While not a very “big” event a recent e-Mail sealed the fate of PeTA’s online forums, one of the many way PeTA members connect with each other.
The e-Mail states:
Dear Friend,
I wanted to be the first to let you, as a registered user on PETA’s online forums, know about a change in our online community strategy. Because of the overwhelming success of PETA’s communities on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, we have decided to close up shop on our forums on PETA.org.
We have found in recent months that the vast majority of people are connecting with PETA through our social network profiles or by commenting on articles on The PETA Files, PETA Prime, the VegCooking blog, and PETA Living rather than on our message boards. Given this, and feedback from our supporters, we have decided to focus our efforts on these and new initiatives. We will redirect the PETA forums this Friday, July 24, at 4 p.m.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the closing of the forums. We hope that people who have connected through PETA’s forums will stay connected, and we encourage those looking for more information on animal rights and cruelty-free living to further explore our Web sites.
I hope to see you connecting with PETA through one of our many other avenues. And stay tuned for the new online community and social networking initiatives that will be unrolled in coming months.
Best regards,
Joel Bartlett
Assistant Director of Marketing
PETA
What could this mean for members? Well it won’t mean very much, in fact the PeTA forums don’t get much use as it is, however some think this is PeTA further trying to control it’s members.
Whatever it is PeTA will have some extra money for closing them, and less members talking to “meat eaters” online.
The PeTA forums also served as a place where it’s members could ask a question and get a PeTA response, now they have to e-Mail questions to PeTA, so other members can;t answer.
What do you think? Tell us in the comments section.
Personally, I think the main reason for the closure of these forums in favor of Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook is because it’s much more difficult for the random web surfer to lurk and read the conversations. They require the ability to monitor and control who reads and (more importantly) who speaks/writes on anything affiliated with PeTA.
In fact, it’s rather hard to even have more than just a cursory debate/conversation in these venues. I’m sure that’s what PeTA’s after. Limit the communication between the troops and they have nothing left but to swallow PeTA’s propaganda.
The flaws in the logic, the holes in the arguments, the inability to rationally defend the agenda have proven too much to handle. So, instead of tightening up the arguments (or even getting valid ones) PeTA has opted to do away with the dialog altogether and go with what they do best – proselytizing and preaching to the choir. By closing this forum, PeTA is doing what basically amounts to sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting “LALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”
Somehow I doubt peta2 is going away – as the kids haven’t started questioning yet. They are blindly following along like good little sheeple. Had people here done that, had nobody come along and asked the hard questions, this forum would remain.
The forum is (in the grand sense of things) fairly new – only a couple of years or so. I think the hope was to give adults a place like peta2 to pat each other on the back and commiserate about how the evil meat eaters are being mean and unfair. Unfortunately, adults (as a general rule) have a bit more in the way of critical thinking skills. There’s no room for that in this organization. They couldn’t keep the blind faith here like they do over on peta2, so obviously the forum is flawed and must be given “a painless and dignified release” from this cold, cruel world.
What a shame. It was always good for some entertainment.
I’ll miss the whining to PeTA about every percieved “abuse” asking them do “do something”.
PETA SUCKS! I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL A CUTE LITTLE GRIZZLY BEAR TEARS THEM UP WHEN THEY ALL TRY TO GANG BANG IT!