I started this website 10 years ago, and this is the first editorial/opinion article I've ever written. Seems kind of silly. I've always let everyone else give their opinions on everything under the sun on our bulletin board. But for the most part, I don't say a whole lot (compared to freaks like DRM, at least!) Every now and then something will get me fired up enough that I light up my keyboard like the fourth of July and let someone have it, but it is usually better that I don't. I mean, I have an image to uphold, don't I?

Image-shmimage. This is Pirate4x4.com, right? The macho, testosterone overloaded, in-your-face-dark-side of the 4x4 world, right? To some it may seem that way at first glance, but really it isn't. Our goal is to keep a fine balance of "keepin' it real" and professionalism. If someone swears on our public bulletin board, we aren't going to tattle to their mommy, but we don't encourage people to cuss like a sailor. Sometimes we will come across a person or even a prospective advertiser who will say they won't go to our website because it's so offensive. Well that is just silly. We like to think of our website as the real world, where things aren't sugar coated, and people talk the way they talk when they're hanging out around a camp fire. Sure you will come across a few jackasses who want to talk tough behind their keyboards, but those clowns really are in the minority. Take them with a grain of salt, and enjoy the meat and potatoes of what the site has to offer. I have met many great friends through this website - it's incredible. There have even been quite a few Pirate4x4.com romances kindled on these black pages!

Our website has grown immensely over the past 5 years. What started out as a hometown club website has turned into the largest rock crawling website in the world. I'm proud to be a part of the off road industry, and I welcome everyone to our website. Pirate4x4.com has grown so immensely over the years that I have had to bring in a partner just to keep up with the workload. Most of you are familiar with my new business partner - he's been a part of the website for many years. Some of you like him, and some of you may hate him. He's actually a really cool dude, he just likes to kick some ass every now and then on the bulletin board to keep things on track. Erik "camo" Linker is now the Director of Sales and Marketing for Pirate4x4.com. Erik has run his own successful company for the past 20 years, and is now bringing his expertise to Pirate4x4.com full time. Together, we hope to bring you even more of the best tech, live event coverage, product reviews, trail coverage, and more in the future.

We are even planning on covering other off road sports, like desert racing, and ATVing. It's all off roading, and it's all FUN. While we want to grow, don't think we are going to "sell out" or become a flashing neon billboard like some of the other websites out there. We will always be the true to the sport, and have that "Pirate edge". We want more people to enjoy our website (even Newbies), and our sport. There is strength in numbers. The more people that support us, the better we can all fight to keep our trails open. So be sure to tell everyone they are welcome here. We want everyone to learn about our sport, our passion, our hobby.

Till next month, have a happy Christmas or whatever else you might celebrate,

Lance Clifford, Webmaster

If you would like to comment on this editorial, you can contact us here.