Hello again.

I think that the IDEA of the club was great. But with more things than not, the IDEA is often much better than the reality. LOL

I have sat back and read all sides of this issue, and find the SAME things being tossed around. But can we stop and think about what is really happening? NOTHING in the Fight Club could be NOT posted in the General “for public” areas. In fact, most of the stuff spills over INTO the general areas anyway.

What is the point of that? Say I am in the general areas, I read a great post about something IN the FC… I then GO to the FC and read it, then bounce BACK to the general area to read MORE… what? This does not cause BETTER management, it causes more bouncing around.

But what this DOES do, is cause more pageviews (used to determine the marketing value of a site for promotional reasons). It also causes DOUBLE posts on the SAME topic, causing twice the posting numbers (see above comment). Maybe I am a bit TOO business oriented.. LOL But other than THOSE two reasons, I see no advantages to the FC.

Many have suggested simply making MORE topics. This is a great idea (IMHO). I have seen many boards use this method and it works great. Then the moderators just keep the topic areas clean.

Some have said that they don’t like the word “elite” because it invokes bad feelings for those who don’t “make it” into FC. Well, when someone says that the members post intelligent stuff, what is anyone else suppose to draw from that? That those NOT in the FC post unintelligent posts? LOL So where do you draw the line? Who determines what is worthy, or WHO is? There are too many conflicts of interest here. It seems to boil down to a popularity (or notoriety) issue.

It isn’t? Then why do I see many posters who seem to actually have great things to contribute NOT get into FC? And if that is the case, why not just open it up to EVERYONE and then kick out (or deny access) to those who do not contribute correctly? Use it as a filtering system, and NOT a “members only” club…. Everyone is welcome, but those who abuse it lose it.

Some members already there seem to tout one of the benefits as being “something to reach for”. With this being said, I fall back to my earlier comment about clearly more qualified people NOT being allowed to post anyway. It is like saying to a guy who is a brilliant brain surgeon “Sorry Jim, I know you are more skilled and knowledgeable than my dog groomer (who is a member), BUT, you can’t join our club for Doctors.” And then you seem puzzled why Jim is upset or feels slighted? LOL Even some of the current FC members openly admit that many ARE more qualified to be in it then they are.

Of course, you think current members would complain? LOL You think those who aspire to be in it would complain? That is like wining the lottery, and then saying… “Mrs. Smith down the street deserves this FAR more than I do, so I will not accept it.” LOL Let’s be real.

But some current members (or those wanting to be) also claim that those complaining are just jealous. This may be the case for some, but I really don’t see it as a rule. I don’t aspire to be in FC, but I still think there is a better way to handle it than what is currently in place. I also think that I would be far too HONEST and controversial to be even considered in the FC as it is currently being run. This being the case, might I suggest the following?

I could see a panel of ACTUAL Paintball Industry folks (like no more than 5-10) having a “Dear Abby” or in this case “Dear Fight Club” area. Then anyone could e-mail their questions TO the FC in general, and the best topics would then be discussed BY the panel in THEIR open forum for all to see. But this would need OPPOSING views on issues, and not everyone from the SAME clique, or from the SAME company or product lines. This would allow the readers to see all sides of issues, not just (sorry to say it) propaganda posts designed to sell a particular brand of equipment, forward a specific viewpoint, or whatever.

These things have worked for MANY reasons, for many industries. It allows for a fare and balanced opinion on topics. It also allows a “Devil’s Advocate” for expanding opinions and ideas. Often times companies hire people to do just that, be the wet blanket at the party, because many times those too close to the issue get tunnel vision.

This would also allow a more “fight club” feel to the idea. The brightest (or those deemed as the representatives of them) dooking it out over various issues. But in a controlled manner. Ahhhhhh Now THAT would be worth seeing! As it is, there seems to be far too many people, and too many on the same side or with the same views. It is like having a royal rumble with two teams, one having 30 people and the other having 2. First off, it gets too confusing (or in the case of the posts, too many just agreeing or restating what others said), and second, where is the fight? LOL

I hope I did not offend anyone. This was not my intention. But as it currently stands, nothing that is being done could not be done in open forums with just more individualized topic areas, and a bit of control. It seems that the ONLY thing happening is a rift being created. Walks like a duck, talks like a duck, must be a duck. Currently it looks like a self-governing clique, acts like a self-governing clique, and responds like a self governing clique… but its members still want to say it isn’t.