Please feel free to continue the topic that was started in Hutthunters limelight here. This is your one and only chance to get it all out in the open. But play nice! Myself and the mod team are keeping a close eye on things. I meant what I said about respect and if it gets out of hand then timeouts will be issued!

Thanks to everyone that has helped me with advice on purchasing or gaining knowledge of Star Wars figures. The information provided by the long-time collectors on this site has been appreciated. Thank you from a newer collector : ) I hope in small ways I added to the communication of the "circles" DT and "Mecc Fett".....
-Steve

PLUS: I absolutely value the contribution of those who are experienced enough to give superb advice and I dont mind when opinions are given, as more often than not, they are correct

I have just checked out the origins of this thread & it makes be very sad to think that the attitudes of what I hope is a minority of members, is driving away the old guard who got this site started & have provided a lot of valuable information.

I know Rebel Scum has lost a lot of its 'experts', & I would hate to see this site go the same way.

I got back into collecting 18 years ago and for much of that time I have had to do my own research using books (yes those things made of paper). When I discovered sites like this one & RS I was blown away by the wealth of information available & the way the community pulls together to help out fellow members with their questions.

Although I am a new member I have already noticed certain types of question & thread repeatedly comming up & ask myself why people don't do a search first, as most of the information is in the archive! So I can understand why the established members must get really tired of it! :noooooo: (Discussions about degredation vs variant being a prime example).

I also don't see the point in the increasing amount of petty arguing that goes on. If someone asks a question & doesn't like the answer, or has no respect for those more knowledgeable individuals trying to help, they should (to put it politely) go elsewhere!

New members should make an effort to add to the site, not detract from it!

Lets see if I can get the thoughts in my head to make sense here on the screen.

We've all been "The New Guy" at some point. And I recall being sorta put in my place back when I first joined RS for asking what I call "The Question", that being the infamous "Blue Snag" question. You know the one "I'm new to collecting and have seen this taller blue colored Snaggletooth. Is he rarer and more valuable than other Star Wars figures???" To which the responses ranged from very patient members saying the usual "It's not really rare but the value isa little higher than other figures yada yada yada...." to "I gave you a link to a figure archive in your last question idiot. Use it.!!"

Now in my defense back then, which wasn't tha tlong ago being Dec. 2009. My only defense is that at that time RS was the only forum of any kind I ahd ever checked out much less joined. I'm was a late starter to the game of internet boards. I didn't even know there was any such thing as a search function or that posts and threads were saved in the datatbase of the site. Totally amazing black magic technology to me at the time .

BUUUUUUUTTTT that was me and I'm in the extreme minority. Even someone new here probably knows how a board works and knows how the do a search. I recall someone being given an answer they didn't like and their response was someting like "Hey I'm new here but I'm an old collector of the Star Wars boy!!" I hate to sound like an eliteist but you have to know your place when you come into an established board.

My stumbling long winded pointless sounding point is. Collect what you like. Show it off and be proud. Spend 5 bucks or 555,555 bucks on a green suit jacketed Han Solo, BUUUUTTTT do your research, respect your fellow collectors, and don't be a dick if someone tells you your Bronze Limbed C3PO from Guam sucks and isn't a real variant or the holy grail of Bugga Bugga. And try and keep the threads you do start under one heading. And lets get back to debating weather Tri-Logos or US Kenner MOCs are cooler.

Paul

This is what I get tired of, "yes I know it's discoloration/degrading/repainted/fake, but I like it and I'll collect what I want and don't care what anyone says".

That just gets under my skin! Not because they are collecting what they want, but because by saying "I don't care what anyone says" they are automatically tuning out a whole community of help and advice! I haven't met a single person that is trying to tell someone else how to collect. There is a collector on RS right now that collect's paint app error figures and one that collects reject/damaged loose figures. And look at me, I collect Jar Jar Binks FFS! Sure, go ahead and collect what you want, no one cares. However, what people care about is helping and educating newer collectors. I can't speak for everyone, but I know it's upsetting to me to see a new collector come in, showcasing a figure that isn't anything more than a degraded figure, and finding out he paid 100's of dollars for it! To me, with a little bit of homework or asking some questions before hand, he could have saved himself a lot of money.

The other thing that really gets under my skin is when newer collectors come in and immediately fly in the face of what has been "accepted hobby terms/practices" for years, then they get upset when they get negative comments. The reason they get negative comments is because they come in with mouth open instead of their ears! Sure, have your theories, have your ideas, but also be ready to hear someone other ideas/opinions that may not jive with your own. Respect, it all boils down to Respect!

Lastly, please take your time! I cannot stress that enough! It takes time to be welcomed into a community and you are going to have to take your lumps. If you don't understand what I mean, just ask Wolff about when he first joined RS (he'll kill me for telling the story, but it's one that bears repeating). He came in flying in the face of accepted hobby terms and practices, got shot down and even got into an argument with one of the hobbies oldest collectors. However, instead of turning away from collecting entirely, he took the advice of others and did his research! Now look at him! He's a respected member of the variant community and has developed a COO guide that we all use to this day! Not only that but his research and knowledge into the production of the figures is a very good read.

As a more recent community member and afairly regular asker of dumb noobie questions, I have essentially two thought on this.

Firstly, sometimes asking dumb noobie questions doesn't mean you haven't done research. The problem with forums is that there are usually multiple threads on multiple forums covering the same areas. They are from diffrent time periods and involve people of differing levels of knowledge and while there is a lot of overlap there are also sometimes disparities and contradictions. Sometimes it's difficult to draw the correct conclusions (for me at least)

For example, I asked about some figures I thought might be Lily Ledy the other day. I had read the entirity of the LL thread on here (and found the LL guide at a German Star Wars forum and checked SWFUK) and had ruled out a whole bunch of figures but was left with four I wasn't certain about (based partly on conflicting information I'd found, but also because it's sometimes difficult to reconcile a feature with a description, i.e. how dark is 'dark'? etc)

It's reassuring to have someone who knows what they're talking about have a look and give you a definitive answer. Also, although you are imposing on others and asking for their time and effort, sometimes it will only take someone else an instant to know something that might take you a very long time to try and establish.

Having said all that, my second point is that, as has already been said in this thread. It is essential in any forum to have some deference and respect. There is an (earned) hierarchy based on expertise and/or longevity/experience. And people have developed friendships and roles within a community. Some people show up with amazing arrogance and a total lack of respect. They don't know who they're talking to but feel it's ok to make disrespectful and rude comments.

If you ask for an opinion, you should be grateful to get one whether it's the one you wanted or not. You should also respect the simple concept that you're asking a question because you don't know the answer, so to then tell the person proffering an opinion that they're wrong is not only rude and arrogant it's also absurd.

It makes me very sad the thought that in asking stupid questions I might be driving away respected and valued members of the community, and If my posting pattern has irritated or offended anyone here I apologise from the bottom of my heart. I hope that you'll just ignore me and not let me (or anyone else) put you off posting here.

Compared to most internet forums I've been a member of (and it's been a few) this is probably my very favorite and that is largely down to the people. This is a really cool community of friendly and helpful people and there's a frigthening amount of knowledge and expertise (that fully deserves the respect it isn't always given)

Sometimes I feel like the answer might be some kind of noob FAQ. I know that there is too much info to put together a guide that answers/explains everything (even Wolff has struggled with this and tht guy's a legend in my book) but it feels like the questions that are asked again and again, could be answered in a basic FAQ and then the senior members wouldn't find themselves having to trot out the same info repeatedly. I know that this would present a bunch of logistical hurdles in and of itself, but it seems as though, in principle at least, this would make sense?

-Jeremy

Discobob83 wrote:

Firstly, sometimes asking dumb noobie questions doesn't mean you haven't done research. The problem with forums is that there are usually multiple threads on multiple forums covering the same areas. They are from diffrent time periods and involve people of differing levels of knowledge and while there is a lot of overlap there are also sometimes disparities and contradictions. Sometimes it's difficult to draw the correct conclusions (for me at least)

Jeremy, I think this is an excellent point to make. I think a lot of folks however, don't do the research and just ask the question. When, in fact, if they looked a little bit, they would find that their same question was asked three topics below them. However, there are cases when you simply can't find what you are looking for. I think a simple way to go about that would be to preface your question with "I have looked all over the place for X and I just can't find it..." or "I have found X, Y and Z information, but it doesn't really answer my specific question, so I thought I would ask...". I think that would show a lot of people that you at least tried.

I'm not singling you out for this Jeremy, I'm just using your example to illustrate a point. I hope you don't take it that way.

Discobob83 wrote:

Having said all that, my second point is that, as has already been said in this thread. It is essential in any forum to have some deference and respect. There is an (earned) hierarchy based on expertise and/or longevity/experience. And people have developed friendships and roles within a community. Some people show up with amazing arrogance and a total lack of respect. They don't know who they're talking to but feel it's ok to make disrespectful and rude comments.

If you ask for an opinion, you should be grateful to get one whether it's the one you wanted or not. You should also respect the simple concept that you're asking a question because you don't know the answer, so to then tell the person proffering an opinion that they're wrong is not only rude and arrogant it's also absurd.

Another excellent point Jer!

Discobob83 wrote:

Sometimes I feel like the answer might be some kind of noob FAQ. I know that there is too much info to put together a guide that answers/explains everything (even Wolff has struggled with this and tht guy's a legend in my book) but it feels like the questions that are asked again and again, could be answered in a basic FAQ and then the senior members wouldn't find themselves having to trot out the same info repeatedly. I know that this would present a bunch of logistical hurdles in and of itself, but it seems as though, in principle at least, this would make sense?

-Jeremy

I think there is a FAQ here on TIG and a thread to ask those types of questions. But I think it's largely been ignored. I think it's a great idea, but I think a lot of people just won't read it. Which the same can be said for doing their own research, it just won't happen. Unfortunately.

cantina_patron wrote:

I know Rebel Scum has lost a lot of its 'experts', & I would hate to see this site go the same way.

It has already happend.....some are gone...some stopped collecting.....some were just driven away:

- Joe_O
- The Admiral
- Idefix13
- vintageSWfan (Dan)
- Plantman
- thegame-sw


Lee_M, Capetown, Del, Spoons, Shawn_K, Hyver barely posting here!


Did I miss someone?? Probably a lot.....doesnt matter....we miss a lot of people here IMO!!!

RebelChris wrote:

...........
If you don't understand what I mean, just ask Wolff about when he first joined RS (he'll kill me for telling the story, but it's one that bears repeating). He came in flying in the face of accepted hobby terms and practices, got shot down and even got into an argument with one of the hobbies oldest collectors. However, instead of turning away from collecting entirely, he took the advice of others and did his research! Now look at him! He's a respected member of the variant community and has developed a COO guide that we all use to this day! Not only that but his research and knowledge into the production of the figures is a very good read.

Welll...I collected over years on my own. Till I had reached a point where I couldnt get forward on my own! I was already educated a bit...even if the big fishes on RS didnt believe me...but theswca and other sites I knew long before I joined RS!

I dont hate you for mentioning it Chris...no worries, but I think I just couldnt handle some "arrogant snobs" that wether in these days nor today know more about loose then me....and never will!...
I agree...my arguments were unlucky these days.....and they just thought about me like I do on many people today.....so I can fell both sides today and know how it might have looked!

Anway...enough from that "old" stories!

Discobob83 wrote:

..........................
Sometimes I feel like the answer might be some kind of noob FAQ. I know that there is too much info to put together a guide that answers/explains everything (even Wolff has struggled with this and tht guy's a legend in my book) but it feels like the questions that are asked again and again, could be answered in a basic FAQ and then the senior members wouldn't find themselves having to trot out the same info repeatedly. I know that this would present a bunch of logistical hurdles in and of itself, but it seems as though, in principle at least, this would make sense?

-Jeremy

Well JJ....I told that "version" a thousand times I know....but I wasnt struggeling because I couldnt handle it or get it done....I struggeled because I hadnt the strength.....and I hadnt the strenght because a huge part of the community simply doesnt deserve it!
Sounds hard...but its a fact! I havent ripped of my ass for a bunch of unteachable and on the other side variant hating peeps!

Thats all......I am just in the middle of this whole issue. I feel like one of the last specimen of a dying spieces! I have to "fight" on both sides.......getting the variant people to common sense and getting the non-variant people to tolerant variants! Thats a fight that cant be won...on both frontiers and I am tired of this! Thats why there is and never will be a variant guide...a new coo guide.....etc......

I am doing small guides now...for friends....nothing more! Sharing completely out of all forums!

Thats sad...but its the "community" that brought me to it!



I have to be honest...I only use the forums for classifieds and pms.....reading and commenting goes to zero...like a lot of people do...and that has a reason!


on a sidenote: Jermey is one of the good ones. You can always ask me whatever you want JJ

It's surprised me at the level of rudeness and disregard shown here to the experienced guys who are just trying to help out.
It's true there's been a fair few older members who have stopped coming to TIG and it's sad to hear that good guys like JoeO and ChrisJ are also feeling this way too.

TIG has always prided itself in being a fun and close-knit forum and never used to be like this, so I wonder if it's because the forum has simply grown ( approaching 1000 members now ) and we're just seeing a broader set of personalities now?
On RS ( a much much bigger forum ) it's not uncommon to read slanging matches and sometimes out and out rudeness between different personalities. I guess maybe it's TIG's time for some of that now we're getting bigger and broader? But, really, is there any need or excuse for rudeness?

I've noticed there does seem to be a lot of what ChrisJ calls the "I want it now" mentality about here lately. Seems to be less people taking time to read old threads and getting to know the place before announcing: Look at me... Look what I've got! Then going out all guns blazing when someone doesn't agree with them. I wonder sometimes if even the new threads are being read properly - never mind the older ones. This is not a pop at anyone special just an observation.

On balance, I'd say that a lot of the new guys have shown common courtesy and brought some positive things to the boards. This is how it should be, even when our opinions or collecting styles are different.

imo this excellent thread should be made a sticky: http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t3379-everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-discolored-figures-but-were-afraid-to-ask But of course that depends on if people are going to be arsed to read it in the first place

Artoo_Detour wrote:

It's surprised me at the level of rudeness and disregard shown here to the experienced guys who are just trying to help out.
It's true there's been a fair few older members who have stopped coming to TIG and it's sad to hear that good guys like JoeO and ChrisJ are also feeling this way too.

I am also asking myself sometimes if I am invinsible???

RebelChris wrote:

Jeremy, I think this is an excellent point to make. I think a lot of folks however, don't do the research and just ask the question. When, in fact, if they looked a little bit, they would find that their same question was asked three topics below them. However, there are cases when you simply can't find what you are looking for. I think a simple way to go about that would be to preface your question with "I have looked all over the place for X and I just can't find it..." or "I have found X, Y and Z information, but it doesn't really answer my specific question, so I thought I would ask...". I think that would show a lot of people that you at least tried.

A proper introduction for any new question will help a lot. It would clearly show that the original poster did his homework. In a way that is showing respect to the community. Besides by doing so, the original poster shows he is an active member which deserves a serious answer, instead of being an one way knowledge consumer which can hardly be called an asset to the community.

wbobafett wrote:

Artoo_Detour wrote:

It's surprised me at the level of rudeness and disregard shown here to the experienced guys who are just trying to help out.
It's true there's been a fair few older members who have stopped coming to TIG and it's sad to hear that good guys like JoeO and ChrisJ are also feeling this way too.

I am also asking myself sometimes if I am invinsible???

Who said that? Yes, and Wolff! But heck don't add any more to the list! Anyway you'll be the last to leave, the forum will probably renamed the Imperial Wolffery or something lol

I’m not a huge computer user and had zero knowledge of collector’s forums and what not, most of my collecting years I have researched things using books and various websites, one of these was the Imperial Gunnery site, which I found valuable for weapon info and such. It was only later I discovered the forum and this was the first time I had ever been a member of a forum.
My first couple of posts where shot down, and in some respects rightly so. At that time I had been completely isolated in the hobby, with no collecting friends (bar one who only collected modern stuff and learnt everything he knew off me) and a toy shop owner who’s major field of knowledge lay in pin badges. I had know idea of the wealth of information available, but I soon learned and have since used it as a major part of my research.
I myself have asked a couple of ‘repeat’ questions, but in my defense I’ve been living in house moving limbo for the last 8 months and have had incredibly limited internet use, which has made back reading old posts difficult, so sorry for that, and believe me, when I finally get back online properly it’s first on the list!

I will also take this opportunity to thank the people on this site, many have been incredibly helpful and have become people who I not only respect but feel I can ask anything, no matter how daft, I’ve even made a friend, shout out to Pat! So it’s sad to hear the likes of Joe, Chris and the Wolff are thinking of leaving, as all of these people have provided me with a wonderful and helpful insight into the hobby and have always been Gentlemen about it.

As for the original thread question? Well I’m a variation collector, so sometimes you are confronted with the old, faded or variation question, Like I said before, until I joined here, everything I knew came mainly from books, so when you have known and respected writers listing tan limbed Klaatu’s and purple smock Ugnaught’s as variants, you don’t question it, until you speak to the real experts and then you do. So in some respects I can’t blame people for asking these questions, but at the same time’s thing do fall down to common sense.
Me personally, I have little interest in oddball stuff, but if that’s your thing then fine. I do own several discoloured figures and transformants, but they are for the sake of my Bespin Luke research and are for the purpose of discolouration examples (green boots, grey boots, white hair, translucent head etc.)

Is it possible for a ‘Oddball’ section in the main menu to keep the ‘Oddballs’ happy?

Artoo_Detour wrote:

It's surprised me at the level of rudeness and disregard shown here to the experienced guys who are just trying to help out.
It's true there's been a fair few older members who have stopped coming to TIG and it's sad to hear that good guys like JoeO and ChrisJ are also feeling this way too.

TIG has always prided itself in being a fun and close-knit forum and never used to be like this, so I wonder if it's because the forum has simply grown ( approaching 1000 members now ) and we're just seeing a broader set of personalities now?
On RS ( a much much bigger forum ) it's not uncommon to read slanging matches and sometimes out and out rudeness between different personalities. I guess maybe it's TIG's time for some of that now we're getting bigger and broader? But, really, is there any need or excuse for rudeness?

I've noticed there does seem to be a lot of what ChrisJ calls the "I want it now" mentality about here lately. Seems to be less people taking time to read old threads and getting to know the place before announcing: Look at me... Look what I've got! Then going out all guns blazing when someone doesn't agree with them. I wonder sometimes if even the new threads are being read properly - never mind the older ones. This is not a pop at anyone special just an observation.

On balance, I'd say that a lot of the new guys have shown common courtesy and brought some positive things to the boards. This is how it should be, even when our opinions or collecting styles are different.

imo this excellent thread should be made a sticky: http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t3379-everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-discolored-figures-but-were-afraid-to-ask But of course that depends on if people are going to be arsed to read it in the first place

I'm with you here Paul .

But i can also follw the old School guys . There is a lot of new people singing up just to sell stuff and nothing else .

And yes after almost two years on this great board i can see that the same ? pops up again and again .
But i was a newbie hare once and still am .

It was such a joy finding this place and getting to know all you nice guys . You had such a vault of knowledge . And it was AND STILL is a joy to learn from you .

When i went to RS , i did not know any one a there where so many people that i could not find out who was who .
And people where smart asses , rude and better knowing . So i sticked to TIG . Nice guys and nice atitude .

That is why i like to make post here with pictures and the little info that i can kick in .

The thing some of you talk about with the research , I find it hard to find info when searcing here and on RS . You have to know just what to tipe in to get what you seek . If you are a new guy and don't know just the right words , then itøs f... hard to find what you are lokking for . So sometime it's just easy to ask ...

Ps. I still have that problem even i google . And some times people dig up old threads here or on RS . And i think d... why did i not know that one was here . What great info . But hey i have to know what i'm looking for to find it


BTW: I love all you guys

Regarding what General Kahn has just said - I to often find it hard to find exactly what I am looking for when searching here/other forums & even google, someone on another none SW related forum I use once posted up a set of search criteria which is how to narrow down what you are looking for, this included such as one word minus another word/search for specific criteria/these words excluding another (there were about 20 differing searches) which was a gift from techno heaven, sadly I can't find the thread anywhere & since my old PC's motherboard went the way of the pear (as I had it bookmarked) its been so much more of a chore to search for exact information, is anyone that technically minded here & could possible share such a search guide with us less IT savey mortals.

I also love your idea & think it would be a great way to divide the stuff that's a chore for the old school members & none variant collectors - Oddball sub forum, for discolouration degradation variants & generally unusual stuff that may be of little interest to a lot, but what makes some live & breath, after all some collectors don't want to collect carded or boxed items for varying reasons, weather it be due to financial constraints/new to the hobby or simply that oddball stuff is what they like.

I am as guilty as others for asking sometimes what would appear to be an easy question, but its like riding a bike - easy when you know how, perplexing as hell if you don't & the Rancor Keeper thread of mine instantly springs to mind

One thing is for sure though & that's that - courtesy costs nothing!, so just try to keep it polite & if something get to you so much that you feel the need to vent, make it private not public, as only fools s**t on there own doorstep.

Quote :

One thing is for sure though & that's that - courtesy costs nothing!, so just try to keep it polite & if something get to you so much that you feel the need to vent, make it private not public, as only fools s**t on there own doorstep.

That's damn right!

Got a bad feeling that a lot of this stems from comments I have made on threads. My questions come from genuine interest in some strange looking figures I have. When I say "who cares about origins", I dont mean to offend people. It simply means, oh well its not a recognised variant, but I still enjoy it as a figure.

I wont be posting here if my comments cause such a negative vibe on the boards.

General Kahn wrote:

Quote :

One thing is for sure though & that's that - courtesy costs nothing!, so just try to keep it polite & if something get to you so much that you feel the need to vent, make it private not public, as only fools s**t on there own doorstep.

That's damn right!

Very, very good point. However, it works both ways too.

If you don't like the advice/comments/suggestions of someone posting on your thread, there are better ways of handling it than being rude in return.

Chopper wrote:

Got a bad feeling that a lot of this stems from comments I have made on threads. My questions come from genuine interest in some strange looking figures I have. When I say "who cares about origins", I dont mean to offend people. It simply means, oh well its not a recognised variant, but I still enjoy it as a figure.

I wont be posting here if my comments cause such a negative vibe on the boards.

I don't think this thread is aimed at any one person, Chopper.

I will be honest with you though, your comment last night about the purists got a little under my skin. And it's not because I consider myself a "purist" it's because there was a well written post right above yours and you seemed to completely ignore what was said before you and had a snippy little comment in reply. Grant it, it might have been read totally out of context by myself, which it probably was, that's why I didn't reply and decided to lock the thread.

Now that's not to say this is all your fault either. This is something that's been brewing under the surface for some time. And really, these types of things are good for the community as a whole.

What needs to be addressed is why this is happening more and more often. And why the flippant replies from all involved? That's the core of the issue really.

Chopper, like I said in the pm to you, this all started about 4-5 months ago. Newer guys come in and ask the whole forums opinion on something and dont like the response they get and want to start slinging shit to those they asked. Like I said last night, if you dont want to hear what others have to say, dont ask for it. Now that doesnt mean not to post or ask questions at all. Thats the only way you'll ever learn something about anything, is to ask. But when you get comments back, sit there and think about what was said and compare it to what you already heard or read on the subject. Learn from all angles of what your into and not have blinders on so you'll miss whats around you. This isnt aimed at you Chop. It goes anyone who thinks in that mind set.

As for searching here or RS. I found all those links Marco posted in the discoloration thread in about 5 minutes. It took me longer to write the pm to him than it did searching for links. If your looking for variations, type that in. or if you want a specific figures, put the name and variants at the end. On RS, you need to use the advanced search to find anything faster. That also allows you to search in just the vintage toys section. Its not rocket science, no offense guys. It just takes a second to get use to it. And if what your looking for doesnt come up, change the search title a tad bit. Sooner or later you'll find what your looking for. As for searching here, the easiest way I know is to search members posts in their profile. I had to do that with several threads I posted in just to find a specific thread. So if you know a certain member posted in it, look it up that way. But doing a regular search also brings up what your looking for, for me it does anyway.

My biggest gripe is what has been said already, the amount of the same threads being started on the same subject. I know for a fact last month there was 3 threads on the same thing on the first page. All it took was using the scroll wheel on the mouse to see it. Theres just no need in flooding the section with the same thing. And most of the topics if they arent on the 1st page, they are on the second. I have a habit of going back and reading old threads just to catch up on old news. Here its easy compared to RS since theres so much going on over there any time of day. It all stems back to learning how to search for a topic.

Gripe #2: The lack of respect for the older guys. Believe me when I say this, we were NEVER given the respect we have by anybody. We EARNED that respect and we did it the hard way, not by telling the ones who gave us the info we asked for that they dont know what they are talking about and that they are full of shit. We thanked them for the time they took to answer our questions even though they didnt have to. Like last night, I was thanked for the time I spent pming a member here on a question they asked. Did I have to stop what I was doing to look up an answer for him and responded back, not once, but twice? No, I didnt, but it was the matter of fact that he came to me to ask what he did. He showed respect towards me on that, and I did the same in return. I have more respect for him now for that than I do towards those who want to have temper tantrums.

As for members leaving or thinking about leaving. It is a shame that some are doing or thinking about doing it. I do have to say, I was thinking of it over the past couple months because of the attitudes going around. I know mines not the best, but I do play nice until someone gets under my skin. And Im not one known for holding back what I have to say either. But for all the variant collectors here, you lost a great source of info when Uli, Indefix13, left. If I had a question on variants, he wouldve been the first guy I went to to ask. Now, you dont have that soiurce no more. But it all boils down to 2 things, the amount of the same topics being repeated and the lack of respect being given to those who answer the questions. Thats why I was thinking of leaving. I didnt want to deal with disrepectful brats no more. Im sick of it. And with that said, that answers Chris' question on why its happening more and more lately. Its not the size of the forum or the amount of posts being made, its all about the lack of respect and the amount of useless posts and threads. I know of one post that gets made more than any others that absolutly gets on my nerves. I wont say what it is, but theres several here who know what Im talking about.

Last but not least...........Wolff. Yhea we all ignore you cause its fun. You damn German hippie Nothing but L&R, bro.

A few random thoughts...

There will always be new members posting retarded questions.

There will always be rude sacks of shit in the world.

I do enjoy the opportunity to discredit bullshit (Like I tried to do on Hutthunters Fett limelight)

I don't read or respond to stupid threads if its gonna piss me off.

I do enjoy reading and responding to the recent acquisitions thread, the bootleg thread, and any others that interest me.

I like my 4Tards bootleg buddies and chatting with them and of course DB, Tim, AJ, JoeY, JoeTxTech etc.

I will continue to collect whether there are forums or not.

I have made many true friends via the forums.

I hate to see good guys and knowledgeable guys leave the forums due to stupid fucks.

I would never leave the boards due to another member's post, opinions, drama, etc.

I drank too much Jack Daniel's already tonight and some glass art viewing


And finally to Wolff...

Man, you have so much knowleage and a massive collection. If I were you, it would please me endlessly to create an ultimate guide and keep it updated as a service to the community, and yes I know there are tons of assbags that will benefit from it, but the collectors that keep it "real" will love it and new collectors could learn from it.

Very well said Andy. Now pass that bottle of Jack so we can all feel shitty in the morning with you.

Thanks buddy.

I forgot a few..

I enjoy helping new guys because I was once one myself(no shit right).

II have a massive collecting addiction.

I love collecting Boba Fetts, Yodas, and Jawas the most!

I think Darth Vader is overrated.

Ok, that's about it

My "snippy little comment" has been taken out of context. It was tounge in cheek at best and was jestingly proposed to try and make a bit of a joke out of the situation. I dont take things too seriously when it comes to collecting as it is such a subjective focus for all of us.

I am a grown man who collect little plastic (in some cases fake rubber) men made in the 70's and 80's, how the hell can any one take me seriously !!!

The work done here to try and stop people getting shafted by greedy mo'fos on Ebay is awesome and greatly appreciated. Even by a snippy little shit like me !!!