AOPA shutting down their message board

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 18:16:09 GMT, "OtisWinslow"
wrote in
::

This
came about because they were unable (or unwilling) to control a couple rogue
members. (One of them no longer flies and has open contempt for those of us
who still do, and the other one was one of those who caused the demise
of AvWeb).

Who are those members? What sort of remarks did they post that were
so powerful as to shut down AOPA's message board? As destructive as
they may be, they must possess considerable literary talent to wield
such power.

It's not the same owners and steers way clear of anything controversial.


"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
The demise of Avweb? I log on every Monday and Thursday...how does what I
look at differ from what you refer to?

Bob Gardner

"OtisWinslow" wrote in message
...
They announced they were shutting it down on Monday. Supposedly it's
going
to reopen in about "4 to 6" weeks. In the mean time they say they're
going
to "upgrade" it but they haven't decided what software because their
lawyers are looking at ways to tighten up the rules and protect them.
This
came about because they were unable (or unwilling) to control a couple
rogue
members. (One of them no longer flies and has open contempt for those of
us
who still do, and the other one was one of those who caused the demise
of AvWeb). So AOPA takes this resource away from ALL members
because it lacked the courage to deal with the trouble makers.
Unbelievable.
I'm betting we never see it again.

I find the AOPA website very user-unfriendly. It insists that my
browser doesn't allow cookies, though it does, so every log-in is a
two-step process to find the alternative system for logging in without
a cookie.

You're not alone.

Heck, as the Airport Support Network volunteer, I supposedly have access to
"special" parts of the AOPA website.

It took me FOREVER to successfully log on, and getting my password changed
to something I could remember (as opposed to a random series of letters and
numbers) was more difficult than it was worth.

Result: I never visit the site.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Avweb used to have a lot more user input. There was some strong user
criticism of the lawyers involved in the Carnahan case, and maybe
others. The lawyers sued Avweb (what else is new?) and ever since
there has been an active avoidance of anything controversial.

"OtisWinslow" wrote in message
...
They announced they were shutting it down on Monday. Supposedly it's
going
to reopen in about "4 to 6" weeks. In the mean time they say they're
going
to "upgrade" it but they haven't decided what software because their
lawyers are looking at ways to tighten up the rules and protect them.
This
came about because they were unable (or unwilling) to control a couple
rogue
members. (One of them no longer flies and has open contempt for those
of us
who still do, and the other one was one of those who caused the demise
of AvWeb). So AOPA takes this resource away from ALL members
because it lacked the courage to deal with the trouble makers.
Unbelievable.
I'm betting we never see it again.



There seems to be a lot of that "Cowardly Lion" syndrome going around.
Maybe wimps are attracted to organizations.

John Lowry
Flight Physics

Cub Driver wrote:

I find the AOPA website very user-unfriendly. It insists that my
browser doesn't allow cookies, though it does, so every log-in is a
two-step process to find the alternative system for logging in without
a cookie.

I once complained to AOPA about this, and got an email suggesting that
I telephone and let the guy "walk you through" the process. I didn't
bother.

I would've been a waste of time. The last two or three times I tried to login
there, they displayed a page that stated they had some sort of problem.
Apparently lots of people get the "cookies" message and can't log in at all. As
I recall, the page had a title that contained the question "Why am I here?" I
think they could use a good webmaster.

At least you got email back -- they haven't responded to the last two I sent.

George Patterson
There's plenty of room for all of God's creatures. Right next to the
mashed potatoes.

Until 5 (?) or so years ago, Avweb was informative and irreverant.
There
was a chuckle in every issue. Then, there was a change of management
and
the irreverance and humor disappeared in the first issue, never to
return.

There's a bit more to the story. The short version is that someone
posted something quite critical of a particular aviation lawyer who
makes his living suing manufacturers, making life difficult (and
expensive) for all of us who fly. It's a pretty good living for him
though - good enough that he can go around crashing warbirds.

He sued AvWeb (since the poster wasn't worth suing) and AvWeb set up a
fund to pay the defense costs, and started asking for donations to fill
the fund. Many donated. Then, instead of carrying it forward as a
freedom of the press/common carrier issue, they caved and used the
donations to pay a settlement. At that point AvWeb became just another
Belvoir publication - same crap as their magazines.

Michael

OtisWinslow wrote:
They announced they were shutting it down on Monday. Supposedly it's
going
to reopen in about "4 to 6" weeks.
snip

No great loss, IMHO. I was over there a couple of weeks ago and the
boards were dead. It looked like they were only averaging one or two
dozen post per week.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
[...] As destructive as
they may be, they must possess considerable literary talent to wield
such power.

The pen is mightier than the sword, don't forget.

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 10:41:23 -0700, "Peter Duniho"
wrote in
::

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
.. .
[...] As destructive as
they may be, they must possess considerable literary talent to wield
such power.

The pen is mightier than the sword, don't forget.


It would be nice to know who the two pilots, to whom the OP referred,
are, and specifically what they posted on AvWeb that precipitated the
legal action, as well as their specific comments that resulted in AOPA
closing their message board. I'd say they wield a mighty "sword"
indeed.