It's been worsening for years. It's not going to blow over.
I don't think that anyone is suggesting it will "blow over".
Anyways, I do also wonder at times why Lummi and Mac still have subforums here. Rob and Mac haven't posted or monitored their subforums for ages. What's more, their business practices have been deplorable.
That they still have subforums gives the impression (whether true or not) that CPF as a community and its administration still support them. I would say almost no one supports Lummi anymore and many are unhappy with Mac.
We know that Rob is a fraud. Mac is at worst a bad business manager....and he's not going around bilking people like Rob still is. I wonder at times why the two get compared to each other since the situation is not at all the same. You should realize that people who are currently waiting for their lights are going to see these posts and get the wrong idea. What they should be doing is opening a line of communication either to Mac or with their financial institutions.
The Arc subforum was dissolved when Arc as it was when Peter was a part of this community no longer existed. Lummi and Mac's Customs really are no longer a part of this community.
I agree, these makers no longer participate in the CPF community.
What's more, and perhaps the thing that irks me the most is that these two subforums, rife with threads about problems with the makers and absent any activity on the part of those makers, stand strong in a prominent place alongside esteemed members of the board such as Don and Data and Fred and the Oveready boys and others. Personally, I think it is absurd that Rob's subforum should be right there alongside these guys who still work so hard to support the community and take outstanding care of their customers. Lummi and Mac no longer deserve to have their subforums.
I make a motion to dissolve these subforums and move the threads as was done with Arc.
You have no argument from me here. Just thinking about Rob makes me sick. I don't believe that Mac's forum should continue to stand next to the rest who are dedicated to the community. Regardless, those decisions are up the Greta to make.
Greta, If this is OT feel free to move it or start a new thread with it as the OP or something but it's something I've wanted to say for awhile and I hope it is taken seriously. Thank you.
Having said that, I firmly believe that closure has not been reached for the customers with outstanding orders. Furthermore, there has been substantial activity surrounding Mac's lights in the past year. There are over 2 dozens threads with posts from 2014 in this forum alone, even more if you look back to last October. In addition, there have been countless sales of Mac's lights in both of the sale forums. Perhaps even more importantly, there has been a ton of support from community members to repair and modify existing lights. All of that would likely be nixed if this subforum were dissolved immediately. Is that fair to the people who own Mac's lights?
Finally, Mac has indeed been active, even if not to the fullest extent necessary. I have received emails from him, others have received emails from him, Gonefishing just received a light, Mac left a message on the website, then he shut down his website. There is no longer any issue of people ordering new lights without knowing the current situation.
im not trying to stir the pot, or be aggressive in any way ... If i paid $600.00 or more for a flashlight , as some people have here, and then gotten no replies, PM or emails to where my flashlight is ? i would be not in a happy mood... If you add up the amount of money he has collected for lights still not delivered, that to me is theft , So why is theft Not a Violation of CPF Terms Of Service ? Or TOS ? .... it may be a private sale , but it gives CPF a bad rap as a site on the internet ... there are people here waiting for a product, and Mac as a Courtesy , as a business person should be providing answers to these people...
You are correct, people who are still waiting are not happy, nor should they be. They are even less happy when they stumble across these threads and get the wrong idea. CPF is not going to step in. Lawyers are not going to step in. The Better Business Bureau is not going to step in. Law enforcement is (probably) not going to step in. And so reading/posting those suggestions is not going to help fix the problem.
The reason I am active in this forum is to help existing owners with their lights and to help outstanding customers reach closure, either with their orders or monetary compensation. As far as I can see, sounding the alarm and calling for the end of this forum accomplishes neither of those two things. It's easy to jump into this mess to complain about Mac. I'm not here for Mac. I'm here for everyone who currently owns or has paid for a light from him. If you really want to see people get closure, it would be more productive to help them get it than to join in the cry of "fire!".
As for the bad rap, I doubt that quite frankly. Show me a forum where a maker/dealer has not flaked.