27/03: How Not To Run A Forum (Or Scrap The God Complex)

A couple of weeks back I visited a well known IM forum and decided, on the recommendation of several people who I respect, to sign up. Having set up my account and checked out the various guidelines and FAQ's I started reading a few of the posts and having a general browse around.

I was pleased to see a section where members could engage in a bit of self promotion by posting links to free ebooks - not free IM related ebooks or other restrictive definitions, it was an open invitation. It even stated that "This section is for listing every free ebook known to man. If you know where a free ebook is on the net please list it here for all the members to see.". (This is known as a hint BTW). There were, I saw, books on a wide range of subjects. 'Great', I thought, 'another excellent place to get the word out about An Absolute Beginner's Guide To Web Hosting'.

I checked the guidelines for adding my book, wrote a short description and provided my direct link as specified. After several days, the post was not approved and when I checked after about a week , it was only to find that the entry had been nuked. No notification of rejection was received, my post might as well never have existed. (They claim that if a post is rejected, you will be notified by email).

I tried again, thinking that I had probably screwed up somewhere along the line, this time being very careful to ensure there were no typos and the link was correct and functioning. I double checked my profile just to make sure my email address was correct too. Three days later, the same result. Baffled, I found the contact email address and politely asked if there was any reason why moderators were zapping the post.

After over a week, there has been nothing but a wall of silence, not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement. 

I have a strong suspicion that posting anything in that forum that might be viewed as competition to something that the owners/moderators promote themselves, will never see the light of day. Just a hunch, and their refusal to even demonstrate the good manners of a quick email reply suggests that they don't care who knows either. Perhaps if I had published the book with a link to Host4Profit as opposed to my own (and in IMHO superior) hosting affiliate program, I might have stood a chance. Probably an even greater one if I happened to be in the downline of one of the merry forum crew.

Is that any way to run a forum, or indeed any online business?

If they profess to exist in order to help their members, how do they justify censoring information that might well interest those members or benefit their online ventures? Could it be that their only real interest is in lining their own pockets? Could it be considered that they abuse their established position with such actions? Heaven forbid! Slap me and call me Mary, for even suggesting such a thing. Is it really any wonder that internet marketing is so often the butt of criticism and derision?

As you can gather they lost a member and I won't be returning despite the aforementioned recommendations. I have seen other negative indictments of the forum in question, accusing them of greed, spamming the membership base and taking advantage of the unwary. I'm inclined to agree with some of that negative publicity now, even though I know there are doubtless some decent members. 

I just don't care for, or need, that kind of regime thanks very much.

TCH