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[Kristin Meredith]

I am going to share some thoughts about this forum.  I do not expect any responses necessarily, I just think it is important to understand where I am coming from -- and I also think Bentley is coming from.

We started this to be a place to exchange information on pellet pits and pellet cooking.  We were not looking to be a general bbq site/forum nor were we looking to profit or commercialize it.  What we really hoped would happen is that people who owned and cooked on pellet pits would share their ups and downs, their experiences, their knowledge and insight.

We hoped that if folks had questions, others with knowledge would share.  We were not looking to be a library or clearing house where people were directed to other sites and forums.  Frankly, I am almost completely computer illiterate and even I can enter terms in a search engine and find out how other people make pork butt or ribs or burnt ends.  We were looking for this site to be personal and not a big reference library.

I know that when folks sometimes direct others to other sites, they are maybe just trying to be helpful.  But really, I think that 99% of the people on this forum can find other sites and blogs if they just want some info on any type of bbq cook or recipe.  So when I see a question about how to do X, I expect an answer to be something based on the responder's personal experience.  To me it is no different than if I said "Hey, I am going to Lincoln Neb, can someone suggest a good restaurant?" and what I got back was a lot of people linking to the Lincoln Visitor Center website with a list of restaurants or referring me to Frommer's.  I am looking for a personal experience, not a general reference. 

If you have used a recipe from another site, cut and paste the recipe, give credit and then tell your experience in using the recipe.  It doesn't take a lot longer than just posting a link and you hopefully share something about your cook and experience with that recipe.  If you have no personal experience with the recipe, then I don't even get sharing it.

If this position alienates some folks, I accept that.  We have not even been operational for one year.  I thought it would be a fabulous success if we had 75 people at the end of one year -- if those 75 were committed to discussing and sharing their personal experiences.  Otherwise, we could just close down and post a page with a list of references to other sites, blogs and web pages.

[Kristin Meredith]

I don't mind a link to a direct you tube video.  I do mind a link to another site where you then view the you tube video.  I think part of it is that this site is personally funded with no commercial advertising and no one making money off it.  So I resent that we send folks to sites where folks are making money off the site and advertising.  Whether that is right or wrong, that is just how I feel.

[Dave R.]

Your site, your rules. We obey or we should be warned via a PM if out of line. If the rules continue to be broken then shut the member down. It is nice to understand your perspective so thank you for sharing. We all can inadvertently make a mistake so IMHO that should be taken under consideration and the offending person should have an opportunity to explain and or apologize privately with you and Bentley. My 

[Trooper]

Love It.
One of the great things about the ADMINISTRATION of this forum is that we get your heartfelt opinion "straight up".
I'd rather see this type of communication than any other.
I think that many people sharing links do it out of simply wanting to contribute and help another person out.
Having said that, I see that this forum is now cruising in on 1,000 members. We are certainly a very tight group and hope that we continue to stay that way.
Again, I share your thoughts on 'exchanging information on pellets and pellet cooking".

[riverrat49]

This is my Home, There is no other like it 

[Free Mr. Tony]

I, in principle, have alot of the same views. I do think in the time we are living in though, it's nearly impossible to accomplish that goal. Everyone has always been out to make a buck. The difference today is that nearly anyone with a cellphone and the tiniest bit of ambition can actually see profits from very little work. Mention this, click that, use this product, put this in the background of your video, etc.

An example being the popular T-Roy YouTube channel. He's fairly entertaining, has some good content, and it's in my field of interest (bbq). However, I rarely watch his videos anymore. Constant mentions of other YouTubers, uses of products people sent him, meat from a particular sponser, rubs that people are trying to sell. I have no idea if he gets paid or how much for any of it, but at a certain point it's just a big giant commerical and it just cripples the content. Not to single out T-Roy. Basically every popular YouTube channel uses the same model, and I assume he didn't start it. I just don't know who did.

I don't fault him or anyone else trying to make a dime. I just won't consume it. It's distracting, and at a certain point off-putting. I'm sure I'm in the minority because thousands of people watch channels like this every day, so as always the masses win. If it works, people will continue to push the maximum amount of xxxx into their videos, websites, and other forms of entertainment.

Most of us on this site (forums in general) are dinosaurs. We are hanging on to what we like about the world of technology from it's infancy where people were still figuring out how to monetize the internet. Well, it certainly has been figured out, and we don't like it. Unfortunately, it's only going to get worse, but we will most likely be extinct by then.

On the flip side, I don't have a problem with cross platform promoting for informational purposes as long as there is context. If you say I made this from this video. This is what I liked. This is what I didn't. This could be changed. If you just post a link with no context, I don't really get that. These comments are not directed at anyone or post in particular, as I have no clue what prompted the original post. I haven't been able to read as much lately, so I don't know if I missed something.

Your mission is a noble one that is certainly an uphill climb.

[Conumdrum]

I'd like to say a few things Kristen but I don't want to be slammed or banned.  Just my thoughts about limiting outside resources beyond this forum.

[ScottWood]

Just my opinion, but I believe that there can be value in sharing outside links, if you also share why you are sharing that link.  There is practically zero value in sharing a link with no comment.

Sharing without comment seems to have become the norm and I think it is largely due to how easy FB has made it to share things there with a single click.

When I am scrolling through this forum, or any other for that matter, if I come across a link with no comment as to why it has been shared, I simply keep scrolling. 

[Bentley]

For the most part I agree. 

But 99% of the folks on forums don't run one.  The have no personal feeling invested in a site.  They do not spend hours of their time keeping it going, for no other reason then they want to enjoy it and its members...just to have someone put a link on their site that directs them to someone else's site,

Now Amazon, Wal-Mart, Joe's Plumbing, I really don't have an issue with those...But when someone does link to another BBQ site (and guess what, most are not forums, they are set up to make money and sell their stuff) here is how I feel, and I will be quite vulgar in getting my feeling s across!   You are telling me to xxxx off, the site I am sending you to knows more then your site does and I want you to know it!  I have so little respect for you or am so lazy I will not take the time to put the info on your site and give credit to the other!

Now I said that is the way it makes me feel, 90% of the people don't mean it that way, but it is the way it comes across!  So at least know how I feel when this happens and I just start deleting the post!  Cuz I think that is where I am.

I don't have kids, imagine I tell you that your Jr there is butt ugly!  You know it is true, you just don't want to hear it from someone else!

I think that many people sharing links do it out of simply wanting to contribute and help another person out.

[mowin]

Your site your rules..  I love my pellet grill. Use it a lot. I also do some fantastic cooks on my stick burner.  I won't post pics of those cooks any longer because I know how you feel about it.  But it also makes me NOT want to post pics of cooks on my pellet grill.

I understand this is a pellet grill/smoker forum, but a lot of information can be used regardless of the type of pit. I've done cooks on my stick burner that I've gained the recipe or idea from this site, but I don't feel right about posting about the cooks because it wasn't done on the GMG..

[Bentley]

Good!

[leppolite]

This feels like its directly related to my post in the Pork Belly thread. I posted a few links from a website, one I had tried and one I just planned to try. I will just hold back posting going forward so I dont run afoul of the rules... I would like to mention though, you do realize that youtube is heavily monetized, right? Viewing it there is the same as viewing on the original posters site, it still counts as a viewing. I am not trying to stir up trouble and wont post any more links at all but my links were not to his main site but only to the page with the recipe. I was only trying to help members here, there are not enough of us to have cooked everything and customized it to our liking and then post here...or at least I dont think there is.

If this is too confrontational then I apologize, I dont even normally post on forums but I was just trying to help out with some suggestions.

[Bentley]

People were doing it long before you got here...

And if it cant be done on this site, what makes you think a site with one person can?

I am not trying to stir up trouble and wont post any more links at all but my links were not to his main site but only to the page with the recipe. I was only trying to help members here, there are not enough of us to have cooked everything and customized it to our liking and then post here...

[Kristin Meredith]

It is not one person or one post.  It has been on going since the beginning.  We have tried to edit and put a line in the edit as to why and it does not seem to sink in.  I thought if I perhaps explained some of the reasoning, people might connect it in their mind in the future.

And yes, I realize you tube is monetized, but i am trying to find a bit of a compromise I can deal with.  I just have problem with other bbq sites that make their money off of getting folks to their site -- yet they have no forum which allows folks reading their site to be directed to me nor do they post a link to my forum (yes, the reason is obvious as to why they don't do that, but maybe it explains my irritation at my site being used to direct folks to them).

As I said earlier, this position may alienate some people and I accept that.  I guess I think in the universe of things, our rules are just not that onerous and hard to follow. But I accept that some may feel otherwise.

[leppolite]

People were doing it long before you got here...

And if it cant be done on this site, what makes you think a site with one person can?

It cant be done with a single person but we all draw our inspirations from different locations. You could not have learned what you know without outside influences, I am sure of that. I am not going to argue but will just go into quiet lurking mode so I can continue to learn in a way that works for me.