The debate board.. please read

[DSNY FN]

Good morning Alex I hope you slept well and have a good day. Also I wanted to thank you for your quick responss to my PM's last night and as I stated in them I am sorry you took the brunt of my disatisfaction but you were the one who posted the closure so I had you to talk to about it. Sorry for that and yes you were the messanger and unfortuantely you got shot for it.

 

[BostonTigger]

Originally posted by WebmasterPenny
BostonTigger, with comments like that it's obvious that it's not Alex in his own little world

Re-read what Kelsie said - this was not Alex's decision but a management one. It was something Pete and the Assistant Webmasters debated, uh, discussed ( ) at great length - we didn't just wake up on Friday morning and say 'Hey, I feel like canning the DB today, how about it guys?'

You may not have liked the DB - fine.

You may not like the DB being removed - fine.

But let's get one thing straight here - it was a team decision - so quit shooting down the messenger, ok?

How did I shoot the messenger? What I said was all true, I'm just using a different method of stating it that's all. "This is Alex's little world" (he owns and runs the place), "he reigns supreme" (he ultimately controls what goes on), "and he can create and 'de' create at will"...which he can. How is that shooting the messenger? And yes, I know this was a management decision. And don't take it so seriously.

 

[Lanshark]

When the guidelines for the DB changed awhile back it was very closely monitored. As of the last several months the monitoring of the board was almost nonexistant. I'm not saying that to be critical, I wouldn't want the job for anything in the world.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

BostonTigger.. I just don't want Pete and the other wm's thinking I am trying a hostile take over
I have pretty thick skin if nobody has noticed

 

[DSNY FN]

I would have to agree Lanshark there seemed to be no moderation there at all but for one or 2 posts maybe over the last 3 to 4 weeks I would say.

 

[onecoolmama]

Thick skin is a good thing Alex. You need it on every board. I remember a thread on the family boards where moms were being told they were bad parents for wanting to use Fairy Godmothers or Kids Nite Out! LOL! Agian, it didn't phase me...but even the resort boards..you know the debates about using the refillable mugs at more then one resort, pool hopping, and how many people in a room could get heated. People called theives, bad parents, yadda yadda...it happens on every board for sure. But, you are right...maybe not as consistantly as it did on the debate board.

I think that any interent board..yes even disney...you need thick skin. Mine got tough as a kid, but if you dont have thick skin...this will defiantley help you grow it!LOL!

 

[KathyTX]

Originally posted by DSNY FN
I would have to agree Lanshark there seemed to be no moderation there at all but for one or 2 posts maybe over the last 3 to 4 weeks I would say.

Does the fact that the DB seemed to need *a lot* of moderation not tell you anything?

 

[BostonTigger]

Originally posted by WebmasterAlex
BostonTigger.. I just don't want Pete and the other wm's thinking I am trying a hostile take over
I have pretty thick skin if nobody has noticed

My original intent wasn't to start a war of words between me and WMPenny, or any of the other WM's, but when she came back with a reply I had to defend myself. To show the kind of person I am, I'm calling a cease fire on my end. I won't post anymore about this.

 

[DSNY FN]

No actually I found it fine the way it was if I didn't like a post I didn't reply to it or read any further than the first couple posts. Why should it tell me anything they are saying it was hard to moderate etc as a reason we we are stating that they were not moderating it good or bad I liked it that way and felt it was a great place to discuss just about everything going on it the wold today and as stated before it was heated over there but no one had to look if they didn't want to.

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by KathyTX
Does the fact that the DB seemed to need *a lot* of moderation not tell you anything?

Wow! quite a thread going since last night. I'm late to this because I just had to tell someone my dog scored a 1540 on the SAT's. Cool, huh? I knew I had a smart dog! Thanks for the pixie dust and prayers from those that were supporting him.

Now, as for the DB closing. Sure, it's the WM's rules. They can run the community like they want. But, it seems to me it was more of a "okay, That's it. There's just too much whining to deal with with all these PM's and complaints we are getting. So, let's just kill the source of the problem". Now, that's certainly a way to deal with the issues. (I'm reminded of the "run away! run away!" scene in "Monty Python's Holy Grail") But, I wonder if some of the potential fallout was considered. Not the complaints, but the potential long term impact on the board, and most important the advertisers.

I stumbled on the the debate board by being pointed to it by a friend some years ago. That was my entry point into the Disboards. From there I discoverd the DVC board and as a result patronized one the advertisers here to purchase an aftermarket DVC membership. I then used another sponsor to book TWO DCL vacations. I've also patronized many of the local business in and around WDW as a result of tips and suggestions made through contacts made through the DB, and frequenting other forums on the Disboards. Frankly, if I'm not coming up on a vacation or looking to plan one, I will be less inclined to now visit the Disboards. Now, I might be the only one, but I do wonder was the potenial fallout to the overall board and it's advertisers might be. Maybe it won't affect them much. Maybe the number of "members" of the DB were small compared to the overall Disboard community. Dunno. Just an observation I'm making.

Now, my DD wnat's to go see Troy because of Pitt's tushy, so I need help with what I should do, and my DW has a job interview, and my DS has his championship baseball game today. So, I could use some pixie dust as you can tell.

 

[faithinkarma]

Originally posted by DSNY FN
I would have to agree Lanshark there seemed to be no moderation there at all but for one or 2 posts maybe over the last 3 to 4 weeks I would say.

I almost have to believe that monitoring would have been a 24/7 job for several people. Things had got so out of hand. There were several brand spanking new posters. They just suddenly showed up on the DIS and amazingly, their very first stop was at the DB where they made quite (IMO) outrageous posts.

I don't know about the rest of you, but my entry into the DB was a slow and gradual one. I would go and read, post only rarely, go away, and not come back for weeks. Slowly I began posting more and more...and got to know people, and began to enjoy it a lot.

It does seem odd that anyone would make their very first DIS post on the DB. Or is that just me? As the regulars all know these very few posters began to post multiple posts in a row...almost all of these posts attacking other posters.

I personally reported one of these posters once, for making up something and quoting it as if I had said it. The offending post was removed immediately. Another time, way back when, I reported another poster for an attack against someone else. Since then I have come to see just how mild that attack was. I was certainly sorely tempted to report many of the more vicious posts, but I just assumed the mods were busy enough as it was.

I think many of us are wondering if anything we said or did contributed to the demise of the DB. But if we stop and think about it, the truly offensive posts were all made by a select few ( and honestly, there were days I suspected it was just one person with several IDs ). And it is most noteworthy that those of whom I speak have not have a word to add to the discussions here on the CB. Did they get banned, or have the slunk off to ruin another board?

In closing, I believe it is completely unfair to blame the mods. I have a visual of them sitting and yanking their hair out in total frustration. I believe the truth of the matter is that someone, or a few someones, set out to ruin the DB. I believe it was deliberate and calculated and I am very sorry that by allowing them to bait me, I let them get away with it.

 

[EltonJohn]

Originally posted by dmadman43 Now, that's certainly a way to deal with the issues. (I'm reminded of the "run away! run away!" scene in "Monty Python's Holy Grail") <snip>

Which scene would that be? There are two

 

[ripleysmom]

"Does the fact that the DB seemed to need *a lot* of moderation not tell you anything?"

IMO the only reason that the board needed a lot of moderation was that no one stepped in until it did get out of hand. If it had been moderated the way the other boards are moderated (like it was when NIK was mod) then it would never have gotten to the point of closing it.

I don't believe it's fair to blame the posters for what they posted when they were allowed to post what they wanted without any retribution or deletion.

People post according to guidelines because they learn what is expected of them when they get their hands slapped or perceive a mod presence on the boards. If nothing happens then they think it is okay, if the mod steps in and says "Hey stop this crap...you can't say this or that" then people listen.

The last time I looked there was one thread on the DB with a mod post saying "chill people" on it.

Personally I don't think that the people on the DB was any more vicious or obnoxious than people on the Resorts board or Theme Park board. Those boards are just moderated more strenuously.

None of the regular mods wanted to moderate the DB? Fair enough. That I can understand but rather than closing the DB perhaps it might have been nice to put that out there on the DB so people knew how obnoxious they were being and how fed up you guys were.

Better yet why not tap someone from the board to be a mod. Someone known to be fair and objective. You guys add new mods all the time. It's not a paid position.....people know that. A regular poster to the board knows who the players are and would have been able to moderate the board effectively. I think it would not have taken long until people knew what was expected of them and responded accordingly.

That is probably my only real criticism in the decision to close the DB was that the regulars were really not given a chance to redeem themselves and not all of the options were explored. But that is just my .02 cents


Also since I am one person who is a sponsor (albeit a lower end sponsor) I will say what others have said. Pete's site, Pete's rules. I knew that going in.


The DB, while home, hasn't been fun for me for a while. I did learn a lot though so it wasn't wasted time. It was a thinking person's board, sometimes I would be flabbergasted at what people were thinking but so it goes.

It was fun while it lasted guys.

 

[DSNY FN]

I choose the castle scene.

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by EltonJohn
Which scene would that be? There are two

The catapulting of the cows.

or the attack of the rabbit. Either one works.

Maybe the attack of the rabbit is more apropos

 

[DSNY FN]

You count to three not 4 three and toss thy holy handgrenade.

 

[hyzdufan]

In all honesty, I thought the purpose of having different forums were to better separate the content of message posts and replies. There are a lot of people who frequent the CB that do not want to see ANY semblance of the DB show up in here.

Post titles can be misleading, so it's kinda tough to avoid, even if you try.

 

[Poohbear123]

I see a few Debate Posts already. I will just avoid those......

 

[EltonJohn]

Originally posted by MaryAnnDVC Uuhhh...Pete doesn't OWN DisneyWorld. Universal and SeaWorld aren't HIS competitors.

Do you have to be rude and saracstic?

Go back up to page whatever and see that Pete said that this is a *Disney Board*, not the Orlando Destination Board.

Univsersal and Sea World are competiors of Disney, and I don't see why they would have a board on a *Disney* fansite.

 

[acepepper]

Well that's a real shame. I've been visiting the DB for a couple of years now and have always enjoyed the cut and thrust and learnt quite a bit as well. I've "met" a lot of people who I've become sort of fond of, even the one's I don't agree with, so I'm going to miss all those.

Anyway, life goes on. I'll just have to find somewhere else to vent my spleen.

Goodbye and good luck to you all.

acepepper.