Originally Posted by lucytalk

eric ~ i owe you an apology. i made a post at bill's board because being a member there since oct'03 isn't an easy thing to let go of.

last time i criticized their new board, i was kind of a bitch about it because i was pissed that they shut down for like 3 months and came back with a board that has mickey mouse forum names and is ugly to look at, where the posts all seem to bleed into one big mess of words and is user unfriendly and and and i could go on.

so this time i went back and thought i try the honest and nice approach. here is my post from there with the admins replies (i'll make her replies blue so it's easier to follow) note ~ i expected to get shot down but i didn't think she'd mock your ass and for that i apologize.

i miss this place. [No, I suspect you’ve grown bored with other locales – no one to spar with, perhaps?]

think i became a member here oct '03. [I understand… I’ve been a member of Greenroomonline, Safesearching, and CelebrityLoop since early 1999.]

and i was a politically incorrect watcher way before that and what can i say ~ i love bill. [Good to hear.]

i miss this board and i know we've been down this road before. [And yet, we are about to go down the same road yet again.]

you wanna change the rules ~ change the rules. enforce them at will. [Rules were not changed; simply enforced. Rules were not changed, admin simply doesn’t put up with bullying and miscreant behaviour. These behaviours really are the provenance of grade school playgrounds.]

but for the love of bill maher make this a user friendly board and a prettier board. go back to vbulletin, start again. [Sorry, but these boards are very user friendly, prettier, have far more functionality, easier to use, etc., etc. Truth is, you hate change… period. We are not starting again, we are very pleased with what we have now… as are those who pay us for this message board.]

admin ~ is this a true "rumor" or do you know . . .

bill's old board forums names (current events, human nature, foreign politics, jokes, etc) were the same titles as a notebook he carried with him sometimes? either way i like those forum names better. they were more "real" [Don’t know and it really isn’t that important to know. Again, you hate change: that’s all this is about; that’s all this has ever been about.]

not being allowed to pm or seeing who's online seems a little over the top. and a user friendly and prettier board seems worth it unless the goal is what this place has become. [Some of you lost that privilege for a variety of reasons. Part of the reason this new software is so great – we can punish the few, not the many.]

you have a lot of new members yet not many posts in a political season that's important. [We are not concerned with post count Lucytalk. People will post or they will not. What we are concerned about is providing an inviting environment free of harassment, abusive, churlish behaviour from other members, a place were everyone’s opinion matters… not just a select few. The select few moved on and we are not sad to see them go. Oddly enough, this place has a much nicer atmosphere of late. Must have been the company we were once forced to keep.]

think about making a change. [We have. We’ve made the changes WE AND OUR CLIENT(S) are satisfied with. When you start paying the bill, you can design what you want.]

i forgot to extend an offer. i will do anything to help.

whether it be to learn the codes to make changes (hopefully vbulletin because i already sort of know them but i'll learn phpbb if i have to) and i have no qualms on being just a poster when i'm done if that is what you want. [Thanks Lucytalk, but we employee some of the finest programmers in the world and we are very pleased with what they continue to accomplish. More importantly, our clients are pleased. VBulletin is yesterday’s news. We’ve moved on; we’re looking at even more improvements and add on features for this board. We change with the times; we look to modernize and challenge new ideas.]

this board could easily be the best community on the net. it has the potential because look at your member numbers ~ bill maher attracts posters. [It already is the best on the net; the reality is you are not getting your way and that makes for truculent behaviour. Again, people will post, they will not post. We do not hold guns to people’s heads, demand their attention here, or otherwise engage posters in the belief they owe us, our client, or anyone else anything at all. People are free to come and go as long as they remain civil. ]

take a good look at what eric has done with his v-board ~ it's simply amazing. (i'm not trying to pit yours against his because as ascetically nice and functional as it is, it's not bill's) [I have – in fact, it provides me with a perfect example I use in teaching what a REAL message board should never become – my students cite lack of functionally, cluttering, and endless drivel, among other issues. Makes great classroom fodder to poke fun at; I actually hope it stays around for a bit… I have several technology classes this term to amuse occasionally.]


i would have replied there but she locked the thread ~ for what it's worth, i fired off an email to lin milano saying i thought it was unprofessional behavior to say that about your board and saying vbulletin is yesterdays news when safesearching still uses vbullten for their celebrity loop board.

i'm sure i'll be banned (probably from here to) but i thought i needed to tell you.