about the NYC meetup

[bigvalboy]

I hate apologies. To me they are simply words on paper usually intended as damage control. I prefer a face-to-face apology so your intended audience can see the sincerity of it in your eyes.

 

If you could see my face now, you would ALL know that I am truly, truly sorry for my participation in the events that led to management closing the NYC meeting thread and subsequently Eric's decision to suspend plans for it.

 

It was something that should not have happened and it wouldn't have had I know who I was dealing with, a person that was a member for a brief period, felt undervalued and left out, made the decision to leave in a Grand exit, and requested his profile be deleted. But he held a grudge, especially towards ME, as he perceived me as some "ring leader" here, thus reinventing himself and coming back, debuting in the NYC thread where he immediately called members out for being a clique and excluding him. I knew something was off with him, but couldn't put my finger on it, and gave the benefit of doubt and engaged him, but no matter how I tried to convince him he was not being excluded, he continued to feel he was and blamed ME and my merry band of supporters... Once I saw things were off and getting out of hand, I publicly addressed him and said I would no longer communicate with him. This seemed to set him off and he transformed from the self proclaimed, shy, meek awkward loner, into the ballistic, vulgar buffoon he was the first time around, unleashing profane comments on me in his final posts, forcing admins to close the thread. He then attempted to start another thread to continue his attack on me, but admins shut it down immediately.

 

But this is not about him, its about ME and my blame in the event, which I accept 1000% With that said, I sincerely apologize to Eric Hassan for detouring his plans. He is a great guy with a greater heart and meant well.. To EVERY member of the site who viewed the event and was made to feel awkward, uncomfortable or outraged, to anyone who may have participated in the event and are now missing the opportunity, and to the admins: Daddy, deej and Cooper for forcing them to make yet another uncomfortable and unnecessary decision to lock a thread because its participants cant behave themselves. Whether you like me or not, are a fan of my posts or not , I OWE YOU this apology. And I do appreciate being allowed to participate here. I am embarrassed that I once again allowed myself to go to that place with a person with whom I just couldn't get along, and for behavior unbecoming to Daddy's site. I thought I was past that, but apparently I wasn't. Live and hopefully Learn.

 

I truly hope that once the dust settles you can all once again accept, and allow my participation here.

 

Sincerely,

 

JJ / Alyn

 

Excellent post...

[+ newatthis]

...Perhaps the way ahead is for any future discussion between you and any other planners you want to link with to be off-line, then post 'date, time, location, who's coming' with no debating of the details, just yes or no.

The oldest and most successful of these meetups has always worked that way...Oliver announces what, when, and where. Whatever consultations he has in arriving at those are not public.

[+ José Soplanucas]

I hope @Eric Hassan feels all the support here and regains his initial enthusiasm for the project.

[whipped guy]

I hate apologies. To me they are simply words on paper usually intended as damage control. I prefer a face-to-face apology so your intended audience can see the sincerity of it in your eyes.

 

If you could see my face now, you would ALL know that I am truly, truly sorry for my participation in the events that led to management closing the NYC meeting thread and subsequently Eric's decision to suspend plans for it.

 

It was something that should not have happened and it wouldn't have had I know who I was dealing with, a person that was a member for a brief period, felt undervalued and left out, made the decision to leave in a Grand exit, and requested his profile be deleted. But he held a grudge, especially towards ME, as he perceived me as some "ring leader" here, thus reinventing himself and coming back, debuting in the NYC thread where he immediately called members out for being a clique and excluding him. I knew something was off with him, but couldn't put my finger on it, and gave the benefit of doubt and engaged him, but no matter how I tried to convince him he was not being excluded, he continued to feel he was and blamed ME and my merry band of supporters... Once I saw things were off and getting out of hand, I publicly addressed him and said I would no longer communicate with him. This seemed to set him off and he transformed from the self proclaimed, shy, meek awkward loner, into the ballistic, vulgar buffoon he was the first time around, unleashing profane comments on me in his final posts, forcing admins to close the thread. He then attempted to start another thread to continue his attack on me, but admins shut it down immediately.

 

But this is not about him, its about ME and my blame in the event, which I accept 1000% With that said, I sincerely apologize to Eric Hassan for detouring his plans. He is a great guy with a greater heart and meant well.. To EVERY member of the site who viewed the event and was made to feel awkward, uncomfortable or outraged, to anyone who may have participated in the event and are now missing the opportunity, and to the admins: Daddy, deej and Cooper for forcing them to make yet another uncomfortable and unnecessary decision to lock a thread because its participants cant behave themselves. Whether you like me or not, are a fan of my posts or not , I OWE YOU this apology. And I do appreciate being allowed to participate here. I am embarrassed that I once again allowed myself to go to that place with a person with whom I just couldn't get along, and for behavior unbecoming to Daddy's site. I thought I was past that, but apparently I wasn't. Live and hopefully Learn.

 

I truly hope that once the dust settles you can all once again accept, and allow my participation here.

 

Sincerely,

 

JJ / Alyn

 

Excellent post...

 

It takes a big man to post such an apology! You may be one hell of an unorthodox poster here, but you have proven yourself to be "BIG" when and where it really counts!

 

Consequently I emphatically echo what BVB said!

[rogerG]

There are one or two people here who really ruin the board experience for me. I have no idea what I should do about that. I'm not putting any money on apologies, because rarely do I ever see a selfish man change his behavior.

 

I was almost ready to commit to going to the NYC gathering. For me, it doesn't really matter where it's held. I love Eric Ripert's cooking, but I also think a picnic in Central Park would be fun. Anything in between is fine with me, too.

 

It seems to me, in order to make NYC a fabulous place for a special gathering, you need the equivalent of what makes Palm Springs so much fun. A penthouse apartment with Central Park views, featuring a rooftop pool and a retractable ceiling is not easy to find. Perhaps there's a wealthy lurker here who has the goods, who will step up to the plate and offer to host. I have a feeling most people would appreciate privacy, but when you talk about exclusive NYC real estate, true privacy is difficult to get. Oh well, a girl can dream.

 

Thank you for the effort, Eric.

[+ WmClarke]

There are one or two people here who really ruin the board experience for me. I have no idea what I should do about that.

Use the "Ignore" feature.

[+ WilliamM]

It was something that should not have happened and it wouldn't have had I know who I was dealing with, a person that was a member for a brief period, felt undervalued and left out, made the decision to leave in a Grand exit, and requested his profile be deleted.

 

First, excellent apology.

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation above, jj. I was not aware that the person with whom you argued was only a member for a brief time. That was the one missing piece for me.

[whipped guy]

We have learned from this thread that all of us here are human and have certain foibles, and it is sometimes challenging to control one's emotions when placed in a difficult situation. We have also learned that some come here with agendas that are not always noble and that it is usually desirable simply to ignore such types. Furthermore, and most importantly, We have learned that it is always best to reserve judgement until one knows the proverbial "rest of the story".

 

Other than that it was just a tyical day in the zoo that we call The Forum...

[+ purplekow]

Sorry to hear that this has been tabled.

Eric, if you decide to resurrect this great idea, please seek out a few helpers.

There are many unique NY properties which can be had for a reasonable fee which might be perfect for such a gathering. Of course there are even more places which can be had for a totally unreasonable fee.

Of course, renting a location would require not only a verbal commitment from the guests, but a monetary one as well. At least, that would allow the host to eliminate the wheat from the chaff.