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IMPORTANT NEW RULE: What CAN and CAN'T be posted here
- Thread starter topjimmy
- Start date
Without promoting nor specifying any particular site, there are other sites people have fled to and don't have the shortcomings you cited, so it would be much harder to attract those people to come back.
I see it seems some of your post history have been restored as well, are you able to recall/tell if threads and replies that were directly deleted got restored? Having content is still the primary appeal to favor any particular site.
I see it seems some of your post history have been restored as well, are you able to recall/tell if threads and replies that were directly deleted got restored? Having content is still the primary appeal to favor any particular site.
All content that were legit, respectful, etc. and not spam, trolling or otherwise are being restored.
The members and the content is what makes this board, and though the SF section in particular, veered off-track (or more accurately, completely derailed), the quality of information and more importantly, the camaraderie and sense of community of liked-minded members makes this board quite unique.
Yes, there are always things to improve on, but we hope that the SF section gets back on track, with both new and returning members alike.
We’re all here to have fun and help each other, and we all need to keep sight of that.
Don’t hesitate to reach out directly if you have any questions or comments…it might take a bit of time, but I almost always respond to PMs.
The members and the content is what makes this board, and though the SF section in particular, veered off-track (or more accurately, completely derailed), the quality of information and more importantly, the camaraderie and sense of community of liked-minded members makes this board quite unique.
Yes, there are always things to improve on, but we hope that the SF section gets back on track, with both new and returning members alike.
We’re all here to have fun and help each other, and we all need to keep sight of that.
Don’t hesitate to reach out directly if you have any questions or comments…it might take a bit of time, but I almost always respond to PMs.
You would have to ask him about that, though I don’t think he’s on the site anymore.
Look, what happened, happened under our watch, so for that, we accept responsibility and blame for our major fuck up.
I realize lots of upstanding members were banned for no reason or without warning, or reasons so trivial that it’s ridiculous…created confusion and bewilderment and hard feelings. Guys were disrespected, treated like children, with an intent to instill fear of being banned.
That’s not at all what this community and board is about, and as part of the staff for the past 3 years (and a member of the board for almost 5 years), I apologize to all the members that were disrespected and treated so poorly. Even if it other mods weren’t involved directly, this is on all of us.
We’re well under way to correct all the wrongs…we’re reinstating banned members, undeleting wiped out reviews and content, and approving rejected/banned reviews so that members earn access credit that starts today and will accrue on top of existing balances.
And you have our personal assurance that we will do better, and though it might take some time to repair all the damage, it will be corrected, and not happen again moving forward.
Feel free to PM me whenever. Those who know me or have interacted with me would hopefully say that I’m relatively reasonable and fair, and that I respond to any and all inquiries.
Look, what happened, happened under our watch, so for that, we accept responsibility and blame for our major fuck up.
I realize lots of upstanding members were banned for no reason or without warning, or reasons so trivial that it’s ridiculous…created confusion and bewilderment and hard feelings. Guys were disrespected, treated like children, with an intent to instill fear of being banned.
That’s not at all what this community and board is about, and as part of the staff for the past 3 years (and a member of the board for almost 5 years), I apologize to all the members that were disrespected and treated so poorly. Even if it other mods weren’t involved directly, this is on all of us.
We’re well under way to correct all the wrongs…we’re reinstating banned members, undeleting wiped out reviews and content, and approving rejected/banned reviews so that members earn access credit that starts today and will accrue on top of existing balances.
And you have our personal assurance that we will do better, and though it might take some time to repair all the damage, it will be corrected, and not happen again moving forward.
Feel free to PM me whenever. Those who know me or have interacted with me would hopefully say that I’m relatively reasonable and fair, and that I respond to any and all inquiries.
I think a lot of us are genuinely confused on top of frustrated. If he's no longer around then perhaps some clarification from the current team will go a long way to sooth the damage.
rAMPage deleted a lot of the "evidence" and WaybackMachine doesn't archive very frequently and not every page, but here's an example I can find:
https://web.archive.org/web/2023013...views-and-discussions-are-banned-also.132227/
He claimed repeatedly in multiple posts that threats were being made against the entire moderation team. People who were expressing concern and support via PM got banned. He claimed that the moderation team reached unanimous decision and all agree with him on his actions. Is this true? Did he go off the rails rogue or did he misrepresent himself to one or both sides of the administrative/mod team and users?
It was mind boggling that if there indeed were threats made against the moderation team why not punish the instigators, track down their IPs, etc. why punish the entirety of the South Bay Area community? The allowance of Oakland was arbitrary, the initial allowance of San Mateo then subsequent ban because he was being questioned for his decisions was also arbitrary.
Then there was a giant thread where he openly mocked people reporting him to admin and he said all reports go straight to him and he banned everyone for trying to report him for "being an idiot." and reasserted that he has the full support and backing of the entire moderation team, just that most of the mods are too polite and he's the only one who "doesn't have fucks to give" to "finally dish out the punishment" that we deserved for a long time.
Just what was that all about?
I recognize there may be things that we simply aren't privy to, and as bitter a taste that answer might be, I think it would go a long way to at least clarify was there a legitimate concern that the admin/moderation team did in fact have a consensus on and wanted to address, just that rAMPage executed it poorly, and has that issue been resolved, or are we getting our hopes up to come back only for the unresolved issue resurface and go through a similar drama/exodus again?
rAMPage deleted a lot of the "evidence" and WaybackMachine doesn't archive very frequently and not every page, but here's an example I can find:
https://web.archive.org/web/2023013...views-and-discussions-are-banned-also.132227/
He claimed repeatedly in multiple posts that threats were being made against the entire moderation team. People who were expressing concern and support via PM got banned. He claimed that the moderation team reached unanimous decision and all agree with him on his actions. Is this true? Did he go off the rails rogue or did he misrepresent himself to one or both sides of the administrative/mod team and users?
It was mind boggling that if there indeed were threats made against the moderation team why not punish the instigators, track down their IPs, etc. why punish the entirety of the South Bay Area community? The allowance of Oakland was arbitrary, the initial allowance of San Mateo then subsequent ban because he was being questioned for his decisions was also arbitrary.
Then there was a giant thread where he openly mocked people reporting him to admin and he said all reports go straight to him and he banned everyone for trying to report him for "being an idiot." and reasserted that he has the full support and backing of the entire moderation team, just that most of the mods are too polite and he's the only one who "doesn't have fucks to give" to "finally dish out the punishment" that we deserved for a long time.
Just what was that all about?
I recognize there may be things that we simply aren't privy to, and as bitter a taste that answer might be, I think it would go a long way to at least clarify was there a legitimate concern that the admin/moderation team did in fact have a consensus on and wanted to address, just that rAMPage executed it poorly, and has that issue been resolved, or are we getting our hopes up to come back only for the unresolved issue resurface and go through a similar drama/exodus again?
I had a paid membership at one point and was banned. I’ve had to use so many different usernames I’ve forgotten which one was banned thanks to rAMPage. He’s still on the NYC forum as far as I can tell. However he should be removed and banned for life for ruining your business and pissing the entire Bay Area forum off.
He was nasty, rude, mentally unstable and pure garbage of a human. Totally uncalled for and he said all of you moderators and the owner supported everything he did. His behavior went on like that going back years with vile outbursts and threats. You all had to have seen that all this time. I wish you had taken action sooner . I’m also on the other site that has a 13 page thread dedicated to discussing what happened and there are dozens of members maybe even hundreds who will never come back here thanks to that scumbag .
He was nasty, rude, mentally unstable and pure garbage of a human. Totally uncalled for and he said all of you moderators and the owner supported everything he did. His behavior went on like that going back years with vile outbursts and threats. You all had to have seen that all this time. I wish you had taken action sooner . I’m also on the other site that has a 13 page thread dedicated to discussing what happened and there are dozens of members maybe even hundreds who will never come back here thanks to that scumbag .
The reviews credit process has not changed...all approved reviews earns members 45 days of free access credit, which stacks. Meaning, if you write one approved review, you get 45 days, write two, you get 90 days. Let's say you have 20 days of access left (which you can see your balance by clicking on your own profile), then you put up another approved review, then you will have another 45 days added to your remaining 20 days balance.
Mistakes were made, members were banned that didn't warrant one, and the site went through many challenges, no doubt.
But we're not going to beg members to come back...the content of our site is probably unmatched than anything else out there. That said, you and all the other members who left the site both voluntarily and involuntarily are more than welcomed back, with our assurance that something like they experienced will not happen again. It's also true that the SF section got out of control too (though it should have been dealt much differently than it had)...but the cleanup is almost complete, and we WILL get fully back on track for its members, both old and new. "If you build it, they will come."
No one is here because anyone forced them to be here, but make no mistake, unless a member creates a serious privacy or dangerous situation, they will NOT be forced out of here involuntarily. It's for all grown men to decide whether a membership here is worth having. As a long-time member and fellow hobbyist like all of you, my intent is to grow the community, expand our treasure trove of intel and data points, and make friendships with many quality dudes, and be able to discuss things that I would never be able to, in my private, outside of the hobby, life. Don't let a few bad apples ruin your experience here, and don't count us out.
All bans that we know of have been lifted, deleted reviews and posts restored (for the most part), and we're well under way of returning to the site's mission of creating a safe and fun environment for like-minded guys to exchange notes and hang out and have a good time.
PM with any questions, concerns or thoughts. Good day.
But we're not going to beg members to come back...the content of our site is probably unmatched than anything else out there. That said, you and all the other members who left the site both voluntarily and involuntarily are more than welcomed back, with our assurance that something like they experienced will not happen again. It's also true that the SF section got out of control too (though it should have been dealt much differently than it had)...but the cleanup is almost complete, and we WILL get fully back on track for its members, both old and new. "If you build it, they will come."
No one is here because anyone forced them to be here, but make no mistake, unless a member creates a serious privacy or dangerous situation, they will NOT be forced out of here involuntarily. It's for all grown men to decide whether a membership here is worth having. As a long-time member and fellow hobbyist like all of you, my intent is to grow the community, expand our treasure trove of intel and data points, and make friendships with many quality dudes, and be able to discuss things that I would never be able to, in my private, outside of the hobby, life. Don't let a few bad apples ruin your experience here, and don't count us out.
All bans that we know of have been lifted, deleted reviews and posts restored (for the most part), and we're well under way of returning to the site's mission of creating a safe and fun environment for like-minded guys to exchange notes and hang out and have a good time.
PM with any questions, concerns or thoughts. Good day.
Yay I’m glad the site is back and in better track. Beggars can’t be choosers, I don’t know of any other site that was a good replacement. I don’t know all the details but hopefully the bad actors don’t spring up again causing problems and the site mods/staff also learn from this to manage better. Probly fault on both sides. I was a paid member but during the down time the site was useless to me so I stopped membership. Will sign up again if traffic returns