I'm one who has backed off somewhat, partly due to the inability to shoot as I am slowly rehabbing my re-mfg shoulder.
But I will add a couple personal comments. I consider Sam one of my best friends who, like a lot of folk here, I'd give the shirt off my back to. Alhough Sam and I have never met face to face; and do not meet eye to eye in some aspects of the political arena; we have pretty much agreed to disagree. I understand where he is coming from though I might dispute some of his conclusions.
Sam is very passionate about his beliefs and his tendency to call a spade a spade in blunt terms can offend some, (something I have noted among my numerous other ex-LEO and Military friends). It clearly has here on more than one occasion.
In spite of his brusqueness at times, Sam has a very deep feeling for this community even though he has crossed ideological daggers with some of us. I think the ongoing uncertainty and confusion over the "change" may have made him a bit "sensitive" in some of his reactions, which in turn may have offended others.
But I daresay that most of us have also done that on one time or another. Also we all have raw nerves about some specific topics, and preferences about others. I know there are folk here who seem to have a knack, without intention I am sure (or at least I hope so) of putting a burr under my saddle too. So I tend to skip threads or posts rather than raise my blood pressure, or post a response to something that I will have to apologize for later.
I know that some of us are sitting back a bit and waiting with more that a little bit of trepedation to see what direction a new ownership and management will take this site. It feels a bit like living in a house you have rented in a neighborhood you have grown to love and then finding out that a new landlord has taken over.
Will it still have a balance between hunting archery and target archery, at present it seems to have drifted toward the target archery side. However I know that tends to shift a bit with the seasons and may swing the other way as hunting seasons approach.
Will the philosophy of the moderators change and how will it be applied.
How will the economics of the site impact content and the sites original purpose and the culture that has evolved.
The silence and the mystery to date has only added to my, and probably our, apprehension