Longevity of SBF members

[cbscreative]

It just occurred to me that about a month ago was 5 years since I joined the old SBF, and vangogh came in about 6 months later so he will have 5 years in Dec. In less than a month, this forum will celebrate 2 years.

There are a lot of people here who've been chatting for a long time now. Evan I believe joined sometime in 04, which would make him the "oldest" member I'm aware of that's still here. I haven't seen SteveC in quite a while. I think Kristine joined not too long after vangogh.

Most of the core group have been here a while now. Here are some members I know date back several years:

eborg
billbenson
KarenB
Business Attorney
lav
Steve B
greenoak
Dan Furman
AaronHats

I apologize that I'm sure I missed a few, especially those who haven't posted in a while. We have a great membership here, and for people to stick around so long is a good sign for sure.

To the newer members, I hope you find it encouraging that you can be a part of this too. You'll see many of the same familiar names 6-12 months from now that you see today. For the older members, feel free to add exactly how long you've been here (note the old SBF join date since we can easily see your new "Join Date" here automatically).

[Spider]

I joined the old SBF in January 07, making my combined attendance 3½ years.

[Patrysha]

Joined the old one in October of '07, so coming up on three years now...

I had to go back to the old forum to see when I joined...hadn't logged on there since December of '08...

[Harold Mansfield]

When I joined the old forum, I was still working a job and working for a web guy on the side selling domains and "stuff". Seems like so long ago. Now here I am working for myself without a net.
It's a constant emotional roller coaster of joy and out right terror every month, but I wouldn't trade it for punching a time clock, staff meetings, co-workers, traffic, stale coffee, and rushing though lunch for anything. (except a crap load of money, of course).

It's funny how 8 hours at the job would just exhaust me beyond repair. But I can do 10-12 hours at my desk now and be out for beers at the local midnight happy hour without a problem...full of energy.

[billbenson]

Ok, y'all got me curious. I joined the old forum 03-26-2006. I don't think I was very active at first though. Time flies when you are working your butt off!

[Steve B]

I couldn't log in. I also couldn't find my old username (also Steve B). I think I may have been banned at one point. If anyone else can find me on there, let me know my join date.

[Evan]

Funny that when I joined in October 2004 I was one of the youngest members, and I still am! :)

Though in terms of S-B-F, I guess I'm an "old-timer"!

[Evan]

I'd have continued posting on the old forum if I wasn't banned due to this transition. I had tried going back, as they have no accounting guru over there -- and that didn't work either!

[huggytree]

i joined right when i started my business 3.5 years ago.....one of the reasons for my success in going from part time to full time was SBF...id still be trying to be the cheap guy(possibly)

thanks for all the advice over the years

[Business Attorney]

I couldn't log in. I also couldn't find my old username (also Steve B). I think I may have been banned at one point. If anyone else can find me on there, let me know my join date.

Join Date: 01-16-2006. You are still listed as a Senior Member.

It seems that something has changed with the login at the old forum. I couldn't log in and am still listed as a member. As far as I know, I was never banned - I simply left and moved with the core group over here.

[Business Attorney]

It seems that something has changed with the login at the old forum. I couldn't log in and am still listed as a member. As far as I know, I was never banned - I simply left and moved with the core group over here.

I must have done something wrong before. I tried again and the log in did work for me.

[cbscreative]

Funny that when I joined in October 2004 I was one of the youngest members, and I still am! :)

Though in terms of S-B-F, I guess I'm an "old-timer"!

I knew you were young, which is why I put quotes in my OP. I think you're still below 25 yet, right?

The old SBF banned a lot of key members, myself and Evan included. They even banned vangogh and he was the one holding the place together until it could no longer be held together. They did later reinstate vangogh, but I think he's the only one they retracted. Yeah, that place has become a real wasteland, but I doubt that surprises anyone here who was around when the bottom fell out.

[Evan]

I'm 23 -- so below 25 is right! :D

But I have no regrets with the other forum. Looks busy, but isn't very well maintained. Very unfortunate, quite honestly.

[KristineS]

Well, I think I did join the old forum shortly after Vangogh did, but I can't confirm. They've banned me.

Of course, since the last two PM's I have there are spam, I'm not feeling too bad about that.

[Spider]

You don't need to be logged in to read the members' details. I couldn't find a member KristineS, but vangogh's Join Date was 12-09-2005. Just click 'members' on the toolbar.

[Dan Furman]

Have no idea when I joined - I want to say 2006 or so?

[vangogh]

Frederick when people are banned their profile doesn't show anymore, but otherwise you don't need to login to see an active profile. I'm pretty sure I was the first one banned. The owners of the old SBF first emailed me to ask me to stop linking here and then an hour later they banned me. Corey dropped in here not too long after if you remember and I was sharing the story of what happened and he unbanned my account. No one at the old place every noticed I guess.

I hardly ever visit the old place, though on occasion something makes me curious and I check it out. It's always the same. No posts over the last 24 hours, the majority of the new posts are spam. Sometimes I laugh as I see the most recent dozen members are all spammers I caught here.

Just for fun I popped over now. No admin has logged into the site in over a year and the sole super moderator last logged in over 4 months ago. They don't maintain the place and don't really care. As long as they pull traffic from search engines the ads on the site make money. I think the only reason they ever bought the place was for the database and the thousands of pages the database generated. Of course it makes you wonder why Google still ranks the site highly. I understand why, but it makes you question Google's algorithm. If the idea is to rank the site/page that's the best recommendation for a given query it's hard to think that site would be recommended by anyone at this point.

[Harold Mansfield]

Of course it makes you wonder why Google still ranks the site highly. I understand why, but it makes you question Google's algorithm. If the idea is to rank the site/page that's the best recommendation for a given query it's hard to think that site would be recommended by anyone at this point.

I won't pretend to understand Google's algorithm, but form what I have seen...you only need to make it to a coveted position once and you retain it forever unless you are specifically targeted by competitors.
Google has too many sites that used to be something, that are either abandoned or have fallen from grace and yet they still enjoy the preferential position they achieved back when they were actually doing something.

[vangogh]

The old SBF has so many links pointing into it and it has a good domain name for queries around "small business forum" or "small business forums" that everyone else will need to play catch up for awhile. My guess is they do get less traffic then they used to, but were so far out ahead. It had to be one of the oldest small business forums to last any length of time.

If you compare them and us at Alexa you'll see we're both pulling the same amount of traffic (based on Alexa users) at this point.

[cbscreative]

I haven't been there in...I couldn't even tell you how long.

Kristine, I didn't know you got banned. They would have had to pay very close attention here to even know who you were since you had a different user name (very different in fact). The rest of us who got banned were easy to identify.

I do find it interesting that no one has even logged in in so long. I can't help but wonder how long it will take before Google finally realizes it's nothing but a spam wasteland. It's also funny that it's many of the same spammers vangogh disinfects from this place.

Oh well, I knew I risked seeing the discussion turn to the .com, but at least we have this place to salvage what they threw away. We've done more than salvage, this is better than that ever was.

[KristineS]

I wasn't aware I was banned either. Of course I hadn't been to that forum in two years, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

[Harold Mansfield]

So what did they do, ban everyone that came over here? I guess I'm banned to. Not like I would ever know it.

[cbscreative]

I don't think they banned everyone, but they did ban most of the members who participated in a thread that discussed the move over to here. The reason that thread even got started was their fault, but they lashed out at us anyway.

Kristine was not involved in that thread, so I don't know why she was banned. It had to be for no other reason than her involvement here, and like I said before, they had to dig to know who she was.

Vangogh and I were going to keep quiet about the move and just start this forum, but when the members began openly discussing a new forum to regroup at, it forced us to reveal we were starting this one. When the owners finally got wind of it, they were mad. But had they not neglected the forum so badly, that discussion and this forum would not have been needed. Far be it from them to blame themselves. They issued bans instead. Oh well, like we all said at the time, it was their forum, so if they wanted to run it that way, they had that right. Just like we had the right to bail.

[vangogh]

Kristine your not banned. I think people are forgetting you had a different username in the old forum. I also think that's why you didn't get banned. Harold your account is still active too.

What I think they did was ban anyone they thought had something to do with creating this place. I was obvious as was Steve since we're both admins. Kristine didn't get caught because of the change in usernames. A few other people got banned too,, though I'm not sure if it was for being members here or for thinking those people had something to do with running things here.

[Evan]

The reason I got banned was because I promoted the new site in my signature, and also participated in that discussion that led to the "Revolutionary War". I mean, this new revolutionary forum.

What I feel bad for is the fact that since that movement, they lost their major base of active members (leaving them with just the inactives/semi-actives, and whoever new came on board). There were also very few people who provided advice in the accounting or legal forums, and now it's just a bunch of unanswered questions.

[cbscreative]

I do recall that sig file, but we were all pretty fed up by that point due to the clear signals that the owners there could care less.

It's good to have you and Business Attorney here. We have others too, but you guys are the shining heroes of our tax and legal forums.

[billbenson]

I'm pretty sure I participated in that thread and didn't get banned. Don't really remember though. Never changed user names.

[lav]

I haven't seen SteveC in quite a while nor have I seen Jen (jwdesigncenter). I did look up her website today though and it looks as if she has been powering on with her business.

I didnt get banned from the old SBF..... Im a good boy, but I never could get my sigs working again even after numerous messages to the mods over there.

[Harold Mansfield]

nor have I seen Jen (jwdesigncenter). I did look up her website today though and it looks as if she has been powering on with her business.


Wow, I haven't seen Jen around in a while. I wonder how she's doing?

[vangogh]

We'll all have to visit her site and say hello and ask her to come back. I think she's already a member here. I'm pretty sure I invited her to join when we first stated here and she did register. Looking now and I don't see her so maybe she's never been here.

[cbscreative]

We'll all have to visit her site and say hello and ask her to come back.

Yeah, let's spike her web stats. Everyone click on this link several times and see if she notices:

JW Design Center - Home (http://jwdesigncenter.com/)

[vangogh]

Good plan. I clicked a few times and will revisit later.

[KristineS]

Kristine your not banned. I think people are forgetting you had a different username in the old forum. I also think that's why you didn't get banned. Harold your account is still active too.

What I think they did was ban anyone they thought had something to do with creating this place. I was obvious as was Steve since we're both admins. Kristine didn't get caught because of the change in usernames. A few other people got banned too,, though I'm not sure if it was for being members here or for thinking those people had something to do with running things here.

It said I was banned when I was over there. Of course, I just stopped in for a minute and didn't really pay attention, so maybe I clicked on something else that was banned.

[KristineS]

If I remember correctly, I think someone from Jen's company did join the site for a while. Can't remember the name though. I want to say Ian, although I have no idea why.

[vangogh]

Ian sounds right. I thought Jen signed up to, but I could find her old username so maybe she used a different one here.

[Blessed]

I joined when this new forum started. It's a great place, and I miss it when I'm as crazy busy as I am right now and can't drop in everyday.

[KarenB]

What a cool thread! Thanks for starting it!

I can't remember when I joined the previous forum, but I also remember the alumni very well. You guys were instrumental in providing valuable feedback and "holding my hand" when I was still as green as grass.

I think we should all receive graduation diplomas because this is a university of sorts. It combines the "school of hard knocks" with the teaching of many "professors" (which you all are). I can't think of a better place to learn, grow, share and enjoy such wonderful support and camaraderie from a vast amount of different business owners.

Long live SBF and may we all continue to support one another in our dreams and goals!

A thankful Karen.

[greenoak]

when i started it was on the old forum....back then i didnt have a blog or facebook....ive learned so much here., youve helped on a lot of decisions...i love wonky marketing and business ideas ......so glad you all are here...ive tried to get more brick and mortar buddies over here..to little avail...
i look at what you guys can do and am just in awe!!!
eborg and kristine...love your sites and blogs!!! but i know i could never take the time to learn how to tool around on typepad like i can on blogger.... i show my dil/webmistress eborgs blogs sometimes just to see her face!! i dont get the tumbeling blocks!!??

[KristineS]

Ann, all I can take credit for on my blogs is the content. The appearance and making them run properly is all due to the skill of Vangogh. If I didn't have him to take care of the tech stuff for me, I probably wouldn't have any blogs.

[Harold Mansfield]

i show my dil/webmistress eborgs blogs sometimes just to see her face!! i dont get the tumbeling blocks!!??

It took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about ("tumbling blocks"). It's called CU3ER and it's a free flash script that can be embedded pretty much anywhere. You can set the transformations anyway you like..I just have mine rotating in (3) blocks on that site because I wanted to do the Slot Machine thing with that particular image.
Here's the link to the script:
CU3ER DOCUMENTATION (http://progressivered.com/cu3er/docs/)
Or there are tons of WP themes that have it already installed as a function.
'
Thanks for the kind words by the way.

[cbscreative]

Thanks to many members here, that's what makes this place so valuable. I just came from bill's thread where a penny pinching restaurant owner is now out of business. He should have joined here to get good advice. Maybe his failure could have been prevented. Yeah, the fact that so many members have been here so long testifies to our ability to stay in business, even prosper.

[KristineS]

I think it all comes down to a willingness to share, ideas, hints, tips and advice. People can come here and learn and they can come here and teach. I think that's a wonderful thing.

[greenoak]

kristine i really like the feel and layout of the outdoor bloggers summit blog...vg did great...
..somehow this place lets some ads in and some bits of self promoting but still doesnt turn into all spam all the time....
or something else i see on forums...total domination by the admin...

[cbscreative]

or something else i see on forums...total domination by the admin...

I'm glad you're not talking about anyone here. :)

[greenoak]

i sure wasnt!!! and it sure is common!!! especially on young macho marketers sites....or on big time diva sites...

[KristineS]

kristine i really like the feel and layout of the outdoor bloggers summit blog...vg did great...


He did do well with that one. I really need to get back to updating that site more regularly.

[lav]

or something else i see on forums...total domination by the admin... I use some other forums where if you have any differing opinions to the moderators they simply delete your post.......LOL

[Spider]

I use some other forums where if you have any differing opinions to the moderators they simply delete your post.......LOLBut that makes sense, in some instances. If it doesn't serve the interests of the forum owners/moderators, why would they not delete disagreeable posts?

[Harold Mansfield]

I use some other forums where if you have any differing opinions to the moderators they simply delete your post.......LOL


But that makes sense, in some instances. If it doesn't serve the interests of the forum owners/moderators, why would they not delete disagreeable posts?

A forum is a still owned by a private entity so technically they could do what they want. There are no "rights" that apply on a privately owned forum.
I know forums like that too.
It kind of negates the purpose of having a forum.
Most times it is meant to be an exchange of ideas so attempting to stifle the ideas and opinions of others is kind of the opposite of a forum..at least for a help forum.

[Spider]

...It kind of negates the purpose of having a forum.
Most times it is meant to be an exchange of ideas...I suggest that every forum has its own purpose. Some owners may, indeed, have a forum on which ideas can be exchanged, but even these exchange forum are there for a purpose unique to the owner. An exchange of ideas may allow the owner to demonstrate how knowledgeable they are about the subject matter of the forum, thus indicating they are an excellent choice for hiring or consulting. A forum may be attached to an e-commerce site and a discussion about how crappy the service is or the products are, would not serve the purposes of the owners, and would sensibly be deleted.

If the purpose of this latter forum is to promote the company and products, deleting anything that detracts from that would not negate the purpose of the forum.

[greenoak]

what i meant was a matter of degrees....yes the admin can do anything... they all draw the line differently....
..one i tried , was just about getting you to his expert paid parts.the big guy was ther just to answer questions and topump us hes pet t heories.......no interaction offered or tried......it was way more about that than ANY real interaction...and mainly drew spam posts....cause why stay if there is no good talk? and a little controversy isnt all bad either...imho

[cbscreative]

I think everyone here is pretty well aware of where we stand. There have been many discussions here where views expressed do not align with any of us who moderate. Unless things get out of hand, those discussions are allowed to continue, they just don't go unchallenged. If we see bogus info, we will challenge it. Personally, I think it's better for everyone to see the exchange and reach their own conclusions than to filter it out completely.

Of course, that is also one of purposes of this forum.

[vangogh]

Like Frederick said it really comes down to the purpose of the forum and the goals of the forum owner(s). Most forums are privately owned and as such likely have some purpose in the overall business plan of the owner. In general here I think it's good to have open discussions. I think it's silly to remove other people's points of view because they disagree with your own. If that's what you want it makes no sense to have a forum. You should post to a blog with comments turned off.

As long as people are respectful of other members their opinion should be heard. If they aren't showing respect then either that part of their post or the entire post should be removed.

Spam is also naturally removed, but what is spam is a question that the staff of the forum get to decide. Most forums will allow tons of "me too" type posts that say nothing. We delete them here, since most if not all are just a way to increase post counts and thus signature links. To me those posts are spam and so they get deleted.

Having said the above there are certain topics I don't think belong here and would delete. Some because I think they're spam. Others because I simply don't think they belong on a small business forum. An example of the former is .ws domains. Personally I think those domains are a scam and I'll delete any thread that starts talking about them in a positive way. If you register with a .ws domain be prepared that your account may not last long. You may not agree with me about .ws. but I'm still going to delete those topics.

An example of the latter might be a discussion about religion. A perfectly acceptable topic of conversation, but one that really doesn't belong on a small business forum. I might not instantly delete that kind of thread (though I might), but I would definitely monitor it and close or delete it if warranted at some point.

[KristineS]

I think this forum does a good job of filtering out the noise and keeping the stuff that really is useful. It should also be said that we have a good group here. You don't see a lot of the baiting and flaming and junk that I have seen happen on other forums. I think that's a credit to the SBF membership.

[billbenson]

Funny you mention .ws domains VG. I got my first product inquiry ever from a ws domain. I quoted it, but it instantly screamed "this guy doesn't know what he's doing / one man show". I quoted it, but it would have to be a cash order to accept an order.

As far as religion or politics, thats acceptable in the water cooler as long as it doesn't get out of hand imo. A "whats your political stance and why" thread might be interesting and possibly productive.

[cbscreative]

As far as religion or politics, thats acceptable in the water cooler as long as it doesn't get out of hand imo. A "whats your political stance and why" thread might be interesting and possibly productive.

I agree, and I think the members here can handle it with respect for each other, but it does involve some level of risk. We just have to determine each case individually. I believe a good example of productive is in cases where politics and business cross paths. Taxes are just as hot of an issue, but a discussion about what we could do to fight bad tax legislation would be productive. That's as far as I want to go here to avoid derailing this thread.

[vangogh]

If we're talking about some tax or policy in regards to how it affects business I think it's a perfectly fine discussion. If we're starting threads around who are you voting for in November, I don't see what that has to do with business. I realize the Watercooler is a place to share anything so that kind of post could go there. I'd rather see most of the focus be on business in some way.


but a discussion about what we could do to fight bad tax legislation would be productive

The problem with that is who's defining it as bad tax legislation. The reality is we'll be 100% divided based on which political party we support most of the time. Granted not everyone here belongs to one of the two U.S. political parties, but you know what I mean. I find discussions like that are never productive. Neither side is really willing to listen or change their minds. Now if that kind of conversation happens on a forum devoted to politics then great. But here that conversation doesn't really make sense.

If we have an occasional political or religious conversation that's fine, but if they start happening too often I'd start deleting the threads.

[cbscreative]

I chose not to elaborate because I didn't want to take this thread down that path. Yes, a bad tax policy is subject to interpretation, but I think party has little to do with whether you enjoy taxes or not. Most of us want them minimal. The gov't needs tax revenue to operate, so taxes are not inherently bad.

If such a conversation were to take place, hopefully in its own thread, I would hope you're wrong that neither side is willing to listen to the other. That would be pointless. I'm sure there is a lot of common ground because we all are small business owners and want tax policies that don't inhibit business.

[vangogh]

If such a conversation were to take place, hopefully in its own thread, I would hope you're wrong that neither side is willing to listen to the other.

It's pretty much how every thread on the topic seems to go at any forum I've ever been too. Let me ask you what are the odds I could change your political view on any issue? I'm going to suggest it would be 0 percent.

The thing is we'll all have our interpretation of something like a tax policy. Some of us will think it helps small business and some will thing it hurts. And usually both sides will think so more because of the party they back rather than the issue itself. Not because we're bad people, but because most of our information will come from our own trusted sources, which more than likely are biased in favor of the party we back.

It's how every political conversation I've ever seen has gone. I see no reason to think it would be any different here.

[cbscreative]

Then I'll admit to being radical and different.

Although I could claim to be mostly from one party, the difference between the two has been negligible for some time now. My views differ quite a bit in many ways from being able to cast me in a particular party. Rather than listen to the hype of either side, I strongly believe Solomon's wisdom that "there is nothing new under the sun" and it's all been tried before. All you have to do is look at history. To believe it will come out any different now than it has countless times in the past is so unlikely it could be considered insane.

I'll grant you that I might be unwilling to budge in some areas if I've seen historical patterns and have experience to convince me I already hold a solid position, but I wouldn't say I'm unmovable. Even if I don't agree with someone, I've got more to gain by trying to understand why we differ. If my position is so weak it can't stand a challenge, then I would be shallow to avoid testing. My boat's been rocked several times, and I consider myself richer because of it.

I realize not everyone holds that attitude. For that matter, it's probably so rare that I'll concede you are mostly correct. I can enjoy a good discussion without having to get my feelings involved. Just consider me Vulcan, I guess, because I also think that's a good way to live long and prosper.

[billbenson]

I don't have time to stay up to date on everything including politics. So keeping this general so it doesn't turn into a political discussion, I have my views. However, I'm not educated on where most if not all people I would vote for stand. Actually, I'd vote for Attila the Hun if he could keep us safe and prosperous. I think a thread close to election time on where each of us stand, why, and why it is the best stance for small business would be interesting. I'd like honest information on where candidates stand relative to how it affects my business. It would be interesting to see if a thread like that could stay on course.

[vangogh]

Steve out of curiosity can you name the last Democratic candidate you voted for? And what made you vote for that person?

Bill I wouldn't participate in that thread as interesting as it might be. I think it's generally best not to mix business and politics. I'd read that thread, but wouldn't participate.

[billbenson]

Thats a valid point VG. You are selling yourself here so you really shouldn't talk politics at all from a sales perspective. That is probably true of many members who are here selling themselves.

[vangogh]

Exactly. Not everyone would agree with that, but it's how I prefer to do business. I'd rather not lose potential clients because we disagree politically. Some though don't mind losing the clients who disagree with them because they believe the side that does will do more business with them, which is quite possible. At the moment I'd rather keep the two separate.

On another note I've seen at least one forum go downhill after setting up a politics and religion forum. It's a webmaster forum, but now the politics and religion forum is often the most active, while people ignore the posts where members are asking for help with their sites. Politics and religion are great topics, but they aren't appropriate everywhere. It's one thing for us to have an occasional conversation about either and another to be talking about it all the time.

[Patrysha]

Plus with the international flavour of the forum it can get very boring around election time for those who don't have a say in the voting...the last election seemed to drag on forever and mess up several previously enjoyable forums...

[vangogh]

True. And funny enough every time I mentioned 2 political parties in this thread I thought of you, knowing you're from Canada. I also thought of all the other Canadian members as well as those from the U.K., etc.

[cbscreative]

Steve out of curiosity can you name the last Democratic candidate you voted for? And what made you vote for that person?

So you've got me pegged as a Republican. Fair enough, but I really wouldn't consider myself one; being a free thinker, I'd lean more toward independent. Do I vote for Republicans? Yes. Have I voted for Dems? Yes, several times. But only "local" offices so far, so names are not important. Deciding factors? Whenever I sense they have a better grasp of the situation and can help solve problems.

Since you called me out on this, let me take you back to the 2008 elections. There is an incumbent who was re-elected. This is an R rep for my district. In the past, I have always supported this individual. He's a great guy, strong ethics, Eagle Scout, you name it, there are a lot of reasons to support him. However, there have been numerous issues where I wrote expressing my position and got back responses indicating to me that this guy is very "politics as usual" instead of someone willing to take action. I can understand and appreciate if our opinions don't match, but I got the distinct impression that as long as this person is in office, everything will be studied to death and nothing will ever change.

In the last election, he won again. But this time, he did not have my help. I voted for an independent hoping to see this career politician be forced to move on to something else. Since he is still in office, my view that he's more willing to study every problem to death rather than risk making a move has been further reinforced.

Both of my senators are Dems. One I could never vote for. He's another career politician that nauseates me far more than the guy above. He's been in for over 30 years and IMO wins by default because I think voters keep him just because he's familiar. The other one I did not support either, nor have I reached the point where I would, but I have been impressed on a few occasions with her. If she and my rep above were running against each other with no other choices, I would vote for her. Even though I disagree with her in several areas, she's at least shown a willingness to listen and do more than study things to death.

[vangogh]

Not necessarily Republican, more on the conservative side though. I was figuring you didn't vote Democrat all that often, though I figured you did from time to time, hence my second question as why you voted for that person. I don't see you as someone who only votes on party lines. I know you have a strong independent side and I can see you voting Libertarian as well as Republican. If I had to guess though, I would think the majority of your votes end up with a Republican candidate. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just a hunch on my part based on the years we've known each other, even if we've never specifically said what party we do or don't belong to.

Naturally the above is all guesswork on my part.

My point in regards to this discussion is mainly that we're a small business forum. I know we have non-business related conversations all the time, but I wouldn't want to see any non-business related topic start to dominate. Kind of defeats the point of being a small business forum. Our topics should mainly be about small business. That's presumably why people choose to read and participate and the more we stay on topic the better our search traffic.

I have no problem with the occasional political conversation breaking out. I just don't want to see it happen too often and I wouldn't add a forum or subforum for those kind of discussions. Politics is a great topic of conversation, but it doesn't necessarily belong here any more than forums about sports. Doesn't mean we won't have sports related threads at times, but we won't ad a sport section.

Now I did while writing this think of where political conversations could fit in here. Anyone can start a group. Most of us don't use them, but someone could start a political group and others could join and those conversations could happen within the group.

[cbscreative]

It's been an interesting discussion, vangogh, and plenty complete enough for me. Your perceptions about me are both intuitive and accurate. Not that I'm surprised, you're a deep thinker too.

I certainly would not have advocated a special section on the forum for these types of discussions. It does exceed the scope of the SBF. You'll get no argument from me on that one. I wouldn't want that any more than seeing a thread about how long our members have been with us turn political. I was very concerned about this thread taking that direction.

An occasional thread that deals with politics is OK as long as things don't get out of control. But I do agree we're not here for political purposes. Having an area dedicated to politics or religion is not what we are about. I can enjoy those discussions too, as long as I'm not discussing them with someone who has a predetermined agenda. The difference is best gaged on a case by case basis. I'm no more willing to open a floodgate than you are.

[vangogh]

Thanks for the compliments. We've been talking to each other long enough that I can make some reasonable guesses about things we may not discuss. I never assume I'm right in those guess, but I figure I'm probably close more often than not.

I do think the occasional discussion about politics is fine. It's more not wanting those conversations to happen too often. I doubt it'll become a problem as long as we don't dedicate a forum or subforum to it.


I wouldn't want that any more than seeing a thread about how long our members have been with us turn political. I was very concerned about this thread taking that direction.

:) What us stray from the topic? That would never happen.

[Business Attorney]

Within reasonable bounds, these non-business topics are what make this a community. I am sure that all of us, when we get together with business associates, stray off on to topics that are not related to our business.

[cbscreative]

Within reasonable bounds, these non-business topics are what make this a community. I am sure that all of us, when we get together with business associates, stray off on to topics that are not related to our business.

I think that says it pretty well.

[vangogh]

Very true David. I think the non-business threads are important, though I do think the main focus should always stay on the topic of small business. Otherwise we wouldn't be a small business forum.