I made a hard decision yesterday. I emailed the owner of Military Moms that I am resigning as the person who ok's the new accounts. I am behind due to a number of things and am trying hard this week to catch up. We average 100-150 new accounts a day and out of those I might ok 1 or 2. They are mostly spam from pharmaceutical companies, porn sites, and overseas places like Pakistan, etc. In this day and age you need to protect our military moms as much as you can. When the site was sold a couple years ago the new owner sounded enthusiastic about working with the moderators but he's been mainly absent. We can't take down the broken links, update some of the pages that need it, move things so they are more accessible for the moms, etc. Only he has that power and he has ignored our requests for help. Military Moms is close to my heart, I felt the need to stay even after my son was out and agreed after being chosen by the other moderators to help out with this by doing the new accounts so there wasn't a blanket OK of anyone signing up. In the past we have had problems with members, some were faking who they were to get information about our soldiers, some just spamming the moms, etc. The new moms needed to know they were as safe as we could make them being an Internet site. I feel bad cause I don't what will happen after Feb. 1st but with no back up support from the owner I just don't feel that I can do this anymore. Like most of the moderators I have aging parents, my own health, grandchildren, and a job that have to be priority. We all check the site most every day but we don't have the time anymore to respond like we used to to every post, so we just make sure things are on an even keel. When they aren't we take care of it. I get support from the other moderators but their hands are tied also.
Military Moms is awesome, but it's not what it was when Wendy owned it. When I joined the site in 2001, there were a handful of moms as members, it's now over 1000 and maybe 100 who are active. That's ok, it's a place where they can come when they need help, answers to questions, someone to cry with them, someone to laugh with them. We used to have lunches, get togethers, etc. We did care packages for the troops. I made some great friends that I never would have met without Military Moms. Some I have met in person, some I haven't. I remember joking back in the early years about reaching 100 members, then 200......now we are over 1000 strong. There have been problems--personalities mostly, someone not liking the rules laid down by the owner and there are a couple splinter groups now that are out there with former members that do well from what I know. I understand why Wendy sold it but just wish as members we would have been given the opportunity to buy it from her. A lot of us were crushed when we found out it had been sold and to someone no one knew, someone without military connections, etc. We talked about forming a new website but the new owner promised us control and help and we aren't getting the help. We have more control than we did have, but at what price? As moderators we can diffuse a situation and if we have to can delete a member after much discussion among us which we couldn't do before but the basics can't be done and that's important too. The moms need up to date information and can't get it because we can't take down links, add new ones, update the basic information important to them and their soldiers, airman, etc.
So those of you reading this that belong to Military Mom's I will make an announcement soon. I need to hear from the owner first. The moderators know of my decision and support my decision. I will stay a member but I just don't have the time to devote unless he gives the moderators more access to the site. We need to limit where the requests for membership come from, who they come from, need to be able to fix problems.
I love Military Moms and will always support each and everyone of you. I will always be here for any questions or other help that I can give.