being pragmatic is being practical.
what you say is truly pragmatic, and yet you are not acting on it. You say "Sometimes there are no fixes and you move on". So - move on! Why are you hanging around this board and talking about TATF if your money is gone? Sell your trees on the board! That will earn you some money back!
Tell me how your actions are practical. You are a very busy man! You don't even have time to say hello in the hallway - that's how valuable your time is! Surely you are wasting a far greater magnitude of time by reading and posting here if THERE'S NO WAY IT CAN HELP YOU!
Again, I point out that you are not being pragmatic. You seem to be on the board for the purpose of pointing out that TATF is wrong. Besides the fact that it's already obvious that TATF is wrong, so your posts are redundant, caring about the fact that TATF is wrong is idealistic when it doesn't lead to a positive outcome. That's called "tilting at windmills", which is a reference to Don Quixote, the quintessential idealist.
(But you are an engineer - it really sticks in your craw to be called idealistic, so I'm sure you will fight it tooth and nail. If you want to be the pragmatist here, it doesn't matter to me. It's just one more label that doesn't affect whether we get our money back one iota (wow - note my very pragmatic point of view!))
I don't think idealism is bad. I'm glad you participate on the board. I used to play sports. Sometimes my team would get behind by a score that would seem insurmountable. People have different styles - mine was to keep playing as hard as I could and try to encourage my team to do the same. I would not stop believing that we could win until the game was over. Why? Because I had nothing better to do in that situation. I was already playing. Nothing else pressing on my calendar for the rest of the game. People would take issue with me walking out - I might as well try. Sometimes I would feel like it was over halfway through - but I would try to keep playing my heart out. And sometimes my feeling was wrong, and we would win.
I didn't know when playing that if we kept trying we would win. All I knew was that the surest way to lose was to stop trying. To me, fighting til the end is the best combination of idealism and pragmatism. If I go down here, I will go down trying to win, not trying to get revenge or complaining about how rotten a deal I got. What's the point? You want some violin music with that song? Now that is truly a waste of time.
I think you should recognize that if you are being pragmatic and moving on as you say I should be doing, then I won't be hearing much more from you now.
I am being pragmatic in this way: the money I invested is too much for me to lose easily. It costs me nothing to continue reading and posting, and I will keep up to date with any events at TATF and the experience of others. If I hear or think of a way that I can be helpful or get some benefit, I can participate.
Again, I reiterate my opinion: If TATF fails, then you will be absolutely right. My money is gone. If TATF is able to string their business along until trees pay off, I may get something back. If TATF prospers and is an honest business, I might even make a profit. If it is a one in a million chance, and it sounds like it sometimes, that is a better chance than throwing in the towel.
If I get to a point where I no longer hold out any hope for TATF, I will drop off the board. Then if I ever get a check it will be a pleasant shock.
I think that, as an engineer, you should probably recognize mathematical pragmatism when it bites you on the butt. If I have a tiny chance of getting some pittance by bringing TATF down and a 10% chance of getting my original investment out by helping TATF succeed, I will go with the chance that somehow TATF will pull through. Even if the chances are reversed in magnitude, I think the potential economic outcome for me is far greater down the path of success - and if there is a legal solution instead, I still won't be left out.
If Steve starts to listen and change and communicate, I think my chance doubles or more. I don't think anyone can know what the chances really are - I just don't see any positive outcomes at all down the path you believe we are on. If you're right I can't change it by bashing TATF any more than I can change it by posting just the facts or by being positive. I would just quit.
There may be a point at which I decide my chance is better by pushing for legal action. I doubt it - I see too many class action suits where lawyers become millionaires while I get a check for $1.37. But maybe I will get better news on the legal front from this forum, or maybe I will feel differently at some point.
It's all a guess. I trust my guess more than yours, but it doesn't matter. Your guess tells me there's no way out. If I don't believe you and you are right, I will still suffer my doom just as you will - don't worry, I will fall along with everyone else - no slower or faster (gravity plays no favorites). If you're right, nothing I can do will help - so I am not hurting anything by trying. If I'm right, the game's not over yet. To me, in that situation, trying is the only logical thing to do. That is pragmatic.
