Tolkien Forums

LOL!

How was Rome? Been there myself - couple of years back, and went to the Colosseum, which was awesome.

Glorfindel, I personally don't agree with TF's policy on "inactive" accounts.  I can think of many situations that could easily lead to a month of inactivity.  In fact, one of my very good friends on the Plaza, who is also one of the site's most active members, was recently offline for two and a half weeks.  Was she being neglectful of the Plaza?  Had she chosen to abandon the site?  Quite frankly, no.  She had been helping to care for a sick relative, in a region in which she didn't have access to the Internet.  Had this lasted more than a month, and had she been a member here, she would have returned to find that her account had been deleted.  You may say that this is an isolated example, but I can easily give you many that have had RL issues that have kept them offline, of merely suffered from "burn-out".  These members may take some time offline, and then come back fully energized and ready to be once again active members, in some cases, more active than before.  Now, I'm not saying that the Plaza has the best system available, however, I still don't feel as if one month should be the "point of no return" on a members account.

I would also like to say that I have sat by relatively passively for quite some time now while some members here at TF have done everything in their power to make a bad name for the Plaza.  I pride myself on keeping a cool head, and being able to ignore it when other people don't.  However, I have quite frankly had enough of the repeated slander that I see against the Plaza almost every time that I log onto TF.  I am good friends with many people on the Plaza(including R/As), and I myself am a rather active member.  I came to this site because one of these friends (who is now an Admin here) suggested the site to me, and his word was sufficient to pique my interest.  When I arrived here, I immediately saw that promise that the site had, and I signed up the next day.  The site has grown nicely since (albeit a bit more slowly than I think some of you would prefer), and I have enjoyed having this new forum to visit.  However, I find this seeming obsession with the perceived inequities of the Plaza that some members here find the need to share quite blantantly to be very grinding, and I will quite frankly not take it any more.  I will not stand by as others defame people that I count among my friends.  In another forum here, Might mentioned that I am an Ent on the Plaza.  While this is not entirely true, you have still managed to rouse me, although I still do not post in anger.  I have taken almost an hour now, writing this post while at work.  You can be assured that everything said within this post is said with a level head, and not in rage.  I will say the following once, and once only.  If it comes down to coming here to TF and reading post after post of needless defamation of the Plaza and responding in turn, or to use that time posting where I have not-insignificant commitments elsewhere (ie, the Plaza), I will most assuredly choose the latter.