Please let Ken back

[Katherine .]

But there’s one thing still missing in this thread: A poem from Doug.

[Alex H]

 A poem from Doug

True that, where is the Idester?

[Kattt]

The Idester has been seen going bye on his way into the mystic.

[William Kerber]

I just have to throw this out there. Would anyone really want back into a site that they were banned from? I can’t imagine those circumstances myself.

[Nick Gatel]

I just have to throw this out there. Would anyone really want back into a site that they were banned from? I can’t imagine those circumstances myself.

I wouldn’t.

But I’ve only met a handful of BPL people and can live without BPL very easily. It appears that Ken has met and become friends with many, many BPL people, so perhaps the interaction here is a second family to him — that would make a large difference, IMO. Perhaps to him the value is the community and little else. However, I have chided him many times to to give up on making this a better place to visit because it is out of his control. Ken’s problem is that he care about BPL more than just about any other member who visits.

 

 

[Kattt]

A few minutes  ago Ken asked me to post this on his behalf:

 

 
Hi everyone,
The outpouring of support that I have received in this thread and in messages sent is touching and most appreciated. I have been in communication with Ryan and Roger. Believing the negotiations ended Wednesday, I await Ryan’s final judgment.
Here’s hoping
Ken

[Ethan A.]

This is my first post in a few months and it’s fitting it should about community and a friend rather than gear.

After being an avid BPL member and reader in the Northeast US for years and progressively lightening up my kit, my wife and I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. 3 season and winter conditions were different and I turned to fellow local BPL members to adjust techniques and gear and learn about local trails and trips.

Around that time a fellow Northern California member PMed me asking for my mailing address. A few days later I received a warm welcome and a gift of a UL shoulder strap bottle holder – that member was Ken. Soon the GGG in Point Reyes was coming up, and it was Ken who encouraged my wife and I to attend. We had a great time meeting many people I only knew through the forums for years and we had the opportunity to try out more UL shelters, packs, stoves and other gear than we’d ever seen before in one place. Ken T (along with Kenny H) organized that GGG and many GGG’s to come, inspiring members in other locations to organize their own gatherings. It takes real time and effort to put together an event like that and I’m deeply appreciative. Ken has also been a longtime contributor to the forums. All uncompensated except in thanks from fellow members.

I’m also very appreciative of Roger’s incredibly tireless, informative and witty moderation, the patience of fellow members to continue to share their experience and advice and Ryan’s efforts to maintain the site. I’d rather see BPL adapt to changing conditions rather than not exist. Ryan I’m glad to see more of you and hope it continues.

While I appreciate the classic articles BPL produced on footwear, packs, sleeping pads, stoves, wet weather and winter techniques and many other topics, it’s the wealth of knowledge of the members and their willingness to share it that holds most of the value for me. Ken is an integral part of that value and I sincerely hope we continue to benefit from his participation.

I also applaud David Thomas’s sentiment – we should communicate in ways that foster community, bringing out the best in each other.

[Jeffs Eleven]

Screw Ken!

Check out the snazzy new fonts!

[Ian]

Well there’s nothing like the talk of fonts to bring a good ol’ fashioned BPL love fest to a screeching halt.

Damn Jeffs and his shenanigans.

[Jeffs Eleven]

That’s my bad…  lol

[Bob Moulder]

[W I S N E R !]

Deliberations continue.

[Casey Bowden]

Maybe Ken should thank Ryan. After all, he got to attend his own funeral (sort of) and see how much he has meant to so many of us.

[Ken Thompson]

Well, well.  I have been reading this thread as it developed. Very kind and heartwarming. Much gratitude to all. It’s nice to be amongst friends. I really appreciate much of what’s been said. Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you soon and hope to meet more of you in the future.

Thank you all.

[Window walker]

Welcome back, Ken. We missed you.

[BlackHatGuy]

nm

[HiLight]

I didn’t know we had a Save Ferris thread going.

Glad you’re back, K.

[Kristin Tennessen]

Ken has really brought the NoCal BPLers together. BPL survives on community, and Ken is a central figure to that value.

[Diana Vann]

I haven’t posted here for quite a while… so happy to hear you’re back Ken T.  It just wouldn’t be BPL with out you!

[d k]

Just got back from my travels last night and I am very pleased to see that Ken is back!

[Danny Milks]

My comment was deleted and I was never notified that it was deleted.

[Dena Kelley]

Glad to see Ken is back. Now bring back Dave T. and Bob G, please. I know I don’t matter much because I contribute little to the forum in posts and don’t generate much in revenue, but I appreciated the posts from Dave T and Bob G (as well as everyone else). I learn a lot from the forum members. It seems like some people (the ones apparently in charge) are getting kind of thin skinned and reactionary. I hate to think what will happen to the value of the forum if we all start agreeing like little bobbleheads. Diverse viewpoints are what makes the forum interesting, IMO. And we should all be grown-ups enough to handle a little abrasiveness or disagreement. I learn far more from people I disagree with than from people I agree with anyway.

[Author]

Posts