Originally posted on 12/14/2009:

I was gone all of yesterday, thus for better or for worse missing out on the Sunday version of the SBR soap opera.

Obviously, things are quite a mess around here, and I'm not really sure what to do. I've tried helping out Williams by alleviating the debt of anyone who had points with him, but there seems to be a good deal of confusion surrounding that. One way or another, the gesture cost me over 500 points, but I still seem to be receiving PMs where guys are confused about what/if they owe, on top of various unfounded opinions and/or attacks, etc. etc.

At this point, I'm all out of faith and a bit dejected with the whole SBR community. Granted, this place has always been a mess of sarcasm and spam, but ultimately, the main purpose of SBR and the togetherness of the community (shout out to JJ for that) have made the forum worthwhile. However, the problems of the past combined with the new issues regarding stiffing and bravado have taken things to a whole new level. Willie Bee even accused me of carrying on a fight with Dummy.

So I'm left with a myriad of problems and/or questions of ethic:
1) I've always considered this loan bank to be a friendly asset to the board, not a business. Yes, amongst honest loan recipients, I "make" some points to keep the thing operating, but now, without question, my work and time have netted me a major loss in points. I'm a student with a lot of shit to do--most of it seemingly more important than running a small-time loan shop on a gambling forum... Is keeping this thing alive a good "business" decision, or even merely a break-even propisition that allows me to provide a service?

2) If I were to keep this thing going, my records are in shambles given the loans I've alleviated, and I now have very few points left to turn over. According to my current records, I've got over 800 points outstanding right now (not including any interest), but factoring in the mentioned debt alleviation, I'm down to just a couple hundred points with which to run this things. Furthermore, there are a couple guys with loans way past their due date, whom I've been doing my best to offer gentle reminders and avoid charging extra interest. I do trust that these guys will get back to me some time, but in lieu of courteous attempts to pay me back on time, there is no way this thing can stay open. As is so often the case, the actions of an inconsiderate minority are ruining things for the trustworthy majority.

3) Does anyone even care anymore? (I'm half expecting to get just as many rude, sarcastic, belittling posts as I am honest feedback for even making this post.)

There seems to be a very vocal minority who tend toward faulting me and any other honest creditors for making too big a deal out of these points to begin with, and thus in turn pointing the finger at us for any and all problems that have arisen. If that's the case... well, like I said, this has ultimately been an overwhelmingly losing proposition for me--and that's purely in terms of points, with no consideration of time, effort, or the fact that I occasionally ignore my homework to scan these boards. Should I ultimately just close up shop?

Any feedback is appreciated. In the meantime, given my low funds and overall lack of heart, I recommend Dunder's loan shop (if he has any points) for those looking for loans... he runs a good operation, though ultimately I fear he will get stiffed out of business too. Finally, note that I'm not trying to point any fingers here. Williams and I were friends, and it was my choice to relieve the loans I had sent to his place. Regardless of what you think of him or my couple vocal critics, please try to keep any responses on point. Thanks.