"rb608" wrote in message
oups.com...
If so, it's a shame it's come to that. In many respects, there
have been sad laments as to how ROFF isn't what it used to be, blah,
blah, blah. People come, people go, and the overall personality may
change a bit; but it's still essentially SSDD. But bitching about
the clave raffles? What's next, complaints about the quality of fly
swap flies?

Now, I've been to a few claves and was a one-time Penns Clave
rafflemeister, and I'll allow as to there having always been some
grumbling about inequities in the booty distribution; but this is the
first I've noticed (and granted, I haven't been paying attention)
that the nature of the raffles has changed to the point that people
give donations with an expectation of receiving some return of greater
or equal value. I'm chagrined.

Why back in the "good ol' days", I remember when folks used to donate
stuff out of the goodness of their ROFF souls. ROFFians would send
stuff in with no expectation of receiving *anything* in return, much
less complaining about a gift from another. Zimbo's bamboo, Mike
C's rods, and Frank's quilt are but a few of the wonderfully
generous items once donated out of generosity, not of greed. These
events were supposed to be for fun, not profit. (I mean, who really
wants a Big Mouth Billy Bass?). IMHO, if anyone donates to a raffle
just to be eligible to receive a prize, they should just stay the hell
out of it.

I don't know who or under what circumstances your donation was
criticized; but if that's what the raffles have become, then good
riddance indeed.

This isn't the first time this matter of raffle prizes has come up. It
surfaces periodically and it's pretty much the same bunch that whines about
giving too much and getting too little. It's part of the cost of doing
business in a forum like this, where people can air grievances (real or
imagined) that stem naturally from more or less haphazard face to face
encounters. For that matter, it's also a perfectly natural part of the cost
of doing business regardless of whether face to face encounters occur. None
of this is surprising. Nor should anyone find it particularly distressing.
What IS surprising.....and bears remembering.....is that so many people here
who, as far a they know (at least at first), have little in common besides
an interest in fly fishing have gotten together so many times and generally
gotten along so well together. Also worth remembering is that, frequent
lamentations notwithstanding, this is still a good virtual place to come to.

Wolfgang