To me, message boards are like bars.

I know. I’m using another cocktail waitress analogy but, come on. Message boards really are like bars. Message boards aren’t like water coolers. The water cooler is for people who all work in one place. There’s gossip but it’s whispered. There’s griping about the boss but adult webmasters don’t usually have bosses. No. Message boards are definitely more like bars.

"You decide which boards you visit. You choose the boards where you feel most comfortable."

I’ll make a crappy guess. I bet that there are at minimum, one hundred thousand adult webmasters. There’s probably more but I’ll swear by my laptop that there’s at least a hundred thousand worldwide. Do you think in a town with a population of 100,000, there’s only one bar? Well, adult webmaster message boards are like bars. There’s a lot more than one and each one has it’s own ambience and crowd.

While it’s not easy to run an adult webmaster message board, it’s certainly more affordable than it is to open and run a real life bar. Message board owners don’t have to supply any liquor or barstools. Message board owners don’t have to worry about fisticuffs on the dance floor or knife fights in the parking lot. Hell, they don’t even have to worry about the parking lot! This affordability is one reason why there’s so many goddamned message boards.

Aside from the obvious physical differences, the main variance between a message board and a bar is that the bar owner sells alcohol to make money. The message board owner sells ad space. A busy message board means lots and lots of eyes to look at banners, signatures and spam.

Some boards are crazy busy with postings. Others move along at a leisurely pace. A lot of boards give away cool prizes to members with a high post count. Some go as far as to pay for posts. There are boards for TGP webmasters. There are boards for traffic traders. There are boards for webmasters that sell to the gay market. There are boards for webmasters that are new and there are boards for the jaded old veterans. One board might lean a little right. Another will lean a little left. Some remain in the center. You’ll find one board is full of silly fluff and the one around the corner is strictly business.

Whatever board you go to, if you don’t like it, there’s another one just a click away.

There are even some adult webmasters that never ever visit the boards. I can understand that. Boards eat time like bars eat money, and for us, time is money. Me, I have to visit the boards. Several boards. I write for webmasters and about webmasters. I have to see what’s on everyone’s minds and there’s nothing like the boards to inform me of such things.

I post at boards but I get much more just from reading the topics. I learn so much from my fellow webmasters through the message boards. I find out about impending industry-related legislation. I learn about new niches and technologies. I get tips on how to build better pages and galleries. I read opinions on various scripts, sponsors, hosting providers and content providers. I pay attention to the pleas for help from an ever-fresh supply of newbies.

You decide which boards you visit. You choose the boards where you feel most comfortable. There are a lot of boards out there and some of them can get pretty kooky.

Just remember, if you’re getting tired of jackass comments and the bling bling mindset, there’s a board that doesn’t tolerate assholes and doesn’t care what watch you wear. We don’t bribe you with t-shirts or pay you per post. We have a board where veterans are respected and newbies are loved. We give you a free place to unwind, ask questions, get answers and do business.

You want to trade traffic? We have a forum for that. You want to spam? We have a forum for that. Did you finish a new page and do you need a fair critique? We have a forum for that as well. Do you have a dreaded newbie question? You’re in luck because we have a forum just for you. Got a newbie answer? Same forum.

If message boards are like bars, then the Cozy Campus is like a nice, comfy corner bar. Not too wacky, not too dull, but just right. If you want a break from the madness of the flame wars, come to the Campus. If you’re tired of playing sponsor politics, come to the Campus. If you want a place where the moderator rules with a velvet touch but a firm grip, come visit Raven at the Campus. There may be a lot of message boards but there’s only one that’s truly Cozy!