Here's the thing, though...there's a big debate on whether or not the votes are rigged anyway. And...if you read the rules carefully, the producers certainly have some wiggle room about that. I think the producers have more to do with who stays or goes than almost anybody. That right there would minimize VFTW's voting impact. Even if they aren't rigging the votes, VFTW has about as much power as any fan club, probably not more.

But if you look at VFTW just in terms of its voting bloc effectiveness, you have entirely missed the point. Where it's really effective is in pointing out what is actually going on with Idol. For example, the news that a bunch of the Top 24 were folks with industry connections was first reported by VFTW.

Although there are certainly exceptions, the vast majority of the hateful crap posted on that site is volunteered by visitors and trolls, not site regulars.