A public apology

[Bruce N H]

Hi all,

I've said this behind the scenes to other admin and others by direct message, but I just wanted to post a public apology. After being a member of this forum since day 2 of it's public existence in 2003 (Grr, some people beat me to joining), and becoming an admin a year later, I started to pull back a few years ago. For well over a decade I was, by far, the most prolific poster in the forums, to the extent that I still have almost two thousand more posts than any other member, ran contests, updated the front page regularly, etc. At the same time I was also managing several LEGO blogs, active on Flickr, etc. But at some point I just got burned out - in part just by overwork, I felt burned by some events, and other aspects of my life (e.g. growing family, changing jobs, moving, etc) took priority. Every once in a while I get all fired up and for a few weeks will get back into this forum or commenting on Flickr, but then I fade away again. For a few years now I've logged into this site only on occasion and posted even less.

I've always hated those posts on various forums where people make big announcements that they are quitting. For one, I'm not. I'm still around, and if other admins want me to maintain my "admin" status that's fine. Mainly, though, it just always feels self-serving, like people are looking for others to validate them and beg them not to quit. In order to prevent that I'm going to lock this thread so no one can respond.

I'm only posting today because I'm afraid Blue has gotten a lot of flack. The rest of us have abdicated - either officially or unofficially - and left her in sole charge of the forum. She's been keeping the plates spinning here, even with her own life issues distracting her. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, as the Bard wrote.

So if there is blame to be thrown around for things like slow contest judging, blame me. For instance, in the last CCC I posted a list of top entries to be ranked by the judges, and then I promptly did not give my own rankings for weeks.

Moving forward I give a thousand percent of my support to Blue and to any other Castlers who step up to help her, this site, the larger Castle building community, and the LEGO community as a whole. If I am around I am happy to help where I can, but I'm also happy to just sit back and watch this wonderful community that I have loved so much over the years.

Thank you,
Bruce