Why is this so important?

I have been reading the various comments about this current situation with the BFF.

One person posted to "Bigfoot’s Blog", they didn't understand why this was such an important issue and the BFF should be allowed to function as they choose.

I sat here for a day or two thinking about this. Sure, the BFF can function however they like. They make their own rules, and people can choose to sign up or post.

I suddenly realized why this issue bothers me so much.

No, it has nothing to do with my own treatment by these people. Look at the front page of the BFF, you will see the wording "The Web's most popular one-stop shop for sasquatch talk". The name "Bigfoot Forums", its extensive list of members (most of which sign up and never post, but you wont read that on the BFF banner) makes it appear to be the most important message board to discuss bigfoot on the internet.

"Everyone talks about Bigfoot here on the BFF" is inferred. That is so not true.

Take a second, and ask yourself these question.

1. "How many researchers have YOU talked to, that told YOU they knew about the bigfoot forums, and would never post?"

I stopped counting that number a long time ago.

2. "How many witnesses have YOU spoken to, who have told YOU they went to the bigfoot forums hoping to find someone who might understand what they were dealing with. They read the site and decided to stay away from bigfoot researchers because of the hostility, or because they posted about their own experience on the BFF only to be called a liar, a hoaxer and ran off the board?"

3. "How many witnesses have asked YOU, "Do you post on the BFF?" Would you say "Yes"? Or would you pause to consider the answer, and it's affect on your witness?

You should pause. Why? Because that means they have been reading the BFF, and they are wondering if you will be treating them with the same disrespect they have seen given to others. I tell them, "I once did, but I do not anymore." That comment is usually followed with (by the witness) "Good, cause I'd throw you off my property if you were involved with "those" people."

My dad always said, "If you have to hide what you're doing, then you probably shouldn't be doing it."

I know I am not the only person who has heard those specific comments from a witness, as it is talked about privately among most researchers. I can't be the only one, because I hear it all the time.

Take a minute and really think about those questions, and your answers. Whether we agree with what happens on the BFF, we are all lumped into this same group, because the BFF touts itself as the place all researchers want to be (whether they say it or not, that is the impression). I haven't been on the BFF since last year (posting). Still to this day, if I talk to a witness, inevitably the name BFF comes up, and they tell me how they went there, and just went away. "What's the point?" They say, "They will only call me names?" or "They say they want you to talk about your experience, but when you do, they attack."

In fact, I heard these comments from the last witness I spoke to face to face. Let me tell you now, whether the question is justified or not, if a witness feels the question was posed in a rude manner, they WILL assume this WILL happen to them. They only see what has happened before, they don't care that their story may be different. Instead, of the BFF Admin recognizing this fact, they allow witnesses to be called "liars", with the excuse "I just wanted to see what your response would be." It's no wonder witnesses leave the BFF, and never return, or never seek out other Message boards.

This is not acceptable. These witnesses are not criminals. This is not an interrogation. Nor, should it be.

I have talked to so many people who identify themselves as researchers who have logged onto the BFF, only to find themselves, their questions, or ideas, publicly thrashed (and I do mean "thrashed") they absolutely refuse to discuss the topic online - anywhere. These researchers come to me in private, because as they say, "you have been so outspoken about this problem, I wish I had found your Blog a long time ago, I never would have went to the BFF, if I had."

Why should they want to?

We all complain that witnesses don't want to come forward, but, at the same time we have this public entity (the BFF) that sure as heck wouldn't want to make me talk. If we hold the "Dr. Meldrums", right down to the "joe bigfooters", responsible to objective criticism, why do we allow the BFF to go unchecked? What gives the BFF the right to publicly suggest that all researchers want to be a member of that forum, when that couldn't be further from the truth?

Life experience story time,

I used to be a member of an AOL chatroom - where the name of the chatroom had nothing to do with the content. It was basically a bashing chatroom. The name of the chatroom would bring people in who felt they just had to respond to the topic of the room. Once in the chatroom - they could not help but respond because the name of the room was so cruel, but once they did, they were quickly pounced upon by people in the chatroom, who would hurl insults "Of course that's not true, you idiot". Needless to say, I was told AOL shut the room down.

Most, very quickly understood what this room was all about, and stay.. Others, not so much. I stopped going there when one day I realized "These people are just mean. This isn't in fun, they are just hateful people." No, they didn't turn on me.. One afternoon a woman logged in, and applied to the affirmative "Men are jerks" (the name of the AOL Chatroom) then must have stopped reading the comments, because she started posting about how her husband just told her the day before, he was divorcing her and had found a new woman. She went on and kept typing about how she had been unable to sleep, she had been crying all night, and did not know what would happen to her and her kids, as she had been a stay at home mom..

Well, I felt horrible for this lady. One of the members (a female) typed words I never thought I would ever see.. "You probably deserved it." Instantly I felt sick to my stomach. This woman must have finally looked at the chatroom and the comments of hatred being thrown in her direction, because she quickly left. I left also, and never went back.

I see no difference between the tatics of this (now closed) AOL Chatroom, and the BFF. Why should I, when posts like this are tolerated:

"Accepting some dumbass who claims to be an expert in a field he doesn't even understand and evidently you don't either."

This is just the long way around calling someone a dumb a*s.

Through strong armed tactics, the BFF attempts to control the content on other Message Boards and Blogs, by threatening to ban from the BFF, if you criticize the content of their board, or copy content. Although they actively post articles from other bigfoot websites, news organizations etc.

Privacy is violated. I have even seen a BFF members real name posted on the board, and this person's name was allowed to remain posted even after the member requested their real name not be used on the BFF or any forum. This is why people create "usernames". Yes, they may be out there publicly discussing the research, but when they go on a message board, they should be allowed some anonymity, like everyone else.

Personal Messages are read on the BFF, regardless of the insistence by the BFF leaders, they are not. Many, many, will vouch for that, heck even past administrators will tell you that is "business as usual" on the BFF. Personal information, you supply your profile with, is changed at the whim of certain Administrators. If you complain, they just don't care, or they tell you it's not true, and many blindly believe this.

Hoaxing only seems to matter on the BFF- if you are not a friend of certain staff members.

Last year the Michigan Recording Project,

was sheltered from questions about misleading information, after multiple members of the MRP were found to be embellishing the information about their research site. Members on the BFF were threatened with being banned if they questioned the MRP about their location, and suspensions were threatened for anyone who asked questions about these misleading statements by the MRP, or discussed the information about what the location was really like.

Now, Autumns book comes out,

and it appears to be okay to openly discuss the possible "location" of "Mike" and his alleged encounters with a bigfoot, Mike calls "Enoch", and whether or not she is embellishing a story or creating a hoax for profit.

Why were the MRP protected? Because they are friends with many on the BFF Admin team. Autumn is not. Double standard? You decide.

I suppose they can do whatever they want, but those of us who know the BFF affects our ability to get witnesses to open up, or researchers to openly discuss their ideas, should be very public about not being associated with the BFF. We can't force the BFF to change, but we should not sit back and allow ourselves to be lumped in with this group of people, who do not speak for the majority of researchers out there.

The BFF does not speak for me,

but as long as this community remains silent on their dislike of the actions of the BFF, we will ALL forever be lumped in with this group, that has given this community a black eye in the mind of the public, witnesses and fellow researchers who recognize the toxic attitude of the BFF.

So much of my time is taken up, because of how researchers and witnesses have been treated on the BFF. People who once thought I was 'full of it", finally have these things happening to them. They come to me and apologize. I don't mind being there for someone in need of someone to talk to, but this should not be happening because of a "Bigfoot Message Board".. We should all be talking to try and figure out this mystery. Instead, because of the BFF tactics, I (and others) spend a large majority of our time talking to these researchers and convincing witnesses, we have nothing to do with the BFF. The BFF is a site, this community, should be able to be proud of. It's been around the longest, and has some great topics.

Too bad you can't discuss those topics, or be happy it's around. Being banned from the BFF, should not be a badge of honor, but that's exactly what it has become.

These things are what bother me.

These things should bother me. They should bother you. While the BFF is and should be allowed to function however they want, this community should feel a responsibility and an obligation, to not endorse or frequent a bigfoot related site that does not do anything good for this research community.

The time for "private conversation" about this to end.

Last year, due to attempts to control the content of my forum and blog, I removed all links to the BFF. If you own a website, forum or blog, do the same in silent protest. The BFF gets hits, because of these links, and these links make them popular in google searches.

DROP THE LINK.