Thanks, Ed; I’m glad you were big enough to admit your mistakes and resolve them.
I agree. Kudos to you, Ed, and thanks for the comprehensive explanation. I’ve noticed with appreciation the attempts that have been made over the last few months to upgrade and improve the board, and the decisions you’ve made to accomodate the board’s membership during the rough spots over the last year or so.
I’ve never been one to comment on mod issues nor on the board’s technical issues, but I’ve long found myself feeling not only sympathy for Jerry’s plight but appreciation as well. Why I’ve not expressed that sympathy and appreciation I couldn’t say, but now is clearly the time to do so.
So big-time kudos to you, too, Jerry, and please know that I’ve suspected for some time that you’ve very likely been working just as hard and long as Ed just said you have. So in addition to kudos for a job that I feel is being done about as well as it possibly could be, let me thank you too for the long hours and effort you’ve been putting in to get that job done, as well.
Ed, I would ask that you reconsider the no-warning aspect of administration criticism, though. I believe a policy like the ones already in place, in which someone who is going too far and acting like a jerk gets a warning first, and then if that warning is not heeded banning them would be perfectly understandable. As it is, I fear the no-warning policy is going to be an unnecessarily inhibiting factor for the board’s posters and one that will engender resentment which may very well come out in other troublesome ways.
Again, thanks very much to you both.
Does that mean, “Wait until next week’s episode!!” :eek:
Thanks.
I like the sound of the additional sites and am looking forward to seeing them.
GT
Ed Two thumbs up! If you didn’t get upset, you would not be human.
Jerry Dude, you rock. It can be a bitch when things don’t go well, you sure don’t need a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks riding your case.
Thank you.
Be nice if some of the pilers on could do the same thing. Takes two sides for a train wreck, usually. :eek:
And I wish someone had let us all know the extent of the situation at the Reader with the IT staff, etc. Maybe someone did and I missed the post, but I certainly had no idea that Jerry’s staff was dismissed, etc. Makes it seem to me more amazing that Jerry is willing to do this Board crap that obviously isn’t just a matter of tossing a few CD’s in a slot and sitting back while the machine whines and hums.
/J.R., after a spectacular spat w/SueEllen
Mamah, Daddah, I’m sorry you had to see that.
You said so repeatedly and of course you are correct, but do you admit that this creates a certain expectation of professionalism and - sorry - you (collective you) did not always live up to that? Performance and reliability were unimpressive. The care that was visible to us seemed almost palliative. The overall evolution of the board happened at a glacial pace and emergency fixes for the recurring corruption issues combined the deletion of posts and the limitation of the search actually created the impression that the board regressed. Add to this years of not-quite-promises that remained empty for a long time. I realize that a lot happened in the last few days and more will follow. I also understand that much of that wasn’t your personal fault and I believe you that Jerry does good work - when he works on the board. However I get the impression that criticism that might be excessive in one particular moment is in part the result of a less than stellar record of the operators/owners of the board (not necessarily you personally, certainly not Jerry or the Moderators.) This wouldn’t be such a problem if you offered those services out of the goodness of your heart but you don’t. You can’t have it both ways. If this is a business then you have to face the fact that you have been delivering a flawed product - perhaps without any personal fault.
Good to hear it. Thanks, Ed, we appreciate it.
Thanks, Ed.
Um, I meant the Dallas in the film Alien who gets chewed up in the ventilator shaft. 
Well, glad that’s over.
I love you all.
Especially you, Ed.
Thanks, Ed. I appreciate this place more than I can really say, and I hoped there would be a reasonable resolution to this whole brouhaha - and there was. As I posted in one of the earlier threads, I am absolutely thrilled with all of the work Jerry has been doing, especially bringing back the old archived threads. I am quite sure I am not alone in this, either. Thanks, jdavis.
Is there a possibility that we here on the Dope could help? For example, by having an Amnesia Week while problems are ironed out on the “real” database? That could take the pressure off of Jerry and give him some time. I’ve spent thirty years in IT; I know it’s not easy, and I have not criticized Jerry and wouldn’t dream of doing so. I also have not complained of paying for subscriptions, and in fact would actually prefer to continue to even though for me it happens to be a real financial strain, and I may end up having to ask for help next year at the re-up.
But if there’s any single profession that I’m willing to bet on being disproportionately represented on the SDMB, it would be IT professionals. There may well be members here who not only could, but would be happy to lend a hand. Although I’ve been unable to work for a couple of years now, I’m an Oracle head, and still pretty good at Oracle SQL, but I gather you’re not using that. But there must be others that are using your platform - you can get advice on anything here, from particle physics to collecting silver spoons to fly fishing to robust discussions of Jane Austen! Maybe there are even experts in the Chicago area who could lend a hand. (Sometimes it’s not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of hands that’s the bottleneck).
We’re a potential resource, and most of us would like to be of some help. Why don’t you try us?
In any case, I’m very happy to see that you, Ed, decided to rollback a decision made more in emotion than in thought, and I think it took great courage to admit it. Thank you, and well done!
Thank you for your honesty, sir. I know it’s not easy publicly admitting stuff like that.
Watching the drama today, my imagination went into overtime.
I feared that the board was going to change:
I was beginning to speculate that the-powers-that-be decided to begin reshaping the board, to fit a model that they felt might make it easier to draw sponsors.
With that goal in mind, the board might have been steered toward a type of board where only the vetted and approved folks give answers to questions from the peanut gallery. The board needed to be seen as a nice, non-offensive, and “safe” place to invest money in.
As such, it would have become more of an “ask MR. Wizard” site, with little interaction between posters and answerers. IOW: A respectable, somewhat well known, reliable source of info on the interwebz, but otherwise dull, with no unseemly controversy or displays of anger to turn away a potential sponser browsing the website anonymously.
When I became a paid member, I did so because of the interaction I saw going on between posters from a bunch of different backgrounds and areas of expertise, all chatting it up with each other with a sense of decorum and (mostly) mutual respect for each other, a refreshing change from the more or less out of control places I’ve dabbled in before here. (Passions are indeed high this Presidential election cycle, however. Heh.)
I sincerely hope (and I realise that I am one small voice in the teeming millions, not a real source of revenue) that the board style remain the one that drew me in.
Thanks, Ed. I love this board and after today feared that thing were changing in a bad way.
I too, appreciate Jerry’s efforts. As I’m not an IT type, programmer or DBA, I wouldn’t dream of knocking his efforts. Sometimes things just don’t go smoothly. With that said, I know people have offered help or suggestions, is it that hard to acknowledge or accept them? Even if they’ve been tried, or just won’t work, I think a little acknowledgement would be nice. That’s all…
I hope tomorrow is a better day.
Me, too. And we’ve got quite a variety in Thailand, hehehe.
You picking up his airfare also?
Thank you, Ed. I wouldn’t complain about Jerry, and thank you to him, too.