Grateful Dead

Nobody asked for it, but am going to say it anyhow. Not right, and not fair Anna!! Gonzo's decision is his own resposibility, and his alone. I think your going after specific people, and especially your accusations agaist marye are in poor taste. Gonzo could have done several things, talked to Badger directly about how he felt, being the first one. As you said, he has been communicating for many years on this forum, and if he is that quick to take offence and withdraw...that is his own choice. Nobody MAKES anybody do anything!! Such accusations are childish.

whaddya mean you didn't pay me, badger? i have the goddamn receipt!right that's it; mary, i want you to terminate my account. i don't have to take this from a black and white furry space heathen.........

Well I certainly had no intention of driving Gonzo away and am not convinced that I did….my post was only meant to be a mild riposte to the bucket of icy water he was pouring over the festive season and our collective futures. If you post stuff like that then surely you must be ready for a response, and I really don't think mine was nasty. Gonzo may be a Buddhist, but I don’t see whow that comes into this…it certainly hasn’t stopped him posting some pretty combative and provocative stuff in this place at times, and facing down some strong reactions. Based on that, I assumed that he was big enough to take an amiable poke in the ribs and cheer up a little. If he wasn’t then I am sorry, maybe it is that Brit sense of humour going astray over there again, or perhaps inadequate skills in amateur psychology. You know Gonzo has threatened to quit many times before…I am sorry he is not here, I enjoy his contributions and I hope he comes back.By the way Anna, if not me then I think you do owe Ted an apology, his comment was a powderpuff compared to mine. Also accusing Marye of favouritism is unfair….I am confident she would be as quick to set me right if necessary as she would anyone else. Also, before anyone suggests it, I did not pay Jonapi or provide him with any other favours to write his last post.

"i quit my job at the helium factory...i refuse to be spoken to in that tone". for me personally, this seems a wee bit blown out of all proportion. there's no need to take sides or pit one against the other. i don't know Ted or the badger or gonzo in person, only through our witterings in the forum; all have taken the time to respond to things i've written and given their honest opinions. i'm sure gonzo realises that the post he made on New Years Eve looks a little more negative then he probably intended. i understand where he's coming from and i would hazard a pretty good guess that he wanted everyone to think a little more deeply. nothing the matter with that; i agree with him. but he has recently been posting more 'downer' pieces and sometimes that gets frustrating to read; i should know, i do it myself occasionally!! (as the badger can attest to!). so every so often others do the good service of speaking their own minds and reminding me/us to snap out of it or reign it in a little. it's all good dialogue between friends we haven't met yet. i'm sure gonzo is old enough to make his own decisions; from what i know through PM'ing him and corresponding through the topics, i reckon this little matter wasn't that big of a deal that he would truly take this all to heart. he must've been tiring of the forums a for a wee while anyways and this was just a little prompt. we all miss him and if the spacey badger and Ted (not sure why he's been dragged into this as an instigator of 'neggie' behaviour!! he only said he was going to catch a show!!), really wanted to blast someone and make them feel bad, they could have done a much better job ha ha!!! i thought badger's post was quite reasonable and wasn't a hatchet job on someone's beliefs and reason for living; he's right that a lot of people in terrible poverty in unforgiving situations make the best of it and come together to share that wonderful sense of community that makes life more tolerable. i read his post as more of a guffaw and nudge to 'lighten up' a little; nothing the matter with that. i wouldn't consider his words intending to "chase away a good guy". that's a little overly dramatic. gonzo will be back when he's ready i'm sure. if buddhism is so close to everyone's hearts, then surely using it to forget and not worry about such triflingly inconsequential matters as this is one of it's purposes. and remember, mary is not 'just' a moderator. she can have opinions too!! she is allowed! lets move on folks and put behind all this silly tosh. life's too short.

Just because you know GTed and CosmicB really well and like them does not mean that somebody can not point out the obvious, as others have wanted to know the reason he left. Personal attacks are not OK. Your OPINION that this is a guilt trip is overstepping as the moderator.

obviously spammers and other bad actors get their accounts nuked, but bad behavior is their own choice too...

people's decisions to be here or not be here are theirs and theirs alone. I am sorry that Gonzo, who is a responsible adult, decided to leave, and I hope he comes back, but attempts to guilt anybody in this conversation for his response are out of line and unacceptable. He's welcome back any time he wants to come back.

Shame on the both of you for chasing Lamagonzo away. Yeah, he was negative a lot of the time but he was a Buddhist like me and he knew his GOGD. He was the political life of this site. He held down the National Affairs Desk in the TATB thread and did a damn fine job. I am proud to say he is a friend of mine. His last post spoke of the suitability of his comment to this site. His second to the last post was positive, he wished you both a happy new year, but his next to the next last post was very important. The historic Buddha's last words before his Parinirvana (death) were on impermanence. He said that of all the animal's footprints, the elephant's was the largest. Of all meditations, that on impermanence is the greatest, most important. That was his point. You both had to chime in with neggie comments that made him feel really bad. He took his own words to heart and deleted his account. Thanks for chasing away a great guy who had been around 4 and 1/2 years! (explative deleted)

and especially to those for whom the past one has been really hard, here's hoping the new one is a whole lot better.

Do have a good year. You go your way, I'll go mine. I must have been insane for a moment posting that on the official Grateful Dead site. Please do forgive me.