Walled-off Websites - The Walled Garden
Don't mention it - even if it's helpful
By: Frank White /FSS Editor
I got a "Dear John letter" from the moderators of a certain official forum today. You know the one—it supports the most popular flight simulator in the world.
I was in a thread where folks were discussing trust—specifically, how hard it is to know if a developer is actually going to deliver on their promises or if you’re buying vaporware. It’s a valid concern. So, I chimed in. I mentioned that we built FlightSimSupport to solve exactly that problem with community ratings.
A few hours later? Zap. Post deleted.
But it wasn't because of the ratings. The reason they gave really cracked me up. They told me my post was removed because FSS constitutes "advertising." Why? Because we have a Classifieds section.
That's right. Because we have a specific area where you can sell your old, dusty yoke to a newbie who needs it, we are considered "non-compliant." They told me straight up:
"The selling of personally-owned used products is not allowed on the forums."To be clear, I wasn't advertising or mentioning the classifieds. I was not selling anything in my reply.
Now, I ain't trying to start a war between FSS and that website. I am out-manned and out-gunned I would sorely loose. The forum site have their rules, and it’s their house. But this highlights exactly why independent sites like FSS need to exist.
I get that forum need and have to protect themselves and their users from site that would co-opt their success. However, one were to create a website of nothing but solutions, answers, and fixes to problems flight simmer have, and link to those answers, then everyone wins.
The "Official" channels are becoming walled gardens. They want a sterile showroom where only authorized partners can sell brand-new shiny things. They don’t want you talking about the messy reality of the hobby—like the fact that you have a closet full of perfectly good gear that you can’t use, or that you’re on a budget and can’t afford $500 for a new throttle.
To them, a user selling a used rudder pedal is a liability. To us? That’s a pilot helping another pilot get airborne.
They are proving our point for us. By banning the discussion of used gear, they are leaving thousands of simmers with nowhere to go. If they want to lock the doors and keep their garden pristine, that’s fine. We’ll be out here in the hangar, swapping parts, sharing honest ratings, and keeping the hobby real.
If getting banned for helping a simmer sell a used joystick is the price of admission, I’ll pay it.
See you in the Classifieds.