Let me explain my concern for all the non-owner haters hanging out in this forum. The iPad has been out 1 week, and there are already around a half a million owners in the US. That number is not going to go down. That number is going to double, triple, and beyond over the next year. Lot's of potential Mobileread forum members will be stopping by for a look around...... Let's suppose it's you. You just got your new toy, you're excited and perhaps have a question or two. You are a newbe, and you drop into MR to check it out. You go to the forum for users of your new toy. You see your new toy called nothing special, over priced, locked down, pointless, a waste of money......etc. You see that since you purchased this device you are someone who laps up what the company puts out, a sheep, someone with no brains, stupid fanboy, foolish......etc.
How would you feel? What would you do? I can tell you most would hit the back button on their browser and look at the next forum in the Google list. Gone, and never to look at MR again. In my bouncing around at a few iPad forums I have already bumped into 2 people that were members of MR that have left for this very reason. No telling how many newbe owners came and went this week that we will never know about. In one week the Apple Device forum has become as busy as the Sony and Kindle forums here. In six months it could easily be the largest device forum here. But not if the new folks don't feel welcome.
I realize kennyc or Jack or any of the others have no concern over the future of MR or this Apple forum. But the fact is (and time will tell) sony's and Kindle's market share of the reader market will go down. The next generation of ebook readers are going to be looking for a forum home..... I hope Mobileread will be an open and welcoming community for them.
Okay, off the soap box now
