OK, you asked for it:

I rarely post anymore because, as one of the precious few around here who doesn't have his nose crammed firmly up one of the Younger's behinds and who's never been afraid to say what's on his mind, I simply grew tired of being shot down & shunned by most of the long-winded know-it-alls who flood this forum with their so-called "expertise" and just can't stand to hear even one minor negative comment about HL/YA. The disclaimer at the top of this site clearly states that the posts herein "reflect the opinions of the individual" and that this site is supposedly "not affiliated with HL and/or YA" but that's a lot of hooey! The individuals who "run" this forum both "work" for HL/YA and can no longer view things objectively...just try to be an individual and speak honestly and see how quickly you're blown out of the water...

I'm also not fond of the direction the company has taken, flooding the market with a glut of open-edition giftware and polishing the GLOW line into the real diamonds, while the LE's have become clunky, overdone, hard-to-display cubic zirconium monsters...no wonder dealers are dropping like flies...I'm still a member, still buying a few lenses, Xmas pieces, and precious few members-only LE's but I've come to realize it's best to be seen and not heard around here.