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I think this promotion idea is not the best for this community. I also resent the response from the Administration

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Honestly being an Admin is 90% grief, 10% joy.. I mean there are months when you love it more than you hate it (the job), but we all do it because we care a lot about this place.

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I'm one of the mods who raised some very explicit questions and criticism regarding this whole project. I was pumpin' adrenalin when I was presented with the plans.
I have found my peace though, and let me tell you why.

The Admins own the website. Now the Shroomery website is not some free webspace you get with an email account: it is hard thinking, hard work and hard ware. We moderators spend quite some efforts and deal with some aggrevation at times but the Administrators take ultimate responsibility and have the best interest of the Shroomery in mind.

People should stop whining that there are "powers that be" who are doing the politics and policing of the Shroomery. The Shroomery would not exist without hierarchy and top-down decisionmaking.
It's amazing how the responsibilities of modship turn you from a kind of anarchist into a politician/cop.
RESPECT TEH AUTHORITAH 

At first I had quite strong mixed feelings but I found my peace.

The administrators have made up their minds and decided this is the the way it will be. Now let me reproduce Vampire999's post from this thread because I believe it's not appreciated to the degree it deserves:

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Of course money plays a roll.. the stuff people are wanting and what this place really needs to move to the next level.
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1. decentralization of information
2. mirrors
3. bigger better hardware
4. redundant hardware
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None of this happens by itself. The main idea of this website has always been to grow and spread the information in our mission statement. Reaching out and growing means risks.

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Shroomerites: we have arrived at a new era in Shroomery evolution. Exciting things that were pipe dreams before now seem to get within our reach. The Shroomery will break out of it's cocoon and unfold the wings of a beautiful psychedelic butterfly. International website mirrors. Spreading the Information across the world. The Shroomery mission statement is to stop the spread of dangerous misinformation and basically providing correct information has become an important addition.

Its time to think beyond our former limitations. The flowerpot is filled with roots: time to transfer it to a bigger pot, and take cuttings and spread them to friends. We are at the dawn of highly exciting possibilities, possibilities saving lives and greatly enhancing the Shroomery experience, as well as securing the Shroomery for the future. "Shroomery Promotion" is but the tip of the iceberg.

It is very exciting and quite frankly very scary to turn the page and write a new chapter in the annals of the Shroomery. The admins are upping the ante, and with it comes alas a greater risk.

The administrators and moderators of all persuasions are planning to make this as safe and successful as possible. Perhaps the idea stops at the drawing board because risks are too high. Perhaps it will fizzle. Maybe, in the worst case I have thoroughly looked at, we will go out with a bang and perhaps a next-generation Shroomery will rise. But quite possibly the Shroomery might erupt into the most beautiful thing it could ever be, and our adolescent young Shroomery will become a fully adult Shroomery with a great future ahead.

It's very scary and it's very exciting. I have decided to give this administrative decision my full support and try to lay down weekly hours so that together with the members, mods and admins we'll try make the Shroomery into the best thing it could ever be.

The Shroomery can be far more than it is now. And I don't mean membercount. I feel that going with this new development will give the Shroomery the future it deserves.

I know I sound quite excited, that's because I am. I think most of you can see the benefits of international mirroring.
Trust Vampire999 on this:

Decentralization of information = key
Mirror sites = key
Major hardware = key

For these background issues a donkeyload of very real money is needed, and that would be one reason for membership expansion. But the goal is a better, completer and, yes, larger Shroomery where the boards are but a part, but the community is more than ever at the heart of the site.

Long live the Shroomery

Thor said:

John Allen writes books on the subject, goes to conferences, openly spreads the word on safely identifying mushrooms. This does good for the whole community as it shows we want people to be safe and smart out there. He should not only do this, but spread the word even more if he can. Imagine if people like him felt it was best to hide his passion for this hobby and not share his knowledge with the world.

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I've spent countless years here as well as the other admins doing the dirty work of running a large drug based website. In fact I've had the distinct displeasure of dealing with the media and documentary film makers after the sad death of our friend Ripper (Brandon). The amount of heat our website was under was unreal

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in fact we all care deeply about the repurcussions of our actions and decisions. We don't take things lightly nor carelessly.

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Paradigm said:

It's not like we're going to be promoting this site just anywhere. It's going to be at raves, festivals, concerts...the type of places where you'll find plenty of fellow psychonauts. The type who could benefit from the knowledge this place has to offer. This site is already big beyond what I ever imagined it could be, and if you don't think that cops or the DEA already monitor the site, you're fooling yourself. If there are repurcussions, the admins will be the first to feel them, and I trust them in their decision.

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I don't want anyone to feel like they're getting ganged up on, there's no personal matters at hand here. I think there is a certain amount of controversy/discussion/bitching you should expect when you decide to impliment something of this nature without any discussion (among members) first.

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It shows how much we care for the community. The emotion we show is only a reflection of the emotion we have for this site. No reason to get bent over it, it's just a matter of perception.

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I couldnt agree more, but I'm also a proponent of debating without need for personalizing things or getting mean spirited. Passion is no excuse for bad behavior See my thread "lessons in the art of complaints" in this forum.

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Of course what he does is a good thing and he will never stop, no matter what happens, he will continue this message as long as he lives. And that is OK, that's great. I've been to his apartment, I can tell you he lives by himself, he is only accountable for himself and his own actions. There is no one else who can be brought down by what he says and what he does.

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He brings a hobby into the public eye, wouldnt the argument be made by some people that the more he writes books the more likely the government will create new laws against mushroom hunting

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I know it is not your job to keep them safe, that you are not their provider of security, but I would hope as, what is probably the biggest influencer in the OMC, you would at least try to not bring unneeded risk to the members.

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I'm sure you do but I fail to see how this can not be thought of as a huge risk. You say we don't fly under the radar now, that we are already a huge site but this doesn't address the FACT that the people who are here, come seeking the information. Putting ourselves in the forefront of discussions for the public to judge is a completely different subject altogether.
Public policies aren't made until there is a public concern.

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Yes, and the site was permanently changed because of this. I would just be saddened to see the site having to change AGAIN because this time we subjected ourselves to the critique of the public.

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Thor said:

In fact I've had the distinct displeasure of dealing with the media and documentary film makers after the sad death of our friend Ripper (Brandon). The amount of heat our website was under was unreal, we had reporters in our chat rooms, people emailing me from CNN, BBC, etc.. Even had a long AIM chat with a reporter from the NY Daily news, which actually ended up being a reporter who helped the Shroomery by keeping our name out of her report which was a report that was picked up on the wires and copied, which was great since nobody even mentioned our website. To this day I can't believe how well we handled this media blitz on our home.

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I mean its hurtfull because you spend sooooo much time on something you love to only be treated this way only too often by frustrated users.

The thing is this will always be the case, sad as it is to say, but I've been doing this for a long time now and this is the way it has always been.

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Paradigm said:

This site is already big beyond what I ever imagined it could be, and if you don't think that cops or the DEA already monitor the site, you're fooling yourself.

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I, for one, aknowledge and know this.  I am not saying we are low key to law enforcement - law enforcement *probably* learns helpful things from US on occasion and may be one reason why they let us lie for now.  The dangerous group that does not currently monitor this site that I would like to see continue to not monitor this site is the General Mass Media.

Wiccan_Seeker, good post as always...  Your persuasive cutting analogy with the butterfly metaphor has got me thinking it might be worth the (large) risk.

@cro I think is right on about the emotion we're showing...  Don't take it so hard, admins, we care too, that's why we hurt you!

Thor said:

Everything else is still up for debate, in fact the media is something I personally am weary of, and would find hard to accept us openly going to them to promote anything from the website.

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Please note I was writing my previous post whilst you posted this

I do not mean to offend, but if it comes to speaking in written form to the Media, I do not think zippoz is the person for the job, unless you assign him an editor, lest I fear we come off as drug addled imbeciles.  I'm not an English major or anything, but I do know a few things here or there - anyone feel free to corect me back, I love to learn

To whit:

zippoz said:

(capitalization needed) im sorry to have been (akward phrase) absent from this thread for so long. (unnecessary conjunction, capitalization needed) and let me state my piece, or (two words together and I think needs a comma after) atleast the first instalment of it.

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zippoz said:

okay, as i see it there are a few issues that are being brought up here.
1) people are afraid of the site becomming to (sic) high profile.

well as it has been explanes (sic[, obvious typographical error as the 's' is next to the 'd']) to  me, and i agree after looking at the numbers, this site is not low profile by any means.

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The explosion in pharmaceuticals has been magnified by the Internet. Not only are there more psychotropic drugs to choose from, it's easier than ever to learn what to take, how much to take and what effects to anticipate. Luke scoured sites like erowid.org--"documenting the complex relationship between humans and psychoactives"--for information and "trip reports" on everything from peyote to Percocet. From there, teens are one click away from an illegal online pharmacy, a cyber medicine cabinet offering quick, discreet delivery.

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