RussTCB Stepping Down

[RussTCB]

Hello MyGNR Fam

I've made a very hard decision that I'm going to share with all of you now: as of this post, I am leaving the MyGNR forum staff.

I have a lot of things I'd like to share with everyone as part of this process-

My GN'R-online story started back on a forum called newgnr and I moved over to a forum called GNRevolution after newgnr went away. I was part of the staff at GNRevo from quite some time before I ended up leaving that site in a very bad way which was due in great part to my own faults. The staff and majority of users were always very good to me during my time there. To this day, I remain ashamed of myself for the way I handled things with that situation. That really has nothing to do with MyGNR, I just wanted to say that in public.

I continued to read MyGNR, mostly My World in the weeks that passed and I really had no intent on joining leadership of any GN'R forum ever again. However, I kept seeing little things that I thought could improve and kept getting the itch to help out. I reached out to High Voltage with a random PM and asked if he'd be intersted in me joining. We went back and forth a bit and he ended up deciding it was a good idea. No matter what's happened since, I'm glad that he did. 

I won't bore everyone with stories of what's gone on here since. There's a long history that many of you know. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Always with the best intentions. I've never claimed to be perfect and I hope I've never given anyone the impression that I thought I was. My intention was always just to hopefully build a medium place for fans of all opinions to meet up. I believe I had varying degrees of success with that in my time on the staff here. I am now and will continue to be proud of my work here.

So why is this happening? This is happening now because to be honest, my heart hasn't been in the band for a very long time. My heart was with the forum though, so I stayed on the staff much longer than I probably should have. I relayed my thoughts to Downzy earlier today and he's understandably upset but supportive of my decision. Downzy's handling of my decision is another in a long line of great things that add to my time on the staff here. I am extremely grateful for the friends I've made through the GN'R community both online and in real life. 

So what happens now? I am *NOT* leaving the forum but I am leaving the staff and mostly likely any GN'R discussion. As I said before, my heart just isn't in this band so I would most likely only contribute negative things to the D&N section that I worked so hard to help rid of negativity. It's best for me to hang out in My World & Seen That Movie Too when I stop by. I'll be posting in the usual threads in those sections, so you can look for me there and/or shoot me a PM whenever anyone would like.

I want to say THANK YOU to the entire GN'R online community for all the memories. Thank you to the online and real life friends I have and I'll even say thank you to the people who are probably celebrating right now haha. Every person I've interacted with has made me a better person in some way, whether they liked me or not. Being made a better person through this whole experience is something I'll never forget, so as I said many times; I'm grateful for this whole experience. 

This isn't goodbye, it's just "I'm stepping down and I won't be giving anyone warning points anymore" haha. 

I truly hope for the best in the future for this forum, the online community and even this band who seems to disappoint us so much, but connects us all in some way. 

Thanks for everything and see you in the non-GN'R sections!

-RussTCB

Edited May 14, 2020 by RussTCB

[alfierose]

Thanks for all the time and energy you've put in the forum Russ. I am kind of gutted but I know this is important to you.

I'm glad I found you as friend even if it's just in the virtual sense. 

 

[-W.A.R-]

The children book put you over the edge eh?

[Rovim]

25 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

I am leaving the staff and mostly likely any GN'R discussion

[AxlRoseCDII]

Appreciate all you’ve done Russ- definitely some shocking but understandable news you’ve shared. I wish you the best and it’ll be good to see you around, thanks for your dedication to the forum all these years! 

[janrichmond]

Russ, You've been a great mate to me on the mod team  Thanks for all the support and the fun, glad you're still gonna be hanging around x

 

[rocknroll41]

I don’t blame you at all man. My heart isn’t in this band anymore either. Best of luck with your podcast and whatever other creative pursuits you take on in the future!

[GNRfanMILO]

It sucks to read you’re leaving, but it’s totally understandable knocking how much time and effort you’ve spent on this band over the years. I feel the same way as you, but the main difference is that I started to lurk forums and eventually join here in 2014, so obviously I’ve been around much less time than you. I think I still have some “patience” left in the tank, but if things don’t change we’ll be sooner or later taking the same decision as you.

I have to say thank you for making this forum a better place. I had lots of good moments here and that’s mainly thanks to you and the other mods. I hope that good band/management decisions make you return to the forum some day! Good luck 

[lame ass security]

Totally understand your decision but the important thing is you're not leaving the forum. I honestly don't know how you mods do it, I wouldn't last a day.😄

[DK6]

But we're just about to start the next chapter!!!!

[Wagszilla]

Happy for you Russ!

Life’s too short to spend time on things that bring you down and don’t get you going. 

Don’t forget me when you’re a big time podcaster.

[zombux]

sad to see another sane one going away, fed up with the clownshow called GNR. but as the others already said, it's pretty understandable. I know very well the feeling, that's why I'm inactive on the forums lately as well, and minding my own (other) business. 

[Towelie]

Russ, you should still partake in band discussions. I know you say your heart is not in the band anymore, and I get that. They are shit. A corporate, soulless entity interested solely in the bottom line and not remotely concerned with art or music. I guess we're all holding out for a positive change at some point, and in spite of everything, I still have a small modicum of hope that they will pull off the unthinkable and actually do something worthwhile for a change (a new album). 

But don't let the band asslickers stop you from shooting the breeze and expressing your honest opinion regarding the sorry state of GNR in 2020. Some of us value your thoughts/opinions. The fact that they are mostly negative in tone says absolutely nothing about you and everything about this "band."

Edited May 14, 2020 by Towelie

[WhazUp]

I get it.  I was a huge defender of the then-newly reunited GNR in 2016/2017/2018 and gave a ton of chances and lots of "well maybe they have stuff cookin' and patience is key" but the more and more I wait the harder it feels to be passionately into this band.  I listen to GNR way less than I ever have, I passed on multiple concert opportunities because of preferring to spend my money on bands that change things up more.  It is frustrating being a GNR fan, even if there are tiny periods of glee like 2008 and 2016

Glad to hear you won't be leaving for good though!  I enjoy your thoughts and opinions on GNR and music in general.  

I have found the moderation and upkeep of this forum really pleasant the past few years and you are a part of that so thank you for helping to keep this place truly what I think is the best GNR-oriented place to chill in

Edited May 14, 2020 by WhazUp

[Dazey]

Sad to hear this Russ but I can totally understand your reasoning. As others have said I was really hyped back in 2016 to see what the band were going to do but as time has gone by it's reverted to business as usual and I just can't get excited about anything GnR related right now either. Pleased that you're still going to be sticking around as a poster though. We have a lot of really cool people who are on here for the community having long since given up on Guns n' Roses which is both really cool and a bit of a shame at the same time.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Dazey

[RussTCB]

Thank you to everyone who's posted their thoughts. 

To be clear, I'm not stepping out of GN'R entirely. I'm just taking a break from D&N for the foreseeable future as part of the process of leaving the staff. 

I really haven't had anything even remotely positive to say about GN'R for a year, maybe two. Until I do, I plan to stay out of there so I don't contribute a bunch of negativety. 

I've got so much other music that brings me joy, so I'd rather concentrate on that by sticking around My World for a bit instead.

[ZoSoRose]

Thanks for everything, man. I'm glad we get to be friends irl

 

[Padme]

55 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

Thank you to everyone who's posted their thoughts. 

To be clear, I'm not stepping out of GN'R entirely. I'm just taking a break from D&N for the foreseeable future as part of the process of leaving the staff. 

I really haven't had anything even remotely positive to say about GN'R for a year, maybe two. Until I do, I plan to stay out of there so I don't contribute a bunch of negativety. 

I've got so much other music that brings me joy, so I'd rather concentrate on that by sticking around My World for a bit instead.

I understand. There are better topics to discuss elsewhere than in the main GN'R section. Thank you so much for a job well done as an administrator 

[Lio]

Thank you, Russ. Life's too short to spend it on stuff you don't enjoy (anymore), at least not at this time. Hopefully GNR will surprise us all and do some great stuff to lure you back in

I'll see you around.

[metallex78]

Russ, I feel like we go a ways back having first becoming online friends at GNREvo, then kinda enemies (though never really!) from some of the drama that unfolded, to meeting up and hanging out and having lunch and beers in Vegas 2016, just like old friends.

And, as much as we used to disagree on some things, I always loved that you are just a really passionate fan of music, like myself, and many, many others here. 

Glad to see you’ll still be hanging around here though, still plenty of other bands and things to talk about aside from GN’R! 

[RussTCB]

1 hour ago, ZoSoRose said:

Thanks for everything, man. I'm glad we get to be friends irl

 

It was really was my pleasure to do everything I did until the last couple of years haha. The band just got to a point where I felt like I couldn't fight for them anymore. 

But yes, my favorite thing about my time on the forums is all of the real life friends I've taken away from it! 

53 minutes ago, metallex78 said:

Russ, I feel like we go a ways back having first becoming online friends at GNREvo, then kinda enemies (though never really!) from some of the drama that unfolded, to meeting up and hanging out and having lunch and beers in Vegas 2016, just like old friends.

And, as much as we used to disagree on some things, I always loved that you are just a really passionate fan of music, like myself, and many, many others here. 

Glad to see you’ll still be hanging around here though, still plenty of other bands and things to talk about aside from GN’R! 

Thank you. Yeah, I certainly don't agree with everyone but I'm glad you do understand that it comes from a place of passion. Like you said, there's a lot of people out there with that same passion, so it's great that I've met a lot of them, including you, through here

[Dean]

This site received a new lease of life when Downzy took to the helm and yourself along with the rest of the staff ensured that this forum stayed on top.

Always enjoyed reading your posts and your podcast is a regular in my household. Hope to see you still come on here from time to time and hopefully you can make your return to D&N if and when new material drops! 

[RussTCB]

1 hour ago, Dean said:

This site received a new lease of life when Downzy took to the helm and yourself along with the rest of the staff ensured that this forum stayed on top.

Always enjoyed reading your posts and your podcast is a regular in my household. Hope to see you still come on here from time to time and hopefully you can make your return to D&N if and when new material drops! 

Wow, thank you so much for making the podcast a regular thing! it's nice of you to mention that. And yeah, IF GN'R ever gets around to releasing new music, I'm totally down to (hopefully) enjoy it and definitely share my opinions. 

[downzy]

To suggest that losing @RussTCB as a staff member is a shot to the gut is a definite understatement.

When I began to take over as owner of this forum back in the winter of 20/142015, the first decision I made was to elevate Russ to the administrator position.  Honestly, I had to beg - he was doing a great job as the forum's main moderator carrying most of the load of moderating duties at the time and understandably didn't want to add to his responsibilities.  While I totally understood his position, I still begged until he did me the huge favour and became an admin at MYGNRFORUM.  It was important to me and to the forum to have Russ represent the forum through a rocky transition period.  Many of active posters then and now loved and respected the job he did as a moderator and I wanted to reassure the community that with Russ taking on a more senior role that things here would only improve.  I can't say I've made a lot of great decisions, and not to give myself too much credit, but having Russ become an Admin at this forum was easily one of the best decisions I have ever made since becoming the forum's owner.

Russ was instrumental in shifting the tone of this forum; away from constant negativity that drove many people away and towards a more respectful attitude that still accepted differences of opinions and criticisms of the band and all things GNR.  We both agreed that the forum needed to change in order for it to survive but it was largely through Russ's commitment, along with great help from every other staff member, that this strategy came to fruition.  There was a time when the forum was receiving numerous complaints a day because of nonsense and disrespect, Russ and fellow staff have transformed this forum where we receive very few complaints about other posters or posts.  Russ is largely deserving of that credit.  It has made this forum much easier and enjoyable to moderate and administer.  

Quite simply, Russ has been the heart and soul of this forum for the past five years. 

I cannot imagine this forum surviving and remain as popular as it has without his fair and measured watch.  

The entire fan community, members of this forum, the staff, the band itself, and myself all owe Russ a massive thank you for his contribution to the GNR fan community.  Being a staff member here is largely a thankless job, without much in the way of perks all the while shouldering endless frustrations and personal dramas between forum members.  That is to say nothing about the amount of bullshit staff members have to manage in terms of this forum's attempts to bridge the divide between the band/management and the fans.  This is not an easy job and wears on anyone who has joined the staff.  

It is testament to Russ as a person that he has stuck around for as long as he has despite everything.

So a big thank you to Russ from myself for being the kind of Admin/Moderator and friend this forum needed these past many years.  I can never repay the debt I owe you in terms of your contribution to this space on the web.  I truly believe this forum means a lot to many people who have enjoyed discussing a band they love in an environment free from assholes, egos, and bullies.  You are owed a world of debt from people who visit this forum and myself.  

I would also like to congratulate Russ on moving forward with something that brings him a lot of joy and drives his passion for music.  It's not easy to walk away from something you have devoted a lot of time and energy towards for years on end.  Life is short and it's great to see Russ direct his talents and passion for music towards something constructive like his fantastic podcast (Infectious Groove Podcast; it's a great listen and everyone should check it out).  I'm always inspired by people who choose to build, create and act in a positive way despite the challenges and difficulties.  So congratulations on your new direction and I look forward to hearing more from you on that front.  I'm also glad to hear that Russ will still be around to contribute his thoughts on music and other topics.  He's an opinionated guy with a lot of great insights so I'm glad we're still going to benefit from having him around.  If GNR is finally able to get over the hump and release new music I'm sure we'll see Russ back in the D&N section again. 

Thanks Russ!

 

[DieselDaisy]

Great poster/mod. Glad he is sticking around.

I suppose he has reached his breaking point which many of us have experienced with this band (me, circa 2011, yellow rain jacket Ashba horror show). Everyone snaps eventually haha. Even the biggest nut swinger will eventually snap. Fernando will find a way.