Nas wrote:
good dolphin wrote:
I guess saying they paid a good amount of money is a relative term.
Even if they monetized this place and doubled their money it wouldn't really be what I consider a very big investment. I would have been all in on buying this place if I thought it could make real money but I may be shortsighted on this.
I'm confident this place could make money. I'm confident doubling an investment could happen in months. "Real money" is something that would take a lot work but making a profit really wouldn't be hard.
Bingo. A lot of examples exist in terms of a model to emulate. But the first immediate step, unfortunately, would be a shift in how the Board is moderated.
For example, a very well-known (albeit niche) online forum is TheHackersParadise.com (golf website). They are primarily a message board, secondarily a site that reviews golf stuff, and they've started a radio network of which I am affiliated. While I have limited knowledge of how they operate behind the scenes, they are very transparent about the fact that as soon as more events were planned where forum users actually met one another in person, their issue with trolling and harassment all but vanished.
Obviously the CFMB has events, many of us know each other, and overall I'd say this place does not have an anonymous trolling "problem." In many ways, the CFMB has already accomplished the toughest part: accountability. I have noticed a change in how people talk to one another as more Board events have occurred.
EDIT: I'll also acknowledge that a lot of what I'm suggesting (just brainstorming, of course) would require people to shift from "just an online hobby" to something more concrete. That's a lot of work.