If I had a dime for every time I contacted someone on a guideline violation on one of my sites and they responded by telling me they weren’t some kid, they were 30 years old and doing this or that in life. Or, we’re all adults, right? Let me tell you – I’d have $10 by now.

I feel like responding… well, hey – I am some kid. I was some kid when I started my network and I’m some kid now. I work on things I consider great and I’m still some kid. I wish I could always be some kid, but I’ll inevitably become an old man. I don’t weigh the value of a person, their contributions or their attitude on their age. I’ve known brilliant 14 year olds and I’ve known hopelessly immature 40 year olds. I’ve known hopelessly immature 14 year olds and brilliant 40 year olds. Age doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is what you do.

(Disclaimer: Yes, age matters to me as far as “elders”. I show the proper respect to people older than me that I do not know in the situations that demand it. But, I show that kind of respect to all folks I don’t know).

vBulletin vs. phpBB is a common, generally fruitless, argument that takes place on web development communities across the Internet.

My response is generally something like this:

However, one ugly monster that often pops up in these discussions is something like “Well, if you’re serious about your community, you’ll use vBulletin.” or “phpBB is alright for amateurs, but I want to run a professional community.”

Phooey. This is offensive.

You are a better community administration than me because you paid $160? You are more serious than me because you paid $160? I have news for you. Chances are – you’re not better than me. Chances are – you’re not as serious or as dedicated as I am.

vBulletin is great. No arguments there. But, keep the serious/amateur stuff out of the discussions.