The Sheep Pen

[Dan]

Place Is Picking Up ,Big Time.:D

[Dan]

Almost 200,000 Views.:D

[bueno bob]

Larry the Ninja says:

"Looking dangerous is hard! But being dangerous is even harder..."

[Dan]

Larry the Ninja Is A Friend Of The Sheep Pen.:D

[Matt White]

And a hello to Mr. Lumbergh and Mr. White!

Long time no see, campers!

I don't get out like I used to................

DAMN YOU Spammy Haggis!!!!!!

[Dan]

Cheers to Mr White.:D

:bottle:

[bueno bob]

Good to see some of the older gang back here! Exciting stuff!!



TITS OR GTFO!

[bueno bob]

And for what it's worth, we're NOT closing that I'm aware of...

[Dan]

Good,Cos I Would Get Mid-Evil On Someone's Ass.:D

[Dan]

Sorry,That Thread Was Gay.:D

[Dan]

Can I Get A Hell Yeah?

[bueno bob]

Well, the way I look at it is like this.

When you become a part of the Sheep Pen, you become a part of the Sheep Pen for LIFE. I never agreed with the idea of hiring people, firing people, kicking people out of the club for having a different idea about things or whatever. Additionally, I never thought orders should be handed down from the top (so to speak), or that everybody involved with the day to day postings in the thread had to march to a particular set of orders.

Of course, that's the way it turned out sometimes, but usually it was to a better goal - that goal being the flaying, roasting and ridiculous humiliation of Hagar fans (to the end of keeping them out of other threads, back when there was something worthwhile to talk about in regards to Main), and secondly, to give even BETTER than you got when it came to flame wars to the point where EVERYBODY thought twice before getting into anything with you.

Overall, I think the Pen achieved both goals beyond anyone's wildest imagination. Credit for that can be handed to the founding fathers (Max, Rikk, Zahz, DG, whoever else was involved), and it also can be handed to those who started really defining this place after the founding fathers kinda burned out on the concept (Nickd, Bill L, Matt, myself, Rikk, 7884, etc), and those who came and went (Zilla comes to mind), and those who still like to hang their hats here to whatever extent they do - Dan, Candy, etc. Hell, even the supporters who weren't actually members had a hand in the success.

This place was always a community effort, and it was always a community effort that brought it back from the edge whenever it went through lulls (and trust me, this place has went through some serious lulls, not just now).

The external question is, of course, will the Pen ever achieve the same level of cool it had at it's height? I don't think so. I mean, it may go through a degree of resurgence in the event that another vocalist steps into the band, or God forbid Hagar and Anthony weasel their way back into the fold, of course, but like Van Halen, we've truly seen the peak years come and go.

Well, the next question then becomes, is it time to hang it up, lock the thread and call it a day? Well, look at it this way - is it time for Roth and the Van Halens to hang it up and call it a day? Well, some people may think so, but I don't. Honestly, the Pen is the biggest thread on this site, it's some SERIOUSLY funny fucking reading at times (trust me - I know!) and I think it's a very interesting journal of the shit years from 2004 and up. It really does mark the history of this site in it's own way, and it's left it's mark in return. And I think it continues to do so.

The 20,000th post celebration is, I believe, going to be fucking nuts and a LOT of fun for everybody! I am more than willing to bet that we can get a lot of the old guard back in time to enjoy it. Matt's been making some posts, Bill's even dropped in a few times when he can (I mean, fuck, he's got 16 kids now...give the guy a break, seriously)...Dan and a few others have been THE GUYS keeping this place afloat on their own, and Dan alone has BLED the Pen since the day he was invited in.

You know, the decision to close the forum and move the threads to Non was made between myself and the brass. It was the right decision then and it's still the right decision. I have yet to see one viable reason as to why this thread should be closed and dumped. "Well, Rikk's not around" and "Well, Max doesn't post" and "Well, the original founders lost interest" and blah blah blah...so what? Did (Mammoth?) Van Halen split up because Mark Stone wasn't involved in the band? Did AC/DC give it all up because Dave Evans wasn't singing anymore?

Well, I could go through a million different band examples, some of which might lend to my point and others which might argue against it, but the fact remains that there isn't any especially good reason to close the place. And, frankly, if there's any serious discussion as to closing down the Pen, I would like to think (ask?) that a little heads up consideration would be given so that the place can go out with a bang, not a whimper. It has far too rich of a history to just wake up one morning and find it flushed.

In the event that it goes that way, I have to say while I'll be extremely disappointed (as will others), the Pen will never entirely die. I will GLADLY carry the Sheep Pen title under my avatar here until my banning and the subsequent deletion of every single post I've ever made - since I doubt highly that's ever going to happen, the Pen WILL live on, in any fashion that it will. To all the other active admins here, I welcome you all to do the same if it suits you, but by no means is it required!

Be who you are! You are the Pen!

That is all.

[VanHalener]

Good,Cos I Would Get Mid-Evil On Someone's Ass.:D

And when it's all said and done you can kick back with your lady and enjoy a nice plate of haggis. An after dinner knob gobbling will do nicely.

[Dan]

Big Amen To That.:D

[Rikk]

I doubt if anyone actually feels the Pen should be closed.

The way I see it, if people still want to post in it, why the hell shouldn't they?

Just because I'm not around or any of the other earliest Penners doesn't mean it shouldn't be a source of conversation for other happy Van Halen campers.

Just because FAB and I are finally getting married doesn't mean that people can't look back on great statements like "I hope you die, you fucking evil fat cunt!" or "You now have 22 aliases...you'd be better off dead, you useless cow" with fondness and grins.

Keep it going, I say. Reach 100,000. Make every post count.

And don't forget to have a nice salad, cuddle a panther...and induct GUWAPO ROCKER as this week's SHEEP OF THE WEEK, just for ol' times sake. (I haven't posted here in a lifetime, and I still hate the son of a bitch! )

Good to see some of you fuckers still touching Merle's testacles.