Standing Down

[Cornelia Klier]

Shipspotting.com Needs to get friendly and nice again. No frustrations and bad behaviour, mis-trust and bad Feelings and hurt Feelings. If one has bad Feelings about this site, leave it - and find something else, that is pleasing.

Shipspotting.com is not the right place for making some personal war and Derek has mentioned a number of times, he would like to again.. and why not? He has always been Kind, encouraging and a Person good with People and cheerful. Just the Kind of People, this site Needs.

Why not all work together?

If Ken feels that he wants to dedicate his freetime to something else than something that gives him grief, that is is good right, especially at this Age, it is a good right, to leave things that do not work anymore. If he instead fancy a trip around Europe and meet shipspotters face by face, and if it suits to him, I wish very good luck and fulfil your wishes!!

[jimmcquarrie]

All the best Ken-sit back-get a couple of Whiskies down you-Cheers

[Ian Thomas]

All the very best to you Ken enjoy your retirement and put your feet up for a well earned rest.

Kind regards
Ian Thomas

[Alex59]

Thank you for everything Ken.  I really appreciated your hard work.  All the best!

Alex59

[Peter S. aus N]

Ken since you last post I didn't know your age. I thought your avatar is a fake.
Sorry we had most time in some little things not the same meaning and understandig.
But all my respect to manage a site in your age.
Sometimes time will come to retire and it is a good time to do it on the peak. I think 89 years is a good age to retire and start a new hobby. How about shipspotting ? I know a good site-shipspotting.com- where you can show your photos -worldwide-. But only in good quality.

Ken thanks for your engagement in the last years.

I think Derek is the right solution in this time. He is balancing and calm. He has experience to be the webmaster, because in past he showed that he can do it and he made a perfect job.
For future it is good to share the work on 3 other shoulders so this 4 had also enough time for their family and shipspotting.
Now we are back in calmer waters.
Thanks Derek

Peter

[Ken Smith]

Thank you all for your kindness, I shall miss you all, I have really enjoyed the time I have been with this Website, it will leave a gap in my life, I am extremely sorry it has come to this and hope that you will understand my reasons for leaving, I just could not carry on knowing that I was not trusted by my colleagues.

I wish you all the very best for the Future.

My Best Wishes to you all.

Kind Regards
Ken

[Fernley James Harris.]

Hi Ken, thank you for numerous hours of maritime pleasure, enjoy your interest as we have ours enabled by your goodself. Respect and very best regards Fernley.
 

[John Jones]

Ken,

As I have expressed on the Admin Forum previously I am sad to see that you are standing down, especially for the reasons that you keep quoting about distrust from the rest of the admin team.

For the record and to allow all of our members to see it here is the content of the email that I sent to Ken:

Quote:

"I have tried to contact you via the Shipspotting.com forum but surprisingly find myself suddenly banned from that after being a founding member and several years of dedicated input to the site and admin duties."

:Unquote.

This ban on me happened virtually seconds after I had posted a question to the Admin forum asking why Derek Sands had been banned, after a string of comments had been posted to that forum by yourself and Dan Earl stressing that Derek Sands would never be allowed back as an admin.

I think my question was valid, and when my ban immediately followed it was obvious that either Dan or yourself were responsible. Turns out it was Dan, but don't keep harping on about how you were mistrusted and betrayed by members of the Admin team. O.K., Dan ironically managed to 'ban' you too, but what the hell else were we supposed to think! It had to be one or the other of you as you were both in cahoots against Derek.

It is very, very sad indeed that things have reached this point on a 'hobby' site. But as much good work as you have put in over the years Ken you cannot pass the blame for this sorry state of affairs onto everybody else but yourself, especially when you still persist in injecting every bit of venom into your posts against the rest of the Admin team as you can. Maybe you just can't see it? Well, obviously you just can't see it or you would not persist in this destructive behaviour.

Regards
John

[Chris Howell]

Hi Ken

You have done the best job possible as I see it, any site this size is a minefield and I hope now we will see more of your oldies and you concentrate on something you are very good at taking ship photos, the whole point of the site !

Enjoy your retirement and keep clicking !!

Best regards

Chris

One final point I would make everything should be in English including comments as this is the international language of the sea and that's right ships are built for the sea.

[tvtech]

DE..quite possibly. Why though...too ambitious?

God knows. I wish him luck. The wheel turns. Slowly for some and quickly for others.
But it keeps turning. Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you.

And that all should remember.

God Bless Ken. Never met you but respected you. Not one photo deleted or posted...just respected you. Never dealt with you but still respected you. Call it gut feeling. Never been wrong.

God Bless,
tvtech

[Robbie]

I think we should keep things professional here. Name dropping and forwarding quotes from other forums is not needed. Someone has done something wrong and they have been dealt with by having their account removed. Let have Ken leave on a good note and not continue to publicise previous messages anyone has sent.

It is sad that it had to end like this for Ken. Although Ken and I didn't see eye to eye I kept coming back to this site which to me shows how great of a job he has done on it over the last few years. At that age Ken you should kick back and enjoy retirement and continue with your photography.

Hopefully all this hostility and negativity can calm down and stop and we can begin to share and enjoy images of ships like the site is intended for.

Again, thanks for the work you've done on the website and I wish you luck.

[Captain Ted]

Well Ken,,we had our run ins,,but we always worked it out,,,will miss you MAN !!!!

That the site is taken over by some members and if one does not agree with them one is a bad member is
nothing new to me, one can only hope that the site may go back to former "normalcy"
honestly I doubt it :-(((

Ken,,all the best,,and realx,,do your pictures and keep posting,,I will do so too however not at the pace
I did before,, somehow the "zest" is gone


brgds
capt ted

[Ken Smith]

Hi John,

You have missed out the mail I received from you requesting that all your photographs and your account be removed from the website only a few moments later to be followed by a second one to say forget my last, I now see that we have been sabotaged, once again proportioning blame on me and then realising you got it wrong.

Pious words from you John.

Regards
Ken

[john white]

hi all
it would be nice to go back to how the site was when i joined in 2005 looking at ship pictures
posted by people from all over the world with all sorts of cameras and expertise
and stop all the hostilities
only my thought
best regards
John White

[Glenn Towler]

This is why when I was a admin I avoided the site politics in the admin forum and purely focused of the images.  It is disappointing to see Ken stand down as the webmaster in such circumstances.  But I respect Ken's decision and I hope that even if he he does not want to take on a management role on the site that he does not walk away from the site completely and that he still contributes to the site.  Now we have our 2 previous webmasters back at the helm, Derek's I don't know how you are going to turn the site around but it is going to take a lot of work.   All the best Ken, you have done a wonderful job on a site that had just grown massively since day 1 if you decide to part ways full stop with the site I will be sorry to see you go.  Cheers Glenn