A Few Thoughts!

[Kelsie]

I was going to post this awhile back but thought I may have been overreacting. After reading some of the posts here tonight, I see I may have been wrong.

I'm honestly wondering if the VMK Boards and the DIS are a good fit. Seriously, I thought this was an awesome board and believed the DIS was the perfect place because of our one common connection… 'DISNEY'. I believed this so much that I even requested to be a Mod here, which is something I don't have a lot of time for anymore. I believed in VMK, the VMK Boards and the people here and I wanted to be a part of that magic.

It doesn't matter what age you are, how much you own or what you have for trade. You start out here on an even playing field and only YOU control your destiny. There are simple basic rules here, all we have ever asked is that you follow them. Believe it or not, we gave the board to the younger posters so they would have a place to share their interests and meet new friends. We truly thought they deserved to post here as much any one of you and wanted to give them a place to feel at home. It was NEVER to segregate them as some believe, it was always to make you feel more welcome.

Have we made mistakes? Of course we have but so have all of you! This is a new concept for the DIS and we are all learning as we go. We're not perfect but I guarantee you, EVERYTHING the Mods do is in the best interest of the DIS and those who post here.

A very wise man (who happens to own these boards) once told me "If it stops being fun", maybe it's time to leave". I'm wondering if it's still fun for you. Playing the game, meeting new people and sharing your experiences in VMK with people who share the same interests?

I am a bit sad tonight because I know how hard your Moderator's work for you, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU and I also know how a few of them are feeling tonight!

To the other Moderator’s on the VMK Boards, thank you for volunteering your time and love of VMK and the DIS.

To the posters on the VMK Boards, I’m going to share a great quote with you.

“To all who come to this happy place, welcome”

I think it’s time for tolerance, forgiveness and getting back to why we are here in there first place.

 

[Pirate-Emery]

Thank you for all the time you put into this board, Kelsie! Same goes for the rest of the VMK mods... I'm sure I only understand a sliver of what you guys/gals have to go through...


I joined DIS because I enjoyed VMK. I quickly learned that I loved VMK because of DIS. This is a great place for friends, regardless of your age or how long you've been here. I have made many friends because of the DIS, and that has caused me to be much more social in VMK. Everyone deserves this experience, so play nice and be a good friend.


Remember the Disney Magic and Remember Walt. The World of Disney has always been about the fun, and not greed. Be there for each other, and not for yourself.

 

[DanMedix]

if things get too funky, do what I did: Take a break! I did for a while, and I'm back, and things are fun again!

 

[CinderellaWannab]

I don't know what I would do without the dis. I always check out the dis before vmk. The dis is like family. The Mods are the head of the family. You have made this a happy place for me. Thanks to all the Mods for all you do!

 

[Nanoer]

I know how you feel and I think you might know why

 

[Chedstro]

I agree with the above message entirely I always go to Dis first thing in the morning, then VMK. Back to Dis Vmk boards during the day (I have way too much time on my hands, lol)

I do get somewhat annoyed by some of the messages here that are obviously posted by kids just trying to get attention. (Hey, some of my very best friends are kids!)

Keep up the great work Mods, we never give you the credit you deserve.

I meant dmamie's post, lol

 

[MichelleXL]

My sentiments echo that of those who have posted before me.

I think it's human nature to take things for granted. "You don't know what you have, til it's gone." I would be saddened to sign on one morning and find that my beloved VMK board is no more. I have made so many friends on here, and enjoy the witty posts I read each day.

I don't think the Mods know how much they are truly appreciated and respected. I commend you all on the great service you have done, and continue to do. Sometimes the rants seem to outway the compliments.. but for every rant, I'm sure there are hundreds of unspoken gratitudes. Maybe every once in a while send a PM to a Mod (you never know, it could just brighten their day and be the pick-me-up they needed), to let them know they're doing their job just fine

Michelle

 

[AmberDaze]

{{{Kelsie}}} {{{Mal}}} {{{Lori}}} {{{Other DIS Staff}}} ... thank you so much for all you do. Not only do you try and keep the peace when posts get rough, you try and make things more fun when things are quiet. I would totally miss visiting this forum every day...nothing beats the friends, the fun, and the one thing that brings us all together here. I know others would miss it as well.

 

[qruthie]

I think a lot of the problem is that most of us don't notice the work the moderators are doing unless they do something controversial. I think it's due to the nature of the job. We don't have much to say when things are going well. But that doesn't mean we don't notice!

It's very similar to my experiences with system managers. Nobody seemed to notice that they worked very hard to keep our systems running 24/7. Nobody seemed to notice that they kept the software updated and made sure the nightly backups were done. Everyone noticed them if the systems went down and many took that opportunity to jump down the system manager's throat.

In both cases, I can assure you that I appreciate all of the work that kept or keeps me from experiencing problems. My mistake is that I don't take the time to let the moderaters of this board know that I am aware that they work very hard to keep things running smoothly. Most important of all, they don't know how much I appreciate their efforts.

Thank you to all of the moderators who work so hard at keeping this board running. Thank you for doing so much work to combine threads to make the board more organized. Thank you for closing threads that don't follow the board values. And thank you for all of the other things you do!

 

[bevgray]

As a long-time member of the DIS, I have always appreciated the efforts of all of our moderators. I know that most of them donate their time and are not paid employees so that makes it even more important for the rest of us to support them. I know how happy I was when the DIS set up the VMK Forums since it meant I could find out about the new game and still be with my primary Disney information community.

Webmaster Kelsie and other moderators, this board has a broader mix than some of the others with regard to ages but please be patient with us. We'll get the hang of it and thanks for all your work.

 

[aengus]

I have been a DISer long before my join date as a lurker. Even after "officially" joining the DIS, I still pretty much lurked. The VMK boards here brought me out of hiding. It seemed so great to see a bunch of people I could relate to even more than just a "DISNEY" thing.

I, get crazy over some of the posts on here (like everyone) sometimes but I remember a very easy rule that I think would help alot on these boards. "if you have nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all!"

Just because you have the right to respond, doesn't mean you should.

VMK has brought down many bounderies between adults and kids and rather than build those walls back up, we should just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Kids will be kids, and adults will be adults, but dont point out the differences just enjoy the company of your friends both on the dis and on vmk, both kids and adults.

In the end we all have one thing in common (besides the love of disney and vmk). We can all agree that I am the most lava of them all!

 

[ScroogesNephew]

As Disney fans, it should always be first and foremost in our heads: "Stop taking things so darn seriously"! Why should anyone get upset over something "said" in cyber-world, anyway?

 

[BriarRosie]

I agree with the above message entirely I always go to Dis first thing in the morning, then VMK. Back to Dis Vmk boards during the day (I have way too much time on my hands, lol)

I do get somewhat annoyed by some of the messages here that are obviously posted by kids just trying to get attention. (Hey, some of my very best friends are kids!)

Keep up the great work Mods, we never give you the credit you deserve.

I meant dmamie's post, lol

Agreed. Half the time I see the same people post new topics because it
appears to me they want to be seen as "thread starters". If these are
the posts we see, I'm boggled at the posts the Mods actually merge and
delete. It has been getting out of hand.

 

[disvillain1]

Kelsie-- I'm assuming you are writing this in part adress to last night's thread. I think Loves Disney just had some questions she wanted to ask, but the thread ended up getting steered off it's intended path, furthermore leading to flaming. I really enjoy these boards, but I do believe the points she brought up last night are valid.

Is there any way possible, without this or another thread turning into a flame war, that you could maybe answer some of those questions? I know she would appreciate it.

All the moderators here are wonderful. We just had some suggestions and questions, but eventually it went bad.

 

[judimouse]

Kelsie is there a way that you can send you post via email to everyone that posts on the vmk boards? Or make it a sticky? I think it would be benefical for all to read.

Have to agree that the posts have been getting out of hand. Never have I reported anyone for their posts, until this last week. Then I did twice just because their comments were totally uncalled for and very rude.

This should be a fun place long with making new friends. Not a placeto be rude to staff or others, to beg for stuff, or tell people that they are @#$!* or #$(^_*.

Mods. you work hard for us to have fun and we don't appreciate each of you nearly enough nor do we adequately show our thanks. So...



That's not much but it's a start.

 

[DemonLlama]

When MeanLaureen drafted me to help her run a Community Board game (the WPASADI in my tag) I got just enough of a taste of moderating to last me a lifetime. It is a thankless job.

The top four things I learned:

1. People complain about things they have very few facts about.

2. The general anonymity of the boards means people say things and put things in ways they never would in real life.

3. People never realize the amount of time and energy being expended to keep things running smoothly, only the moments when they feel "put out" by something relatively minor.

4. Mods can't win because if they do their job, they are accused of being control freaks and censors. But if they don't keep the boards operating efficiently by moving, merging, and closing, then they are accused of not doing their job.


It is not said enough: Kelsie, Mal, and Lori work their little hoo-ha's off for us.

THANK YOU!

 

[Tampa]

4. Mods can't win because if they do their job, they are accused of being control freaks and censors. But if they don't keep the boards operating efficiently by moving, merging, and closing, then they are accused of not doing their job.


It is not said enough: Kelsie, Mal, and Lori work their little hoo-ha's off for us.

THANK YOU!

#4 is on the money. At a different site, I too have the honor of helping moderate the owner's boards that he provides for all. And even if my reasonings were understood, this "boss" has no problem at all at saying in a nice way, "You were still wrong". I'm not at all saying mods here are wrong in any way, but sometimes in general, and behind the scenes, mods get corrected too, just as any other poster would. And they too may get mad in the moment of something minor, but it takes a true dedicated site lover/mod to get passed it all and look to the future.

You all do a great job here on these VMK boards. never question that.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

My DD and I look to the Dis VMK boards for all of our information. We just don't like the other sites out there. All the moderators do a wonderful job here. The people are so fun and friendly. I recognized a few names from here when my daughter first started playing and I can honestly say that they were some of the nicest folks she has met on VMK.

 

[DaraAllen]

I was moving all weekend, didn't have internet, and have no idea why this thread was started, but I want to say that I truly appreciate all that the mods do for us, and I very much need the interaction on this board to keep my Disney-related sanity.

Ok, so I've ranted a bit here and there about grammar and stuff, but the mods were always good to keep me in line, very nicely, I might add. I got PM's when I got off-base so I wasn't flamed in public. They didn't have to do that.

Again, I don't know what happened over the weekend, and it doesn't sound as though I want to, but I do know how much I appreciate the mods' time and effort. I try to say thank you to some of them, though I have not dones so individually to them all. For that, I am sorry. For whatever happened, I hope it was unintended on all parts, and for the sake of Disney, let's be happy!

 

[lovethattink]

I personally appreciate all the hard work and sacrifice that Mal, Lori, Brain, Riku and Kelsie do to keep this board up and functioning so well. This board is made up of people with such different demographics. And the board itself is so different than any other board on the DIS. With so many posts daily, this has to be as time consuming as a full time job. These mods do it on a voluntary basis. Occassionally they get thanks, but more than not they don't. So I want to take the time to thanks you all for your time, efforts and most importantly your friendships.