I'm not trying to discredit the opposition. I think they do a pretty good job of that on their own. I'm not picking sides here because I honestly don't care which direction things go. Don't know Christopher and have never met him. I've only been back here about 5 times in the last 4 years.
I was around, however, when the FuseTalk was updated - and there was a riot (And there was usually a riot every time an incremental upgrade occured). I was also around when the change to VB happened - and there was a riot. I was also around when the SwapMeet changed - and there was a riot. You may be seeing a pattern here. I was simply commenting that this happens every time. And as an aside, it's usually the same people leading the revolt.
As a moderator, you can't banter with the membership because then you are asking for everyone to question every decision you will ever make. I invite you all to open your own site, add 30,000 users and try to play referee. People will say the damndest things perched behind their keyboards. It really isn't that fun reading through every thread trying to pick out (sometimes highly) objectionable material or looking for morons who post **** on a site with this much traffic.
I do, however, find all this angst aimed at me pretty entertaining. It doesn't matter what I say, MPS, MtnDoo, and their ilk will go after me. They perceive me as the enemy because anyone who disagrees with their position is not only wrong, but stupid (and they probably just don't like me, the person they've never met). They'll grasp at straws and shoot back the obligatory "I know you are, but what am I?" (which has already happened a couple times). I don't take what they say personal because I have no clue who they are. In real life I'm sure they're nice enough guys. There is just something about anonymity and distance that gives people the confidence to say whatever may strike the brain.
But the fact is that they're still not really privy to all the information involved in making the decisions for the direction of the forum. I understand that a lot of people here feel like SnoWest is their home and they feel like their home is being bulldozed. But this is a business, and I'm guessing that Harris Publishing is in a better position to decide how best to monetize their assets. User feedback is important, but not dispositive. At some point, they have to make a decision and push towards it.
Perhaps people could refrain from launching personal attacks at the owners and accusing them of poor business management. Or they could voice their displeasure once, instead of writing the same thing half a million times and attacking anyone who might disagree with them. If you're really that displeased by the direction, then go start your own site and have a go at it. If it really is a bad business decision, then SnoWest forums will fold and you'll all end up on your feet at some other forum. I doubt it will happen, but prognosticators will be prognosticators.
