The problem was that there was no way to keep the posts from that forum from showing on the "unread content" feature, and it turned off many of our regulars who had to scroll though all the posts about things that aren't leatherwork. I struggled with this. When the pandemic hit, many members wanted to talk to their peers about what they were seeing, and get perspective from people they know and respect. I felt like censoring posts was unAmerican, but it just kept getting out of hand. I don't mind everyone sharing opinions, because mostly people are respectful or clear in explaining what they think so both sides think about their point. But not everyone can deal with this, and they come to leatherworker.net to talk about leather and get away from all the stuff on Twitter and Facebook. I don't want these leatherworkers who want to participate in discussions like this silenced, but I've got to have it off the main board. So I fixed it so THAT forum can be seen if you send me a PM and it won't show to anybody that isn't in it. Let's keep dinner table conversation on the main board, and keep our world grievances in the private room. Please tell people who have left because of this grand experiment to come back. We aren't going to flog leatherworkers with distracting posts unless they specifically ask for it.
I also want to apologize to Wiz and Northmount for not figuring out a hack sooner, and putting you in awkward positions when you tried to defend free speech, but personally thought the posts had no business on a leatherwork forum. Tom, you were right from the start, and you tried to tell me. You have always added a reasonable voice to our discussions.
I'm going to add you regulars, because you all seem to have tough skin and like this exchange of ideas. Everyone else just wants to ignore you folks. The good news is that you get to keep all the awful jokes.
Thank you to all the members that put up with this. It is now safe to log in and take advantage of all the forum features. If you forgot how to log in, send an email to admin@leatherworker.net and I'll get you fixed up. We are going to be updating shortly, and I'm excited about the new things we'll be able to offer.
Johanna