Hi Al!

I take it by your response that you're a member who passionately supports the club, and I'm thrilled to see that! You've made some valid observations & ask some reasonable questions regarding my post. Allow me to address some of them, please.

"The club embraces all casino collectables, primarily chips. Why must we only focus on your interests?"

The club should definitely focus on more than just my interests, and I never said nor implied that it should only speak to my interests. I think the club does a fine job at promoting and preserving casino collectibles and gaming history, and I'm glad that it does! I'm not saying the club should change for my interests necessarily, but simply stating that when my primary interests don't necessarily align well with the club's primary interests and goals, it's reasonable for me to question whether I should re-up or not. In short, "It's not you, it's me." And I mean that sincerely. I wouldn't go into an Italian restaurant and try to make them cook me an egg roll, nor would I expect the club to change specifically for me or cater only to the things that I'm most interested in.

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"He also states that the message board (which is the chip guide) is antiquated."

Two things here. The message board I'm referring to is actually the specific message board - not The Chip Board. Granted, the two appear to use the same technology and may well be on the same server, but I do treat them as two separate entities that just happen to have significant bleed-over from one to another. And as for the state of the technology...well, frankly, it's dated. As technology goes, it's considerably old. That's not a knock to Kaplan or Spragg or any others that may serve as administrators to it - if anything, it's a credit to them for keeping it running! The fact remains, however, that the club's primary online presence & portal for interaction is not what folks have come to expect from modern technology. For many potential members/users, that's a turn-off. It's nothing more than an aspect of modern marketing. An organization's website is one of it's primary methods of advertising, and if the website doesn't represent the organization well then many folks won't give it more than a passing glance.

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"He is on the fence as to whether he will re-up, he criticizes the club, yet he will attend conventions and volunteer. "

If by, "he criticizes" you mean, "he gave information that Doug asked for regarding the club", then yes, true on all accounts. I did, in fact, voice concerns over what I believe to be some of the club's shortcomings, but I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do when asked if I support the club and to give reasons for my response. Note that I didn't - and wouldn't - voice such concerns publicly if the question wasn't asked publicly. I also believe that you can have concerns about how an organization operates & still be supportive of it and volunteer for it. Our country is a perfect example. I'm not thrilled with everything our government does, but I still served in the Marine Corps. The same is true here - I may not like everything about the club, but I can still joyously lend my time to it, and I intend to do just that.

I'm unfamiliar with the complaints re: how the Chip Guide is run, and I'm similarly unfamiliar with the clique that's been reference multiple times. If there's a clique, then I guess I'm happily oblivious to it.