Quote by NFG:

I DO have opinions about the APA and how it's being run.  I didn't bring them up with you or anyone else 'cause we don't have any kind of history or dialogue to build on. 

I aired my feelings to several guys at the conserve and, aside from some tangential ramblings they more or less agreed not only with what I said and suggested but the reasons for doing so. 

I don't know you, I don't know Rhys, and I honestly didn't think anyone would be interested in hearing what I thought.  The guys I talked to suggested I talk directly to you, but I couldn't even pick you out of a crowd.

You think I was 'cowardly hiding behind the keyboard', well I didn't see you guys making any efforts to initiate a dialogue either.  I'm a shy guy by nature, and I was nervous as fuck trying to get any kind of facetime with you guys.

pkaus and the APA have a lot of common ground and it shits me to see these silly divisions 'cause of bruised egos or whatever the history is.

it was easy to see who i was and am.
Yeah, I dunno.  No nametag, no introduction (Hi, I'm chippa!).  I'll gladly wear the responsibility for this one, I found it far easier to meet people who approached me or were in my group.

Getting right to the point, here's what I was saying to other people about the APA.  Contextually this came about as part of a much longer, free-wheeling conversation so it's not as if I was wandering around going "Yo, fuck the APA" as a conversation starter.   Some of the people I talked to were paid members of the APA, so on their part I don't really think there's a bias.  Most of them who weren't members planned on becoming one soon, so if anything I think the fact that they agreed with me on most points suggests that my ideas had value to the people who value the APA.

There are two main points:

1. The leaders of the APA need to be leaders.  Having the head APA guys lashing out on forums sets a bad example.  The 15-page thread about me is a pretty good example: Rhys launches out of the gate with an attack and sets the tone not only for that thread, but for the whole forum and organization.  If you go to a restaurant and find everyone who works there exhibits poor customer service, you'll probably find bad management at the top.  If the guys at the top present a public face that is mature and measured, the members will follow.  (I should clarify that I'm not expecting the guys running the place to suddenly become all cheerful and wondeful - just present a public face that is)

I'd like to see the guys leading the APA be leaders.  Raise the bar. 

2. The off-topic forum.  I think this is something that should be made non-public.  The APA is ostensibly an organization that is setting a serious tone and comprehensive framework for parkour in Australia.  While I recognize the value of an off-topic section, I don't think it's something that is valuable to the uninitiated.  Keep it out of the public eye, available perhaps only to members, people with a certain post count, or at the very least, invisible to people who don't register on the forum. 

Moving on:

I don't know Jerds' motives for starting pkaus.  I do know that it's not any kind of successful business, if in fact you're right about that.  Jerds has been described by at least one person up here as an opportunist, and I think that's probably true some of the time. 

To his credit, when I approached him about his waning interest in pkaus, he did not hesitate to give me the keys.  I think it takes a big man to create something like pkaus and hand it over to someone else.  Whether that speaks more to my position in 'the scene' or jerds' big ol' heart I don't care to speculate.

I do know that, in my mind and in the minds of everyone I spoke to, pkaus is the community site.  It's where we hang out with like-minded people.  I view the APA as the organization setting the rules, playing it straight and being serious about parkour.  pkaus is where they come to relax and discuss similar interests (freerunning, tricking, WHY). 

I see the two sites as complimentary, though I have no doubt there are dissenting views.  I'd prefer to see more work done between the two sites and communities, 'cause we can sure as shit accomplish more together than apart.

---

That's what I said to them, and they all seemed to like what they heard.

Quote by Chippa:

sharing is fine, but id ask that we have our discussion first before you post everything up, if you get what i mean. let us come to an understanding between ourselves before we let other peoples two bits get in the way of what we are trying to do.

its up to you.

ill write more on what you have stated above in the next day or so, very busy ATM.

one question. do you pretty much have control of the forum now? and ramon takes care of contact through the website? or do you receive emails from the wbesite as well?