It's all the competition!
Good Lord, there are a LOT of BBS these days.
IMHO, if I were a board owner, I would try and get every acknowledged expert in their respective fields on my BBS.
Success is simply a matter of duplicating past success.
Delco's secret was Larry Hinckley.
One could go there for good info.
IMHO, good info is what it is ALL about, as the poll here confirmed.
A BBS cannot succeed simply sticking your buddy's in moderator positions, especially if they run off the people who really know their stuff ?
Once the experts are run off a board, the BBS owner will find their traffic will follow like lost sheep, as the run off experts take their knowledge elsewhere.
My Italian ancestors were the Romans.
The first thing the Romans did when they conquered a civilization they deemed a possible future threat is KILL the teachers.
It works great, for conquering civilizations, but it is not good for BBS traffic ?
Once the teachers are gone from the BBS, what the board owner is left with is the equivalent of Ray Charles driving Stevie Wonder around ?