Taking a leave of absence from this forum

sfleinen

sfleinen

14.1 & One Pocket Addict
Gold Member
Silver Member
Folks:

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you guys know I'm outta here. I'm not going to be posting to the 14.1 forum for personal reasons, for the foreseeable future. I'm not leaving AZB; rather, just the 14.1 forum. I expect to continue posting to the Main forum, and as I get set up for video, any video of high runs I capture I promise to post to the Main forum. Just not here.

Also, those that wish to keep in touch with me can do so via PM, or email me directly: sean@leinen.net

It's been real, and I hope to see some of you at the SBE Fury 14.1 Challenge!
-Sean
 
S

Don't forget we're supposed to meet halfway and roll some balls around. Just let me know when you have time.

Ron F
 
sfleinen said:
Folks:

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you guys know I'm outta here. I'm not going to be posting to the 14.1 forum for personal reasons, for the foreseeable future. I'm not leaving AZB; rather, just the 14.1 forum. I expect to continue posting to the Main forum, and as I get set up for video, any video of high runs I capture I promise to post to the Main forum. Just not here.

Also, those that wish to keep in touch with me can do so via PM, or email me directly: sean@leinen.net

It's been real, and I hope to see some of you at the SBE Fury 14.1 Challenge!
-Sean
Click to expand...


Good grief --- what's THIS about?!

Lou Figueroa
feels like I missed an episode
of General Hospital
 
!4.1 Forum

sfleinen said:
Folks:

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you guys know I'm outta here. I'm not going to be posting to the 14.1 forum for personal reasons, for the foreseeable future. I'm not leaving AZB; rather, just the 14.1 forum. I expect to continue posting to the Main forum, and as I get set up for video, any video of high runs I capture I promise to post to the Main forum. Just not here.

Also, those that wish to keep in touch with me can do so via PM, or email me directly: sean@leinen.net

It's been real, and I hope to see some of you at the SBE Fury 14.1 Challenge!
-Sean
Click to expand...


Sean;
Well apparently a few here or someone has upset you. I too have not been writing much but I still like to comment on topics that I feel are important. I also still enjoy reading the Threads here on the 14.1 Forum.
I believe that there are people here on the 14.1 Forum (including myself)
that appreciate your comments & knowledge. I hate to see the Forum lose an important player b/c it's players like yourself that make this Forum what it is.... But, if that is your wish then I will respect it. I hope that you change your mind. Feel free to keep in touch with me and I will also do the same.
 
Not sure what announcing your absence from the sub-forum--due to a tiff with 1 member that is hardly a stalwart of the 14.1 sub-forum anyway--will prove, but I wish you the best.

A single member will never be given the power to ruin this forum for me. There are to many positive interactions to be had here to give them up over one pissing match.

JMHO & YMMV
 
Hi Sean,

very sorry about it- i really appreciated each comment from you. Every comment from your side (from what i read and saw) was very good, helpful and correct, and furthermore written from a guy with huge experience!

Take care Sean, hope to still see good postings from you, where ever it will be,

lg
Ingo
 
sfleinen said:
... I'm not going to be posting to the 14.1 forum for personal reasons, for the foreseeable future. I'm not leaving AZB; rather, just the 14.1 forum. ...
Click to expand...

Oh, come on Sean. You authored an interesting thread, some people disagreed with you, and you weren't able to convince them of, or possibly even have them fully understand, some of your points. Yeah, it kind of got personal. So what. Don't take your ball and run elsewhere. You're someone whose opinions I always like to read. And isn't 14.1 your favorite pool game? Isn't the sledding just as bumpy from time to time on the other forums?

Or, possibly I'm way off base as to your reason(s) for departing this forum. If so, I apologize for the sermonizing.

Regardless, I hope you reconsider or at least make your hiatus brief.
 
Look at post #43 in the tired thread.

I took a cheap shot at Sean and he told me in a pm, that was it, he's gone.

I apologized but he said I was a hypocrite, so there we have it.
 
dmgwalsh said:
Look at post #43 in the tired thread.

I took a cheap shot at Sean and he told me in a pm, that was it, he's gone.

I apologized but he said I was a hypocrite, so there we have it.
Click to expand...

He needs to have a little thicker skin than that. Sean needs to realize that other people have opinions that don't necessarily conform with his. While I'm sure that he can play the game, there are others on here than can actually make a ball or two also. ;)
 
Kind of a childish way for someone in their 40's to act, especially to make it a "special announcement", but whatever blows his hair back. :speechless:
 
If you know it's " kind of childish for someone in their 40's to act"

Describe what it's kind of like to slam someone that can't defend themself cause they're no longer on this forum.

Courageous?
 
zensteve said:
If you know it's " kind of childish for someone in their 40's to act"

Describe what it's kind of like to slam someone that can't defend themself cause they're no longer on this forum.

Courageous?
Click to expand...

First of all, I didn't "slam" anyone, just made an observation. Second it's HIS choice to be here or not be here, and to make a "public" statement, stating so, I have just as much a right to comment on it. I think being 40, something he's big enough to "defend" himself. What exactly he's defending himself from, is unclear, but apparently you do. And if you think I believe for one minute, that after making it "public" that he's leaving the forum, if you think he's not lurking, to see the reaction from it, then you are very naive my friend.

Have a nice day.
 
"First of all, I didn't "slam" anyone, just made an observation."

Are those mutually exclusive? Can an observation be a slam? For example, if I make an observation that it is cowardly to criticize someone that can't defend themself...could that be an observation and a slam?

"Second it's HIS choice to be here or not be here, and to make a "public" statement, stating so, I have just as much a right to comment on it."

Is or ought? Is it your right to slam/observe someone's behavior that can't defend his or her self. OR Ought you slam /observe someone's behavior that can't defend his or her self?

"And if you think I believe for one minute, that after making it "public" that he's leaving the forum, if you think he's not lurking, to see the reaction from it, then you are very naive my friend."

Is it your observation that I may be very naive?
 
dmgwalsh said:
Look at post #43 in the tired thread.

I took a cheap shot at Sean and he told me in a pm, that was it, he's gone.

I apologized but he said I was a hypocrite, so there we have it.
Click to expand...

What was so insulting about your post? The straw man thing?? If so, he really has paper thin skin!
 
Mr441 said:
What was so insulting about your post? The straw man thing?? If so, he really has paper thin skin!
Click to expand...

Apparently someone else in the thread had used the straw man analogy and Sean thought I was backing him up and he may have been attacking Sean a bit more directly. I really don't know because I had not read the thread and I had thought of the straw man thing on my own.

The only reason I got in at all was to answer Steve Lipsky about Mosconi's pattern and my jibe at the thread itself was I guess my way of distancing myself from the main branch of the thread.

Oh, well. Can't please everyone.
 
Setting the record straight

Folks:

(First, thank you and a tip o' the hat to G.P. for emailing me, and letting me know to come in here and check this thread, because things were getting out of hand. I owe you one.)

Well, after a couple days and late nights in Manhattan for the job, coming in to read all this that accrued, I'm quite dismayed that the initial impression I had when leaving this forum, was, in fact, correct. Before I go any further, let's clear the air with some stone-cold facts:

  1. I left because it was an ROI decision for me. (ROI = return on investment for those unfamiliar with the term.) My purpose for initially being here was 1.) my love for 14.1, and 2.) my inherent belief that I can help people, that I have something to offer. And not just in playing tips, physical / mental parts of the game, etc., but rather "thinking person's" stuff -- stuff to tweak the mind, to get those mental creative juices flowing. That "overuse-of-the-Mosconi-turning-over-in-his-grave" thing was only the latest of those types of threads I'd posted in the past -- and the intent was to get people to THINK, not react with emotion. Sure, I expect people to challenge me, and I don't mind that at all, as long as it's respectful. Challenging is part of the debate, afterall. Come on, folks, if you haven't been living under a rock these several years (or limited your AZB exposure to just the 14.1 forum), you know I've gotten into some REAL knock-down, drag-out battles with the likes of John Barton, APA Operator, et al. in the Main forum. Some real fiery stuff, if you'll recall. So I've some demonstrated really tough skin. But at least in the Main forum, it's a matter of sheer numbers. Exponentially more people read it, than the 14.1 forum. Yet interestingly, I received MORE negative feedback about the topics I post, and the style in which I post them, here in this "hallowed" 14.1 forum than the Main forum. You read that right, folks. I would gander to say that, over the years, I'd gotten more than TWICE the amount of negative feedback -- most of it offline/PM, to be sure -- than the Main forum. And for an exponentially smaller overall readership than the Main forum? That's gotta tell you something. So Dennis' cheap shot (which I'd normally view as "feh, is that all you got?") was actually a sip of the strongest espresso for me, because it hit me at the right moment, and woke me up. I found myself saying, "what am I DOING here?!?" The reason for even posting this thread in the first place, is because I do get some PM traffic asking me to weigh in on certain topics, and I wanted to head that off. I tagged this thread with a thumbs-up icon and just left it as "personal reasons," because it's actually a GOOD thing. It's good for me, and good for the 14.1 forum, because I won't be here to rock the boat. And speaking of rocking the boat, that segues nicely into my next point...

  2. I'm either going to create a lot of heads in agreement, or else cause some more attacks. I really don't care, because I'm going to tell it like it is. This forum is owned by back-patting and head-petting cronyism. There I said it. I came to this conclusion after years of watching what goes on here, and then being the recipient of "sir lordship" PMs directing me not to rock the boat, that there are inherent rules to being a member of this particular forum (with innuendos of how hallowed this place is precisely because it's 14.1 -- the gentlemen's pocket billiard sport), that negativity -- or even touching upon provocative topics that may stir negativity -- are not welcome here, and to "behave" -- even if the post or thread was carefully constructed in my respectful analytical or "what if" manner to make you THINK. What's interesting -- especially in cases like Dennis' straw man thing -- is that these same folks sending these "sir moderatorship" PMs are often the same folks taking pot-shots at certain people, and causing or continuing/propagating the "much despised" negativity themselves. I saw a HUGE case of hypocrisy there, and that's a personal pet peeve of mine. So I'm calling it out. If any of you are ever wondering why the 14.1 forum is so stagnant, you now know (or at least read the first written reason for) why. This forum can be so lively -- and it would be easy to make it that way -- but a bad case of back-patting / head-petting cronyism is holding it back. A finger needs to be inserted in this forum's nose and that booger plucked out, so that freer breathing is restored.

  3. Dennis -- you might try telling the whole truth next time, instead of leaving out important bits to intentionally mislead / distort the facts, and then make like you're "taking the high road." Puh-leze. That bit in my PM to you about the straw man thing? That was only one small bit in the whole PM. Conveniently, you leave out the other stuff about the hypocrisy -- which that, and the ROI thing, was mainly what my PM to you was about -- but I think I cleared that up nicely in the previous bullets, didn't I?

  4. 14oneman -- I don't know what to say. You seem to have a real hair across your petut for me, and for what? Because I dared question Mosconi's legacy -- or at least you misunderstood so -- because you and Dale didn't "get" the real topic of discussion? Another thing -- I don't know what Internet exposure/experience you have, but if you're on forums where people actually play the "woe is me, I'm leaving this cruel world" game with posts announcing departure for the mere purposes of lurking in the background to see what kind of attention it brings, you need to find some better material to read. Or if you yourself think that way... you get my point. I don't play those games. If I were looking for attention, I could've easily worded it that way -- with a "woe is me..." type flavor. I didn't. That's because it wasn't at all what was intended. I think I make abundantly clear my thoughts on topics, and I do not hesitate to call things out -- as evidenced by my posts. And, it's really easy to NOT be here, because even at the higher computer monitor resolution settings, one has to scroll the main forum listing page to even see the 14.1 Forum to click on / enter it. The aforementioned Main forum is always there, right on top, without having to scroll, and there's plenty of stuff to read / contribute there, even if you have to wade through APA and aiming system threads. And yes, there are some really immature people in that forum -- but at least you expect it there. You know what you're getting into when you're there. I'm here right now, in the 14.1 forum, only because someone was nice enough to email me and let me know that things are getting out of hand, and that I might want to set the record straight. And so here I am, doing just that.
And now, about that initial impression thing when I left? After reading some of the posts above that I have now, I'm convinced of two things: 1.) That my decision to leave was the smart one, and 2.) There's more negativity / closed-mindedness per square inch of this forum, vs any other forum on AZB, sans that garbage dump, NPR. And that's a sad state of affairs to be in for something that markets itself as "hallowed ground" (according to the self-professed mods, anyway).

So there it is. Now that I set the record straight, I'm hoping some others have sipped that strong espresso, and are also questioning, "What are we doing here?!? What do we need to do to fix things?". If I've done that -- even for a few -- I've done my last good deed for this forum. If I haven't, then it's been chaff in the wind, folks.

Adios,
-Sean
 
sfleinen said:
  1. So Dennis' cheap shot (which I'd normally view as "feh, is that all you got?") was actually a sip of the strongest espresso for me, because it hit me at the right moment, and woke me up.

  2. This forum is owned by back-patting and head-petting cronyism. There I said it. I came to this conclusion after years of watching what goes on here, and then being the recipient of "sir lordship" PMs directing me not to rock the boat, that there are inherent rules to being a member of this particular forum (with innuendos of how hallowed this place is precisely because it's 14.1 -- the gentlemen's pocket billiard sport), that negativity -- or even touching upon provocative topics that may stir negativity -- are not welcome here, and to "behave" -- even if the post or thread was carefully constructed in my respectful analytical or "what if" manner to make you THINK. What's interesting -- especially in cases like Dennis' straw man thing -- is that these same folks sending these "sir moderatorship" PMs are often the same folks taking pot-shots at certain people, and causing or continuing/propagating the "much despised" negativity themselves. I saw a HUGE case of hypocrisy there, and that's a personal pet peeve of mine. So I'm calling it out. If any of you are ever wondering why the 14.1 forum is so stagnant, you now know (or at least read the first written reason for) why. This forum can be so lively -- and it would be easy to make it that way -- but a bad case of back-patting / head-petting cronyism is holding it back. A finger needs to be inserted in this forum's nose and that booger plucked out, so that freer breathing is restored.

  3. Dennis -- you might try telling the whole truth next time, instead of leaving out important bits to intentionally mislead / distort the facts, and then make like you're "taking the high road." Puh-leze. That bit in my PM to you about the straw man thing? That was only one small bit in the whole PM. Conveniently, you leave out the other stuff about the hypocrisy -- which that, and the ROI thing, was mainly what my PM to you was about -- but I think I cleared that up nicely in the previous bullets, didn't I?


    So there it is. Now that I set the record straight, I'm hoping some others have sipped that strong espresso, and are also questioning, "What are we doing here?!? What do we need to do to fix things?". If I've done that -- even for a few -- I've done my last good deed for this forum. If I haven't, then it's been chaff in the wind, folks.

    Adios,
    -Sean
Click to expand...



  1. Sean: You certainly are an excitable boy, aren't you. I told you I was sorry for not giving your thread the respect YOU thought it deserved. I apologized and said maybe I would just quit posting I am tired of it all. You did not respond.

    Anyway, you want me to tell the "whole " truth next time. You say I am not quoting the entire pm and am intentionally trying to mislead. If so, it was not intentional. here are your pms. Show me where that makes me a hypocrite:


    pms:


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dmgwalsh
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sfleinen
    http://forums.azbilliards.com/showth...65#post2863565

    Dennis:

    I have to ask. Lately, what is your issue with me? I see that you're increasingly taking digs at me left and right, unprovoked from my side. I thought we made a mutual connection when we met for the first time at the 14.1 Worlds. And you made a beautiful email out to some of your league'ers about my discussion of the subconscious (which you'll remember I heartily and publicly thanked you for). But lately you've been firing some knitting needles at me.

    What's the deal? Where did I go afoul in your eyes?

    Really appreciate any insight you can share,
    -Sean
    Sean: I don't know much about lately. The whole Mosconi would turn over in his grave thing seemed to be a bit contrived, but i mostly said nothing. Maybe it was just me throwing up runs that I labored to get and hearing bupkus while Mosconi in his grave was on page five. Sorry. I like you and I know you are a great 14.1 player and I was telling Marop today that no one writes better than you, but... I may just be getting tired of this stuff. I love 14.1 but so much in this forum is nonsense. I was just thinking a few minutes ago I should just shut up and disappear and maybe I will.

    Again, I know you play great 14.1 and I know you are a smart guy and a great writer.

    Dennis

    pm2
    Well Dennis, I'll be honest with you. I'm getting sick of this as well. I post what I think would be an interesting topic of discussion that's a little twist away from the normal b-o-r-i-n-g back-patting and head-petting that is the "accepted-and-don't-you-dare-stray-from-the-norm" in this 14.1 forum, and what do I get? Finger jabs in the eyes -- especially from a peanut gallery that was formed ad-hoc from the "Sean's-voice-is-getting-too-loud-in-the-forum,-let's-shut-him-up" efforts that spring up when Sean doesn't participate in the Charlie-StevieK-Dennis...insert-extra-names-here... back-patting-and-head-petting cliques. The funny thing is, you foist yourself as an advocate of "don't rock the boat -- don't introduce negativity into the forums" (as evidenced by your lashing of me for having it out with that meat-by-product, sausage). Yet what do you do? You get behind the *one and only guy* who attacks and introduces negativity into my thread -- pdcue, with that straw man thing -- and back him up and take joint pot-shots at me. This is the very definition of the word hypocrite, Dennis. And you are definitely one. Especially when it concerns "which way the wind is blowing," which you, Charlie, and StevieK seem to ride like chaff.

    You guys can stuff it. That's the last thread, and possibly contribution, you're going to see from me in the 14.1 forums. In the Main forum, at least I expect a little eye-poking, but not here, in this supposed, "hallowed, respected" 14.1 forum (which is, from my observations, turned out to be nothing more than a good ol' boy network). I was playing decent 14.1 before I joined this forum, and I'll be playing decent 14.1 whether I'm on the forum or not. It's the forum's loss that it drives away those that have a desire to share, or else pique the mental juices of those that read it.

    Say what you want. I'm done with the good ol' boy cliques.
    -Sean

    You alluded to when I had asked you to lighten up months ago when you and sausage were fighting. I still do not know why you got so upset just cuz I did not buy into your tired mosconi would turn over in his grave rap, but maybe others can figure out how that makes me a hypocrite. If I am, I am and I am sorry it caused you pain. I'm just human. If not, just let it go.

    I don't think I ride the chaff of which way the wind is blowing although sometimes I am polite to people that seem to be trying to do the right thing.

    Whatever! You write too good for me to argue with for long. And I am getting too old for this verbal sparring with you.
 
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