Ok, I have been putting off dealing with this topic. First, I had a number of business trips that had me occupied, and after that, I just haven't wanted to deal with it.
I was surprised by the reactions to the idea. In my mind, it was a tiny gesture to the men and women serving our country. However, the reason we have these Town Hall discussions is because it's not just about what I think, but what the community thinks.
The responses in this thread raised a couple points of concern:
- Concerns that this would create a shift in forum dynamics from a community where it is open to everyone to one that has 'exclusive' groups or areas only open to some.
- Concerns about how people would be 'approved' for access to the military forum. Would proof be required? If so, how do we manage this and still provide privacy (this is largely an community of anonymous people)? If not, how do we insure that only current and former military gain access?
There were other points raised, such as if you give the military a forum, do you next create one only for conservatives, or only for liberals or only for one-eyed bass fishers living in Florida, etc. While there is some realistic comparison when Firemen and Police officers were raised as also risking their lives, in general active duty military live in a different world and have different experiences than the rest of us, especially those that are or have been stationed in combat zones. So, I didn't seriously consider the "if we give it to the military, we have to create a private forum for liberal housewives with polar bear fetishes" or any of the other "if this, then where does it end" arguments.
But, going to the two points above, I think there was enough concern raised by enough people about the possibility of the forum dynamics changing, and enough people that clearly were adamantly opposed to such a forum, that when combined with what would be logistic challenges (validation of current and former military status), that I don't think we can go forward with this idea.
Sorry I procrastinated on making a final decision. As I indicated, I was wrestling with wanting to do what I thought was 'right' for our military members, but also knowing I had to honor the "community rule" nature of BF.