the famous folks from Silicon Valley, etc. are on there answering questions.

Now that's my kind of place!

C'mon down.......

Thank you for invitation !

webbie said:

The problem with some "thinkers" - and I use that word in quotes for a reason, is that they think everyone sees things the same as they do. You know, the "right" way and the god-fearing way and the "moral way according to them".

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That just about sets the tone, doesn't it?
Why hasn't this thread been trashed long ago?

velvetfoot said:

That just about sets the tone, doesn't it?
Why hasn't this thread been trashed long ago?

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Because it's my goodbye thread?

Like "you won't have Nixon to kick around any more"

Here are some interesting questions from Quora:

"I am in my early 20s, earning between $110-180k/yr depending on my bonus. Would it be inappropriate for me to drive a $50k Mercedes-Benz?"
"Are internet forums dead?"
"How do I become a "deeper" person or "a person of depth"?"
"How can people become good writers?"
"Is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand worth a read?"
"Should I continue to work if my parents are worth hundreds of millions of dollars?"
"What is the most energy efficient mode of transportation?"
"I am angry, irritated and frustrated most of the time. I've been feeling this way for over a year now. I hate myself being this way. How can I control this?"

Of course, this is just a sample from my "feed".
The neat thing is that you can personally get real world advice...ask experts! I've done this with some big time lawyers on there - asked them about a copyright infringement, etc. and received answers which would have cost a lot of money elsewhere!