Over the past few months I've been dealing with a handful of problems, that has caused me to be less active not just on these forums, but in playing Go and other games (yes, including SC2 and other things) as well. I'm not sure when I can absolutely resolve these problems, but until then I'll have to take an absence from these forums. I'm making this post public because I'd like to say a few things to the L19 community and to a handful of members specifically before I bounce:

To L19:
The way I handled myself as a moderator here was not satisfactory. I'm one of the most frequent posters on this forum, and yet if you look through a history of my posts you'll find a lot of it to be non-contributing, unrelated, trollish, and sarcastic. It's almost shameful comparing my posts to someone else's like John Fairbairn and many others. I wouldn't be surprised if some people went so far as to blacklist my posts. I was one of the earliest members to join this forum and become a mod, and yet I think it's safe to say I've made very little contributions to the growth of this forum. I hope that, if I ever do come back here, I will not only be a more active user, but also actually contribute and do more for both the L19 and the Go community overall.

To stalkor, ASR admins:


To Magicwand, observers of my Malkovich games:


To Joaz, venkman, participants of the L19 tournament:


To John Fairbairn:


To HKA:


To EdLee:


I was debating whether to just PM each individual their respective message instead of posting it here, but since none of these messages don't contain anything sensitive or private I decided to just save time and post like this instead. Some of what I say to the specific members may apply to anyone else I may have forgotten as well who were affected by my postings. A bit of me also has a desire to make it clear to others that I don't have bad blood against some of the people I've argued and insulted in the past and brighten my image up a little, as prideful as it is.

Peace L19.

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金角银边草肚皮

Araban,

Araban,

Before you indulge in too many apologies and too much self-debasement, please remember that you are well liked here ( second highest number of likes ). You are one of the handful of people on my always-read-his-posts list.

I wish you luck in whatever new ventures you are going to be focusing on, and - I think that I can speak for everyone here - we will happily welcome you back should you decide to return.

Best wishes,
Joaz

I totally disagree. You are one of my favorite posters on the site. If you play a malkovich game, I'm always sure to follow it. Your go problem series from before was one of my favorite parts of the forum.

In go analysis discussions, if there are a handful of posters, I usually jump ahead to read yours first.

If anything, I wish you posted more. If your posts were ever lacking in go content, they were made up for by entertainment value.

I highly respect you as a go player, and hope you will reconsider when life gives you the time.

By the way, this doesn't have anything to do with causing anybody to harm their mother, does it?

My first reaction is this. May you sort out whatever difficulties you have (like a boss), so that you may continue posting here (your posts here have been both hilarious and informative [even the post you seemed ashamed of where you called out Fairbarn]).

Solomon - it takes a statement like that for me to completly agree with Kirby. It is indeed NOT safe to say such a thing, in fact it is highly, highly dangerous, combustible and flammable to suggest such a thing.

While my favorite poster here will always be John Fairbairn, it is impossible to make a list of the folks who have made the most contribution to the success of this forum, and its predescessor, without having you on it. I daresay you would be first on many lists, and if some folks might argue alternatives, they would also have to admit that you are a defendable choice.

Our relationship, off to a great start one surprise night in Catonsville, has been undeniably stormy. Everyone needs to understand - I stand in what I hope is the middle of of my life as a go player. - with 25 years behind me and hopefully 25 more years ahead. I have passionate views about where we have been and where we should go. And I look for the young people who might take us there.

And so, when I meet amazing young people like you I have a tendency to attach to them, and hope - stonelike - they will become stronger. I know I have explained this before, but my capacity to become upset with someone is in direct relationship to how highly I think of them. If I did not have such great respect for you, you would not be able to upset or disapoint me.

Selfreflection is a good thing, but it needs to be accurate, and your comments ignore an Amazon of a forest for the fewest of trees. You have done so much good here, the conclusions you draw are not sound. Given the number of your posts, a few missteps are impossible to avoid - if we are going to put our new clean white sneakers to proper use, they will inevitably become muddy. Cleaning up a few smudges is one thing - but that does not mean you throw away a really, really, really good shoe.

Do what you must, but know you are beyond welcome as a contributor to this forum, and completly welcome as a friend.

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My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle

Doh! I guess I can't complain, though, as I agree with HKA's intention here.

Anyway, you are valued, Araban!

Dear Sol,

Self criticism is good, but you are being too hard on yourself. You are one of the shining lights of this forum.

Work out whatever problems you are facing now. We look forward to seeing more of you here.

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Sheik Yerbuti -- if that really is your name --

Despite not having interacted with you on the forums, I have always enjoyed your posts. Let it not be said that sarcastic posts are noncontributing - I'd be satisfied if my posts can make even one reader laugh out loud

although i agree you did not do much as an ASR admin i don't mind it if you have good reason to neglect it. You have good intentions and i would gladly accept you as ASR admin again if you find a gap in your time to do so again.

on the rest of the post, it reads like you are going through a bit of a depression of some sort and i hope you are doing alright. as stated in previous posts, don't be so hard on yourself, you were doing fine and your posts are more of a contribution to this forum then i ever could, so keep doing that and don't throw everything away on a whim!

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admin of the ASR league and KGS admin

Just so you don't get the impression that everyone is just sugar coating things to make you stay, I found several of your posts annoying. I actually can't remember any of them, which means that I can't have been that bothered, and they can't have been too frequent. But I also think you make important contributions. You definitely post more instructional material about go positions and go games than I do.

Best of luck.

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Occupy Babel!

Too bad man, shame losing another of the college contingent. I'm sure we'll cross paths someday, wether it be go, sc2, or ddr...

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"There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level." -- Bruce Lee

I enjoyed our games in the previous Life in 19x19 tournament. It's a shame we never played any other time: when you come back, I'd like to play you again.

It looks like Solomon/Araban may be back:

viewtopic.php?p=95582#p95582

5 geup makes it quite unlikely I would have thought.

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My Go videos | My Go Teaching Ladder (GTL) reviews
I also offer Go teaching lessons
-- Creator of OGS --
"I played a trick play and my opponent fell for it, unfortunately he didn't know the correct followup, so I died"

Welcome back, Sol!

Thanks! I've lurked here and there, but now that I'm (pretty much) done with school, more time for me to post and contribute .

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金角银边草肚皮