[quote]last1standing wrote:
No Bro…it isn’t, and I’m truly not trying to come across sounding like some elitist hacker asshole here. As everyone has heard ad nauseum by now, the 'net is a big, big place, and it’s getting bigger, not smaller. Sure, after nearly 30 years of working seriously toward that goal, “Big Brother” can finally locate the few criminal morons stupid enough conduct their activities from the same physical location (and likely using the same static IP/MAC address and processor ID) they always have, and/or brag about it to their friends. But really now, how much intelligence does it take to know better than to leave that sort of giant, flashing neon [i]“Hey…I’m right here! Come arrest me!”[/i} sign in your front window?
What does all this gangsta shit have to do with posting on an internet forum? For me personally, not much since I never post anything I would give so much as a flyin’ Fernando about anyone else reading. But for those members here who might feel differently for whatever reason, hiding their identity will never be so difficult a proposition that it can’t be summed up in one word: random.
Random devices. Random locations. Random times. Random proxy IP’s. Upload post texts by flash drive. Log on…post…leave. Big Brother?..he’s like the bear; you don’t have to outrun him, you just gotta outrun the stupid morons I mentioned earlier. Which BTW, brings me to my next point.
With regard to issue of the vanishing forums, I think the fact that this thread is closing in on 20 pages now without so much as a single post from anyone bashing T-Nation for “violating their right to free speech” says a lot for the general maturity level of the membership here. When this sort of thing has taken place on other sites, the resulting “WTF?” thread rarely makes it to double-digit posts before someone starts quoting the Bill of Rights.
The truth of course, is that with privately owned websites there is no such guaranteed freedom of expression. Website forums are not democracies. Hell, they aren’t even oligarchies, as some people try to insist. The closest political analogy would probably be that of a benevolent dictatorship. Biotest owns this site. They stroke the check for the domain and hosting, so they get to call the shots when it comes to site content, no questions asked…and therein lies the real rub - a lot of us who joined here (and eventually began purchasing product here) did so because we appreciated both the “Us…sell out on our principles? You’re kidding, right??” attitude of the site and the sense of community in the forums.
Was every post about every subject in every forum squeaky clean? Hell no. Did trolls get unceremoniously flamed? Did innocent noobs occasionally meet the same fate? Hell yes. Did some actions resulting from discussions in some of the forums occasionally validate the old saying “you can trust him with your life, just not with your money or your wife”? Again, yes…and you know what? That sounds an awful lot like what you hear during a hard 90 minute workout down at your local gym when the other serious lifters are there, doesn’t it?
We trusted you, Biotest, because you were like us; real. We trusted you enough that loyalty as customers came easy even during those times when we really couldn’t afford your stuff. That’s what friends do for each other, not what simple customers do for vendors. Now though, we’re being shown that it really was “just business” after all - the dollars we spent with you weren’t enough; now, stopping abruptly to pick up the few pennies lying on the floor…and in the process tripping several of the people following behind you…is sound business and an ok thing to do.
And, maybe you’re right; maybe taking the path of least resistance (administration by lowest common denominator) was the right path. Just don’t be shocked if you begin to notice the tone and feel of the relationship you’ve always enjoyed with your customers changing a bit. After all, it’s just business…right?
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I like your post.
However this may change if you manage to make me fall in love with you