No, what I really think is that a few people who are dog savvy have showed up, and sort of taken control of the direction of this forum, and I think it has "torn up the playhouse" of a certain few, hence the complaints.
Now, see, I totally agree that there are some very dog savvy people that post here, but I don't see the information, advice or opinions that you guys post as "taking control", at least not in any kind of negative way. And I would hope that no one else would see it that way - that you were trying to drive the forum in one direction or another.
I think that, at least in my personal opinion, we look to different members of BPO for different things. I know that a lot of us look to our resident experts for advice and more "technical" kinds of information, if you will. Red, I don't necessarily expect you to join in on a conversation about sleepovers, friendship bracelets, or eating dogs brains, LOL!
And no one expects me to step up and be an expert on breeding, training or brucellosis.
But, I think there is room for both kinds of conversations. Just like sharing your life with a dog, BPO is sometimes sad, controversial and serious, sometimes light-hearted, funny and random. I think we need our blunt, tell-it-like-it-is people just as much as we need our feel-good, make-you-laugh people.
I just feel like as long as we are all considerate and respectful of each other, there is room for us all, even when we disagree. Yeah, I would probably get my feelings hurt if someone came right out and said to me, "Ranger is a ticking timebomb, and should be put to sleep for the good of all humanity, and it is all because you feed him cheap dog food" or "Ranger is an ugly, badly behaved, example of why a Saint Bernard and a Brittany Spaniel should never be allowed in a room together with a bottle of wine", but I would also probably tell that person that I thought their tact could use a brush-up and we would deal with it one-on-one, rather than impact the whole board.
I just feel bad that some folks are getting slammed for trying to give honest advice in the most tactful way that they can - just as I would be hurt if someone went behind my back to say "You know, Marsi is really offensive to me because she can never be serious". And, I would be VERY sad to learn that people were being unfairly accused of things by other people that wanted to make BPO all one way or the other...
