The truth in this case being what you believe to be true, at any rate. That's what it all comes down to in the end: perception. People see what they want to see and ignore the rest. If you see something wrong with the forum, why not try to improve things? Every bit helps.
So you really do think that I want this place to suck? A forum I've loved and have remained loyal to for 21 months. Perception is good point, but I disagree with people only seeing what they want to see. People calling me names, implying that I'm stupid, etc...How am I supposed to imagine that as not mean? And this is not just about me either. We do get new members daily, that's true enough, but how many actually stay and remain active? I've seen people put up farewell threads within weeks of joining. It is fun to help, though there's very little members can do since it's all up to staff in the end. It's nice to see a few of my ideas built into the site, but if you check out a few of my suggestion threads, you may see what I was talking about. It's almost like it's wrong to care, to be passionate, and sensitive.
I don't want this place to suck either this is the second MLP fan forum I joined after being banned from Canterlot.com for stupid reasons I don't even remember plus i've talked to and made friends with more people on here than I did on Canterlot.com so I definetly don't want this place to start becoming sucky either.
If your ideas are so unheard, why not ask to join the review team? Staff can't put every idea they get into the site, it's just not possible. If some of your suggestions have made it into the site, then that shows it can be done. If they didn't care at all, there'd be nothing there that you've suggested. Stuff like this doesn't belong in a thread, if there are issues with the staff, take it to them directly. PM them, inform them on Skype. A lot of the time I see people who haven't complained to the staff about their problems, then complain when they're not solved. Seriously, there's been a couple of staff reviews, and several instances where staff have asked people to join a review team. I don't know what possibly more they can do other than add every user to the staff. When it comes to staff not watching MLP, there's no strict guideline that says they have to, but they definitely do not have the right to air it so drastically out in public. When they start bashing the show, or making others feel depressed and bad about themselves for watching it, i.e. how the fandom's apparently "falling apart", then they're in the wrong. I do think that needs to be addressed for some staff members. They've organised karaoke nights, competitions, review teams, staff reviews, livestream events, and it's not their fault if only a small amount of users actually participate. They won't force anyone to do anything. They can't make people take part, the users themselves have to choose to partake in it. I'm sorry, but to say they're not passionate and sensitive is a huge over-reaction in my opinion. I left the staff because quite frankly, most of the people were irritating me, there was too much stress for it to be worth it, and real life stuff started getting in the way in a way that I could not ignore. I am probably one of the last people you'd expect to be defending the staff. I know what it's like, and I can tell you now, every single decision they make is based off of what they think will be the best for users. They can't please everyone, they can only try to help the majority. Sometimes, they get it wrong, yes, and I'm sure they're working on that. But they try. The sad truth is forums in general are becoming less popular, I'm not surprised people keep coming and going what with Skype and other networking sites being quicker and easier. All the staff can do, is try. *EDIT* Staff though, you're meant to be the responsible ones here, the ones who stay calm, try to explain things in a nice way, and treat the users with respect. If you can't do that, then there's a reason why people think you're not sensitive. /post Enjoy this gif of a happy horse.
Ok, the fact that you're being bullied really troubles me. If it's happening on the site, please report the post, PM, wherever it's happening. Or even take a screenshot and send it in a PM to a mod or admin. What you described is not ok, and should be dealt with. As for the problems keeping new members, Poetic raises a lot of good points on that front. We've tried so many different techniques and ways of getting everyone on the site involved, and typically got just a small turnout. We can't force anyone to participate or stick around on the site, and we won't. All we can do is keep trying to find other ways and hope that they draw in a good amount of the site's members.
Ok, we're getting seriously off-topic now. Discussions related to the site or the staff running it should be placed in Site Discussion. As for this thread, I think we can lock this.
