Follow the money, follow the key drivers that shareholders and other stakeholders monitor.
TPT is owned by VerticalScope Inc., a listed company (TSX: FORA). For understanding their main objectives, and drivers for decisions, just check their communications to share holders.
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We read that the key drivers are MAU, the Monthly Active Users, and organic revenue growth (advertising and probably sponsoring as well).
Now, how could this help understanding moderation on this platform, where shareholders are in the game for traffic, growth and revenues. Just my personal guess (We don't want legal challenges to ScapeCrunch):
- As a member, you will not make yourself popular by helping other users with references to other external sources of information, as this may create a leak on the forum's Monthly Active Users and help these other competitive platforms to grow at VerticalScope's expense. Conflict of interest?
- The platform will thrive with a continued state of confusion regarding hobby related issues, as that will reliably keep users searching and help the growth of Monthly Active Users. While this statement may seem a bit of an overreach, there seems some credibility to a guess that the forum would not really look for fundamental solutions to the challenges in the hobby as some hobbyists (incl Yugang) would hope for. Conflict of interest?
- You will not make yourself popular by proposing solutions that are not in the interest of sponsors. Conflict of interest?
- Quality of content matters, reputation of contributors matters, but only if it attracts more active users who continue to come back. Other than that, this is all about traffic irrespective of quality or value to the hobbyist. Conflict of interest?
The operating costs for running a platform, assuming volunteers help, are not high. The admin on another forum shared that it will cost about 1500 pound sterling annually, so roughly 2000 USD. They have 8 sponsors, plus contributing members so that seems not a bad deal.
So indeed, if we want a platform that is a safe and productive place for our hobby, if we want to avoid misalignment with listed company shareholders, sponsors, and moderators then we should know that this is entirely possible from a financial point of view and there is no need for conflicts between business and hobby objectives.
Finally, there is nothing wrong with shareholders, sponsors or advertising. I am also not in any way suggesting that forum moderators who work for listed companies are not ethical, but I do suggest that they are aligned with the organisation goals and management. To a lesser extent this could happen when a forum is run by, or depends on commercial partners from the trade, as the saying goes there is no free lunch.
ScapeCrunch, I believe, balances financial necessities much better with hobbyists interests than any other current platform, but it is important to remind ourselves that it is not easy to keep a forum clean and aligned with hobbyists interests. I hope ScapeCrunch will grow, collect a reasonable revenue as needed for its success, but continues to be a platform for and by hobbyists.
Note:
I am quite passionate about this topic as I have had an extremely bad experience (btw not on TPT), nearly three years ago, proposing a new technology that was not in the interest of certain manufacturers, retailers or sponsors. I cannot prove that sponsors were involved, but up to three times I got no reply asking somebody who desperately tried to argue it could not work, if he was a hobbyists or rather from the trade defending his business. This thread led to my first official warning on that forum, an IP block on all my devices so that I could not login or even visit the site as a guest, the entire valuable (for the hobby) thread locked and later deleted, and a twice repeated advice to not post more innovations on that forum.
What a bunch of clowns!
maybe more 
