I started frequenting WOBH in the days before the Len Brown fiasco which put both the site and Cam on the map. At that stage, the comments section was a cesspit of abuse and swearing, but once the site gained more of a profile, a significant effort was made to tidy up the commenting.
That change led to me commenting more regularly, but then I copped a ban for what I thought was an innocuous comment – this did indeed turn out to be the case and my exile was a direct result of the then moderator being somewhat sensitive about a particular subject. I eventually reached out to Cam to ask if I could be let back into the fold and his grace and attitude in doing so ensured that I stuck around.
Over time I met some of the regulars in real life and understood the community that site and now The BFD engenders and how much it means to people. Later when WOBH had been consigned to the annals of history and The BFD was in its infancy and was having quite a few technical and performance issues I reached out to see if I could help. The new website was well short of optimal – it worked, just not very well.
In parallel with this I had started shooting with the gun club group of members which had illustrated to Cam that I was vaguely sensible and probably trustworthy, so he handed me the keys to the back end of The BFD. It’s been a time-consuming challenge, but I’m always up for solving a problem, so after sorting some of the initial issues I just hung around fettling, fixing, and filling gaps.
The biggest eye-opener through this time was learning quite how many other volunteers are in the background keeping The BFD alive – editors, moderators, proofreaders, photoshop geeks, writers, quiz compilers, collators of funnies, and more – the list is extensive.
It’s quite rewarding being a part of the team – one gets to meet some interesting people, learn some interesting things, and see quite a few stories before they break, both here and in the MSM. If you feel that you have something to contribute then reach out and offer – it’s a fun place to be. Even if you only want to contribute a one-off article, do so – you may find that it becomes addictive and become a regular writer.
Help Keep The BFD Alive
Expenses are growing, ad revenue is shrinking. Things have to change otherwise we will need to cut services. We don’t want to have to do that. It’s really up to you.
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