So yesterday I tried to register at another forum

[Xclusive]

just to broaden my knowledge and try to help out a few other pool users. My registration was rejected! So I emailed the administrator and this is the outrageous response I got:

I'm in the process of re-opening registration, and haven't been able yet to post updated registration info. You had at least two strikes against you.

1. I'm not sure how to deal with hackers registering on the forum. Their purpose is not to hack me, but to hack users by posting innocent appearing links to bogus sites. For now, the only way I have to make sure they don't register, is to check everyone who does, and make sure they are a US or Canadian resident with a pool. I do this by checking their personal data in Google etc. If no results return, or worse, if their data doesn't match up with other parts of their data, I delete the registration.

Your data was incomplete, and what was there didn't match up.

2. You're in the pool biz. Nothing wrong with that; so am I. But, we end up having to ban upwards of 70% of pool biz registrants either because they want to sell stuff and can't help themselves, or because they can't wrap their minds around all the stuff the pool industry teaches that is bogus (like "breakpoint chlorination") and want to argue it without first reading the articles that explain why it's wrong.

If you really want to register, do so with your PERSONAL data.

Then ID yourself in the signature line as "affiliated with the pool biz" or some such. We won't know initially, of course, but the mods ban folks on sight who are pool biz, but haven't ID'd themselves as such. And, most folks in the pool biz find it very very hard not to post or write in ways that give it up.

The PoolForum

To say the least I was just floored by this guys way of thinking. Not allowing a pool business owner on a pool forum who could help out is a little far fetched, especially since I didn't even get the chance to prove I was not a spammer or just seeking free exposure. I was just dismissed right off the bat! I understand he wants to weed out the bad posters from the good, but he doesn't have to kill all the grass to do so.

I think I'll stick to this forum anyways...you guys are much nicer!

[Larry]

Hi Joe

The Pool Help Forum has been open for posting by everyone since its inception in 2004 and being able to participate without having to sign up is extremely important to me. I have spent more energy on keeping the spammers away than anything else on these forums, and I am satisfied with the low number of spam posts that get through (and which I deal with manually).

Although you may not see me around often, I closely monitor the topics and do my best to provide an open and spam-free community.

Thanks for you vote of confidence and your valuable participation in these forums.

Larry

[Xclusive]

Larry,

You're doing a great job and most of all, your idea of what makes a good forum should be followed by the rest of the administrators out there : open to ALL. It truly is my pleasure to be here not only to help, but learn from you guys also.

Sincerely

[GroupDynamics]

The dynamics of this are fascinating: Here we have this forum administrator going through all this to weed out fraudulent registrations when he himself defrauded many pool owners by taking their money and not shipping test kits (probably giving out false information in the process). He's now actually looking up Google Maps to see if you have a pool.

And now, after many years of absence (during which he had no communication whatsoever) he reappears, everyone's *so* happy to see he's back and interestingly, folks on that forum are asked to donate. These donations will probably (eventually, if ever) go towards reimbursing these burnt customers many years after the fact. And all is well with the world, life goes on.

Lastly I remember seeing a forum rule that stated something like "As a rule I'm right and you're wrong", and so that pretty much sets the tone for any discussions.

[Guest]

The pool forum site you are talking about is not available on my network so I am curious. I know the pool forum was popular at one time but the database crashed and was lost - is that the one you mean?

I had no idea they were 'selling' test kits without delivering - live and learn!