It is with some sincere sadness that I am no longer going to be a part of
the Solvang Datsun Roadster Show, this list, or the FresnoDROC group. After
some
soul searching and words of encouragement from many roadster owners, I can
no longer enjoy being a part of any of these entities.
I joined the Datsun Roadster community and became a member of the Roadster
E-mail list in 1996 when I purchased my first Roadster a 1970-1600 and
attended
my first show the Solvang Datsun Roadster Show that same year, ever since
then I have had a great passion for these cars and have enjoyed most of the
people I have met along the way.
In 1998, I got married and moved to Fresno and became friends with a great
group of owners who have the same passion I have for these cars. We have
enjoyed many breakfasts, fun runs and other things, that I will always
remember.
In 2002, after a little coaxing the FresnoDROC group decided to host the
next Solvang Show in 2003, it was our first order of business to try to bring
the Roadster Show into downtown Solvang, so not only the Roadster Community
can
enjoy the show but many tourists who had never seen our cars before can enjoy
them also. In these last 3 years we have seen a steady improvement in the
number of cars attending the show, and the quality of the cars as well.
Although these last 3 years have been of considerable enjoyment, they have
been laced with continual disappointment as well. No matter how hard we worked
on the show, or how great the turnout would be, we would always come back
home and listen to backbiting and complaints from Vendors (and they know who
they are) who have personal problems with each other complaining of some
aspect
of the show.
I personally have felt some considerable resentment also from some members
of FresnoDROC as to my role as a communicator for the show to the Roadster
Community. Some people feel I get a little more accolades then them and that
is
not fair, which I agree everyone in FresnoDROC has worked equally as hard to
make this show a success.
As for the List, because of itbs lack of any type of supervision at all, it
continually allows for excessive flaming by people on this list who do not
identify themselves at all, which if this stuff happened on any of the other
car
lists I am a member of they would have been banned and removed, but they are
not because they are personal friends of the moderator.
As for the events of the last week, they are just an exaggeration of all my
frustrations, first a member of FresnoDROC mispeaks about something at the
show, that I warned him/her before the show to be careful what they say. Then
2
Vendors pick up on this and decide to attack another vendor and myself about
the show, without stating their names to the list. They had no problem
talking to me about it on the phone later where it is explained to them the
truth.
But does that make a difference, NO, because the complaints should have been
kept off the list in the first place or dealt with directly with the
organizers of the show or between the vendors themselves. But to continually
place
these complaints in front of the list ruins the show and the community as a
whole because of the bad taste it leaves with other owners.
Because none of the people involved above have stepped forward publicly to
assume any responsibility for their actions, I cannot associate with any of
these groups anymore.
I will still be involved with my cars and some of the parts that are sold
for them, and will probably show up at some of the shows as just another
owner,
or be seen on the _www.311s.org_ (http://www.311s.org) site or the
_www.datsunroadsters.com_ (http://www.datsunroadsters.com) site because they
are
properly moderated, the last one by myself and Mark Dent.
Good Luck to all the rest of you, I hope to see you in the future.
Lou Smaldino
65-1500
66-1600
67-2000
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