Re: It's happening
 

Amen to that. :D :r :r

Re: It's happening
 

I was a member at CS for a couple years, I cant say I am sad to see it go. The reason being is that the heart of it is here at CA. Home is where the heart is! Everything we had there we have here, I just happen to log on in a forum with a different name, almost as if the other place never existed. Change comes to us in many different ways, some good some bad. We are fortunate that this change brought us a whole lota good. Its a small world when you choose to make it one, where family and friends are concerned.

Re: It's happening
 

I joined CS the summer of 2007 and immediately felt welcome and comfortable with the forum. I was also one of the members who said we should all give it a chance after the change was announced. As someone who didn't have the time and effort invested in CS that some members did, I was willing to wait and see what the new management would do to the site.

The biggest changes I saw after Caputo became the owner was not anything he did immediately but the negativity that came out of a number of the old time CS members who did not like the fact that change was occurring and the vibe I got from some members who moved over from other forums. That changed the CS environment and when I was provided the information about the Asylum I joined.

Now that the official change has been made to Puff.com, I would say that many of the predictions made about the other site have come true or coming close to happening. That makes me glad to have the Asylum to visit.

But I am not giving up my membership at the other site. Why? Because it may not be the same old CS and I may not personally like everything that has happened over there, but it can still be another source of information about cigars and the world in general. Hey! I don't like everything in Cigar Aficianado. I don't like everything about Cigar magazine. But I still read them.

And I have noticed that there are quite a few of us who are still participating in discussions over there - at least for now. The number of times I visit the other site is decreasing and I think many of you are doing the same. That will mean less traffic for the other site in the short term, but then those numbers will bounce up and down as other "clubhouses" are brought on line so I would guess that losing a few hundred active members will really have little affect on the other site.

That's just my opinion.

Re: It's happening
 

I like to think I am not completely ignorant when it comes to financial matters, but am stumped on something;

Why would Jon buy CS then change the name? Wouldn't it have been cheaper to just start Puff and use the undisclosed amount he used to purchase CS to spread some goodwill or something?

I guess the answer probably is that Jon never expected the mass exodus of former CS'ers and figured them membership came with the price of the name?

I honestly am not intending this as a jab at Caputo, I am sincerely curious.

Is it possible he has more bucks than brains? (that was the jab part)

Re: It's happening
 

he could care less about the name ClubStogie... as you can see it didnt last long.. what he really wanted to purchase was our memberships... even if we dont use our accounts, our accounts are still active. The more members, the more $$ he can charge for advertising.

A membership at ClubStogie now is kinda like herpes, once you got it, you aint gettin rid of it

Re: It's happening
 

YIKES!!!:r

Re: It's happening
 

CS will always hold a special place in my heart.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for the moderation team of old CS members in place at Puff. All the guys here know you mods there have your hands full trying to keep order during a chaotic time. I am partially to blame for thinking I could stay until CS changed before making a decision to leave, but my heart was not in it, and the last person I will lie to is myself.

Many of us CS moderators (myself included) felt the mod team no longer dictated the flow of things there. Decisions we agreed on as mods were being overridden by Jon. I personally felt my services there as a mod were no longer needed.
With the collective efforts of the old CS mod team, we decided that something had to be done, but what could we do?

At that point, the Asylum was born. Never intended to compete against any other cigar forums. Never designed to plague or cause distress to other websites.
Our only intention was to create a safe haven for those who felt as we did. All 11 of us felt we had a responsibility to the members of Club Stogie to provide a place they could go to if they chose to do so.

While it is flattering that many folks feel a loyalty to Cigar Asylum, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a member of multiple cigar forums.

Re: It's happening
 

As regards Puff, I could have learnt to live with the addition of new sections and advertising. The former is not necessarily a bad idea and could provide the user with interesting information, and the latter, provided it remains cigar focussed, could actually be of commercial interest to the user or, if one dislikes it, could easily be blocked by security software. Furthermore, I am not intrinsically opposed to his having turned CS into commercial venture.

That said, the particular form that his venture took I dislike. I find the new logo and name unattractive, to say the least, and the relegation of the forum is lamentable. CS, Louie, and the jungle as a social forum for, and community of, cigar lovers, should have remained paramount.

Re: It's happening
 

Ji,
I don't know you from Adam, but that was some fine posting. Take care my friend.

Re: It's happening
 

One of the truest sentiments mentioned. I, for one, am grateful (and, like many others, would definitely become a site supporter here given the option).

:tu

Re: It's happening
 

Did you really need to add pictures Carlos? :r

Re: It's happening
 

So the original intent of the name was that definition of asylum? And now it's morphed into the other definition... :r

Re: It's happening
 

It's a double entendre. Take it as you will. Both definitions are appropriate. :)

Re: It's happening
 

A little of both, tongue-in-cheek, so to speak. ;)

Re: It's happening
 

For Perry it's a sanctuary for crazies. :D

Re: It's happening
 

well... i don't want to be a leading puffer fish - whatever that is (i feel like the seinfeld episode with the puffy shirt).

i'm here now.

Re: It's happening
 

That is because most places that treat folks with those issues won't accept him.
He is "over qualified".:r:r:r

Re: It's happening
 

Your wish has been granted. Most people would just choose not to login but, hey whatever floats your boat!

Re: It's happening
 

Ji, thanks for expressing your thoughts on this. I am feeling the same way. maybe we should start a support group! :r

Re: It's happening
 

We are here for you brother. Meetings daily. :D

Re: It's happening
 

And there will also be free Shiatsu massages courtesy of Bea ;)

Re: It's happening
 

As long as Tom doesn't get too jealous. :D

Re: It's happening
 

How did you do that?
He no longer even appears on the members list.

Re: It's happening
 

Banned members don't appear on the member list. However, you can search for posts/threads for that member.

Now Carlos, don't be searchin' for your member. :D

Re: It's happening
 

So if banned members don't appear any longer, how can Puff use that member count all are referring to?

Re: It's happening
 

I guess I should explain myself a little more FWIW.


To me CS was a community. I remember when I was a noob, Googling different cigars to see if I could find reviews of them. That was how I found CS.

I don't care for Caputo. I won't say I dislike him, cuz I've never actually met the dude, but what he has done with CS and the other sites is, for lack of a better term, against my principles.

Sometimes my "ethics" dictate that I do not support certain things. I don't vote Democrat or Republican, for example. I don't buy certain cigars because I don't like the way the companies do business and I don't want to support it. I also do not shop at Wal Mart. I even diss on Elvis because he didn't write his own songs. :r

I dislike fakery, dishonesty, exploitation, and hype.

I feel that if I retain my membership at Puff, even if I don't post, that I would be contributing to what Caputo is doing, and it bugs me.

I want nothing to do with Puff, and that is why I want to be "erased".

Cigar Asylum is REAL. It is a COMMUNITY. I can get behind that. :)

Re: It's happening
 

With my sparse knowledge of the vBulletin software, here is my guess.

Banned members do not appear in the member list presented. However, I would bet that they are included in the total membership (user) count presented on the home page.

Guys like kwagga, stogiefanatic182, and kumarusc are valuable numbers to puff.com but not to the community.

Re: It's happening
 

No refunds, no exchanges :)

Re: It's happening
 

But I don't wanna be Puffy!!

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...fy_shirt01.png


Hands off, Buster! :mad:
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa73/icehog3/bea.jpg

Re: It's happening
 

Thanks for your support!

Re: It's happening
 

C'mon, Tom.
It's "But I don't wanna be a pirate!"

Re: It's happening
 

I know Peter...It is all about the context. ;)

Re: It's happening
 

For a second there, I thought that was Eddie Van Halen.
http://www.futurerockhall.com/blog_f...g_entry0_1.jpg

Re: It's happening
 

Re: It's happening
 

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...hog3/homer.jpg

Re: It's happening
 

the funny thing is Daniel and Jon I feel from reading a lot of there posts more wanted to have more of the CS feel but the reason its starting to get the "Live" feel is cause John has Daniel running both boards so they are both gonna take on Daniels vision for the boards. Having Moded for Daniel on GARlive I wall say you learn a lot about someone when you work with them instead of just talking to them and those are the reasons I felt I had to leave cause there were things that ethicaly I did not like such as password scrambling.

On a separate note and this is not trying to pick a fight with any of the guys over at puff but I find it funny how guys think that by staying there they will "save" what they had I'm sorry but the name of the board does not make the board the members do and the true heart and soul of both CS and CL are here and at outcasts now, so there is no saving there is creating a new forum not the old.

I truly don't wish puff or any of the core members there any ill will nor do I hope they fail but I also don't think they are gonna do any good for the cigar community like Jon and Daniel are trying to claim but it really is just a money maker for Jon and a way for Daniel to do what he said he wanted to do and the reason he started live in the first place and that is make video's and eventually short documentry style movies.

I truly want to thank the TRUE botl that started the offshoot boards to keep a place for us to all come and just talk.

Re: It's happening
 

I don't know Peter, I got a chuckle or two out of him.:r

Re: It's happening
 

What is "password scrambling"? And why is it unethical?
(The answer to the first question may answer my second)

Re: It's happening
 

There can never be too much member support.

Re: It's happening
 

...

Nah... too easy.

:lv

Re: It's happening
 

Wow. He is looking pretty bad there. How about his ex-wife? She is looking pretty good lately.

Re: It's happening
 

as an admin Daniel would change a members password so they could not log on to the site anymore so that he would not have to ban them but just make it so and I quote " Just make it look like they left" as far as unethical I feel that way cause you agree to a user agreement and he would "cheat" that agreement in his favor

Re: It's happening
 

http://totallylookslike.files.wordpr...-van-halen.jpg



http://totallylookslike.com/2008/07/22/eddie-van-halen/

Re: It's happening
 

No need to convince me it's unethical the way he would ban people. Not cool in my book.

Re: It's happening
 

not cool at all, if you want to ban someone then just do it thats a see you next tuesday way of doing it.

Re: It's happening
 

:r I like the way you think. :D

Re: It's happening
 

Fair enough, not the bravest of options. Conversely, we have nothing but love for PDS. Character is an evolved trait and we all fall short in the face of adversity at times.

CS is merged and CL soon to follow. It's now old news for us CS folks and soon to be for the CL crowd as well, helps to get closure and be able to move on. This thread could be contrued as a lil "therapy" gettin it out so its.. well over with.

Re: It's happening
 

Couldn't they just reset their password though? It's a bs way of going about banning people but there is normally a link to forgot your password or some thing along those lines.

Re: It's happening
 

I can't say anything negative about PDS he truly has nothing to do with any of my feelings about this "merger"

Re: It's happening
 

you can't reset your password if you can't log in

edit: I just got what you meant and I know there was something that he did with that too with the email registered to the account