I understand what you're saying, and it's not offending . It's just that support and encouragement is the whole purpose of our membership community.

The Bootcamp journals were created for the purpose of members to share their experiences, menus, thoughts, problems etc ... and to receive encouragement and feedback from others. Not just the moderators, but from everybody. Most folks WANT this feedback ... in fact, some members have posted they feel discouraged because nobody else but the moderator has ever read or made a comment in their journal. Many folks love to read other members' journals too ... and reading about THEIR success, and reading the congratulations and WooHooo! comments is really motivating. If those comments were only ever made privately, no one would see them, no one could share.

The private message system is intended for brief messages, perhaps to exchange email addresses, or administrative concerns. From a technical point of view, the PM's use up a LOT of server space, (which the webmaster has to pay for) and only one person will see it, instead of being shared by many.

Another problem with PM's .. you have to keep your boxes cleared out, as there is a limit of 10 messages ... including your SENT folder. Those encouraging words of support and advice will be permanently in the journal, and can often inspire at a later date, when you're going through a rough spot.

My turn to say, "hope I'm not offending" ... but, if someone is posting menus, etc, and only wants to have the "experts" reply with analyses and advice, then it's not really support, it's a consultation .. just my 2¢ though.

Doreen