Actscelerate.com

shaunbwilson

Some Threads Were Removed

shaunbwilson · Site Admin Posts: 3211 **3/20/24 5:30 pm**

It has been brought to my attention that some recently posted threads may cause actscelerate.com to be drawn into legal action. No specific threads were mentioned, so I have decided to remove several recently posted threads that may be related to ongoing legal action out of an abundance of caution.

When we moved from ezBoard to our own hosted site 20 years ago, Doyle asked how much he owed me. I told Doyle that I would set up the forum with minimal, unobtrusive ads to try to 100% offset the cost, and if our costs ever exceeded the ad revenue, I would let him know. In the beginning, ads supported it, but as ad blockers became more popular, the costs did exceed the ad revenue. By that time, Doyle was semi-retired as a hospital chaplain, so I did not ask for any money from him.

Since then, I have been personally supporting this site. It costs about $205 per year to keep the place running, and we have averaged $41.60 per year in ad revenue over the past five years.

I say all that to say this: I do not have the personal financial means or the desire to become entangled in legal proceedings on behalf of the website, and I'm making the choice to err on the side of caution. New threads that may be related will also be removed, and users that spam the board attempting to force discussion will be banned. Thanks for understanding.
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shaunbwilson

Site Admin Posts: 3211 **3/21/24 1:27 pm**

Since making this post last night, I have received a few messages from users expressing their feelings on the issue. One common theme among those messages was the idea that I was "pressured" into making this decision. I feel that's a mischaracterization of the situation, and I'd like to clarify my statement a little bit because I don't want this issue to be any more divisive than necessary.

First, I want to make it clear that I did not feel pressured by anyone to delete those threads. There was no "cease and desist" or other formal or implied threats of legal action from anyone against me or this website specifically. As I said above, it was brought to my attention that there was an ongoing legal matter related to some of the posts, and after reflecting on that information, I decided that it put the site—and, as its registered owner, me—at a higher legal risk than I was comfortable with.

Further, some of you seem to have inferred from whom I received this observation for consideration. However, I have not shared who shared this observation with me. I have purposely left it open-ended, and I can count at least four parties who would have had an interest in doing so. I have left it purposely vague because it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I think the observation is correct, so I took action.

Thanks to each of you who contacted me to share your thoughts and support. Anyone who has ever been in a position of leadership knows that you can't please all of the people all of the time. (According to Gallup, more than 2/3 of people report they have led a group or team, so I believe the majority of you will be able to relate.) All you can do is ask God to help you act with wisdom and do the best you can to make decisions according to your faith and core values. Thanks again for your understanding and support.
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Signature Themes: Connectedness | Futuristic | Ideation | Intellection | Learner