I took a break from the SDMB for over a year and just re-upped about three weeks ago. Why’d I return? Well, about two months ago I started browsing the boards again, seeing threads I really wanted to post to. The Doper community is smart and funny (though there are those who think they’re smarter and funnier than they really are*). Anyway, when I sent TubaDiva an email with a question when I left the SDMB, and though she answered my question, she ended the email with a snide comment about how the boards are a “budget-breaking $0.04 a day”**.
Long story short, this is not the attitude that the administrator of a paysite should be taking. The administrators and moderators feel like they can talk to their customers however they want because the SDMB is crack and we’re all addicts. And, as shown in this thread, most Dopers are extremely quick to defend the administration. Why? What’s in it for you? You don’t get extra bandwidth for your loyalty. There’s no discount in price. Drop the “door, ass, etc.” attitude because paying customers have a right to complain about the service they’re getting. And not a single one of you can refute that. G’head, try. I dare ya.
On the other hand, however, the board has really picked up in the last year or so. I get extremely rare timeouts, if any. Avatars? Images? Who needs 'em? This board is the Russian novel to every other board’s picturebook. If I want images, I’ll browse one of the -chan sites.
Keep in mind that this server supports more people than most boards in the world. If I remember a statistic I read a couple of years back, the SDMB is the eighth most popular message board in the world. Considering any swinging dick on the web can start up his own two-bit boards, that’s pretty impressive.
Are the admins snotty? Yep. Is The Chicago Reader cheap? You bet. Has there been less than honesty regarding new features/board upgrades/etc.? Probably. Is it worth putting up with it for the intelligent conversation, the insightful debate, and the good humor? That’s a call every doper will have to make for him or herself.
Adam
I sometimes fit into this category myself.
** I’m still one of those who felt TD should have been removed after TubaGate.
Better than I could have put it, except for the parts I clipped.
I’ve had timeouts, but not nearly on the scale that I did before the upgrade. There is also the minor problem of threads being [del]deleted[/del] archived, because the database is getting “too full.”
And as far as being one of the biggest? Not even in the top 50, of boards that use vBulletin. Not in the top 100 overall. And that’s using our “65k+” membership, which as we all know isn’t even in the ballpark of accurate. Just in the vBulletin category, we’re beaten by Corvettes, paintball, Disney World, frequent flyers and the German version of Hot or Not.
I agree with **Merkwurdigliebe **and **Mangetout **here. I enjoy this board. I find it entertaining and educational. I visit almost every day, and even (gasp) miss it when I can’t. That said, there are some parts of the service which with I’m not content. The time-outs and search restrictions annoy me. Not enough to quit or rant about them, but they are burrs in the otherwise glossy coat of this thoroughbred.
Here’s my big question, though: Why does The Straight Dope rely so heavily on the Chicago Reader, anyway? I understand that Cecil’s column got its start being published in that free weekly newspaper. However, surely the phenomenon of The Straight Dope (the books and this message board included) far exceed the fame of that local publication? I wouldn’t be surprised if the profits generated by this board (membership fees and Google ads minus board administration costs) exceed the profits the print and online editions of the paper can bring in (advertising minus bricks-and-mortar costs). The mind boggles to think how many people throughout the world appreciate the Dope, but have absolutely no interest in the Reader*. Why should the former stay chained to the latter?
*This isn’t to say there’s something inherently wrong with the Chicago Reader. It’s just that it contains little of interest to those outside the Chicago area, while the Dope’s appeal is international. I mean, as a Montrealer, why would I regularly read about the arts and entertainment scene in Chicago?
Please keep in mind that we’re not employees intended to serve customers. We’re volunteers, and don’t get paid for moderating/administrating the SDMB. We are generally civil, but there are those users who have unreasonable expectations or are just plain snide - what’s our incentive to say “Yes sir, No sir, Three bags full, sir?” This tends to encourage unreasonable expectations even further - you cannot and will not be treated as if moderators are waiters and you’re in a restaurant. The very definition of moderating and enforcing rules prohibits this.
I’m not saying we mean to be rude, but, we’re more along the lines of the lifeguards of the 'Dope. We sit on the side, occasionally go in for a swim, and tweet our whistles when necessary. We can help point out where the showers are, but we’re not making you Mai Tais, and don’t want you to expect that of us.
My unscientific data point added to the pile. I’ve begun copy-pasting my posts into notepad when I try to submit them in case the server hiccups. I haven’t had to do this in a long time.
While I can’t quite agree with the OP’s histrionics, I must admit that the board’s performance is a sore point with me. I only pay for one online service, and the SDMB is it- however, I can’t really tell you just what I’m paying for, other than the nifty “Charter Member” status (which I’m lead to believe will score me really hot chicks, any day now).
I get timeouts almost daily, so much so that I find myself planning around them and ignoring them when they happen. That’s not acceptable, but I’ve pretty much given up hope of ever see it fixed.
I just recently turned down a job in Chicago, and I think it’s telling that one of the entries in the “pro” side of my decision matrix was that I’d be closer, in physical proximity, to the Chicago Reader and therefore might get fewer timeouts.
I’d love to see a breakdown of how much these forums cost the Reader and how much money they’re getting from us for the privilege of using them.
Yeah, I think that’s what I’m talking about. The “big things” in the works that she “had to keep quiet about.”
Please don’t tell me it was the ability to edit posts, which is standard on other message boards and should have been standard here all along. :rolleyes:
this site uses VBulletin, is free, and has loads of interesting stuff…
If it is a database problem then we need to rework it, maybe we could have the older stuff in an archive somewhere that doesn’t automatically get included in searches, etc.?
Are there really THAT many people searching the archives? Only paying members can do that. There can’t be that many paying members searching relative to other boards that allow everyone to search.
Oh, and to throw in my own anecdote - the board has gotten slower for me since I paid to join. Just about every day I get timeouts, etc on a 6Mbits connection.
I get timeouts several times a week using a variety of computers with very fast connections. Often it happens as I am turning the page on a thread and suddenly I have to leave and go do something else until the Dope decides to come back online. It is annoying. I frequently go to another site just to make sure the Internet connection is on and I’m not just being paranoid.
Also when I am looking for something and want to narrow my results, 120 seconds is very long to wait. And it pisses me off when the computer comes back to say you cannot do another search because you still have to wait 1 second (even though the page refresh took 15 seconds). How literal can you get?
My interpretation of the Reader’s attitude is “that this service is so cheap it is practically free, so stop your whining.” I would like to know what price they feel they would need to charge to make this site fast like a “commercial” site.
Oh, come on. The “love it or leave it” argument is a popular pat answer among bosses, landlords, and those who take their side, but it doesn’t wash here. I think there was a general expectation that requiring dues to be paid would (a) somewhat reduce the traffic on the boards, and (b) give the Reader the resources to purchase more equipment for greater bandwidth. This doesn’t seem to be happening, although I will say that the outages, while seemingly more frequent, are shorter in duration.
