There are some misunderstandings about how things work in the Billy Snow Mates group and some Admins have taken a lot of flak and abuse over the years and so I thought it might help to tell you a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes.
BSM is a non-profit club run by members and an admin team who do it for the love of snow-sports. No one gets paid, no one gets free or cheap stuff.
The impersonal nature of ‘the internet’ brings out the worst in all of us at times (some people more than others) so we have a few rules that have evolved over time to try and keep BSM a friendly & welcoming group.
These rules may seem a bit draconian to some but without them and over 10k members things can quickly spiral out of hand. They were not dreamt up in an evil lair - they were agonised over by a dozen people trying to do their best.
No one wants to police everything - we do the bare minimum that we feel is necessary.
We also took a decision a long time ago to keep commercial posts and advertisements out (and other annoying stuff like share competitions) otherwise it just quickly becomes one long advert and leaves little room to talk about waxing, again. ;)
If you want to sell into this club then we want to save the members a little bit of money via a discount, is that so bad? Read here for more on what you can do as a commercial operator.
The rules are in the group description which you read before you asked to join and on the website - you did read them right? If not click here and ‘see more’ to see the whole description but they can basically be summarised by
“Don’t be a dick”.
Don’t like the rules? That’s OK! Really it is - there are plenty of other snow sports groups on the Internet, you can even setup your own.
Currently 19 people but that changes over time as people are invited and others drop out. Some of whom you will know (click Members > Admins and Moderators) and some of whom are stealth. One might be sat next to you on a chairlift and you would never know it….
We’re human. We’re just a bunch of snow-sports enthusiasts who want to meet other people who love the mountains. We don’t always get it right but we do our best.
No. When something needs attention it’s discussed what, if anything, should be done by whichever admin’s are around. At…. Agonising…. Length…. If an admin steps in then it won’t be just their own decision - it will have been a group consensus. No one likes doing it. It’s shit.
If a comment is removed (rare) or you’re sent for timeout (even rarer) then blaming one person for your hurt feelings is daft - it was a bunch of people who thought you were out of line so maybe it’s time to look at your own behaviour?
Maybe. But maybe not. Depends on what you’ve done and how you’ve acted before. You read the rules (didn’t you)? You’ve watched how other people act and behave appropriately haven’t you? You understand “How not to be a dick” right?
Maybe he did or maybe he didn’t. Maybe it just slipped everyone’s attention. We do our best, but we’ve got lives to lead too and sometimes things can be inconsistent. Sorry!
Were you? Were you actually funny? You sure? Did other people know?
Remember its not only the person you’re addressing in a comment that we care about it’s everyone else too.
If it’s ‘edgy banter’ between two friends that can be misunderstood then maybe that’s better in a personal message or even better down the pub?
Probably, if you love snow sports - cos we do too!
There is no right to uninhibited free speech. Not here. Not anywhere. Not even in the USA.
You can say what you want in your own space (maybe to your cat?) but when in someone else’s house you follow their rules.
You understand that you’ve no “Right” to be in here, right?
As I said, there are plenty of other places to discuss snow-sports on the internet that you may prefer.
Now can we talk about snow?