(Group) BFRO
The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, or BFRO, was founded in 1995 by Matthew Moneymaker. Its website can be found at BFRO.net.
For many years the BFRO claimed to be "The only scientific research organization exploring the bigfoot/sasquatch mystery." This description was changed in May 2006 to "The scientific research organization exploring the bigfoot/sasquatch mystery." The change in wording may have been a response to new scientifically-oriented organizations established by both non-BFRO members and former BFRO members. While it was probably never accurate to describe the BFRO as the "only" scientific organization researching the bigfoot/sasquatch phenomenon, it was, and remains, the most prominent.
Contents 1 Database 2 Commercialization of Bigfoot 3 Duped by the Sonoma Video 4 Conflict with members of the Bigfoot Forums 5 External Links
Database The BFRO maintains both a public database of witness sightings and encounters and a members-only database known as the "FLATS" (Follow-up Log and Tally System). It is almost certainly the largest database of its kind on the Internet, and is organized by state and county (or province). The public side of the database is not fully searchable.
Reports are entered into the database by way of a submission form on the BFRO website, and BFRO members then choose whether or not to investigate the report. Investigated reports are then published on the public website, with details of what investigation has been carried out.
Commercialization of Bigfoot In late 2003 the BFRO changed direction dramatically and started promoting fee-based weekend "expeditions," which proved to be controversial. The first expedition was called the "Bigfoot Roundup" and initially fetched a $1,400 per person price tag. Places were even auctioned on eBay with the promise that you could ride alongside Bob Gimlin. By 2007 the cost of the weekend expeditions had dropped to $400 per vehicle.
Internal controversies resulting directly and indirectly from the continued emphasis on "expeditions" led to a deterioration of confidence and support within the membership. By late summer 2005, scores of the organization's most experienced members had resigned, including many of the most prominent scientists and researchers investigating the bigfoot/sasquatch phenomenon.
Duped by the Sonoma Video In November 2005, a video purportedly showing a bigfoot in Sonoma County, California, surfaced on the Internet. The BFRO quickly declared that it was an authentic video, and that it could not have been a man in a suit. It later transpired that the Sonoma Video had been a hoax perpetrated by none other than Penn & Teller for their Showtime television series Bullshit!
BFRO director Matt Moneymaker declared that Penn & Teller were lying in order to boost ratings.
The BFRO had no comment on the video following the broadcast of the show.
Conflict with members of the Bigfoot Forums For several years the BFRO maintained amicable relations with Bigfoot Forums, the Internet's most prominent discussion board addressing the bigfoot phenomenon. BFF administrators facilitated a forum for organizing the first BFRO expedition, but relations declined as ex-BFRO members started to talk publicly about how the the organization was managed. On January 2, 2006, a message entitled "The Straight Dope About the BFF" was found hidden in the source code of a page on the BFRO website. Soon after its discovery the code was removed, but it can still be viewed in place via Archive.org cache.
The author of the message or the specific precipitating event that lead to it being written is not known. Matthew Moneymaker declined assistance in the form of a pro-bono forensic examination of the computer system to ascertain the culprit.
Discussion of this message can be read here.
External Links bfro.net
