The dictionary definition above is illuminating. And as TSTP pointed out, the pivotal issue for KCBS is their definition of BBQ.
I don't think gas grilling is any more or less popular now than when I was a kid. My dad was "backward" for using charcoal, and an electric starter to avoid lighter fluid. It seemed like everybody else had shiny steel propane grills suitable for photoshoot-style backyard parties with a manly apron-clad chef balancing a martini while flipping meat products on the grate. In fact, in our part of the country "BBQ" meant anything grilled outdoors. I was old and gray before I learned that in the rest of the country, "barbecue" carried some very particular notions with it.
Some of those deeply ingrained notions are the use of wood or charcoal as a heat source. Perhaps that's why KCBS drew the line there in its definition, maybe at that time and place the thought of anything else was utterly and completely heretical. Certainly the use of wood or charcoal is consonant with tradition; fire management is an art to be mastered. With the use of wood or charcoal, endeavor and experience are rewarded whether the result is awards at a contest or simply a superior product produced at home to the approbation of family and friends.
While inclusivity is often a good thing, its value declines when it dilutes or modifies the very heart of the concept. And yes, the boundaries are fuzzy -- for some the line is drawn at forced draft, or at thermostats, or wherever. But the bottom line, the KCBS definition line as it has existed, is at the use of wood or charcoal.
So for a haggard old bat who grew up thinking that grilling steak or shrimp was BBQ, I have somehow found my heart anchored to the use of wood or charcoal. I'd like to think that there will be more involved than flipping a switch and listening to a hiss and click-click-click-fwoosh. The history, the tradition, the charms and frustrations and satisfaction of "real fire" sucked me in. Do we really think that the masses are incapable of appreciating it, that they will never be capable of anything other than installing a full tank, that we must collect a membership fee, hand them a "participation" ribbon and say "You can be BBQ too"?
I hope not. Yes, there's been a lot of renewed interest in cooking outdoors. I can take a lot of different products and techniques outdoors, and cook them on a propane grill or even over wood or charcoal, and that doesn't make them BBQ. BBQ is more than just the heat source -- it's traditional fuels, and traditional foods, and a legacy of understanding both intimately under varying conditions, not just following a recipe saying "turn your grill's dial to number 3".
So while riding that groundswell of interest in outdoor cooking can certainly benefit KCBS, I don't think "capitalizing by capitulating" and allowing propane is in its best interest, or the best interest of its constituents. Many of us have had it drilled into us that it's folly to "dilute the brand" or alienate your core group. This issue feels like both, frankly.
It is my hope that KCBS will stand by its core concept. It has weathered teapot-tempests over garnish, and scoring, and technological additions, and myriad other things; but the center, the definition of fuel source, has held. That link with history has been maintained, even if the face of modern BBQ is somewhat changed. Let's not let that last vestige of tradition slip away.
