I was reading two very interesting threads today, one on cupcake pricing and another on wedding cake pricing. On both threads, the same newbie posted rude and inflammatory comments. Not a few wondered if this was a disgruntled customer posing as a fellow-caker out to get back at bakers who mug customers the world over. It got me thinking. Perhaps cc is being too lax - letting just anyone become members. It's a community for people who bake! Surely its not so that cakezillas (bridezillas, birthdayzillas & showerzillas included) can snoop around, stalk and malign our fellow cakers!

I propose that from now on to weed out true cake fanatics from poseurs, everyone registering for membership must complete a quiz to determine their cake knowledge or cake interest. As with driver's license exams, anyone who makes 3 mistakes are denied!

"Question 1: Of these three fondants, which is most likely to be left uneaten on the dessert plate? a) MMF b) MFF c) Wilton

"Question 2: True or False, You are being too sensitive if you do not get asked to make your office's annual Tax Return Celebrtation Day Cake.




Joke! Just kidding!!! Or am I??? he he he

What I don't get to make the tax celebration cake... Well I'm not even coming into the office that day then!!!!!!!! LOL


I do agree that some method should be implemented to weed out the trolls ...

I haven't been here that long but I have been making cakes for a while.. Maybe if everyone had to upload at least one picture of their cakes.. Or maybe if there was like a small one time membership fee to enroll , say $5 it would deter people from just making a profile to flame.. I don't know just throwing ideas out there..

I know my husband is a member of a knife forum and they had problems with trolls until they started the enrollment fee program. It cut it way down.. Trolls aren't usually willing to pay $5 to join a forum they are gonna get kicked off of after their first post.

I understand there are a lot of people out there that are really here for the cake and may not be able to pay the initial fee.. Like I said just an idea..

Or Like you said maybe a quiz ... Can I have your leftover wilton fondant.. YUUUUMMMMMMM

I'd have flunked the quiz when I first became a member. This site has been my cake education because I was totally clueless when I found it. In fact, it was my desperation over a wedding cake I'd been talked into that sent me on my search for info that lead me here! I'm all for weeding out trolls but bar the door against us clueless newbies who ask the same questions over and over again!

Hey, I'm a mother of 7 with 1 off to college next year (Uh, YEAH!) I can't afford $5. I say let's do the quiz. The Wilton's one is the most tasty, right? Lol!

BOOO to TROLLS........especially that "shakeandbake" one from last night, she was just a clueless jerk.

It would be hard to change the membership to a "Pay" one now with all the thousands of members, we'd all have to "rejoin".

But, I would like to see one thing changed and this would be an easy one.

I would like someone to "have" to create an account to be able to read the forums. I don't think it's necessary to have an account to look in the galleries but if they want to read the forums they should need to make an account. That way "lurkers" could be watched.

I also think that some trolls are actually members already under another screen name. If CC limited the number of accounts someone can have under the same IP address then this would eliminate that issue.

In fact they should be able to see that right now, maybe they could delete the newer account and keep the older one. Send an e-mail saying "we noticed you have 2 accounts with us, 1 real and 1 troll"

When I joined this site, I had no idea there was any other kind of fondant than Wilton, let alone ones that don't taste nasty! I would pay a small membership fee for this site. I am also a member of a musician site, it is only $5 a year! But I agree that it would keep trolls from joining. Something needs to be done. =)

The thing is we don't really know who is who, and some people can start a passion just by coming here and looking at the site, and ,maybe they want to start doing cakes

We will never know who the bad trolls are, they are rare..In all the time I been coming to CC I have only seen a few, and they usually don't stay long. The ones that stay are the ones that really care for cakes and have a passion for it.

Seeing how the CC people protect their own people from this trolls is truly amazing, and shows the true quality of the people here in CC.

I say..dont worry about the trolls, at the end of the day, they dont stay for long...They just make us unite more and show we care for the people that are true to this site and how we will protect them...

Edna

I am the mentioned troll from before. I lost my account because of the comments I said yesterday. I just wanted to say sorry for offending everyone. I really do love baking and cake decorating and I really am good at it. I think edna's tutorials are great and that she is a genius when it comes to cake. Her stuff as well as many others on this site is terrific. My intention was never to hurt anyone only to have you all rethink what you charge for your cakes especially with the economy the way it is. I know i will get no sympathy from you ladies now; however I have let you know I come from a poor family. People with a small budget should be able to have as beautiful of a wedding cake as someone who has a lot of money. I know everything that goes into a cake. I just don't agree with most of you when it comes to pricing and serving sizes. This is an American based site and I should be able to voice my opinion on cake pricing without being kicked off. I just went to a cake show recently outside of DC and I saw so many amazing cakes there. I saw the way Norman Davis's daugther looked at the cakes that were being made on stage. That is the look i want to see on my brides' faces. Money should not be a factor into whether they can get the cake of their dreams.

OK, the quiz made me chuckle. And I do agree that the trolls need to be eliminated. I think the best way to do that for now - until a system can be put into place to monitor them - is to just ignore the bejeezus out of 'em. Most of those people come on here just to get a reaction or to get the masses all worked up into a lathering frenzy. When they don't get what they want, hopefully they'll just crawl back into the dirt from whence they came.

Every single forum online has people like that...a very unhappy segment of society that gets its jollies being nothing more than an irritant. Kind of sad some people have to be that way but let's not let them get under our skin and ruin CC for us!

I think Jackie and Heath do a great job of running this board as it is right now. However, there is something that all CC members can do if they don't like something that someone is posted: don't respond.

It's requires zero effort on your part and it's free.

I totally understand about being froma poor family. I GREW UP poor. I'm also Mexican & we have Sweet 15 for our daughter's that rival wedding cost. Can these families afford these, no. Everyone (friends & families) pulls their finances together to amke these happen. Now with that said, my husband had lost his big $18.50 an hr. job and makes less then half that now! We have 7 kids. I no loner work cause of the 3 back to back babies we had & one with special needs. We have scaled back A LOT & my kids totally understand that. They went from staying at 5 star hotels on trips to we don't even go to the movies! They get it. What is my point, you do what you can afford, not what you want. I am not going to change my pricing to where I break even so someone can have what they want. Believe it or not, I have bought ONE PAIR OF SHOES in almost 3 years!. I'm not trying to rake anyone over the coals & for the most part I see very resonible priced people on here, in fact, some people price so low I know they are coming out of pocket. BUt like I said, you pay for what you can afford. Now why people question your legitimate baking skills? Cause NO ONE, & I don't care how good you are, can make frostings, fillings, cake batter,bake, cool, decorate, & assemble a 3-tiered cake in 3 hrs.! NO ONE!

Edna that makes sense. To be honest I charge $1.19 a serving and people complain that that is too high. And when I tell them what you guys charge theuy look at me like my head is on goofy. What should I do? I know my work is good and I just hired an artist to help speed up things even more. Honestly, (and you ladies are gonna hate me for this lol) I think wal-mart even overcharges for wedding cakes. I seriously can finish a very good looking cake in three hours. I am not bragging or lying.

Well if we followed this logic I'd be able to call up the makers of Mercedes Benz and tell them they need to lower their price because my daughter really really really wants one but she can only afford to pay them $1000, and I want her to have it so I can see the look of happiness on her face!

That is the most ridiculous piece of Socialist crap I've heard in a very very long time.

I was married 26 yrs ago, and we paid for our own wedding because I'm the youngest of 8 kids and my parents were poor. I couldn't afford a thousand dollar cake so I had a $75 one. The price of the cake doesn't matter. We get what we can afford. People need to live within their means.

Heath and Jackie were right to delete your "cakeandbake" account, they're wrong to allow you to create another one.

Edna, you are very gracious to make that offer...........she doesn't deserve your grace and kindness.

So you actually can, make your frostings, fillings, cake batter, bake & cool your cakes, decorate & assemble them in 3 hrs? Or are you saying you can decorate a 3-tiered cake in 3 hrs.?

I guess I do have a socialist mentality in a sense. I do believe that everyone should help each other out and that people deserve the best no matter how much money they have. and Edna I do appreciate you being so kind after yesterday. I get so discouraged because my rent is $750 and some months have have to have my parents help me make that. I know my cakes are good but I don't think anyone in my area would pay that much for them and the only way I can stay in business is to compete with grocery store prices.

I totally believe in helping each other out. That is how my friends & I are surving right now, we are helping each other. But that has nothing to do with someone wanting a Sylvia Wienstock cake with Wal-MArt prices. And you still haven't answered my question on your 3 hr. turn around.

My bakery is only open for 7 hours and I once made a 3 tier wedding cake in a days notice. It was mostly buttercream with only had fondant accents on it. I put cakes in my big freezer to cool faster..um I don't know exactly how i did it but I opened at 11:00 and the cake was out the door by 2:00. Sometimes people order cakes in the morning and I have them done by the end of the day. I wont lie it is stressful.

I realize that my right to free speech ends when I click I agree to the terms, however I didnt violate any of the terms. I have read them several times. I want you all to know I love this site as much as you ladies do I just have a difference on what should be charged. I assure you if I charged anything different I would not have a bakery.

If you say so. I'm a scratch baker & thers no way I could do all that I have to do for a 3-tiered wedding cake in 3 hours.

Yeah Edna I know exactly what you mean. I do own a shop and I some months I don't know If i will be open the next month. I actually sell ice cream too so I can make up for the money but it still is hard.

Can't wait to see pictures..............


You should be pleased that someday you may actually be able to get more then $1 a serving for your cakes. People will not value your work if you don't. You're telling your clients that your cakes are only "worth" $1.18 a serving. If you charged just $1 more, you may be able to make your rent payment a little easier each month.

There's a big difference between someone who "works at a bakery" and someone who "owns" that bakery. I'm not going to get into the specifics, but do you even understand the overhead that we business owners have?

I have a home business so it's not nearly as high as a storefront, however I have a million dollars of liability insurance on my cake business, extra insurance on my van for cake deliveries, utilities, licensing, supplies and the note on the money it took for me to add that second kitchen.

My "profit" comes ONLY AFTER I pay the above mentioned expenses.

Now can you at least begin to understand why I can't make a cake for $1.18 a serving? If not, then please sign up for a small business course, because you have a lot to learn.

I do have someone help me. And I do own a store front. I am actually very young compared to most bakers. I started my shop at age 18. I have made a 3 tier cake i 3 hours, it doesnt mean i prefer to. I like to give time but I have found in my area that people want it fast and i just do what they want.

Look, here's the deal. You make and sell your cakes any old way you want. We could care less. I really doubt the quality of your work though...care to prove me wrong??