I haven't said much about TippyToes, mainly because I never had much to do with her during her stay on LCF, and aside from a general disdain of diet scams such as Kimkins, I don't really have a dog in this fight. I know what a lot of people think about her, and I haven't seen anything which leads me to disagree with the general consensus but the fact remains that I don't know the woman or what she's really like.
I do know this, though. She's started a 'diet support site' called Camp Carb Away, which offer access to their fora for a registration fee of $19.95. There's also a PayPal donation button on the main page, for some reason.
Okay.
So, let's think about this. Someone wants to create a new support site. Perhaps they genuinely do want to provide the internet with a safe, gentle, kind, fluffy-bunny site in which members routinely exchange nothing but squeeful !!!HUGS!!! with each other. A virtual world in which the moderators wield big ban buttons and mean people who post nasty things will not be tolerated. A laudable goal, some might say. I personally prefer an open exchange of frank ideas with very light moderation, but that's just me.
When I first began low-carbing, nearly five years ago, I got a lot of support from Low Carb Friends. However, like any active forum with lots of members, there is a very wide variety of opinions and posting styles, and while it's moderated it is not a group-hug kind of place. Members occasionally bicker and argue and call each other names. That doesn't bother me, but it's not for everyone. For those who prefer a more heavily moderated board, there are plenty out there. That you don't have to pay for.
Seriously, why would anyone pay to join a diet support site when there is no end of free places available? Why would anyone not question the motives of someone who is running a 'diet support site' which requires any kind of payment?
Oh, but Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pickles Lady! you may be saying. That kind of thing takes time! And MONEY! You have to pay for that site and arrange for people to design it and host it and everything! Why shouldn't you charge something to cover her costs? YOU'RE A MEANY!!!!
I may be a meany, but you're deluded if you think it's not possible to set up just such a site for nothing. There are many perfectly free message board sites which can be tailored to the user's wishes. They can be set up to require registration, they can be set up to hold posts pending moderator approval, they can be set up so you can ban whoever you want as often as you want. I'm speaking about sites like Aimoo and Proboards and even Yahoo Groups, all of which will let you set up your very own registration-required, moderated out the butt forum for nothing more than a few minutes of your time. What I am saying is:
- You can set up a private, moderated message board for free.
- If you are paying for one because you don't know any better or are so incompetent that you can't manage to follow directions to set it up yourself, you probably have no business running such a forum.
If you want to try and make a little by running ads, fine -- I mean, I have ads. I'm never going to retire on them, I'll be lucky if I can buy a case of cat food with what I make from ad revenue this year, but my feeling is that nobody has to click on them if they don't want to. If they're too obtrusive, I'll hear about it soon enough in the form of non-returning readers and angry comments. And they're right out there -- it's obvious why I have them. But, I am not claiming they are there because of start-up costs and the need for technical assistance which are, in my opinion, mere smokescreens to make a profit.
And if it's a profit you're after, well, fine. It's a service and if people want it they'll pay for it. Just be up front about it, and do not cloak it in a lot of disingenuous babble about wanting to provide a 'safe place.'
Not that this is what TippyToes has done, to my knowledge. I don't find her all that interesting, so I haven't been following her role in the Kimkins saga that closely. I just think that if her motivation in starting Camp Carb Away was to provide such a safe place and nothing else ... she could have done it for nothing, and her users would pay nothing to join.
I'm just saying.
Mariasol has a great entry on her blog about free diet support. I suggest anyone who's looking for support check it out.
Elle
I do know this, though. She's started a 'diet support site' called Camp Carb Away, which offer access to their fora for a registration fee of $19.95. There's also a PayPal donation button on the main page, for some reason.
Okay.
So, let's think about this. Someone wants to create a new support site. Perhaps they genuinely do want to provide the internet with a safe, gentle, kind, fluffy-bunny site in which members routinely exchange nothing but squeeful !!!HUGS!!! with each other. A virtual world in which the moderators wield big ban buttons and mean people who post nasty things will not be tolerated. A laudable goal, some might say. I personally prefer an open exchange of frank ideas with very light moderation, but that's just me.
When I first began low-carbing, nearly five years ago, I got a lot of support from Low Carb Friends. However, like any active forum with lots of members, there is a very wide variety of opinions and posting styles, and while it's moderated it is not a group-hug kind of place. Members occasionally bicker and argue and call each other names. That doesn't bother me, but it's not for everyone. For those who prefer a more heavily moderated board, there are plenty out there. That you don't have to pay for.
Seriously, why would anyone pay to join a diet support site when there is no end of free places available? Why would anyone not question the motives of someone who is running a 'diet support site' which requires any kind of payment?
Oh, but Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pickles Lady! you may be saying. That kind of thing takes time! And MONEY! You have to pay for that site and arrange for people to design it and host it and everything! Why shouldn't you charge something to cover her costs? YOU'RE A MEANY!!!!
I may be a meany, but you're deluded if you think it's not possible to set up just such a site for nothing. There are many perfectly free message board sites which can be tailored to the user's wishes. They can be set up to require registration, they can be set up to hold posts pending moderator approval, they can be set up so you can ban whoever you want as often as you want. I'm speaking about sites like Aimoo and Proboards and even Yahoo Groups, all of which will let you set up your very own registration-required, moderated out the butt forum for nothing more than a few minutes of your time. What I am saying is:
- You can set up a private, moderated message board for free.
- If you are paying for one because you don't know any better or are so incompetent that you can't manage to follow directions to set it up yourself, you probably have no business running such a forum.
If you want to try and make a little by running ads, fine -- I mean, I have ads. I'm never going to retire on them, I'll be lucky if I can buy a case of cat food with what I make from ad revenue this year, but my feeling is that nobody has to click on them if they don't want to. If they're too obtrusive, I'll hear about it soon enough in the form of non-returning readers and angry comments. And they're right out there -- it's obvious why I have them. But, I am not claiming they are there because of start-up costs and the need for technical assistance which are, in my opinion, mere smokescreens to make a profit.
And if it's a profit you're after, well, fine. It's a service and if people want it they'll pay for it. Just be up front about it, and do not cloak it in a lot of disingenuous babble about wanting to provide a 'safe place.'
Not that this is what TippyToes has done, to my knowledge. I don't find her all that interesting, so I haven't been following her role in the Kimkins saga that closely. I just think that if her motivation in starting Camp Carb Away was to provide such a safe place and nothing else ... she could have done it for nothing, and her users would pay nothing to join.
I'm just saying.
Mariasol has a great entry on her blog about free diet support. I suggest anyone who's looking for support check it out.
Elle
6 Kerfuffles:
I always enjoy reading your posts about or around the Kimkins scam.
Thanks for the link. I will link to your post from my "Camp" post.
RIGHT ON, gc&pl! Thanks for the thoughtful post. There are lots of free sites out there.
Say no to Kimkins!
Friends don't let friends do the Kimkins Diet!
Your ads aren't bothersome. In fact, its actually "ad", there is only one I could find, and I had to look for it.
I fail to see the big deal about a pay forum though. If no one wants to pay money--no one will join, big woop. People are happy/unhappy anywhere, so whats the point?
Bravo! You are so correct!! Keep up the good work!
The POINT is, dear 'of no importance',
that TT said in her blog comments (which has mysteriously vanished)she Had to charge people for her site, just to offset the price of what her site cost her.
With the new year approaching us, those who are new to dieting or new to internet forums should be made aware of the free forums. Places like Kimkins.com
Or CampCarbaway are problems for me because they exploit the consumer by lying about their purpose in charging a fee. "Proceeds to go to Kimmer's Kids", "Cover the cost of internet expenses"... Call a business a business or be expected to be called a Lint Licking, Lying, Liar that Lies.
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