I'm going to try to keep this short. Fluff? Keeping fluff to a minimum is THE reason I started this site. I was so sick of how useless the usenet forums (newbies can google it) that I started the fourms here 12 years ago. My rules have never changed and they will not change. In my mind, what makes this site stand out is the fact that it is tightly moderated and stays on topic.
For an idea of what a lack of moderation is like, just read this entire thread. The majority of posts are "fluff" with no info. If this had been a serious topic and people tried to read it to actually get info then most people would give up because there was too much fluff. This thread also is a prime example of how if left unchecked fluff would take over the site. People see fluff and they think well if they posted that fluff then I can post my fluff. Left unchecked it gets out of control in a hurry.
This site exists for the exchange of useful information. It is not a playground. I have been saying those same words for 12 years. I'll say them for another 12 if I do not lose my patience.
Now this is a community and there is a large percentage of us that know each other and there will always be some fluff posts. This is certainly not a sterile lab environment. It is however, again, not a playground.
As for fund raisers, I used to allow people to post about them but aside from BTS fund raisers those posts are strictly off topic and it is clearly stated in the rules. It is certainly not because I only like one charity and do not see other causes as worthy or because I have "dishonest" intentions in any way. Anyone who knows me would strongly disagree with that statement.
The policy change was made due to a certain well known charity fund raiser that caused many members here to feel that they were misled and that they money they had donated was not used appropriately. I can not allow the members of my site to get hit up for a fund raiser and then feel like they got ripped off. Dave, Alan, and myself can not check out the finances of every fund raising event that people want to post here. For the safety of our members the policy was changed to prevent any future problems.
All of this was explained to the original poster of the fund raising thread that was deleted a little while back. The person understood the reasons behind the policy and as far as I know had no ill will about the situation.
I have full confidence in the fiscal responsibility of the Brain Tumor Society. I also have reasons to raise funds for them. Most of us have "pet" charities for one reason or another. Who knows, maybe I'll end up with colon cancer like my brother and someday I'll be saying "darn, I should have raised money for the colon tumor society". At any rate, BTS is my charity of choice for fund raising through VFTT. I run this site out of my pocket. A site this size requires a stable internet provider and lots of bandwidth. I spend about $500 - $600 out of my pocket a year running this site. I do not pass the hat for myself, but I do ask people to donate directly to BTS once a year for the bike ride and again for the hikes that JayH organizes. I ask people to donate and in no way force anyone or treat anyone differently if they do not donate.
If I didn't run the site, I could take my $600 and just give it to the BTS. However if I spend my $600 on the site and the members of this site donate a collective total higher than that directly to the BTS then it somehow justifies (to me) the money I spend running the site.
Well, that was certainly not short but I feel strongly about the rules on this site and how it is managed. All of this sort of reminds me of my hometown. It was a quiet coastal New England town with deep roots in fishing and farming. The city folks visit and say "wow, this is just beautiful. I want to live here because it is so nice." They move in, build a big McMansion where corn used to grow, and then quickly say "gee, in the city we used to have this and that and the other. We don't have any of that here. We need to change this place so it is more like the city." The quick version is "I like it here, let's change it."
Well, there are plenty of cities to live in. There are plenty of websites to post anything you want on. As long as I run this site it will remain to have a primary focus on the exchange of useful information. There will be a little bit of social fluff thrown in, but not a lot. After all, it's my site and I feel almost as strongly about the site as I do about my hometown. Now if I only had some control over my hometown...it would still be corn fields, dairy farms, and lobster boats.
- darren
