Scambaiting Forum Turns Two!

A few years ago, a handful of us – experienced Baiters – were in a small Skype Group and had been talking about this for ages. A new Baiting Forum run by friendly people who all baited, populated with quality material. No bullies. No cliques. A nice, fun place to be.

It was something that was always about to happen but never did. Weeks of discussion turned into months and then, a year. I continued to remind all that the hard work would not be in building it, but in publicising it, getting Baiters in to post, and attracting browsing visitors to stay and register. Nobody seemed prepared to take on the onerous responsibility of being in charge. I certainly didn’t have the time outside of ScamBait Central. I had written it off.

Then, unannounced one day, JC linked to his new forum! I was very surprised and rather pleased!

We have worked really hard to promote the Forum and to grow it with quality baits. The results have been impressive. We now have a vibrant, bustling Forum with hugely enjoyable material and already over 1600 Members! A big “Thank you!” to all contributing Members, especially our 2 Moderators Birlic and Linoline who are stellar Baiters. We are proud and grateful to have them both. Yastreb has been baiting for a very long time and knows his way well around 419.  Our Tech Admin Redo is also a tremendous asset and I sleep a little more securely, knowing that she is around to rescue us if we encounter tech issues.

ScamBaiting Forum is your success story. It is here to stay.

Two years already? Damn…

For what seems like several years, various acquaintances of mine had been discussing the possibility of setting up a new scambaiting forum – one that preached equality, inclusiveness, and the ability to freely speak your mind without the threat of the dreaded banhammer. It was a wonderful, novel, utopic idea and (like so many other utopias) didn’t seem to be able to survive in the real world.

Why not? Well, for starters, it required us to find a way to promote the site and to not only make people aware of its existence but to intrigue them enough that they would open up a browser, type in a URL, and begin exploring of their own free will. Then, we needed to create sufficient content so that, once we got people to visit the site, we could convince them to stick around for the long haul. And, finally, we needed to find someone willing to take ownership of the whole shebang, to deal with all of the minutiae of running a website, and to serve as the focal point of the site, all the while maintaining a fair, considerate, and approachable attitude.

The promotion of the site came along surprisingly easily. Our long-time friend and colleague Mr. Pricky had already established a successful scambaiting channel on YouTube and he quite generously agreed to use his channel to promote our site. We were also quite fortunate in our early days to attract a number of terrifically talented baiters who put together some hilariously convoluted baits (complete with pictures) that led to some great safaris and, later, some other baiters picked up the mantle of church baits (a type of bait that has always been near and dear to my heart) and took it places that I could never have imagined.

But, most importantly, we found the perfect site owner/administrator in our fearless leader Just Cold. Becoming a site admin is a tricky business because, by the nature of the beast, you are almost forced to serve as a sort of benevolent dictator. It makes for a tricky tightrope to walk since, as the primary representative of the site, you need to set the tone of the entire site without becoming some sort of tin-plated tyrant who believes that the ground quakes where he walks and that the heavens part when he speaks. I have known JC since some of my earliest days as a baiter and there is probably no one I would trust more to run a website forum in a fair and even-handed manner while keeping his sense of humor and without risk of him developing delusions of grandeur or (possibly worse yet) becoming an absentee landlord.

But all of that is, ultimately, nothing more than the foundation. While every building needs a strong foundation, a foundation with nothing built on top of it is just a concrete slab. When JC and I first began work on the site rules, we agreed that our long-term goal was to create a community of equals in which every member would have the opportunity to contribute to the site (and, in so doing, transform the site from our site to everyone’s site).

And how have we done? In just two years, we have amassed over 1600 members who have contributed over 18,000 posts to close to 1200 separate threads. The website is growing on an almost daily basis and we are seeing more interactivity and user retention. I don’t know about anyone else but I’d say that’s a pretty damned good start. So, congratulations everyone, on the two year anniversary of your site.

Over the past year bright new talents have emerged, seasoned baiters have maintained their respective edges, and classic forms of baiting have continued to provide amusement and leave scammers baffled and confused.As a veteran of baiting, I've been impressed by the calibre of so many new arrivals on SBF, and the skill of our Nigerian allies on SBC, who have continued to refine their methods and generate hours of entertaining content.
I "dips me lid" to you all.