Editorial by Socks Clawtooth

by Socks Clawtooth, SW Sr. Furry Corrrespondent, 2009 Last Recipient of Thor Bishop Award

I keep trying to write, and re-write this into a shorter article. I understand that for a web blog, anything more than five paragraphs and people start seeing "chicken chicken chicken"* and not reading what's written anymore. That being said, I'm also trying to fit a gallon of information into a pint bottle, and that doesn't work either. So I figured I may as well cut to the bone.

The Second Life Surfing Association (SLSA) has some major issues that nobody feels comfortable talking about. The "Montego" comp was a culmination of the problems, and I forfeited from the event. Why? Abusive Instant Messages (IM's) from SLSA staff, threats, open chat comments made by judges and staff, and rules that were changed mid-event. And all of this stemmed from a "suggestion" that was being treated as a "rule".

In the following weeks, SLSA staff members said some very nasty things to and about me in open forums, all of which continues to be unprofessional behavior. What they haven't mentioned is that I've refused the prize money, the trophy, and prize package from the SLSA because frankly, I'm ashamed to have been in the events when they treat their virtual athletes the way that they do. In the real world, protests would have been filed for most of the unsolicited comments made by the staffers at the event, and people would have been fined and fired. That's not going to happen here, as the main antagonists of the verbal abuse are also the Board members of the association. This is why I walked. I had enough of the snipes, the comments, the threats and the guilt trips from the Board of Directors.

With each re-write of this editorial, I'm asked to come up with solutions. The solutions are simple, but will not be done. A separation needs to happen between the Board of Directors, the marshalling staff, and the riders. If you do one, you do not do another. The Board needs to comprehend that they speak on behalf of hundreds of surfers, and even if they think they're "joking", they speak for the Board of Directors. Rules need to be published weeks ahead of time and not changed mid-event. If something is not a rule and is a suggestion, it is not to be enforced as a rule. Most of the problems from Montego stemmed from this simple thing spiraling out of control, and the inability to answer one yes or no question about it.

Most of all, a decision needs to be made and made soon. Is SLSA surfing a sport or just for fun? With money on the line, people stating that they hate specific riders and hope they fail, people sabotaging events socially or by griefing techniques, it's hard to think the latter anymore.


* For explanation of this, see video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL_-1d9OSdk

Share: