Welcome to BigScreenBiz.com

A writer asked "Is it just me - or has this board devolved into a combination 'personal blog' and 'bitch-slapping contest' ?" From time to time I get complaints whispered in my ear that "so and so writes all the time and she's driving me nuts! Can't you get her to shut up?" And unless someone is clearly off their nut and ranting away all the time (that would be me) I look at it this way. The 2nd largest poster is Large (Ian) and he has not written a thing in many a month. The 3rd largest is John Pytlak and he passed away a good while ago. Looking back at who posts the most what it looks to me that one person or a few people write about everything for a while but after a while they wind down but hopefully NEVER go away.

Why I originally started this little slice of heaven was primarily to help theatre owners and operators talk to each other and for people new to the business to learn from the seasoned vets. We've done that in spades. I hear from people regularly who have never posted that they have spent hundreds of hours reading your posts and they pronounce us the most valuable resource in the world for our small chunk of the entertainment world: the movie theatre biz.

Do we veer off and get away from the reason we're here? Often. The fact is it's hard to come up with something new to say at times. Hard to think of a new subject. And talking about digital cinema can be exhausting after 10 years of jawing it back and forth.

So.... just keep threading up and clicking away. It is comfoprting to know you are all out there. Even the rare few that might aggravate someone or another. We'd rather take the chance of people saying too much than too little. Where would we be without people taking the time to write and share?

Personally, the only things here that seem to irritate are the first posts from new members who clearly haven't looked the board over. Past that, there are the bot members, but it seems even that has calmed down.

I'm a member of several other boards. A couple are airplane related, and are pretty much unmoderated. Political and personal rants make up nearly half of the activity there, which can sometimes make the place somewhat unpleasant. On the other hand, another pilots' board does have a moderator. He doesn't have to growl often, but knowing he's there does keep the board focused.

I think you're doing a fine job, Mike. Keep up the great work!

Jack

I've been her for a while Mike and I haven't found anyone irritating me. In fact I have made a couple of new "friends" posting here. Don't sweat it Mike you're doing just fine. If you want to see people who get personal, insulting and back-stabbing try visiting some of the Christian websites I post on. I'm sure our Creator is grieved by it all.

My least favorite threads tend to be either venting/complaining and "Say, how do you open a theater anyhow? However, sometimes the venting threads are just plain funny! Who else but fellow movie theater owners can sympathize? Especially in an industry in which people think you press a button to start a movie, and then just rake in the profits with $5 sodas?

By the way, someone left a dirty diaper in a theater last week. Arrgh! But I digress....

As for those who only read and do not post, please consider taking a more active role in these forums. I know that I am disappointed when I ask a question and no one replies. Your participation will make the forums more valuable.