LA Times closes its MB

The BBQ Pit
61

Highlander

First warning. See above.

Louie writes:

Because periodically I get these little love notes from my bosses suggesting they are none too happy about pouring a lot of money into the SDMB, and I figured you may as well know.

Let me review a few facts. Keeping this board going costs a fair amount of money. I get paid, for starters. The Chicago Reader, owner of the site, has a sizable tech staff that has been devoting a disproportionate amount of its time to the SDMB. We got hacked, as you know, and the hacker got in because of bug in the MB software (since fixed). The board crashes almost every day and has to be restarted. Since the remote restart feature was shut down after we got hacked, the head tech guy has to drive down to the office for restarts after hours. He is getting less and less enthusiastic about this. We have had to rebuild the server twice. Due to the high volume of traffic we have had to order a second T-1 line, which those of you in the business know is an expensive proposition. It is likely we will have to purchase new MB software soon since the package we’re using now is clearly not up to the demands placed on it.

Naturally we’re not doing this out of the kindness of our hearts. We’d like to make a pile of money on this site someday. But right now we’re not. There are some people in management here who think we never will. What’s more, they see other newspapers with a lot more money and staff than us shutting down their MBs due to “unruly posters.”

My point is that the future of the SDMB is far from assured. This is not a threat, whatever you may think. It won’t be me that shuts this board down. It will be a business decision made by my employers over my protests. I don’t think they’re all that close to making that decision now. But as you can see from my OP, the thought still crosses their minds.

62

No, Ed, it won’t bother you if the thread shuts down. You won’t have all the unwashed to pull from for the next book.

Why the warning to Highlander? For being Melin’s Hubby? Geez, Tuba, for those that don’t know, I am Majormd’s hubby too.

Btw – the snopes message board has about a third of the traffic this one does (www.snopes.com), yet they have real live ads … of course they value their posters – nahhh no connection.

63

Of course I meant if the board shut down…

64

Ed, not to sound harsh, but you and the rest of the world, guy. Your company isn’t doing this out of the kindness of its heart any more than Amazon.com’s investors are watching a torrent of red ink gush forth out of the kindness of theirs. But Jeff Bezos at least tries to put a brave face on things and certainly doesn’t bitch about how his potential earnings flow is generated by a bunch of ingrates.

Further, if you were thinking to make any threats, I wouldn’t take them too seriously anyway. It sounds as if CR has invested too much in this message board to back out now, since what other web presence do they have, anyway?

Look, I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, but I’d like to suggest that you might rethink your business strategy and your own role in it. If you indeed are Cecil, I’m almost certain that your creative energies are being drained here, thus incurring substantial damage to this board’s raison d’etre. Why not put a moratorium on the BBQ pit and maybe even MPSIMS, and keep it down to Comments, GQ, and Mailbag. Keeping the discussions entirely fact based, with no profanity, and with (initially strict, but gradually loosening) restrictions on OT threads, would enable you to draw up a set of clear and easily-enforcible rules. And once you have those rules in place, you would have no worries in farming out administration to some volunteer moderators with minimal oversight.

Just a suggestion.

Your Doghouse Reilly

65

I think the warning to Highlander was for calling Ed an asshole and saying that he wants to kick us off (“one at a time or in bunches”). But your conspiracy theory makes more sense. :rolleyes:

And if you hadn’t been paying attention, the Chicago Reader has been working to sell advertising space here. The reason they haven’t before seems to be that they really haven’t minded spending money on this. I have never had the impression that the administration of this board doesn’t value its posters.

If Ed didn’t want this board here for anything other than getting material for books, I’m sure he would be running a vastly different message board. And what exactly is the problem with Ed expecting some cooperation in making this board financially viable for the Reader? You’d think that he was expecting every post to close with “…for the glory of Ed Zotti.” by the reaction he’s getting.

66

I forgot about Great Debates. Your call, since I don’t participate in those threads much anyway. Perhaps the rules of debate are clear enough, and the moderators levelheaded and impartial enough, that you could leave it to them with minimal oversight as well.

DHR

67

Hey Ed,

FWIW, I know where you are coming from.

I worked for my father as an inside sales rep in his company.

(relating to your second post in this thread)

A woman came in to my father’s business, proceeded to yell and scream at me.

His office was right next to my desk.

He calmly came out an asked this lady to leave, calmly, but firm and told her that no one talks to his employees this way. It was all I could do to keep from strangling the lady, thank God my father heard the woman yelling at me.

I am not trying to make good with any admin or mod in here, but much of what is happening on this thread is the same kind of thing.

If you were attacking my employees I would ask you to leave too.

What it comes down to people is, quit your sniveling, The Chicago Reader owns this site. If you insult people (employees) or become an unwelcome member of the group, they have every right to take steps towards getting rid of your presence here. This is THEIR site, you don’t own it…if you want to further it’s financial concerns, then send in a check and quit whining.

Besides, what the hell is the big deal about his OP??? I still don’t get why people are getting all worked up over it!

I am getting pissed over the whining over his post.

68

Excuse me, but aren’t some of you people being just a little touchy ?

This place is great - I completely agree with SingleDads praise.

The OP is a reminder that other boards have been shut down, mainly due to lack of an enforced “Don’t be a jerk” rule. I have to admit that I saw absolutely no threats, thinly veiled or otherwise. Ed stated a fact. You might even say that per extension, he asked people to not behave like jerks on this MB.

Whatever else you read into that message is your own problem. You do realise, I hope, that CR could decide to close this board the instant they saw fit - and they wouldn’t owe you (or me, or any other poster) as much an explanation, much less an apology.

Ed & the mods are trying to keep this place alive, OK ? And some of you are not helping…

Norman

69

I have absolutely no clue why people get all PO’d over Eds OP. (Ha! That looks clever.)

It seems like some of the more disgruntled posters found another stick to beat the MB and its administration with. Sad, pathetic and unnecessary. In this respect, however, I would like to state that Tubadiva’s first post in this thread was unnecessary as well. With all due respect, of course. If they’re pissing you off deliberately, ban them. But don’t provoke them to join you in a public shouting match. It is a complete waste of time and, IMHO, depreciates the image I have of all the participants in said shouting match.

Just another honest opinion… for what it’s worth, I wouldn’t like to be in Ed’s position right now. He’s being shouted at from both sides, whereas all he’s trying to do is to guide this MB to more quiet waters. Keep up the good work Ed.

Defect borg:
“Refutile is sistance. Your ass will be simulated”.

WallyM7 on Coldfire:
"Yeah, he knows a little about everything because they have a good prison library."

70

Not that I’m biased (of course) but …

How come you guys piss on Ed when he doesn’t let you know the details about private issues happening on the board, then piss on him again when he does?

I don’t have any inside information, but if I were running the CR, I’d be about two seconds away from having the plug pulled. This much BS for this little return? Forget it.

Saint Eutychus H.M.S.H.
" ‘He is a prince’ , the minstrels sing.
Among men, yes. Among fools he is a king."
Disney Shorts
The Eutychus Papers

71

there goes the neighbourhood…

72

OK, either its the behavior of the posters ( which I thought was pretty good lately) or its the money thing.

If its the money, let me know, I’ll send you my resume…selling ad space is what I do, and I am damn good at it!

If its the behavior…thats different. Dont use the money thing to try and coax people into behaving - (as a parent, I can tell you this wont work). Personally, I would suggest that when you make announcements like this, MAKE THEM, then lock the thread. If people want to talk, let them email each other…its way more owork, and stuff will die down faster.

slythe, Krispy was not at all antagonistic in his posts, he was more restrained than I have ever seen him, and he raises a valid point. If Ed is unhappy, maybe there is someone else at the CR willing to take this on. It was just an idea.

Coldfire: by leaving this thread open to comments, speculation, and debate, Mr Zotti gave them the stick.

I was serious about the advertising…
I might actually have someone who would be interested. Email me if you want any help Ed.

73

[quote]
Originally posted by Spiny Norman:
**I have to admit that I saw absolutely no threats, thinly veiled or otherwise. Ed stated a fact. You might even say that per extension, he asked people to not behave like jerks on this MB.

Whatever else you read into that message is your own problem.**

Say that I work in a post office, and my coworkers have been real assholes to me lately. Say that they strongly suspect that I’m approaching the point of burnout. Then, one day, I stand up in the break room, ask everyone for their undivided attention, calmly state, “You know, I have a gun at home,” and then sit down. How would that statement be interpreted? Simply as a statement of fact? Whatever else that my coworkers might read into that statement, would that simply be “their problem”?

OK, it’s an extreme example, but it illustrates the valid concern of context. Ed has been increasingly thin-skinned and snappish lately, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I get a “warning” for posting this message. But I have to say that, as a professional manager myself, Ed’s heavyhanded implication–here’s something that my boss gave me, it looks like they’re considering whether the MB is worth the trouble, ooh, I’m scared, Ed, you’re doing such a great job, please protect us from your big bad bosses!–is singlularly wimpy. Given the great board we have here and the great selection of participants we have (at least until recently), can’t Ed find any other way to elicit cooperation other than whining about his office politics?

Forgive me, but I do think that this is a crock of s__t. The LA Times might be able to afford to drop its message board at the drop of a hat, since, as a real newspaper, it has other content to offer on the web. Nah, CR has too much invested in this already, and only in the most extreme case would they eliminate the MB entirely. (Such as in the face of litigation threats, but from what I’ve read so far, it seems that these fears have been exaggerated mightily.)

I do think it would be a good idea to get things under control by trimming back the MB by adopting my suggestions above. Given that the CR has evidently overextended itself in this MB’s current form, but since it can’t afford to completely drop the thing either, I actually think that this will end up being Ed’s only option.

DHR

74

Whew!

Golly, people, that’s an awful lot of fireworks for such a tiny speck of OP gunpowder.
And to think that I slept through it.
Hey, call me next time, willya?
:rolleyes:

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen

75

I agree with SingleDad 100%. This entire thread (along with others from the recent past) will make for a great sociological study. How a bunch of presumably intelligent individuals can act in such a petty and childlike fashion over an Internet message board is beyond me. Aren’t there more important things to get banned for?

Griping over the administration of the board has nothing to do with the search for Truth, and is only marginally related to reducing ignorance. And the only reduction of ignorance appears to occur when those irrationally upset about Mr. Zotti’s passing on a bit of information (implied threat or not, doesn’t really matter…) get banned…

76

I agree with everyone who says that the OP was just a friendly reminder to stick to the rules. That’s cool, but, keeping in mind that tone is everything and tone is so easy to misconstrue in this format, I think this whole “blow-up” could have been avoided had Ed replaced “'Nuff said.” with one sentence that stated, “This is just a friendly reminder to take a look at the rules if you don’t remember them and make sure you stick to them.” The “'nuff said” apparently wasn’t and was taken as a threat by some people.

Ed and the other administrators and moderators should have some responsibility to be above the crowd and take as many steps necessary to word things in a way that won’t be misunderstood. Although there will always be some people who are just obtuse (and those people should be banned if they break the rules), I think there will be less people getting all riled up if more diplomacy is used in dealing with us lowly MB users. It can’t be surprising that people react negatively to being told to stop “mouthing off”.

77

Let’s go a little easy on Ed, after all, Hij heeft zijn kop niet TE ver in zijn reet zitten.

You know?

You’d think that Superman would be a good person to invite to a barbecue but trust me, he’s not. I mean, sure he can cook the hot dogs fast with his heat vision, but they all taste of charred eye boogers.

78

I’m just piping in to echo SingleDad and Coldfire.

Good grief, people, get a grip. Don’t ruin it for the rest of us.

Teaching: The ultimate birth control method.

Laura’s Stuff and Things

79

ROTFL. The LA Times, a real newspaper? Well, at least it’s respected more than USA Today. I guess.

80

Concerning the OP:

Isn’t it just a little ironic that a bunch or hippie/alternative types are concerned about the actions of the stuffed shirts at the LA Times? :slight_smile:

Next you’ll be telling me that the CR execs traded in their VW Microbus for a BMW…