As per the request of one of the DanceNet readers, here are copies of the past ramblings of the DanceNet Webmaster.
Many of the people who have something interesting to say are typically the vendors and promoters who have been around for a while, particularly those have been around as long as I've been dancing. Many of them have been through the good and the bad, going through all the ups and downs of the business, seeing customers come and go, as the different waves of dances pass through the area. Many of those professionals feel a responsibility in promoting good relations not only with their customers, but also with their peers, the other dance professionals. They're also in a good position, unlike the dance customers, to see when another dance professional is acting in a way that is considered unprofessional, or worse, unethical.
Unfortunately, those same people are in a moral bind when they want to fix a bad situation. They don't want to start a verbal war, even when they're on the moral high ground, and they don't want to appear like petulant children complaining to their mother. They also don't want get into the habit of complaining if the troublemaker happens to be a customer. Nothing good can come out of those situations. These professionals have a lot to lose in terms of reputation and business if they aren't careful.
I'm not entirely sure what stops the dance customers from writing in. They're the ones with the money to spend on dancing and they deserve to be heard when they're not being treated properly by the promoters. Yet, they're often too scared of making waves; are they afraid of getting banned from a venue? Or, are they just lazy?
Whatever their reason, people in both camps have a habit of letting *me* know about their problems. I suspect, most of the time, this is an attempt to goad me into sticking my two cents in and sometimes it works.
I suppose I'm in a good position to see the whole situation and to be able to express a public opinion. The dance promoters know that I'm bringing them a lot of business so there's not much they're going to do about it when I express my opinions here. The dance customers aren't going to complain too much when they balance my opinion against the free service they're getting. I've seen a few similar websites come and go; I think those webmasters understand now how much work I put into this website.
However, it would be nice to hear someone else say something. I'm not the only one who notices when something stupid takes place on the dance floor. And if more people spoke up, we might be able to encourage someone to fix a bad situation.