What is up with FPN?

[PointyThings]

Chiming in late, here. Work has kept me out of the loop of the recent changes at FPN and I'm getting caught up.

First, IMHO, most of the rationale provided by the powers that be at FPN about covering expenses is pure BS.

As David Isaacson said earlier in this thread, the cost of software (IP.Board) and hosting is only a few hundred per year for a board like his (FPB or mine at FPC). Sure, FPN has many more members, but hosting simply is NOT that expensive. And the classifieds software they use is a plugin purchased for about $35 per year.

As for the antagonism toward sellers, this has been an ongoing trend from FPN for years. The FPN owners (Wim, whoever) are quick to accuse sellers of using FPN to line their own pockets with profits (yeah, like selling fountain pens has made us sellers rich).

However, they neglect to recognize that the people posting reviews, answering newbie questions, sharing knowledge and research, etc., are providing an enormously valuable asset to FPN for frakkin FREE! Does FPN compensate them for this content?

NO.

Sure, some FPN members might have ulterior motives with their posts on FPN, like generating traffic to their own websites and blogs. But this is the cost of doing business, and FPN is far ahead of the game in benefiting from the gigabytes of free content provided by their users.

Plus, even their classifieds provide content that attracts new members.

I can attest to that. My site is nothing but classifieds. The classifieds themselves are usually the entry pages by which new members find my website.

I can go on, but I've said enough. I expect to be banned from FPN soon, if not already. Wim took great offense when I launched FPC and accused me of "betraying" FPN by not coming to him first with my grievances about the changes to their classifieds nearly two years ago.

But nothing I say here is going to change the minds of the diehard FPN faithful who understand neither business nor the realities of the online world.

I suspect their draconian policies will cost them a few members, but there are plenty more willing to drink the ink-colored Koolaid.

[Sailor Kenshin]

FPN was down yet again, all day yesterday, with what was called at various time a spam attack and DDos.... Makes you wonder.

[KrazyIvan]

DDoS would not have let you get to that message page. I saw it too. Maybe it was over by then.

[PointyThings]

There's been a wave of brute-force hacker attacks on Wordpress websites in recent weeks and hackers are constantly trying to break into forums. This kind of activity can all but shut a site down.

I installed heavy duty anti-spammer software on my board to nearly eliminate spammer registrations AND I blocked traffic from China, Russia, the Ukraine, and several other countries that are hotbeds of hacker activity.

That helped.

[inkypinky]

I, too, am one of the disaffected.

I had a great relationship with many members over there, and one friendship in particular became very close. But then, last year, this person suddenly refused to talk to me at all. They blocked my PMs and wouldn't answer if I texted or emailed or called (we'd exchanged phone numbers, we were such good friends). So, I stopped trying. I am no stalker! I still have no idea why. I can only assume they were told something about me they disliked but didn't feel the need to check with me if it was true! Shortly after this they became a moderator. Since then several other people I used to exchange PMs/postcards/letters/emails with just began to distance themselves. No reason was given. Frienships just petered out. Now I know this happens all the time in life. But it seemed all too coincidental.

Then, I noticed that this person had become 'friends' with many of the friends I had. I realised a smear campaign was probably going on somehow, though I will never really know how or from what source. I don't even know whether, as a mod, that person could have read my PMs (I never spoke of the hurt caused by this original friendship going sour) and somehow warned others off me.

It really put me off forums for a while, it all seemed too 'school playground'. I even lost interest in FPs too. Then I found this place, and have been cautiously lurking ever since. I would not have divulged this except that i think it adds to the theory about power struggles and stick wielding...

In general, FPN used to a tight knit, fun loving community catering for all opinions and personalities, now it's gotten too big for that, and seems to have aspirations to become the next google or facebook in terms of corporate image, popularity and money spinning. It also feels as though they're trying to hound out the little guys and make it exclusive, appealing only to those who can afford to spend megabucks on pens (and subscriptions?).

Just my humble opinion.
BTW inkypinky is not my FPN tag. I decided to reinvent myself :-)

[AltecGreen]

I don't even know whether, as a mod, that person could have read my PMs (I never spoke of the hurt caused by this original friendship going sour) and somehow wrned other off me.

Yes mods and admins can read PMs. They also pay attention to what is said on other forums. Members have been banned for things they posted on other sites and venues (e.g. FaceBook).

In general, FPN used to a tight knit, fun loving community catering for all opinions and personalities, now it's gotten too big for that, and seems to have aspirations to become the next google or facebook in terms of popularity and money spinning. It also feels as though they're trying to hound out the little guys and make it exclusive and appeal only to those who can afford to spend megabucks on pens.
Just my humble opinion.

That's why the SF Pen Posse spawned our own FaceBook group. I'm still surprised many of us have not been banned for the stuff we say on FaceBook.

The guys who spend lots of money on pens (vintage in particular) have been leaving FPN too. FPN is not conducive to detailed scholarly discussions of pens. Many headed over to David Issacson's site.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Geesh! I was a mod and admin on many a forum. We couldn't read member PMs nor would we want to. If someone smeared a mod or admin they did it in the open and we resonded in the open.

This is just childish.

Seems we never really leave kindergarten. X____X

[david i]

SNIP
The guys who spend lots of money on pens (vintage in particular) have been leaving FPN too. FPN is not conducive to detailed scholarly discussions of pens. Many headed over to David Issacson's site.

And people are welcome. I don't want to post much about our Board here on someone else's Board, save in low key fashion to note that there are places to play... and places that can grow... when the main playground is toxic and pushy for cash. Fountain Pen Network seems pretty toxic these days.

At FPB, we have very little (really very little) moderation and no thread deletions. FBG seems pretty mellow too. Since I joined here recently mainly to provide caution about a sales situation that had provoked caution at FPB, it has become clear to me that there is a nice cadre of collectors here. If possibly I find the time, perhaps I'll start posting here one of my "vintage pen eye candy" threads once a week or so, an interesting and appealing old pen designed to provoke some curiosity about old pens. You'd be amazed how many modern pens owe so much to old pens.

[inkypinky]

Yes mods and admins can read PMs. They also pay attention to what is said on other forums. Members have been banned for things they posted on other sites and venues (e.g. FaceBook).





That's why the SF Pen Posse spawned our own FaceBook group. I'm still surprised many of us have not been banned for the stuff we say on FaceBook.

The guys who spend lots of money on pens (vintage in particular) have been leaving FPN too. FPN is not conducive to detailed scholarly discussions of pens. Many headed over to David Issacson's site.

Ah! Then what I feared is probably true. What a shame. I'm interested in FPB too, but am not really a vintage collector. Still, perhaps it is time to explore another FP avenue...

[Pinkys.Brain]

Reading PMs. If that's true: that's two Sasquatch thumbs down! Unbelievable...never heard of something like that before.

[KrazyIvan]

It's true. It can be done.

[heraclitus682]

Well...I will probably never p.m. again. Just go straight to email.

[jor412]

Keeping track of what people say on other forums and on Facebook seems to me to be a waste of time. And reading PMs? If it's true that it's being done that's pretty much a google-esque like invasion of privacy.

[OakIris]

I read this thread with great sadness. Although I registered here on FP Geeks a while ago, I have been spending my time on FPN; I believe this is my first post here.

I am not going to give up on FPN - yet. As others have mentioned, there are still many good people there as well as a tremendous amount of useful, important information - but I am appalled that people like jbb have been banned, or that ANYONE has been banned for expressing an opinion about the new rules, etc. FPN said they welcomed and wanted feedback.....apparently they only wanted feedback if it was congratulatory, not feedback containing constructive criticism. As for the admins taking the time to read PMs....that seems not only a waste of time but rather odd to me. Just by reading its label, I think people have an expectation that their Private Messages are to be just that, private. Is there actual proof that the admins are engaging in this? I still have PMs from jbb in my messenger archive on FPN so I guess if they did read PMs at least they didn't purge all of the conversations with banned members.

I am hoping things settle down over there, but this arbitrary, unannounced banning of long time participants who have contributed so much to what I THOUGHT was a community, does not bode well. And to see that the FPN admin is so petty as to "seek and destroy" all of the posts and threads of those that they decided to ban, is even worse - like the Nazis and other dictators burning books to keep knowledge away from their citizens, or like someone throwing the baby out with the bathwater, or..... I am sure you get the drift of where my cliches are heading..... :P

I have met some very generous folks on FPN who have been helpful, kind, fun to talk with, fun to learn from. I have been the recipient of unsolicited gifts of pens and inks and paper and..... I hate to think it is all going downhill, but I think it is time for me to explore what FP Geeks and The Fountain Pen Board (I love vintage pens!) have to offer instead.

Holly

[david i]

"I am hoping things settle down over there, but this arbitrary, unannounced banning of long time participants who have contributed so much to what I THOUGHT was a community, does not bode well. And to see that the FPN admin is so petty as to "

At risk of being a bit cynical (though wryly cynical I hope), most settings such as FPN offer a facade of "community". Community notions encourage participation, which most Boards of course desire. That of course does not mean people don't have a legit sense of connection (as much as the internet permits, what with no face to face communication). It just means that this should not be confused for each Board ultimately being a private setting, the Community elements existing at the whim (psychosis?) of the owner. And I can say that, as I am an owner

The best settings, in my view, are those in which the internet-community elements are run by people who are not particularly controlling and by people who appreciate those who participate.

regards

david

[KrazyIvan]

I think I read it in the terms of service when signing up. I believe it does state somewhere that PM's can be read. I got the impression that it would be done in special situations to settle disputes. I may be totally wrong on that. I cannot find a copy of the TOS anywhere on FPN. One must assume that any internet communication is not private. The communications sit on a server somewhere and someone has to have access to that server. Unless you are encrypting your messages, never assume that your communications are private. They are readable.

While we are on the topic of security, most forums do not use https protocol for login and FPN is no different. Your password is readable to those with know how. Never use a password on a forum that you use for any financial institution or account of a sensitive nature. Make it specific to the forum and do not reuse that password somewhere else. Change your password every 90-180 days.

[thagbert]

While we are on the topic of security, most forums do not use https protocol for login and FPN is no different. Your password is readable to those with know how. Never use a password on a forum that you use for any financial institution or account of a sensitive nature. Make it specific to the forum and do not reuse that password somewhere else. Change your password every 90-180 days.

Good advice! Everyone should take notice of this.

[PointyThings]

I think I read it in the terms of service when signing up.

Be nice to be able to access a TOS for FPN, plus Privacy Policy and other FTC-required website legal documents -- especially now that FPN is charging money for features.

[dannzeman]

On that note too ... who owns fpgeeks ?

Eric & Dan ?

St. Nibbius, actually.

[fountainpenkid]

On that note too ... who owns fpgeeks ?

Eric & Dan ?

St. Nibbius, actually.

Obviously someone didn't take their vow of poverty