[Paulieg]

Originally Posted by TIGR

Absolutely right on.

This post certainly will not make me popular with the "powers that be" here, but at least you can count on me to be honest, not a suck-up. The following is not an accusation or complaint against anyone, just something to remember when making rules and generally interacting with the community:

It's easy when one is given power, to get pulled into a "we provide this service for you, get out if you don't like something about it" power-tripping attitude. Sure, the BST section (and indeed TPU itself) could be called a "service provided," but a lot of people upon running into that attitude will say "fine then," and go patronize a forum that is more friendly toward its members.

If you want a forum/site to get good web site rankings, or generate decent ad revenue, or want to be an admin/mod in a place that actually matters (otherwise you're just the biggest fish in a small pond), or just want there to be an active community here among a number of other possible motivations, you have to listen to the site/forum's community and accept the fact that it is nothing without its members. That doesn't mean bending over backwards for every request or letting anything go; it means understanding that not only do members have something to gain from TPU; TPU and its staff have something to gain from its members.

I don't mean to go off on a tangent; I post this because like I said, it's important to keep these things in mind when making rules and generally interacting with the community.

This is really common sense, though it is a burden that the mods and admin have to work through and balance all of the time. We honestly work hard to find the "sweet spot" of protecting the forum and creating a friendly and open environment. If you guys only knew how much time and energy we spend doing this...