Martin, a very nice and eloquent post. Please let me state a few of the reasons that I have allowed PPRuNe to be used in the run up to the election for the GS.
I have been a BALPA member since I started my flying career and was even on the Airworthyness Study Group and so have some insight as to what BALPA does behind the scenes. As you have pointed out, there are many pilots who have an opinion on everything without having the 'big picture'. As can be seen by many of the responses in this thread, there are many who assume that 'BLALPA' do all the work on our behalf. Thankfully, posts like yours mamange to go some way to explaining what actually happens behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, as has been proved by this exercise, is that it doesn't matter how much good you think you are doing if the perception of the majority is different. Many people, especially in BALPA are very quick to criticise PPRuNe as a 'pilots chat room' or whatever. Yes, there are many people who fail to engage brain before making a post and there are plenty of people who show themselves up by trying to sound authoritative when in fact their posts show them up to be quite the opposite. It doesn't matter though. If BALPA's communications to its members and anyone else is below par and the majority believe that the GS or whoever in BALPA isn't doing their job to the best of their ability with the members best interests, then, even if they are wrong it doesn't matter becuase there is obviously a problem that needs addressing. It is no good preaching that everything is actually running normally and so many things are going on in the background if the majority of the members and everyone else 'thinks' or 'believes' it not to be so.
There are many in management who use PPRuNe as a tool to gague what current perceptions are about their performance. These managers are clever enough to realise that if there is any perception that their performance is poor, even if it isn't, there is a problem because everyone else thinks it is. When asked about my involvement with PPRuNe, especially when asked if my managers ever give me any grief about it I tell them that most are able to realise that I am only the messenger but they should treat PPRuNe like a hidden bug in the crew room. They may not know who is saying the things about them that they don't like but at least they know what is being said. They, the managers or whoever, now have the opportunity to set the record straigh or communicate their policies in a clearer fashion in order to make sure that the perceptions of the beraters are changed. Unfortunately not too many in positions of responsibility are able to get this concept into their heads.
In the case of BALPA, I have believed for years that they have had a terrible communication problem with not only their members but also their detractors. From the way their website is run (and the amount of time it took them to adopt the internet) through their publications and other communications they fail to get the important messages across. Now, the classic case has been this election process for the new GS. I will say it again, 'pooh pooh' PPRuNe at your own risk. It may be full of trivia and whingeing a lot of the time but those who have a better grasp of the power of communication and information control know that they can use it as a gague. Not the total solution but certainly one of the tools that will help people in the business to get a better picture of what is going on.
The information doesn't have to be true as long as the perception that it is true prevails. Too many people in positions of power have used this fact to their benefit and all we try to do here on PPRuNe is give everyone the opportunity to put the facts in front of everyone and the objective is to make sure that our perceptions are based on the true facts.