I suppose I equated "flaming" with public defamation of character. By the wiki definition you're right, no forum rules have been broken.
Kever - I said I would give you a more detailed response and here it is.
Re: Part 1 Asian Adonis
Mark has a vision of what he wants the lower seymour zone to look like and was peeved that a trail was built outside of his vision. I'm not saying his vision was the only one that matters, but I am saying that the trail was put in without consulting the NSMBA, and he feels this is done in poor taste. He has told me that metro van has used the building of asian adonis as an excuse to put off or nix other projects in that area. Why metro van is concerned about happenings in land not managed by them is a mystery to me.
The changing of the description and negative reports are on him.
I don't know if Mark Wood has a vision for the Lower Seymour Zone but if he did I would point out that Mark never told us about it.
The claim that building AA or SS negatively impacted the Metro Van relationship is directly contradicted by conversations Sharon and I have had with Metro Van "its not on our land, we don't care". I would further point out that while Mark was a NSMBA employee, in 2011 he built Gnomer (later becoming a portion of Forever After) on Metro land without Metro permission. If you want confirmation of that PM me and I will give you the contact information of Mark's fellow builder and other people who witnessed that building. Please don't simply accept my account; verify it yourself.
Re: Part 2 …
Mapbook. Mark is pissed that the NSMBA logo was used in the mapbook despite his asking not to. Although you started the NSMBA, at present you have chosen to operate outside of that umbrella and he feels that including the NSMBA endorsement is unwarranted for that reason. I'll have to ask him specifically about his reason for sending that private message, it seems unethical.
Sharon and Wade talked this over with Tim Ambler, the director of the NSMBA specifically tasked to deal with this issue and came to amicable resolution in 2011. Mark Wood was not involved with this resolution. IF Mark still holds a grudge about this some 5 years later then that is his personal grudge and not the NSMBA's.
I will add that the mapbook is Sharon and Wade's baby. I wrote the introduction but other than that it's their thing.
The "lies to land manager" seems to be a he said she said situation so I don't want to touch that. The crux of the Marks argument is that he sees new trails being built on seymour as a detriment to the good will the NSMBA is trying to establish with land managers. Bigger picture, he sees any new trail that is built on Fromme or Seymour (light side) as a threat to the relationship with active land managers. Hence why new trails need to remain secret, but never do because there are few secrets in North Vancouver. Matthew Bond said in a town hall meeting 2 or 3 years ago that the biggest threat to the organization was the proliferation of "loamers", due to trying to be good neighbours with land managers. Mark's intense hate of you and Sharon (which is not shared by me) stems from his view that your work is at odds with his and jeopardizes the future of his work and vision.
Mark's vision is very different than the NSMBA boards of past and present which were to try to bring in all builders as a community and try to work with them. Maybe I am wrong in that and if anyone else has a different perspective or if that is not aligned with the NSMBA's values I'd welcome hearing it. I am not the only one to point out that he is "polarizing" (Rachid's words) or that he has a you're-with-us-or-against-us attitude. I would point out that alienating builders generally doesn't work well for community spirit. See Cypress for an example.
Re: yelling at Sharon, I observed things escalating quickly at the town hall meeting and that seems to be a two way street. Other than that I can't comment.
Mark is the first to admit that he's a bit of a hothead who can let his passion and temper get the best of him. I don't think you, Sharon and him will ever fully resolve the deep dislike for each other, but I do hope that both parties can ignore each other enough to carry on working on trails. Your solution of leaving each other alone does seem to be the best possible option. Leaving each other alone means both parties stopping the mud slinging and focusing on making the best trail network for the community.
I saw Mark's reaction at the Town Hall. He was livid and turning red and purple with rage and while I was having the conversation with Vince at the NSMBA !01 presentation and clarifying that the NSMBA's characterization of unsanctioned building as rogues and parasites only applied to areas where the NSMBA had an understanding with active land managers (DNV and Metro). I knew he was enraged when we clarified that the NSMBA had no authority over trailwork on Grouse, CMHC or Cypress.
Why he would then shout and scream at Sharon for something I said is beyond me. Sharon was having a conversation with two other people when Mark interceded shouting and screaming. She tried to ignore him and tried to not engage. Mark has not explained why he did this. Perhaps he was enraged by the concept I put forward that he has no authority over the trailwork Sharon and I do in the CMHC; but I speculate.
As to your last point about his hotheadness, Mark may have a vision and a plan for the Shore trail network but alienating people who want to do trailwork independently of the NSMBA isn't going to aid him in spreading that vision. Neither is shouting/screaming at people; blackmailing their friends or lying about people.
His hotheadness is not serving him well. Like it or not he is the NSMBA's face and IMO his anger issues also does not serve the NSMBA well. But it is up the NSMBA's board and its members to choose its Program Manager and if they don't mind someone who periodically melts down and blows up in public that is the NSMBA's and the member's choice. All I would ask is that as Mark Wood leave Sharon and I alone. On this both of us can agree that would be the best thing.
