Good, I’m glad that this action has been taken by Ed.
More importantly, after many years of membership here, I am glad to have learned something important.
It’s Ed’s board.
And Ed’s clearly more than willing to do as he pleases, including shamelessly shilling his personal projects with no greater justification than, “It’s my board and I can do what I like.”
And the moderators all line up to echo the sentiment.
I used to have nothing but respect for Ed Zotti and the moderation of this board.
While I still respect the job the moderators do, I don’t think I’ll ever see Ed, or them, in the same light, again.
It’s always disappointing to discover people you respect are not who you thought they were, of course. But I’m a strong believer in the adage; ‘When people show you who they really are, your job is to see.’
So thanks for showing us something about what you’re all really about, that had previously been cleverly concealed.
Which is why a lot of people avoid meeting their heroes. I want to hear David Bowie say… well, sing, preferably, “This is Ground Control to Major Tom”, not, “I like these pine cupboards.”!
Too fucking bad. That’s the very definition of a customer service job. People give you all kinds of shit that you don’t deserve, and instead of getting up in their faces about it, you smile and give polite responses to the best of your ability, because you represent your employer.
You start to deserve it when your default response to any customer complaint is “You are the gum underneath my shoes. Fuck off.” Not everyone can do customer service jobs. I know I’m one of those people, because I’ve tried. TubaDiva is apparently one of those people, too.
The trouble is, there is a certain segment here that wants it both ways. When it fits their purpose, the SD is a business, and they are customers who deserve respect, but then when the SD acts like a business and does something to try to increase the money flow, then they have no right to do so because this is a community that was built by the members.
Also, any business that I have been involved with has a line that, if the costumer crosses it, the customer will be invited to take their business somewhere else. I think some of the posters upset about all of this crossed that line.
If the SDMB were going to reorganize and set up subforums based upon areas of popular interest, such as computers, automobile problems, cats, zombies, and so forth, letting the main forums remain as catch-alls for threads which have no other home, I’d applaud. Other boards are structured that way, and it does make things easier, in that you can skip what doesn’t interest you and click on your personal faves.
Had a new forum called ‘home improvement’ appeared, sans book shilling, no bitching would have resulted.
It is nice to see Ed being honest, though. Over in ATMB, he says that it’s his job to manage the board so it makes money. Nothing wrong with that. However, he also says that some things aren’t going to happen because he’s personally opposed to them. Contradictions, anyone?
My business makes money because I deliver what people want, or courteously refer them to a vendor better able to serve their needs.
Do what you want, Ed. It’s your P&L to explain to Ben and co. at CL. But if you think your way is the only way, you’re living in a vacuum, and keeping a few obsequious people empowered who are consistently insolent to your customers is a deeply flawed business model.
I see no contradiction but, then again, I’m one of those management types who has to see both sides of the picture at the same time every day.
Ed doesn’t like teh Sparkley Fonts? Ed doesn’t put the Sparkley Fonts on the board. Creative Loafing wants the Sparkley Fonts? Ed makes his case about distraction, distinction, a image of professionalism but, if CL wants Sparkley Fonts then Ed puts Sparkley Fonts on the board.
As a manager, our job is to turn the machine and crank out the dimes. We all have personal vision and personal ethics that affects the way we envision the machine turning, but there are always things called “The Big Rules” that higher ups maintain and we must make our vision fit within these lines. True thinking outside the box is finding a way to fit our visions within the constraints of The Big Rules and flexing our creative muscles to move vertically instead of horizontally to meet our vision all while maintaining ethics and values.
I think that seeing Ed respond to our Green Ink pissing and moaning about the new forum by saying “Hang on, I’ve got a plan.” rather than responding with “Whatever, it’s my fucking board, deal with it.” definitely shows leadership, professionalism and a level of personal ethics that I can respect. Seeing some of the mods give in to the urge to do otherwise lessens my respect for them but not by much, if they were imbued with such morals and values then the calls would be theirs instead of his. Our actions relay our experience level and disclose where we lie in the hierarchy, but they also tell us what direction to work on for improvement.
I think the moral here is that the administration and management of this board doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game, and that it’s possible to respond to criticism in a way that satisfies {almost} everybody: if this board does wish to attract more revenue through members, the way to do it is not the old-fashioned kneejerk combativeness which just serves to alienate people. TubaDiva mentioned showing respect for Ed: well, he’s got my respect now for the grace and sense he’s shown in creatively handling criticism of his pet project The Barn House without simply going off the deep end, and in the next controversy that arises, well, he’s earned a hell of a lot of goodwill from me - and, I suspect, a lot of other posters - that TubaDiva and Samclem haven’t.
That line is defined by the rules of this message board, as laid out in the Membership Agreement. Anything short of that warrants something a little more professional than “Fuck off” or “Deal with it”.
Hey, some people take the red pill, some people take the blue pill. I’ve had the red pill for most of my life, decided to take the blue pill for a while. Probably end up on the red one again eventually, either that or Lexapro or something.
Oh, I took the opportunity to touch up your post, you’re welcome (by the way, did you ever look that phrase up?).
I can’t see what upsets some people about the addition of another forum.
Frankly, I’m glad that Ed is playing with the formula a little. Heck, even shilling doesn’t upset me. (Finally, I think the new forum looks kind of fun.)
Anything that advances the “Fighting Ignorance” brand, even indirectly, is a Good Thing in my estimation.
I know I’m late to this discussion but I think most of us are in agreement that it’s not so much what he did as how he did it. I realize it might not be intentional but the incredulity expressed in this thread over people being upset that a new forum was added is a strawman.
