Quote Originally Posted by wnc View Post
What I remain concerned about, as one of the many small players in this game is And that is where I take issue. Some call my Gay lifestyle a NICHE. I personally am dealing with severe competition (as we all), with successful Gay programs merging and Straight programs wanting a piece of the Gay pie.

I find no fault in many here questioning the BIG COMPANIES, for their decision to have or not have a show, to close websites, and all of the variations trickles down and affects ME.

There's no fault at all in questioning companies--big or small--about business practices. Doesn't mean they have to answer, though.

There's a difference between asking questions and posing the questions as accusations, as many on this board are want to do, though. My objections are with this odd sense of entitlement that many seem to have. They think they have some kind of right to know the inner workings of other organizations, and if they don't, they accuse those businesses of underhanded dealings. If this business were truly about transparency, then webmasters would never be allowed to decline interviews for feature stories in AVN Online simply because they didn't want to give away trade secrets. You don't hear me flying into fits of rage when WhateverBucks rep Joe Blow says, "I can't answer that question about our traffic. We don't want out secrets getting out."

Transparency is great, I agree, but tact is even more important, and if the people in this industry don't figure out the balance between the two, then they may never graduate from being small-time players to the big leagues they obviously so desire to be part of. It's great to think one's self noble and righteous, but the danger is that one can become self-righteous and sanctimonious, which has been well demonstrated on these pages in these threads.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: AVN took advantage of a situation that was both beneficial to us and presented a major opportunity for us to benefit the community as well. For us not to have done so would have been a foolish move on our part. That's my personal opinion, and it's one that any level-headed business person would agree with. And that's really all that needs to be said, as far as I'm concerned. That's what people NEED to know. The rest, frankly, is none of their damned business.