I never get involved in this kind of stuff, but I wanted to pop in and throw my support out to Otto.
Bullshit call, Ed.
This is a stressful time, and the insults directed at Jerry were way out of line. But that has to be the flimsiest excuse for a banning I’ve ever seen.
I’ll be taking some time off from the boards due to this, and I’m not sure I’ll be back.
Be well, all.
Ed, take a day off and get your head straight, man.
In the other companion thread, i.e. the TubaDiva pitting, Borborygmi posted that this was a board-changing moment for him “in fact, a brand-changing moment”. He pretty much nailed my sentiments. Ed went from being really cool to spoiled brat. Nothing short of an apology will fix it for me. Reinstating Otto’s posting priveleges alone wouldn’t. I would start an IMHO about it because I am genuinely curious whether others feel the same. But apparently that’s not allowed anymore.
Well it is Ed’s sandbox. I’m not sure that I want to play in it anymore.
No doubt. I think he’s bitchy because his vanity forum wasn’t accepted cheeringly by the masses and took a nosedive. Somebody call a waaaahmbulance.
I’m not trying to single you out here, Dave, since many others have asked the same thing. But, honestly, do you really think Otto (and everybody else who’s been here more than a couple days) doesn’t already know the answer to such a question?
Bannings will continue until morale improves!
If Jerry needs more time to get the server working right, why don’t we have an Amnesia Week, or whatever it takes? I mean, seriously, nobody should be bitching about Jerry (and I kinda doubt anyone is, directly - they’re more likely bitching about a nebulous “they”), and if he needs more time, he should get more time. Heck, if it means going back to the old server for a week, then we should hook up to the old server while the new one gets straightened out. I don’t know the nature of the problems they’re having - whether it’s the database or the communications, so I don’t know what steps are necessary to be able to fix them.
In any case, obviously Otto’s banning was, to say the least, a tad hasty. Does anyone know if something in particular happened today to put Ed in a pet?
So I say, “Hey, guys-what’s going on-the board hasn’t been working for the last day or so-what gives?”
And I’m told, “Yeah, well, we’re working on it, deal with it,” I’m going to be annoyed.
If you think Otto’s comment was a personal attack, you obviously haven’t been hanging around here nearly enough. Or else YOUR head is stuffed so far up Ed’s ass you’re licking his rib cage.
Otto should have been banned a long time ago.
If his banning is the harbringer of real enforcement of the “Don’t be a jerk” rule returning, I’m all for it.
Well, you can know the answer is “No. TubaDiva is going to be as rude as she wants to to you and you’d better bend over and take it like a man if you want to hang out here. Please go fuck yourself.” and think it’s of value to discuss it. In other words, Otto was being optimistic.
I have to chime in here and agree… even in my passive, lurk-for-entertainment approach to this board over the past few years, Otto became a recognizable name for me. Not that I always agreed or disagreed with what he was saying, but he was recognizable, and he never struck me as a problem poster.
Otto’s banning was simply an abuse of power by an administrator looking to lash out and assert his dominance. While I know that Ed Zotti is largely responsible for the creation of this board, it seems wrong for somebody with such a small role in the day-to-day management of the SDMB to make such an extreme rule. He should know as well as anybody that this place has rules that are not only appropriate but very well enforced by people who have a significantly lower financial stake in what happens here. People love this place for how well it works. The message board equivalent of martial law is the exact wrong stance to take.
Ed, loosening the grip wouldn’t hurt. You have a legitimate complaint. This transition is stressful. Everybody will acknowledge that. But banning a long time contributor and ostracizing a non-trivial number of important posters in the process? Jesus. Put down the sword, buddy, and grab a cocktail. Let’s let this cool off before childish, stupid shit destroys the place from the ground up.
Do you say that as a poster or a mod?
Remember, I’m no fan of Otto.
Seconded, we need clarification on this. Until now, AFAIK, it’s usually been the posters who call one another on junior modding, with a notable exception or two.
You’re the nurse, you call 
The recent bitching may have been out of line, but it’s far from unexpected really. There always seems to be someone complaining about performance, even when things are flowing smoothly, and the last few days have shown the worst performance I’ve seen since before PtP. I’d be more shocked if no one had been complaining.
Unprofessional.
That’s really the only way you can describe Ed Zotti’s behavior today. He has no respect for the contributions made by those people who make this board worth going to.
If Ed Zotti doesn’t give a shit about the board (other than as a place to shill his books) then he ought to just shut it down and we concerned members can easily pick up the pieces. He acts like he’s doing us a favor by keeping this board running when in reality running a vBulletin board isn’t fucking rocket science.
Today will be remembered as the day where this board truly jumped the shark. Nobody wants to talk somewhere they will be censored.
I’m still paying, as many others are 15 dollars a year for this treatment. He claims to want a place that is about “fighting ignorance” That tends to draw a certain kind of person. It tends to draw people who don’t believe dogmatic bullshit, and also those who greatly value being given the truth. In the columns Ed has done nothing but give the truth as he saw it, but on these boards, we’ve been kept in the dark about the nature of the system, and why it suffers such poor performance. If the board were a car, it would be a lemon. Why oh why does every other board out there on the internet work completely fine except this one? People aren’t stupid.
If Ed or Jerry had been completely honest about the situation ( other than ‘we’re working on it’) then we wouldn’t be here. Paying members tend to get pissed when shit doesn’t work.
So yes, it’s the disrespect from Ed which is pissing people off. His lack of interest or patience for the board clearly shows he doesn’t see much value in it other than the amount of money it can make him. This would describe his erratic behavior
I’m not a mod anymore.
This is the worst banning I’ve ever seen on this board.
I’ve never complained about this board before, but I think Otto’s banning was uncalled-for, and I sincerely hope the administration reconsiders.
No, YOU spare us. Otto didn’t attack anyone. He simply asked a fucking question in a way that was so far away from the usual Otto snark, that I didn’t even read it as snark. I don’ t see where he was whining about anything.
I have NEVER complained about board performance, admins, mods or their decisions. Not once in 9 goddamned years! But I’m *pissed off *about Otto’s banning.
As much as it pains me to say this and I say it with a lot of sadness, but a hell of a lot of anger–I’m out of here unless Ed comes to his senses. I thought I’d be here forever, too. 
Sorry. I retract.
I’m not sure I’ve ever complained about a mod or admin action (I might have, but don’t recall it offhand) but I find this to be a bad move.
I know what it’s like to have your customers whine and bitch, I’ve been in CS or sales for 15 years and have worked as a GM in an online game for the last 4. Every move being criticized and whined about is just par for the course. I know how it is when you’ve dealt with it for a long time and see snark that quite likely isn’t even really there.
I’m just asking that you reconsider this move.