[massphatness]

I think this whole situation underscores the need for all of us to leave relevant trader feedback. I know I'm one of those "benefit of the doubt" people who will bend over backwards to be understanding and see the other side in a transaction. I don't think I've ever left negative trader feedback even though I've been in a few problem transactions. In the end, my unwillingness to act is a detriment to the community at large.

I forget sometimes that I truly know very few of you. We interact on the board and we call each other "friends," but that's easy in a vacuum. You post. I respond. We banter. Meanwhile neither of us truly KNOWS the other. Obviously there are a handful of guys here that I do know well because I've met them, hung with them and developd a real relationship with them. But for the vast majority, we're nothing more than posts on a web page to each other. However, I think nothing of it when someone says, "bro, you down for a split of XYZ sticks?" Off goes my check or PP pmt. 99% of the time it works out just fine because I'd like to think that 99% of the members here are legit. But we still need to be careful. And we have to do a better job of taking care of each other by utilizing the trader feedback system for something more than gratuitous platitude system it currently is.

How many guys would have gotten involved with Dan if he had 3 or 4 negative trader ratings? That's on us guys. Everyone of us who got burned by Dan -- and I'm in that group -- left the rest of the board open to more predatory behavior because we didn't want to be seen as the bad guy who left a negative rating. We wanted to believe that scumbags don't exist on the board, and in doing so we failed those who came after us.

The next time I'm involved in a pass, a trade or a GB where someone goes AWOL or doesn't live up to their end of the bargain or misses a deadline without clear and prompt communication, I'm leaving negative feedback. And I will do so out of respect for the others on this board.

That doesn't mean I'm going to go red dot happy. Case in point, in my mind, as to how it should be done. Moe & Fred recently ran a group buy that ran into a couple situations where things got delayed. But I was never, ever in doubt that things would be resolved because of the wonderful job they did communicating with the board, explaining the circumstances and outlining next steps. They get kudos & props for the way they handled that GB.

But make no mistake. There ARE other Dan's out there. And shame on us if we don't alert the rest of the board to problem transactions going forward.