Community Gathering Spots

Let me be somewhat blunt.

Websites with online communities are like campfires. If the community doesn't like the campfire (because some outsider comes in and decides to whore out the community to advertisers), they will disperse to another, better, campfire, and sit around that one instead.

I am amazed at how many people do not understand this basic tenant of online communities. If you own a website, you do not own the people who visit it. Simple. The short version: Websites are like campfires.