Rafed
As you mentioned that you will stay as a member for a while, please do that. There is always probability/possibility of a good reason happening that can change one's mind. I hope it happens that way. Stay in the background for a while as many of us sometimes do for a long periods.
You had picked up the right avatar for your jungle...

It seems to say a lot with his deciding to go.

Doug

I'm sorry to see this thread of old friends.
When I found this forum it was the best I've ever seen. Anywhere.
Everyone sharing the same passion, true teamwork.
Seasoned members growing and helping newbies.
Problem solving and solution finding.
Commiserating when the weather and bugs are against us.
 Fiddling with the best way to get this amazing weed to grow in our favor, sometimes against all odds.
What a very, very sad day.

Rafed don't let one thorn in your paw stop you from walking. Pull it out and keep going!
At worst, stay behind the scenes and re-lurk for awhile.
I've learned a lot from your posts and still need to learn more.

Some threads are not worth my time. Rafed, all the best. Without F4F we would not have
cross paths and become good family friends. I do hope U would make a U-turn. If not, I
am sure we will stay in touch.

Rafed Hi
Same as paully22...
Are you serious about leaving the forum or just teasing? :)

This is too bad. Best to you Rafed. Well, maybe I'll start checking into GW again from time to time, I haven't been there in awhile.

This is a sad day.

Best wishes Rafed, hopefully the rest of us can bring the forum back up to standards and you will return with the others who have left.

I have not been online for a few days so I have missed all the action also.
But please reconsider leaving you are a key member here.

Do not leave,
           you may ignore or correct misinformation. This forum is very helpful for us. 



we have many varieties of fig. should we destroy all the varieties  BECAUSE SOME TASTE BAD.

Do we have to leave the forums if some act bad ?

IF YOU CARE FOR JON AND FRIENDS, DO NOT LEAVE



Ask JON to delete this post and see how happy he will

Sad indeed, I for one will hate to see you go, as i am sure many others will as well. I have been busy as of late and have not seen the topics in question. however i do remember in the past there being a few folks who seemed to join just to break up the harmony that we all shared. it made things uneasy for awhile, but after awhile they went away. in the end you have to do what you feel is right. the advice you and many others have given has proved to be good as gold. 

hope this clears up and you can be happy here once more. you know how to get in touch if you ever feel the need.

Dave

I missed the posts that caused the uproar so I don't know what this is all about. So, of course, I'm going to mouth off about it.

Every organization has abrasive personalities, and politics, lots of politics. I'm seeing a lot of blame being put on Jon. I haven't really looked at the organizational setup for the forum (where would I go to do that? Are there bylaws, a policies and procedures manual?) but I think there's a structural problem. If he's policing the forum alone then, in his position, if you're fair, you catch it from both sides. Yeah, you need one person who can take fast action to nip problems in the bud, but there needs to be a evaluation committee, with representatives of the community, behind him to settle any controversy like this. The board of directors, or executive committee, or whatever it is, should step in and say "We've looked at both sides and here's what we're going to do about it". There needs to be a court of appeals with more than one member to insure that issues get debated properly. It's harder for a committee to be a tyrant. If you are going to loose members it's better to throw out the troublemakers than have members of good conscience voting with their feet.

In my younger days I was usually the loose cannon getting called on the carpet so I'm familiar with the process. But, even the worst of us grow out of it eventually, and it's been hours and hours since I've been in trouble with the propriety wardens. With wise counsel and firm guidance the straying lambs can be brought back to the fold.

So, Jon. Flog the miscreants and break out the grog.

Very upsetting to state the least, but I understand.  I have not been on the forum except for glance for  the last week or so. Kind of on a mini break as some of the same personalities that bother you irritate me and I often just try to ignore the ignorance, but I guess I take the weak way out, and understand why maybe yourself and others feel more compelled to confront the ignorance. Just as last year when a few significant individuals left it was upsetting as well. A couple crossed the line of decency and civil communications, and some that stayed did as well. Some of the same things the departed were upset about I agreed with completely.  Jon does not moderate this forum in my opinion and has basically stated as such. Do I agree with that no, do I accept it yes. Maybe I am too compromising in my tolerance, and have not confronted the level of ignorance and arrogance that Aaron  exhibits, but don’t think I just jumped on the dislike wagon as I have been there pretty much since post 1, but just choose to mostly ignore. You can call me targeting him, and fine I don’t care. There are few are high on that list of irritating, and I am sure I am on some dislike list,  but in general I find they are far outweighed by in general with the good nature of the majority so while we all get frustrated at times and as other have stated I would ask  reconsider.

Rafed...very sorry to hear you are leaving the Forum...I have learned many things from your instructive posts, as well as your personal encouragement from time to time...I wish you all the best in your future endeavors...you will be missed.

Rafed, so sorry to read this.  I really think a large part of this hobby we have is interacting with members of the community - that's  a lot of what drives my passion anyway. So sad to see one of the most significant members of the forum silenced in this way.  I hope this isn't the end of your interaction with the fig community and we get to share our interest in figs once again.

Hey Rafed. I have not visited GardenWeb in a long time, I hope my membership still exists because I will be checking every day for your posts. I am checking today and I hope others will, so post something asap. Thanks for helping everyone out with their fig experiences.

Rafed,
Any community requires diversity. This Forum Community needs diverse members that will engage in discourse and dialogue, with civility. There will always be trolls that come and go, but the community depends on committed passionate members to be successful. You have shown yourself to be a passionate member, thank you. Best wishes in the future.

Pete S.

It makes me sad to see you go, I have stopped coming to the forum as much because of some of the same issues, but you were one of the first to chat with me and help me out when I  had so many newbie questions. You were always nice and great to talk to. I hope we can continue to keep in touch.

Thank you all for your support and well wishes.
The responses through the forum, PM's and emails have been over whelming.

For those of you who wish to stay in contact with me please send me a note via email only. I will save your information and will be there for you if you ever need me.
I will do my best to help.

But please do so soon because I am canceling my account here tomorrow.

Thank you and good luck.

Rafed
I hope you read this thread. Some in their disbelief feel resigned that you may decide to leave. But so many are asking you to stay and they hope that you will stay. Don't disappoint so many of your friends. Leaving will give you some temporary satisfaction. Forgive this time, stay and enjoy the joy of forgiveness. You will never regret it.

See my disappointment. It took me ten minutes to put my thoughts and Rafed beat me by 8 minutes.
But I am still hhopeful.

Hope something will change your mind before tomorrow and that you will decide to stay.
Your a keystone member here.

Rafed, I too am saddened about your leaving. Please reconsider.