10 years of Whip Basics

[Robby Amper]

Dear all,

yesterday it was 10 years that we exist. 10 years doesn't sound too much in "real" life. In Internet time, 10 years is an Eternity. From the folks who started the whole thing, is - except me - no one left. I think that Tyler is amongst the oldest (in terms of being a member - not of age...) here. Usually nice things are told when there is an anniversary. Nice, colorful and warm words, congratulations and bla, bla, bla.



10 years of WB brought up the best in people and it brought up the worst. People, who started as nice, interested members ended as folks who took a whole lot of stuff from here only to present it in other groups as their own ideas and stuff.

People, who came here, asked for help and advice and received both. Then I kicked them out because they had no intention to do something for the community. They went to other places - Facebook etc. - and told the story, that they left, because WB is not from interest and the members are arrogant and demanding. The amount of those we had here is legion. I took the member count we had in the beginning, the rate everything was increasing and I made a projection. We would be then between 4800 and 5300 members. Terrible idea. How much are we instead? We are 34.

34 members, who know about things like "Please" and "Thank you". People, who know about manners. Folks, who know the meaning of the word "Mutual Respect".


I realized that it will lead nowhere - or better into the dircetion of those groups and forums, who have thousands of nominal members, but only a fraction of people who participate - and hit the brakes. At that time, WB had about 400 members. And I started to prune the whole thing. I cut it down to the point where we are today.


Whip Basics exists for 10 years, now. And we will continue. We will stay the smallest whip forum in the internet. But not because no one wants to join. This is because the Gatekeeper will only accept the good ones. The honest ones. People, who are willing to contribute. To respect the community and the other members. With my video "Electrical tape in Nylon whips is Bullshit" I made a lot of enemies over night. And I saved a whole lot of customers a lot of money. The good, honest and authentic whip makers were grateful for that video. And that is the direction, WB will go on. True and honest.

When you read this and say to yourself: "I'd like to join that little forum with the huge and high standards" please make sure that you are willing to contribute. To serve the community. That you are truly able and willing to say "please" and "thank you". In case you are not sure about that...go to Facebook. They will love you.


If you are willing to follow those rules, I'd like to invite you to create the next 10 years of Whip Basics.


And to all those, who are new members and full members... It's good to have you here.
In the smallest and most elitist whip forum ever.
Therefore i want to say thank you to you all, who built and created this community with respect and dignity.


Robert Amper

[Robert Gage]

Robby, you make it very clear why this is such an excellent Forum. Thank you enormously for all your care and oversight of this small group. May it long continue as a haven of courtesy, mutual respect and the sharing of first-class information. Thank you, sir!

[Jeff Roseborough]

Happy 10th Birthday WB.

Actually Robby, I have Tyler beat by 11 months almost. But it isn't about how long a member has been around, but the quality of their contributions to the community. By that standard I think Rachael, Robert, and Ron have us all beat!

Thanks again everybody for your hard work and contributions.

[Collin Weaver]

Robby, I have learned a ton by being here for a relatively short time...and with that feel I owe a certain debt to the people here who have helped me!

[Rachel McCollough]

Happy 10 years, WB! Thank you, LEGEND!!!
The heart of a true Legend inspires good in others.
Each person adds to that. That makes a family and community.
Every one of y'all here are special to me, and you do not know how much y'all have added to my and my family's life.

Robby, big hug, my dear friend. I support you and appreciate all you do. Love you, too
You already know I mean those words with my whole heart. Thanks so much for being YOU, ya big Legend!

[Ron May]

Robby, and all of the Whip Basics family community, Happy 10th Anniversary.

I am so fortunate to be a part of this elite community that stresses community and respect for that community, that incidentally has a common bond of making and crackin' whips.

Elitist..... hell yeah it is. It's open to anyone who wants to pay the high price of being apart of it and not just listed as a member. Contributing , sharing, and most of all respecting all. For most that's just too high of a demanding price to pay.

For me it's a price that no money could ever compensate, because it's priceless.

So, congratulations WB. With the Legendary gate keeper holding the key, it will flourish. Not so much with members, but with heart.

Ron

[Mark Elliott]

Happy Anniversary WB!

Robby thanks for all that you do.

I really appreciate y'all letting me hang out here.

[Scott A. Cary]

A community is one thing, Robby. Here, you've built a family. Well done, sir!

[Jyri Haveri]

Happy anniversary WB!

Thank you "gatekeeper" and everyone else making this place exist!

[Ethan Mitchell]

Ten years is a ton of time for an online group, thanks for all the time you put into this Robby! And thanks to everyone for making this forum what it is.

[Wolfgang Timm]

Congratulations to this accomplishment!

In my experience special interest forums usually have a low double-digit number of active ‚core‘ members who the thing going... Therefore it makes more than sense to just keep those core members, the member count is really not what makes a forum small or big

[Brandon "Sparky" Lam]

Wow 10 years? That's an incredible time, congrats Robby!

[Andrew Van Werkhoven]

Thank you so much Robby for your continued commitment over the past decade, for not giving up in the face of slander, abuse and negativity. For your constant vigilance in dealing with funny bunnies. Thank you for seeing the value in quality over quantity, and being content with what you have made, rather then chasing larger numbers and growth.

And finally, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this family of honest, hardworking, genuine people.

[Flemming Bo Christiansen]

I have only been here for 1½ year, but some of the folks in here - from all over the world - is already very valuable to me.

This is much more than at whip-forum. I have already meet some of you folks and I will really do a lot to meet the rest in real life.

The different views on things we are discussing and the mutual respect is what make people grow.

Robby - I hope you have the passion and energy to give Whip-basics another ten years

[Sven van Leeuwen]

Thank you for these words Robby. The reality is that the morals and values on this community are the reason I wanted to join.

I feel sorry for being so absent lately :/
But I also feel proud to being a part of this family.

Sven

[Sir Roger Tuson]

And to think I once considered leaving the forum because I felt I wasn't contributing enough! Once Robby had boxed my ears about it and gave me the confidence and encouragement to continue WB has become my second family with a number of very important people to me.

Thank you Robby for what you have created. It has taught me far more than whipmaking!

[Flemming Bo Christiansen]

Sir Roger - a dollar for that statement

[Roy Partin]

Congrats to Robby and all the current members on the first 10 years. It is a special place because of integrity, honesty, and a great gate keeper. Here's to hoping the next 10 are just as great. Thank you sir!

[Tyler Blake]

Congratulations and Happy Anniversary Whip Basics, and especially Robby! Funny how the friendliest place on the internet is also the smallest... Hmmm... We have had our bad time here and there, little drama flare ups with people leaving, and of course the hacking attack, but there has been so much more good- friendships formed, knowledge shared, and skill fostered- I truly think that in 100 years if a historian was writing a book about the history of whipmaking they would have to include this forum as a place where many great professionals got started from nothing and flourished; And therefore, that this forum is one of the places most responsible for not only preserving but also reviving the once dying arts of whip making and whip cracking. Thanks Pardner

[Robby Amper]

I thank you, Pardner!

We had a lot of drama. Every now and then. Lots of folks, who describe this place as family. And one day - they simply disappear. But that‘s okay. As we say here, you should never stop a traveller. And when people think that they can find more infos and help, well. I will not stop them. This place is really small. More than that. When I see how many members actually posted within the last four weeks, there are not more than 12 - 15 folks who participated. I announced that there will be some pruning, again. But I wanted to wait one or two weeks, to give those folks a chance to „return“.

And WB will be a smaller place than it is now


Robby