Yes, I agree, CJ, when you own a Web site you *can* do what ever you like.
But this represents the begaining of a slipery slope, and it's not likly to be productive. There are other technical forums.Aren't you an Uber Admin? You shuld know what's going on, right?I'm not an admin anymore, I'm just a Super Mod now as I no longer work in the Dev Shed office.
However, I have received an explanation from the admins concerning this. Here's a portion of the email sent to a few of the moderators who have posted in this thread.
I just wanted to drop everyone a quick e-mail. I understand that everyone thinks DevShed is selling out by adding the Moblin and BlackBerry forums, and I wanted to address those concerns here.
First, they are indeed sponsored forums. As I am sure you will appreciate, it costs money to run Developer Shed, and from time to time we do take sponsorship as a way to keep the network up and running. What I want to be clear about though is that this does not make the forums or their content any less legitimate; in fact, it serves to expand what we already have. The only thing that makes it a bad forum is people posting bad/negative content to it. There are plenty of iPhone, Moblin, and BlackBerry developers out there who can use the content and the forums as a tool to grow their knowledge, and hopefully we can help fullfill this need.
As for the users who have been posting with the automatic "100" thread count, they are people who were assigned to get conversations started in the forums. Their thread count is not meant to deceive, but more a technical matter; users are not allowed to post links until they have 100 posts in the forums.
In the spirit of growing the community, I am hoping you guys will understand the reason for sponsored forums, and also realize that, with your help and time, they can also be a great addition. In lieu of that, I am asking that you delete any negative comments and refrain from them in the future. We all want the forums to be a place where developers can come and learn, and with your cooperation we will be on that path.Although admittedly, my response to this email has not received any feedback. So I guess it is what it is.