Okay, as it is the nature of being a moderator in the midst of a heated thread, I have to weigh in. Circumstances like this are my least favorite part of the job.
First, apologies to krayman, for your thread being turned into a long winded debate about suitability of one member as a potential home for one of your birds. I truly hope that this will soon abate, and get back to your original purpose: finding good homes for these birds in need.
In no particular order, I will address a few things as I see them.
I don't judge people here. It is not my place to do so. JH may be the nicest guy on the planet, and maybe we could hang out and have a grand old time. Maybe not. Point being, I have no way of knowing. As fiddlejen said, this is an online forum. We don't have the luxury of live, in person conversation. All we have is the information at hand, which in this place boils down to post history. All we know is what someone expresses in their posts. With that in mind, I do feel bad that JH has presented himself as a bitter, defensive, and probably lonely man. Perhaps he's none of those things, but again, post history supports that assessment. I do give credit for trying to research before acquiring a bird, as we do for all prospective parronts. Research is great, but it's not experience. We have no idea if JH has ever had birds, or even spent any time with one. It was never mentioned one way or the other, but we suspect not, given the information presented.
Plumsmom, thank you for reminding members about bashing any of the mods. It will definitely not help anyone's argument, that's a guarantee. We welcome respectful argument or disagreement, but bashing is against forum rules. Thanks also for recognizing the function of the mod team. We work hard to keep the forum a supportive, positive place. Harder than members know. We see everything, and discuss every issue at length, behind the scenes so the vast majority of problems are handled before ever being seen by the membership. Realistically, I probably have 10-20 posts of discussion with the mod team for every 1-2 posts I put on the open forum. It's a lot of work sometimes, trust me.
Discussion here has focused on finances, or the lack of them. Not something anyone would have brought up, other than general thoughts that indeed, parrots are expensive to keep, and the usual reasons for the expense. JH has from the beginning, made finances his main point. Post history... Contrary to fiddlejen's claim that he was consistent about having funds available other than for initial cost, he has never said anything of the sort. "I can provide care in a loving home" is a great start, but only speaks of feelings and a place. It does not imply anything about funds. Post history... Sorry Jen, I think you're wonderful, but in your own terms, faulty math, and unfortunately, based on false assumptions, thus becoming merely fabrication on your part.
JH asserts that no one, including any of the mods have expressed concerns until now. Not true. In fact, throughout the multiple failed adoption hopes, concerns were aired, and met with repeated defensive comments by him about respect, and proving himself. A common theme in his... Post history... Ignoring the concerns, or getting upset when people raise them, does not justify his claims that there were none. They've been there, again and again. Post history... He stated that respect is earned, but was offended when questioned about anything that might garner support of aforementioned respect. We don't gain respect by complaining about whether or not someone shows it towards us. Give us a reason, instead of more complaints.
Wonderfully expressed by others, if JH does in fact acquire a bird, the forum is always here as a place of support, information, and experience of others. This forum exists first and foremost, for the best interest of our magnificent feathered friends.
