I am sure many of you are bothered, confused, curious, shocked or itching to know what happened the other day here at Conservatics within our commenting community. I would bet there are those who really don’t care. I am one of those who don’t really care… but I do.
I was a bit surprised myself when I learned what happened, but I will be the first to tell you it was justified. At least in my eyes, it was. To be blunt, a couple regulars were banned. If you are looking for some sort of explanation, keep reading. There are always two sides to each story- maybe even three or four. If not, just head down to the comment section and enjoy each other’s company.
I haven’t gone to other sites and read comment boards to see what some people have said about my site and its recent drama. I don’t have time for that. Hell, I don’t really have time to write this letter, explanation, article or whatever you want to call it.
I am not in the business of getting into any specific drama. In fact, I have many reasons why I am reluctant to write this in the first place. But, I have one major reason TO write this. I’ll start at the beginning…
In February, I started this website. I had wanted to start a news aggregate website for some time since being banned by Breitbart and the Daily Caller (several times). I was encouraged by Val to do it, so I did. When talking with Val, I often say, “Our site”. Yes, I own it. I pay for it. But, Val manages the content. She has managed 90%+ of the content since the whole Chinese Virus became a big deal. I have been so busy at work over the last four months, I have had to rely heavily on Val to run things. She has been the one who moderates the comments. Sure, I come in and jam up a few trolls here and there, but she has been running the show. I thank her for that more than she could ever know. We asked Ch00 and KYSG to be contributors to the site. They diligently posted story and article links. They helped keep the site fresh and built a solid foundation. I thank them kindly for their help and the service they both provided. This site would not be what it is without Val managing the site and without Ch00 and KYSG posting links. Thank You. Truly. Thank You.
I have not taken donations to run this site. I have attempted to utilize Google Ads to generate some money, only to have them strip my privileges, suspend my AdSense Account and not pay out a single cent. I have not made a penny from this site. I am ok with it. Maybe one day I will. With that said, I am happy to pay the maintenance of this site and spend my own time making this a fun place for others. I am not asking for pity here, I am spelling out the reality. I don’t make any money from this website. Val has been working from home since the Chinese Virus hit. She has also spent every other second dedicated to this site. Everything has been built on my personal finances, my personal time and the time of others.
Val and I constantly discuss what we want to do with the site to make it better. We discuss small details. We discuss large ideas. We have implemented things that we think would improve the overall look, functionality or experience. I have personally made many calls. Val has implemented them.
Look, I don’t want to get into the drama, but you need to understand that Val has put up with a lot. People call, DM or text her all hours of the night telling her to ban some troll or to do this or that. She has had a lot of pressure to do this or that with certain people on the site. It sickens me to name names and some details, but I’m not going to beat around the bush. Val has gotten a lot of kickback and flak from Ch00 when implementing certain things with the website. Ch00 has been in web design and implementation for well over 20 years. She has a lot of experience in the field. She offered many ideas and suggestions. I took some suggestion and declined others. That’s ok. This is my site. When I did not want to implement certain suggestions, the tone changed. It did not necessarily change between Ch00 and myself, but it changed between Ch00 and Val. I don’t know what it was, but Ch00 didn’t like the direction we were taking the site. Things took a weird turn three weeks ago when Ch00 disappeared and stopped posting stories and comments. She donated her time and efforts and then stopped without saying a thing. That put a lot of strain on KYSG. He had to take on more responsibility and post even more links than he already was. I’m sorry that happened, KYSG. Thank you for stepping up at the time.
I’ll be honest, Val and I thought Ch00 left to create her own news website- we assumed she was upset at some of the changes we made on the backend of the site. I think it’s safe to say those presumptions were correct. I’m not mad. I left a site and created my own. Anyone can do it. It’s just crappy the way it went down.
I have seen screen shots of conversations. I have witnessed for myself the rift. You all may or may not have felt some tension on the boards over the past 2 months. I noticed it, especially since I knew the back story. I watched it. I watched unfold. There were some incredibly blatant swipes at Val and outright snarky things said and done. I don’t blame Val for banning the people she did. I would have done the same. Nobody who donates their time, talents and energy to making a great place for everyone deserves the stupid attacks she received. Nobody.
I am not going to get into details- I’m not attempting to assassinate Ch00’s character. I have always loved and appreciated her. But, many of you know what has been said over the past days by her and others who do not want to be a part of this site. I only know what some of you have told me.
I’m simply bothered at the idea that anyone thinks Val is to blame for any of this. She’s done nothing but dedicate everything she’s got to this site. She wants this site to succeed. You all have NO idea how deep her efforts go. It’s a shame things went down the way they did, but sometimes you need to cut the cord with some people. That’s life. Shit happens. It’s unfortunate it happened here. I don’t want the drama, and I hope writing this does not contribute to any drama. I only want to set the record straight.
This site is supposed to be a place for Conservatives, Trump supporters and Patriots who love freedom. Unfortunately, that principle and idea gets clouded by the actions of others. I am sorry to all of you because of it. I don’t hold ill will towards anyone, but I will ALWAYS defend and support my family. Val is family to me. I support and stand behind her. I wish I could eloquently articulate my deepest appreciation for her and what she’s done for this site, for me and for all of you.
Like I said, there are two sides of each story. Believe what you want; just understand that there was way more at play than what you may have seen just on the comment boards. I don’t care to discuss this, but maybe airing it out was best. After writing all this, I hope I made some sense and I hope I didn’t confuse any of you. In the end, Val and I wanted the site to go a certain direction. Others disagreed. So, they parted to make their own. That’s ok. Who’s to say it isn’t? What is not ok is the blatant attempt to assassinate Val’s character.
I have said many times before, and I will say it again: I love you all. I appreciate your friendship here. I appreciate the relationships I’ve built with you so far. I look forward to continue building those relationships. Thank you for making a significant and positive impact in my life.
-Max