A message from Dana

[Jesse]

Hope I dont get in trouble for posting this I'll take my chances  
Dana sent this to me in an Email .
 

As a result of my recent near fatal experience I’ve come to realize the only important thing in life is family and friends

And how you are remembered by the same! I started a thread last year about  my problem with alcohol unfortunately

I didn’t quit drinking at that time but thought I could control it, in other words I lied to myself and all of you for this I apologize.

No doubt my drinking was the leading cause of my being banned from the forum, as most of you know when under the influence of alcohol

people say and do things they normally wouldn’t. I would like to apologize to any and all that I have wronged or offended please forgive me

as I was not myself. Many of you have met me and I have made many friends through PA and our shared interests. I hope that forgiveness for

my actions can be found in your hearts my friends and please know that I truly miss ya all!

It’s a new year and with it comes the hope of being reunited with all of you.

Once more let me offer my sincerest apologies to all of you and most especially to the admins and moderators.

 

Sincerely Dana Montgomery aka The Damn Yooper

      

      

[Pat B]

No problem Jesse!
  I'm glad to see Dana is trying to get his life back and truely hope he does. Unfortunately it is totally up to him. I'm sure if any of us could help him we would but at this point the ball is in his court.
  Best wishes to you Dana. We miss having you around but for me I can't handle the "other" you. I have lost friends(death) and abandoned friends with this same malady. It saddened me to do so but I've also seen good, caring people get sucked in and not come out unscaved.

[Dane]

I for one never saw that side of him, but even so, Dana is a great guy and one of the most colorful members of PA. His work is exceptional too, and he is incredibly generous – I did a trade with him and he went way above and beyond what we had agreed to. He also mailed me a beautiful maple stave once out of nowhere, which was very cool and I won’t ever forget that.

Can admin reinstate Dana? I hope so.

Moderators, any way to get my email address to him, since he can’t access my profile? If so, I’d appreciate that.

Dana, I hope you are doing well, man. Someone close to me is right now dealing with the same issues, and I’ve gained a lot of wisdom from when you were posting on that subject.

Dane

[HoBow]

You are right on all points Dane.  If you want to get in touch with him, he is on Facebook 

[Dane]

Evil Facebook!

Thanks, Jeff, I will do that. Even if I just don't use it very well still.

Dane

[Keenan]

No problem Jesse!
  I'm glad to see Dana is trying to get his life back and truly hope he does. Unfortunately it is totally up to him. I'm sure if any of us could help him we would but at this point the ball is in his court.
  Best wishes to you Dana. We miss having you around but for me I can't handle the "other" you. I have lost friends(death) and abandoned friends with this same malady. It saddened me to do so but I've also seen good, caring people get sucked in and not come out unscaved.

Jesse,  I agree totally with Pat and I think most mod/adm. feel the same way about Dana, We all like him and the contributions that he has made to the board over the years. Unfortunately sometimes (Due to influences)  people make mistakes and break the rules. Please understand that the rules are for the good of the forum and protection of members as a whole. Certainly people change and I have seen this often over the years while working with Juvenal delinquents. 
 However, when you start trying to make exceptions to a rule, then you enter a realm of (character judgement) from one individual to another. That can become a very slippery slope of favoritism. I too have seen many people get there life turned around, and yet others chose to jump off cliffs. (Figurative)
  We have set guidelines that first worn, then temp suspension, then being banned.  These guidelines are in place to guard against any (personal judgements) and unfortunately if (exceptions) are made, then that is exactly what is taking place.  I hope that helps to understand the complications of scenarios like this.
 I, as well as many others know Dana can be a great guy and I'm glad to see him making such great changes for his own well being. I do believe Dana is sincere and I don't know if the ban from the board is permanent or for a set time period, but I'm sure that it will be looked into.

[John K]

Hope he makes it ! Even thou i have never meet Dana i think of him as a friend, i hope he can make it this time 

[JW_Halverson]

I have never met Dana, and I only remember seeing his name on here and really nothing of substance that he had posted.  I, too, have worked with people going thru different "programs".  Sounds like Dana is in the midst of one of the tougher parts of a 12 step run.  Most bail before they have to go thru the step where they make the list, and then go apologize to everyone on the list. 

It's humiliating.  And it's meant to be humiliating.  If it wasn't, it wouldn't help.  No one wants to be humiliated, but that's because we forget the root of that word is the same root for the word HUMBLE.  Sounds like Dana is coming to grips with the arrogance of thinking he was tougher than the bottle. 

Whether he is readmitted to this forum or not means little to me, I guess I have nothing invested, no dog in this fight.  But it looks to me like he's making strides where it counts, his personal life.  And for that I wish him nothing but continued recovery and success. 

[madcrow]

I hope that the length of the ban is checked into.  I don't know the exact date of the ban, but it has been a long time.  Considering the very near death experience he had, along with the major change in life for him, he would be an asset to the forum once again.  Even better now that he would be speaking with a clear mind.

[woodstick]

we all just need to pray for him to get better, with god on your side it is a win win. best to him in his journey.

[medicinewheel]

On my to-do list for the last days of the year would have been contacting admins asking under what circumstances Dana could be restated to the board, so I'm glad to see this thread!
Dana and I have a little communication going on (evil) facebook, and though he and I had several arguments in the past here on PA I would be happy to see him back on.
Let's put it that way: if the board was a bow stave, Dana for sure added 'some character' to it... 

[Sparrow]

I have never met the 'Yooper. I missed the bad part and so am uninformed of his sins toward the board. I did enjoy his post and seeing the quality of the work he showed us. I have had people close to me suffer addictions and so am in sympathy with his current state. I wish Dana strength for this path. (I will include him in my prayers for such)  He certainly is one of us.  '  Frank

[sailordad]

i consider the yooper a friend also like many here do
even though i have never met him
i am sorry he suffers with his demons,but we all have one or two

but i have to agree with Keenan
if they make acceptions to their rules for one person and then not another
then that is passing judgment on ones character
so to let one banned person back on and not another,well that just wouldnt be fare to them(the banned persons) in the big picture
not that i wouldnt like to see his work on here again
but rules are made and implemented for good reasons

no hard feelings Dana
just trying to see the big picture is all

[Dane]

None of us regular members of this site know if one or more former banned members have been reevaluated for reenstatement of posting priveleges, Sailordad, so it may not be a matter of different rules for different people. I dont know if there is a banned for life rule, either. If there is, does that even apply to Dana?

As I said to someone else recently, America to me is a place for second chances and starting over. I hope Dana is given a fresh start. If things dont work out, then they dont work out, but give him a chance. He can offer this place a lot, as he has in the past.

Dane

[Justin Snyder]

Dane, I take offense to the suggestion that we offer preferential treatment. The moderators and administrators (all volunteers) on this site do have some input on the rules, but the owners and paid staff of the magazine make the final decision. We the mods and admins then enforce the rules as evenly and fairly as we can. When there is a question, we ask the owners who make the final decision.

Here are the rules pertaining to this as posted in 2008. I think they are clear but if you need further clarification let me know. I am posting the rules here, if you want to see the original post follow this link. http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,9065.0.html

1: The thread or post is removed and you get a warning.

2: If you continue with your attacks you will be banned from this site for a predetermined amount of time after which you can come back or not, your choice.

3: If you still continue then the ban will be permanent.

If I count correct that is 3 chances. Now I understand that there is some confusion on the Dana issue because PA chooses not to tell the entire board about other members problems. If Dana chooses to, and he has, that is his business. Just so we understand, Dana and I exchange emails  beside our contact on Facebook. I think Dana is a good guy who happens to have demons just like most of us. He did however violate Primitive Archers rules for participation on this forum and PA followed the rules above and ended his participation here.