It's been a long week for the board and us moderators. We've had to deal with about 5 or more separate issues simultaneously. We've spent a tremendous amount of time online trying to put out fires. We've been insulted, told we don't deal with the problems well enough, had people criticize every single move we've made, and seen our friends leave the board despite our best efforts to deal with everything. We've spent an inordinate amount of time online trying to deal with everything, to the point of neglecting our homes and families.

Here's the last word: We are doing the best we can. Period. You cannot please all the people all the time. Our rules stand as they are, and we will NOT apologize for sticking to them. This includes confronting people when they send extremely rude messages privately. It is CLEAR in our rules that such behavior will not be tolerated. The fact that people are upset that we would do this shows how we are "darned if we do and darned if we don't," because other people have complained that they don't like this board because people send them rude PM's insulting them for what they have posted. Then when we actually try to crack down on this, we are criticized for being too "Big Brother." Kind of a Catch-22!

If you don't like our rules, or the moderators, or the way we handle things, you have two options.
1. Stay, and be kind and considerate, rather than publicly undermining the moderators on this board.
2. Leave. If you don't like our decisions or the kind of board we run, then why stay and criticize it? People should go where they feel most comfortable. If it is not here, then it is not here. The internet is a big place with lots of options, so there is no need to make people feel bad for doing the best job they know how. We would really appreciate some understanding as we deal with hard issues. It is hard to do your best when 90% of the things people tell you about the job you are doing are negative, even though what you are doing is trying to reconcile people and issues.

With all the negative drama of the past week, we?re also extremely grateful for those who have stuck with the board? and not just through this, but through all that a constantly growing and bustling community like the AGFB must go through. The support received is most meaningful- really shows you what kind of a friendly, almost family like atmosphere can come out of a shared passion for AG. Very thankful for that.

Lastly, for clarification: We are all against slavery. Anytime, anyplace. We are sorry that ANYONE thinks otherwise. The written word can be misinterpreted but we hope this makes it abundantly clear.

This is the last word on slavery, name calling, rude PM's, the rules, and our authority to delete or lock any thread we deem necessary.