First, I would like to state that I do not plan to use names in this journal and ask that any discussion about this also refrain from mentioning names. I also ask that even if you know or guess which parties are involved that you still do not use names out of politeness and respect for them. I would further like to add that everything should remain friendly and polite

Secondly, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to those parties who were offended and upset by my tutorials. It was never my intention to upset you. I did not plan on giving out secrets, being offensive, or infringing upon any business. I also would like to express that I do not wish to be on bad terms with anyone and would like to work to clear this matter up and avoid any (for lack of a better word) "drama" from ensuing.

Now, I would like to explain my feelings and thoughts on my tutorials. Everything herein is my sincere and honest opinion regarding my feelings about the tutorial and reasons for making the tutorial. I only wish to express my self truthfully to everyone. Please excuse any nonsensical bits or rambling because I am having very mixed emotions right now.

Many of you were very pleased with the tutorials and gave me positive feedback. To that I am grateful and I truly feel honored that some of you felt that tutorials were very helpful and useful to your purposes. However, others expressed concern that my tutorials may be hurtful to some groups, give away well kept secrets, and spoon feed information to people. I have several things I would like to explain in response.

As I mentioned earlier, I never meant for my tutorials to be offensive or upsetting to anyone and I did not set out with the intention of giving away secrets of soft mounting or taxidermy in general. What I put in the tutorial was what I have learned through my own experiences and it reflects my method of working. I did not feel that it would be intruding on other secrets used by different parties. I have seen Zhon's tutorial for general taxidermy and I feel it describes methods similar to my own (which is understandable because I used this tutorial to teach myself) and did not feel my own tutorials were violating the conditions of information which some are privy to. The general processes of soft mounting and regular taxidermy seem similar to me and I see many other good tutorials elsewhere that describe them. I felt that I could post these tutorials to be an added resource on taxidermy just as those other tutorials are. That is all I intended them to be really, just an additional source of information for people to use when they needed it. I also do not feel that anyone has the right to restrict a person from knowledge that others have. Thus, I made the tutorials to allow my friends and others here on DA to know (at least to some degree) what I know. I felt that the tutorials would be good for people because many individuals have come to me and asked me for help or assistance. I enjoy helping people and seeing them learn, which is why I never turned anyone away and always tried to give good advice. Despite explanations I saw that many people were still confused and frustrated and I thought the tutorials would be a fun and creative way to alleviate some of that. That is why I made them, for them to be used as a fun and creative resource for learning about taxidermy and to help people. I did the only thing I knew how to help many people in the most informative and helpful way I could.

A major concern is that my tutorials give away secrets but also give people the luxury of not having to learn and research on their own. I do not believe this to be true. Even though I have made these tutorials I still encourage everyone to continue to do their own responsible research on taxidermy, which is why I have posted several links to other good sources of information. I do not intend or expect my tutorials to be used as a tell all, ultimate guide because they certainly are not. My tutorials are limited to my knowledge and are not designed to give all the answers, as no tutorial does. Even with my tutorials, I believe everyone will still have to do some research and most importantly they will learn during the process. For example, I am trying to learn bird taxidermy. There are many helpful tutorials out there (some of which go through the methods step-by-step) and I still needed to look around for information to answer my specific questions. Addtionally, what I learned when I actually worked on a bird was much more than I could ever have gained from reading a tutorial or looking at pictures. The hands on experience requires experimentation, practice, and patience. Each time is a new learning experience that is vital. Taxidermy is a craft that is inherently difficult, frustrating, and time consuming, this is true. This is why I also believe that getting extra help from time to time is alright and can help people learn. I think a tutorial is a wonderful way for someone to see a process but still have to learn from doing it. I would hate to see someone be discouraged and give up something they might have a passion for because the process was overwhelmingly confusing and agonizingly frustrating (which sometimes it can be). A helping hand is always nice and can help put to rest your doubts and boost your confidence and give you the courage to know you can do it and keep doing it.

My main reasons for making these tutorials were simply to have them be an aide to people struggling with taxidermy. I saw them as an additional source of information in the wealth of knowledge that is out there. I personally (this is my own honest feelings) do not see how they are different or more harmful from other tutorials for taxidermy on the internet. I don't feel that my tutorials give all the answers and that no one should use them as a perfect guide because they aren't.

That said, I also want to point out that I am not trying to refute the concerns of the offended parties. While I was leery of making them at first I had a lot of fun making the tutorials and was glad to see how happy people were but I am sorry I got so caught up in making them. I have said my honest feelings on the matter and that's all I wanted to do. I apologize if this journal seems callous or uncaring towards your concerns amd it is not meant to target those groups or anyone else. All of their concerns and points about this matter are valid and I respect them even if I may disagree with them. As a result I am seriously considering removing my tutorials from DA entirely or at the very least editing them to "dumb" them down significantly. Thank you for your concerns, patience, and cooperation with me on this issue. I would like to have a few days to think things through properly.

To my devoted watchers, I apologize for this occurrence and inform you that the tutorials may be deleted. If they are edited then please disregard them from your watch boxes.

To those offended parties, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies again and hope we can work to resolve this issue and remain on good terms.