I don’t think it would be an overstatement to say things have gotten a bit testy the last couple weeks regarding the most recent fundraiser. Speaking for myself, I’ve been uncomfortable about the fundraisers for a couple years now, and like many others, I was less than satisfied by the accounting explanation for this one, as well as how the entire episode was handled. Many people have complaints and/or criticisms, and IMO, most of these criticisms are justified. To be blunt … it was not Frederick’s finest hour.
There are a few things that should be said, though. To Frederick’s credit, he’s stayed true to the philosophy of the forum and everyone has been given a chance to have their say. There may have been a couple miscues here and there, including a mistaken (IMO) temporary banning of Mario, but you gotta admit, when it comes to not censoring dissent, Frederick walked the walk. He got pounded pretty good, but he let it all stand. I could name several other forums (two of which I personally have been banned from) where that is not the case.
I’ve been speaking with Fredrick and what upsets him more than what’s being said about him is that he hates seeing the forum taking a hit in all this. Fredrick is 100% serious when he talks about the vision he had 13 years ago for this forum. He truly is a "Lets make the world a better place" kind of guy. This will sound like hyperbole, but Frederick is one of the most ethical and sincere people I know. (Mind you, I work in Hollywood, so the bar for ethics and sincerity is pretty low. Sorry, couldn’t resist a little joke there.)
