WOW... this has spiraled into a big pile of dog shit in a hurry.
First and foremost, I think the perception of Zero displayed in this thread is off base but from a personal standpoint I can understand why some have drawn that viewpoint. I once for a period of time held a similar viewpoint of him myself. I wouldn't deny it.. yet.. after discussing it through with Zero over the course of a couple of days I have come to have a better understanding of the man. Might sound cliche' but truly a misunderstood fellow.
I can tell you these things from my opinion, but it is far past me to try to push my viewpoint upon you.
Trust me, I very much dislike public airing like this post or some of them in this thread. I wish all things could be handled in a a different nature.. but alas sometimes things like this lead into positive growth, hopefully this thread becomes one.
What I will say, it isn't Ego that drives him.. passion and conviction in his own studies, feelings and Packers, absolutely.. ego, as the primary not so much. But that said, I care less whom you are there is a little ego that feeds us all.
He takes pride in this site, but in discussions I can tell you honestly he takes more pride in the members of this site and the values he had for the site.
Is he prefect, nope. Is anyone, absolutely not.
Does he sometimes post in a blunt straightforward nature, absolutely. Does he always "frame" his posts to take a "PC" stance on things.. nope.
But those are some of the things that make up the person he is.. and probably some are of a learned nature.
Is there a double standard on this board surrounding the owner? Is some aspects yes, but I will say from experience that is a two way street, members projecting some of the hypocrisy in the way Zero's posts are received.
If JoeASmith would have posted that in his opinion that there is more to the release of Smith than the rumor had laid on the table, would there have been as much back and forth about it?
IMO, nope but because it was Zero, the site owner, it took on more meaning. IE.. some of the double standard origins.
Bottom line, Zero's overall intentions are pure and non egotistical in nature, sometimes that visions is clouded for whatever reason, but at the end of the day it is more about the community of posters, discussing the Packers, and having fun doing it.
Some will state that they believe that forums have to be this "pretend" world with altered personalities from real life to those on here. Sure this place could be as "fake" as some other sites are, but I disagree that this is how this forum is or should be.
Whether it be asking for prayers for ill family members, providing a little stress relief from the "pains" of life via a small gift from the members here. or just throwing some attempted humor into a dull or drab day.. the members of this site are far and away nothing like some of the sites in the world that are personal playgrounds with a license to be uncaring and cold.
Bozz said it well.. a family feeling to the internet world of the disguised.
An additional note, there is a staff of five active mods on this site, feel free to ask us questions on lost posts or whatnot. With five different personalities to turn to, I hope there is someone that can help resolve any issues or at the very least get to the bottom of the issue so that they may be addressed.
Move posts around yes.. but to my knowledge, we try never to delete a post or thread. Sometimes such as the BackAlley we do some house keeping on older threads for space considerations.. but beyond that type of deal, little to no censorship is applied beyond personal attacks or over the top profanity.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"