Back in 2000, when I started The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board with the help of my friend, Kevin Kawahara, it was meant to be a companion to The Virtual Weber Bullet, the Smokey Mountain Cooker website I started publishing in 1998.
Back in those dark days of the web--before there was blogging, podcasting, photo sharing, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube--if you wanted to add some interaction to a static website, you added a discussion forum. Of course, over the years, the discussion on TVWBB grew beyond just the Weber Bullet to all Weber grills and accessories. As it turns out, if you own a WSM, you also probably own a Weber kettle and/or a Weber gas grill, too.
At that time, I was employed by Hewlett-Packard as a website designer, working on product support websites. I was used to creating professional online experiences, and I was used to the whole notion of supporting products. I viewed The Virtual Weber Bullet website and The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board discussion forum very much as product support sites. I thought of them as the sites that the Weber company, for whatever reason, could not or would not produce themselves.
So I designed TVWBB to be very professional in appearance. I established rules in keeping with professional forums. I had a strict registration process to keep out spammers and trolls. I had a real name policy to keep the discussion friendly and minimize flaming posts. I had high expectations for how people should conduct themselves in the forums. I ran a tight ship. And I still do today, 13 years later.
I've also kept in mind that people working at Weber read The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board. I had the privilege of visiting Weber's corporate offices in 2008, and meeting and cooking with members of the Weber family and company staff. They told me that they read TVWBB on a regular basis. I never want any of them to see something on TVWBB that is of questionable taste or that reflects poorly on the Weber brand.
And finally, in this day and age when anyone can Google your name and learn everything about you, I want TVWBB to reflect well upon me, especially when looking for new employment opportunities in a competitive job market.
So for all these reasons, TVWBB is a professional-grade discussion forum. Always has been, always will be.
Back in those dark days of the web--before there was blogging, podcasting, photo sharing, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube--if you wanted to add some interaction to a static website, you added a discussion forum. Of course, over the years, the discussion on TVWBB grew beyond just the Weber Bullet to all Weber grills and accessories. As it turns out, if you own a WSM, you also probably own a Weber kettle and/or a Weber gas grill, too.
At that time, I was employed by Hewlett-Packard as a website designer, working on product support websites. I was used to creating professional online experiences, and I was used to the whole notion of supporting products. I viewed The Virtual Weber Bullet website and The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board discussion forum very much as product support sites. I thought of them as the sites that the Weber company, for whatever reason, could not or would not produce themselves.
So I designed TVWBB to be very professional in appearance. I established rules in keeping with professional forums. I had a strict registration process to keep out spammers and trolls. I had a real name policy to keep the discussion friendly and minimize flaming posts. I had high expectations for how people should conduct themselves in the forums. I ran a tight ship. And I still do today, 13 years later.
I've also kept in mind that people working at Weber read The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board. I had the privilege of visiting Weber's corporate offices in 2008, and meeting and cooking with members of the Weber family and company staff. They told me that they read TVWBB on a regular basis. I never want any of them to see something on TVWBB that is of questionable taste or that reflects poorly on the Weber brand.
And finally, in this day and age when anyone can Google your name and learn everything about you, I want TVWBB to reflect well upon me, especially when looking for new employment opportunities in a competitive job market.
So for all these reasons, TVWBB is a professional-grade discussion forum. Always has been, always will be.