Editor:

In its 11 October edition the Bayside Gazette published a letter from Richard Beatty sharply critical of the Ocean Pines Forum and its owner/moderator Joe Reynolds.  Mr. Beatty does not speak for us, or I suspect, for many other residents of the Pines.  His personal attack on Mr. Reynolds is as mean-spirited as it is factually inaccurate.  Mr. Reynolds has been nothing but supportive of Ocean Pines, just not blind to its shortcomings. 

Particularly for the 50+% of Ocean Pines owners who do not live in the Pines year-round, the Forum is one of the few easy-to-access sources of news on what is happening within the Pines.  Case in point:  it was on the Forum that we learned that the new covered pool was open for use prior to its ceremonial opening this coming Saturday.  The Forum was discussing the STOP lawsuit to bring to referendum the cost overrun on the proposed OP community center long before a word about it appeared in the local press & months before OP house organs even acknowledged to the membership that such a suit existed.  It has also been the only locus for OP members to discuss the fiscal performance of the various Pines amenities, among them the Yacht Club restaurant.

Yes, there is a certain amount of sharp language on the Forum, most often between regular posters.  It hardly rises to the level of vituperation Mr. Beatty directs against Mr. Reynolds.  Mr. Beatty has been peddling this Joe-Reynolds-as-source-of-all-negativity line since he joined the Forum last May.  His misunderstanding then of the mechanics of the Forum & similar moderated bulletin boards was obvious.  He posted on only that one topic &, since being corrected by a slew of Forum members, has not posted since.  This hardly makes him an expert on the Forum or the discussions that take place on it.

I have yet to encounter any censorship of ideas by Mr. Reynolds, or the sort of ad hominem attack by him in which Mr. Beatty engaged in his letter & in his original Forum post.  It speaks volumes that the current members of the Ocean Pines Board of Directors are all members of the Forum, as are a number of former Board members.  If Mr. Beatty is dissatisfied with the Forum, he is certainly free to set up his own bulletin board to discuss life in Ocean Pines.

My husband & I enjoy Ocean Pines & we value greatly the work of those who volunteer to serve on the Board or committees.  However, we are not ostriches.  If there is a problem with an OP facility we want to know about it in a timely fashion, & welcome having a place where we can comment on issues affecting quality of life in the Pines.  There is a wealth of expertise in the Pines community, not all of which, for reasons of employment, timing, or distance, can be at Board or Committee meetings.  The Forum provides OP management with a way to tap into that expertise if it chooses to make use of it.

We are extremely grateful to Joe Reynolds for the work he puts into the Forum, as well as taping the Pines Board Meetings & making them available on the Forum.  His efforts make it possible for any OP resident with a computer to be an educated member of the Pines electorate.

Mary Lee K. Garrison
Patrick D. Noon