The BitchMeister Blog

Imagine if you will a hypothetical gambler, let's call her babyjane62. Some years ago she got into online gambling, shortly thereafter she found the popular gambling-related forums and she's been a regular ever since. Everyone knows her, most people are quite fond of her posts. As she's gained experience in the scene she's become known and respected: when she has something to say most people listen. She's pretty much at the top of her game you'd say, particularly when it comes to her online presence.

And then one day something strange happens. Some upstart forum moderator starts quoting the Forum Rules to her, they tussle and the next thing you know she's been banned for a week, or ten days or whatever. How could this happen? Who would do such a thing? What is the problem?!?

However tempting it may be to try and read between the lines here I assure you there's nothing to see there. This truly is a hypothetical case and is based on no one person in particular. That said it is a rough amalgamation of something I've seen happen many times over the 10 years or so I've been co/moderating online gaming forums. I'm going to make the suggestion that there's a pattern here, one I've spent the last year or so mulling over, trying to get a grasp on what it's all about. I thought I'd share those thoughts.

You see the thing is that the online gambling community is largely made up of two kinds of people: punters and Players. Yes, that's "players" with a capitol "p". Bear with me ...

So, back to babyjane62. She played for years, learned a lot about the scene and then got actively involved on the forums to everyone's mutual benefit and edification. So far so good, she knows here way around and it's great that she shares her experience, especially great for the newcomers whom she's happy to help along the rocky path from "noob" to "nobody's fool". That's a community service of no small importance and frankly it's largely what keeps a healthy gambling forum up and running.

But life online is never a static picture: new players come and go, old players too. And folks on the forums are no different. Hundreds and even thousands of people pass through the forums as the years go by, it's just part of the scene. There are some people that stick around though and after a time they become experienced enough and possibly confident enough to start thinking longer term about their online life.

In truth most of us "old timer" types have stayed in it because we've managed to make a career of it, one way or another. Some are consultants, some professional forum managers, others are affiliates and webmasters. There are lots of options but what about the old timers like babyjane62 who was, and probably is, a player and a forum member but hasn't yet taken steps into the business side of things? Given their "guru" status on the forums it's pretty natural for them to start thinking about maybe turning their knowledge and experience into a paying gig: our Jane is starting to think about going pro.

And this is my point: it's natural for experienced people to start thinking about getting in on the action. And when you go from being a happy punter to wanting to be a Player -- as in someone in the professional side of the game -- things change, sometimes considerably. If it's the website/forum side of the game that Jane is interested in then her online priorities are going to change too. Now she's trying to turn the forum readers she used to hang out with into real supporters, maybe even customers, possibly folks who'll follow her to (hypothetical) new website BabyJane62Says.com or whatever enterprise she's decided she'll try her hand at.

As Jane works on making the transition from punter to Player she may have noticed that some of her old haunts, those forums where she's hung out for all those years, suddenly seem to have priorities that clash with hers. Now they are locking horns over things she says or her new way of looking at things. Now she of all people starts getting told to respect the forum rules! And in a short time Jane may find she's gone from "everybody's friend" to "the moderaters hate me". WTF?!?

Deciding to become "serious" about what used to be a hobby and a past-time is no small thing. Anyone who knows Jane probably wishes her well. But in her new role -- don't forget, she wants to be a Player now -- she's got some tough choices to make, not the least of which is how does she go from being forum XYZ's darling to their competitor, more or less. In other words the game has changed for Jane in a big way and like it or not everyone she knows and has dealt with her online is going to have to accomodate that, one way or the other.

So now babyjane62, the sweetie of the forums, has morphed into BabyJane62Says.com (or whatever) and that can come as a bit of a shock to all, Jane included. Old friends may now be seen as the competition, old forums where she used to post at will may become hostile environments as she pushes hard to make a mark for herself, and people she's known for years may suddenly become suspicious and withdrawn. Jane knew the game would change when she changed the game but no one expected this! Who did?

Is someone at fault here? Is that even the right question to be asking? In all likelihood no, there is no fault, but there is reality and when Jane stepped out of her punter track suit and into her Player power suit she did change the rules. If effect her new status may require some folks to treat her differently than they did in the old babyjane62 days. It's not about who is right and who is wrong, it's really about dealing with the change in the playing field.

In some cases the changes may be a mutually beneficial thing, but in other cases they may not be. It may seem unfortunate but some people are going to step back and draw a line between the new Jane and their own interests which they feel (quite possibly rightly so) they have to protect. Jane needs to do her thing and they need to do theirs. If those interests now clash where before they hadn't then sad to say but that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Like I said, life online is never a static picture.