For My Friend Kath

If you do not know what CKMB is this will be of no importance or understanding to you.. if you DO know what CKMB is then you hopefully will read and understand why I posted this. My long time chatting buddy Kath chose to finally address many of the issues that were hurting many of us old CKMB chatters... knowing how thing "run thier course" at CKMB the post will be pulled before it gets read or understood. I have so much more I could say in addition to what Kath wrote, but I will just leave this for now and let her know that I support her and I know exactly how she feels. CKMB was very important in my life and that apparently means nothing to some people. Fortunatly I know who my true friends are. Kath, this is for you:
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Joined: 01 Jan 2000
Posts: 11745
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:08 pm Post subject:
It was a long time coming...
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I don’t know how many folks remember me – I started on this mb in 2000, and
used to be a real high-numbers poster – I practically lived here. I left,
unofficially, about six months ago, and haven’t seen or heard of a ‘whatever
happened to…’ post about me since. I do keep up with the goings-on over
here, and have tried to tentatively step back in a time or two, but it is
with great regret that I find that this is no longer a place I want to be
associated with, much less spend time with.
In the coming months, "Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker’s Soul" will be
published, and in it will be a story from me about this mb – a story about
how we pulled together as a group to help someone in need. That’s the mb I
will remember and miss – the one where we had Early Bird coffee together,
played on the beaches at the Cabana Boy parties, met for afternoon coffee,
chatted with the night owls, scrapped all day in our jammies, and partied
all day when QVC was on and we were spending tons of money – together. We
saw each other through marriages, moves, illnesses, births, and deaths.
It seems that CK has created a new message board that is totally devoid of
history and that history was HUGE for many people. In CKMB's quest for a new
beginning, they have wiped the board clean and started over and created a
whole new environment and it seems that is exactly what they wanted. In
doing this, they have disbanded former bonds that had been created that were
very important to people and made new rules and guidelines for their new
"city". It IS very apparent that CK is after new blood. Yes, they are
providing some nice new attractions like the gallery, contests, spotlights,
etc, but in doing this, they didn't ADD to what they had but seem to have
deleted all the old, for the new. They have created a totally new board and
I think that is what they wanted.
The people who have been on this board 5+ years in some cases and thousands
of posts, have been swept aside and they were the people who made this board
what is was and who promoted this board, CK products and its' projects.
Scrapbooking is about history, first and foremost and they have recreated
the history to their satisfaction.
The layouts being picked for POTD, although mostly very good work, seem to
come predominantly from new members who aren’t very involved in this
community and seem to be from more professional-type scrappers than true
newbies who have just now joined the mb for fun and companionship. If they
are going to spotlight someone, I don't think it's too much to expect them
to CONTRIBUTE to the MB so that people can learn to do some of the things
they do and get to know them. Members of other message board communities are
putting their LO's out there for one reason- to have CK pick them up for
publication. Period. That is their goal. Is it wrong? I don't know but
again, I think CK will drive away others if they continually do this and
never recognize people that are faithful to the ck community at large. Also,
many of them are not the type of scrapping that the "average" person who
buys CK, does. What is wrong with sometimes picking LO"s that are just
pretty or have techniques that people might want to try that don't involve
going to 10 classes to learn or spending a lot of money in extra
embellishments?
I think the "hostess" needs to be more tactful and I also think the board
should not revolve just around her, which it seems to do now. The relentless
banning of anyone who speaks, even mildly, against this mb, or questions the
guidelines or CK authority figures only enforces the feeling that a whole
new board with all new members is the goal. The guidelines have been tossed
aside and members are being banned with no warning, nor are they given an
explanation as to why they were banned. If those in authority don't follow
their own guidelines, they can't expect their membership to know what is and
is not allowed from one day to the next. If this continues, the board will
be in the same boat a couple of years down the road, and the search will be
on once again for what made this community the family it used to be. When
will they see that it's not the moderators or the hostess or the guidelines,
but the members who posted here that made it a warm and welcoming place.
Many of those family members were banned, and those who weren't banned have
left home. The CK board will never be the same again.
Frankly, I think ck could care less what people think as long as their
revenues are up.

http://www.nanascrap.blogspot.com/