noonnope, wow, let it go man. Calling mod a troll? Seriously?
You feel wronged. So what. Real men move on, whiners keep whining about it.
I once received an infraction for standing up for another member on these very forums. Some a$$ was calling names and I get an infraction for saying something about it. But I knew I deserved it too. Thatās how it works, you do something and then accept the consequences.
Itās spring outside, and deliciously lascivious females in their late 20s or early 30s are going out with what little clothes the weather is allowing them to wear and you waste your time on forums whining. Cāmon man!
Letās be honest here, the staff here at the forums are human, and volunteers (with the exception of Sarah - though she started out as one). We spend many hours daily here in the forums, trying to fight off the massive amounts of fluff and spam (Scallio, Mitt and spike being three of our leading fighters), all the while still trying to remain engaged in the conversations and exchanges of information that brought us to the forums in the first place. So when people take offense to what we do and how we do it, human nature unfortunately takes over. So if Scallio and Spike have said things which have offended you, I honestly donāt think they were intended as a direct attack on you, just as a defense mechanism for slights against what theyāve spent tireless hours working at to make a better place.
As for spikeZ, I do believe he apologized to you for his lack of decorum. But in his defense, the only reason he was a judge there was because one of the other judges that were to take part dropped out at the very last second (like a day before the entries were due) because of real life getting in the way. So he volunteered to step in and try to help out. So yes, he took it personally when all that was seemingly done was a microscopic disection of the judging they worked so hard to do fairly.
We take what we do here very seriously. In that competition which you took offense to (and the which the prize for which was? A coffee cup), countless hours were spent in discussing the rules of that contest, trying to fine tune them to make them as clear as possible. And that was why not a single staff member entered - because they had access to the discussion (whether they partook in the discussion or not) and no one wanted any semblence of impropriety.
That being said, I do respect a lot of your opinions. I think your manner in which they are delivered could be a little less blunt/direct, but I often find what you say to be accurate and well intended.
Nice way to tone down. Right or wrong, your tone and approach show maturity and self respect. I may lack some in both but I can recognize them when I see them.
Itās not apologies Iām after. Iām driven mad by backstage acts and pretend social interaction. Itās a tech forum, lets be tech!
I know I can miss the nose on my face at times, so I read the Crier again to see what might have made you feel unappreciated.
Iām guessing you mean
In theory we have all of the options that the savvy consumer is looking for, so how do we engage with them in such a way as to get them to interact? Traditionally readers of our books come to the forums to seek answers when they get stuck. They tend to be beginners and if we are lucky they stick around to give something back once they find their feet. These days that seems to be changing. People ask a question, get an answer, and then leave to finish what they were working on.
I agree that many forum members come here because the books say they can get help here. And sure, arenāt most of us in various stages of ābeginningā depending on what area? eg. I might do OK programming in a language or two, but other languages Iām a newbie let alone my (lack of) design skills.
Iām not so sure that the number that āstick aroundā has ever been that much different. Nor that all that do are here to āgive backā rather than asking for even more help i.e. feet not found.
And true, some do find a solution and never come back to the thread to say thanks or share the solution so others can benefit.
I guess I gave āseemsā more weight than you did?
In any case, there are plenty of members that do help others both in providing helpful suggestions and/or explicit solutions, and IMHO even asking a queston or posing a problem that makes me think is helpful. Iād rather work on a problem before I need to fix it by, like yesterday.
Michelle - I am sorry that you got a negative vibe from my editorial, that was not my intention. I think that transparency is crucial in any community, so I strive to say it how it is, but that doesnāt mean for a moment that I donāt value you.
To quote myself:
It is no secret that a good community thrives on honesty and creativity. Keeping things authentic and interesting is the key.
I am looking for ways to keep the community engaged - and by that I mean that I am looking for things that will keep you interested. There is no ulterior motive. My job is to do nothing more than keep this place humming.
noonnope, I am not going to address your points individually, but I will say thisā¦ It is not appropriate to air these sorts of issues in the public forum. My staff are volunteers and they do a great job. You are a valuable member here so I hope you stay, but I wonāt have staff time wasted on bickering. If you donāt like it here, please go.
This isnāt more awful than the thread about kitchen sink pictures were you promised to post a picture and you didnāt! There are dirty dishes that need to be washed.
Why, Sarah, itās exactly the place for airing this sort of issues. For the sake ofā¦ ātransparencyā? For the sake ofā¦ āhonestyā? For the sake ofā¦ āauthenticityā? You talk the talk, but when it comes to walk the walk, you seem to totter your feet.
And I know why you donāt want to address my points individually. Nobody likes admitting a staff mistake here. But calling it bickering, nitpicking, āpant pissing, dummy chucking and thread crappingā seems to be perfectly OK if it absolves you.
I think Iāll stay, if thatās OK with you, of course. If you didnāt get it by now, Iām not here for you. Nor am I here for spikeZ or Scallio. Though it seems your everyday answer to user complains is invariable this: āPlease go!ā Way to build a community, Sarah! It appears you need your floaters, youāre in deeper waters then you think. I really think this admin business is going over your head! No offense.
Ok, for once Iāll bite here and then I will shut my mouth. For the sake of politeness and for respect to other members who will not understand what youāre talking about and very likely donāt care but for sure they will be feeling unnecessarily upset when reading this. For this reason, this is not the place to air this. Personal discussions and issues are that, personal, and should be kept outside the regular members knowledge. This should be in a pm, not here.
You know, there is something more important on this thread than you accusations and all that fury that you have inside.
And thatās how Michelle felt. This is what this thread is about.
I understand that we do mistakes and we canāt always make everybody happy but Iām always interested when someone expresses discontent even if it is indirectly related to the forum such as the crier.
I like to understand why people feel like that because I think if I understand it I can do it better, or say things differently so the message gets across without having anyone upset when I donāt want them to be upset.
I agree. Itās something Sarah said: āIf you donāt like it here, please go.ā For this statement alone, Sarah should step down from admin position. Sheās marketing, because sheās SP staff. The first rule: never, never, never say that to a potential customer.
Even for those selling lottery tickets, there is a marketing school that teaches them: "Never ever ever say: āDonāt you want a lottery ticket?ā, say āPlease have a lottery ticket!ā ". You may notice any negative expression is left out: donāt, no, arenāt.
As for the rest, I really believe there is a HAWK cult going on here, and brown nosing around her, and sheās liking it. Iām sorry, Iām not a toddler or an employee, and Iām sorry I expect more maturity. Or am I?
You and I know the above is not true. Youāll see that Iām not sighing to make people feel sympathy for me, quite the opposite.
And the message was? The only message Sarah transmits is the one CeauÅescu transmitted before its regime fell: āStaÅ£i liniÅtiÅ£i la locurile voastre!ā
<snip> link to video showing corpses from the CeauÅescu revolution removed.</snip>
No molona, Iām not satisfied with double standards, and Iām using a public forum to voice that. Itās obviously that I donāt get that SPF is North Korea of forums, and the overall feeling in it should be unicorns and pink colors. Hiding the dirt under the mat doesnāt mean you have a clean house. I think this is where maturity has to kick in, acknowledging all sides of a story, even if the power lies only to one side.
Should I leave now? Or should the admin find a way to solve this. Admin saying: āplease, goā is admin saying: āI suck at my jobā. Again, no offense. If she would be my employee sheād be getting the sack the next instant when her marketing goes the way of picking users, not inviting users over.
Mostly the overall feel. Everyone has their little I donāt like. For me its implying or offering new customers something and not first offering it to existing. In this case how can we get these brand new people to stay.
To expand the idea, when SP does their yearly sale, maybe the can do a special aimed at active SPF members. And no I do not have an answer for active yet LOL.
āAgain, no offense. If she would be my employee sheād be getting the sack the next instant when her marketing goes the way of picking users, not inviting users over.ā
Way Off Topic. Let me tell you a little story. This year a small group in Alaska is down the tubes (NOT because people didnāt have opinions and NOT that people didnāt have questions) But because 1 (yes ONE) person just kept going a little bit to far.
I am going to make a final post in this thread and then close it.
I feel really sad about the way this has ended up. We have lost a valuable member and thatās never ideal. I do feel strongly about honesty and transparency, but no one comes to this forum to read bickering between members and/or members and staff. For that reason alone I called noonnope out on his use of this thread.
I donāt have an issue with people criticising the way I run this place - hell, I ask for your feedback frequently. But I wonāt tolerate rudeness or personal attacks, which is the way this thread ended up.
I am not a marketer - my job is to keep you guys happy. Unfortunately I failed this time.
