It’s interesting. I took the rather drastic step on Monday night of shutting down the forums on www.ay-ziggy-zoomba.com The forums are basically the heart of that site, with over 700 registered users and a ton of traffic on a daily basis. I did this because I had become frustrated (as had many others) by the conduct of many of the visitors and just the general overall mood of the site. It had gone from optimistic and supportive to dark and unwelcoming.

Well, I got over 100 emails yesterday in response to my statement from members of the site (and some non-members as well) and all but 2 of them were overwhelmingly supportive of the decision. Not the kind of response I was expecting at all!! Most people said they “saw it coming.” It’s really interesting how a community such as ay-ziggy-zoomba.com becomes almost a living/breathing entity that can take on a character of its own. It would make a great masters thesis!

So anyhow, I’m going to take the forums back live again by the end of the day today. I made my point, and we’ll see what happens when things are re-launched. I’m not going to make many changes. I have appointed a couple of forum moderators to oversee things when I can’t, and I’m going to work on an AUP and an FAQ stating what the site means to me, why it exists and how I expect people to act. All that info has been there, but it hasn’t been easily accessible.

All in all, running ay-ziggy-zoomba.com has been a wonderful experience. It’s taught me so much and it’s helped me feel close to my dad who has been gone for almost 4 years now. Even when we move out west, I doubt I’ll ever be able to let it go. It’s become a huge part of who I am over the past couple of years… which is why I don’t want to settle for a mediocre atmosphere.

Roll along….

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