So I am writing this as a blanket statement that I believe is a feeling a lot of EX-MEMBERS of the DRTC have and to try and see if there is any camaraderie left whatsoever.
I was told by a gentleman who I consider a friend today some things that got my gears turning and he is also a member of this club.
So here it goes - I hope some of the guys in hiding will come forward to participate in this. As regardless what a few of you think this is important to me as this stupid truck has been with me for almost half my life and shaped my life in more ways than one, only my closest friends know what I am talking about but it can be summed in three letters "GSM". I am a unique case in the fact I cant be lumped with any one group as I have in vested a lot into the club and the site yet have a couple bones to pick at the same time, to say any different is quite frankly wrong. But no matter which side of the fence you are on you may want to read this further.
*DISCLAIMER* If you truly HATE the CLUB itself you need not read further. But alot of the guys who hate the club still post everyday, just sayin. Now with a new president maybe this is the perfect time or the could be the worst time for this post. But, otherwise sit back and grab a coke, a smile and STFU and read something from the heart before the holidays.
I feel as though the general consensus is, at least from my point of view, I dont hate the DRTC as a club nor do I, nor have I done it any harm. Quite the opposite, the club was in the depths of hell in 2008 when Steve Feiler and I took on the task of creating a completely new website and forum for all of us RT owners to call our e-home. After Steve left when he sold his RTs I tried my best to keep up with a forum software I didnt really know and the website, life got in the way with children and marriage and starting a new business and I just over loaded. However membership picked back up and remained solid. Since that time new people are around, OGs stayed around but there grew to be a disdain for a club that was only here to offer an inner circle so to speak for all of us to discuss our trucks and hang out. I wont go into the why that happened but the dislike for certain "things" caused all of us to pay a penalty in the fact I have thought many times about just never logging in again but cant bring myself to that. Some have stopped logging in, guys that may not be liked by all but really have good insight and offer some of the best tech advice available for these trucks and our platform.
Like it or not there is only two WEBSITES for this platform anymore that are worth a shit - dakduh has been a wasteland for quite some time and its pathetic now especially with the new format, for sale section only there for me! Dakotausa, customdakotas, etc....are all ghosttowns - they havent had but a handful of posts in YEARS!!! So the two left are racemagnum and dakotart - racemagnum takes some getting used to and dakotart offers a comfortable place for most people to post around in, which is cool. The problem I FEEL is it has become over moderated for many of the guys, the caveat being lots of times the moderation seems biased based on who the flame war involves. I know the DRTC hates to hear it but there are some truly genuinely nice guys on RM (lucky13, nitroram, rawndart) being just SOME of them that come to mind that NEVER posts here unless cuz RIOT LOL....those guys have always helped me with stuff that quite frankly NOONE on the DRTC even had an answer to. Even the bleach and fire guy answers my questions there LOL! RM guys hate to acknowledge the same of the DRTC - some genuinely nice guys who have ALWAYS helped me (madboy, x_hawaiirt, 1evilrt, sick_660r) just to name a few, they too have helped with stuff that noone on RM could - my boy Josh Klein being the biggest one for getting my pile of crap running again when I just didnt have the time.
Without naming names or kicking this into a direct flame war - there is certain situations that like it or not have been handled poorly that have caused this great continental divide within a community that is too tiny to split. I would love to ditch my truck sometimes for a new hobby but its got too much sentimental value for me to do that right now - I like have an online venue to go to but I feel on the defensive every time I login like most guys who have chosen to leave and become part of that "other" site. I know some individuals have said some very harsh things and do so on a daily basis but I guess in my think tank time today I wonder is it really worth it??? Some of the guys preach hatred about the club but when you ask them they at one time or still do like the club but not some of the players, but at the end of the day talking everyone into leaving the DRTC leaves us with nothing but a smoldering pile of ash.
Guys on both sides of the aisle make the mistake of saying things that are quite frankly RIOT material when its not really necessary. Some people are allowed by the forum moderators to run their mouth to the point its personal with no consequence until return fire is sent then its knock it off or GTFO, which I dont believe is right either. So I forced myself to take a step outside the box and look at things and wonder if there is a solution or just a bandaid to stick on the gushing gash. There is literally DOZENS of guys who choose to not re-up memberships for a multitude of reasons, for a club with less than 150 paid members, that is a HUGE gain in guys who would be willing to all be a part of a HOBBY for a nominal amount of money each year. For those guys who think the membership dues is a money grab and thats all the club cares about - well, in laymans terms thats ignorant - its less than 4000 a year to try and keep a website going that costs half of that I believe due to server requirements and such.
Taking that into account if there were 30-40 more guys think of how fun dual national meets would be every year (if you havent been to a big one like Tucson in 2002 you are really missing out IMO). But one east and west every year would give LOTS of guys a chance to participate. And since the trucks are out of production and I just like cool cars why not try to get SRTs there, other dakotas and durangos maybe even some local vipers - it would be a legit show n shine as some of those guys spend more than lots of guys yearly salaries
And I also must say that if we can figure out a way to coexist maybe make some changes that are agreeable to the masses we can have TWO places worth hanging out in. So the last questions I was pondering are what would I like changed here that is REASONABLE (saying FIRE CHAS is not reasonable, some may feel that way but its not why I posted this and spent a couple hours figuring out how to word this and make it non inflammatory to all sides). So please participate with the intent of seeing if there is any progress that can be made - if its a lost cause then I will confine myself to moving along my merry way. If this post is just deleted I will ask my username to be removed and all posts along with it, no other hard feelings - this has been burning at me since I decided to return after the mini meets. So here is my short list of things I would like to see the execs/reps consider AS WELL AS the member base - if you feel the urge to be an inflammatory AH I ask you to sit this one out, a simple NOT INTERESTED reply will suffice. I feel the club is slipping down a path of no return and that would honestly be ashame, love it or hate it, these trucks are now 12-17 years old and out of production for 10 years - nothing else will come along as a haven for the current owner base.
1.) Biased moderation has no place in an OPEN discussion forum - like it or not it has and does happen. That said there is times that it gets so far off topic thats where I feel moderation has a place. There is a flame wars section for heated threads to be moved to USE IT!
2.) Realizing that personal and business are just that, separate things. A shady vendor or friend or whatever has no place in a "family" of enthusiasts - family trumps friends every time and there is no reason to play favorites IF there is a legit argument or complaint. And NO its not just the whole PIE thing - I PERSONALLY feel like others did not get fair shakes in transmission deals either because they were part of "another" site. The bottom line is if there is a vendor OR individual taking advantage of other members, "family" always comes first. This is realizing that there have been COUNTLESS shady businesses and members over the years who were considered honest, trustworthy and competent at ONE point and people who went against them died at the stake LOL!
3.) I would like to see the consideration of letting other vehicles using the same powerplant or platform allowed to join and participate. I realize this is an RT club but every time you read of a part out or a TOTAL that is current or potential members down the drain - you just can sustain that forever as there is LOTS of those. Plus it would make the meet potentials ever for local GTG so much better. Hell there is really no good prospects for div 5 execs anymore - maybe someone that has interest with a durango or a quad cab would be willing to step up and HELP the club? I know it has been discussed in years past but this is JMO. Afterall my truck really isnt even an RT any more - wheels gone, suspension changed, brakes upgraded, interior gone, supercharged, basically NOTHING is as it came from the factory.
4.) Maybe if we all want to agree with this being a new path so to speak - that guys like Danno will come back to post, like it or not he has some good info and the site has declined since his departure. Also maybe a consideration to bring back others who are banned with the obvious understanding that the ban button is still that close.
Food for thought gentleman - like I said if its a lost cause, then so be it but lets see if I can challenge everyone to at least a constructive conversation and flaming aside for just one thread. HELL maybe there is a chance to make a place we all can use constructively for either the benefit of selling / buying parts or for tech info or or or or.....
I realize that its not like there will be no arguments or flaming but it would be nice to see the group as a whole conversing again. I realize some people are just assholes, you know who you are and I expect that I will always have issues in those cases. I am sure the same goes for others.
So happy holidays and this could be one of many more posts from me or my last.
Caio!
Todd