I have suspected that when people say that, they are in some manner saying that the incident(s) ruined their enjoyment of the hobby, and they can no longer get the same satisfaction and joy that they did before whatever it was happened. Perhaps they can no longer interact with any collector without being reminded of the terrible feelings that led to them quiting. If someone truly felt that way, I guess there would be no real reason to continue collecting, and therefore, no real reason to stay in the club. I'm not saying those are good reasons, but it's my best guess (never having felt that way myself).

When it happens, I am generally surprised by the intensity of the reaction, and I have thought about why this happened a number of times on this board. Especially because my experiences have been overwhelmingly positive, and because it seems so easy to avoid serious conflict if you want to, except in special circumstances such as with Matt Lehman, where he was accused of stealing the chips he had.

Just my thoughts.

Michael Siskin