I'm a lurker to say the least. I registered to the board years ago when I was reading bps' TNA columns and I've kept visiting on and off since. I did start to post a bit in the last few months due to some basic changes in the wrestling boards (specifically the TNA one and the decrease in hostility and "why would anyone care about talking about this company?" sort of feel that seems like has come). I appear to have been deleted in the last day as part of the "mass purging" but I re-registered without incident so for now it appears to have been a minor inconvenience.
So I don't know how much weight my opinions will have but since the new owners have expressed a desire for increased membership and posting I guess it doesn't hurt to post.
1. What have we done that you like?
I think that there has been a clear change at least in feel to the wrestling forums. Spreading out the conversation has made things easier to follow than those large "Don't Deserve a Thread" threads did where it would strike me as pointless to go back and try and follow days of topics mixed around if I didn't read the board daily. Some of the topics being started feel a bit in-organic to me and aren't my style, but I understand why they're being done. If the goal is to increase conversation and its not happening on its own than trying to jump start things makes senses, and if people are responding than it should continue.
As I said I think the TNA board has changed tones drastically and become a bit more inviting. I started following this board because it was really the only intelligent community that I found where following TNA wasn't treated as a sign of mental retardation (surely helped by the columns and recaps written by the likes of Dames, bps, and Corey Lazuras that I followed). But in the last couple of years this community has seemed to become one of the worst in terms of that opinion. Obviously much of the criticism was warranted and fair but the board basically seemed uninviting to someone who enjoyed TNA and who basically wanted them to succeed. I have started writing more than a few posts over the years only to abandon them because I decided it wasn't worth being told I was an idiot for liking an episode Impact or a PPV, and being jumped on rather than debated. And it seems like many of the actual fans had been driven from the forum for the same reason and all that was left was a pack of critics who made posting uninviting. The moderator seemingly being VERY aggressively anti-TNA and marking every TNA thread with a nasty comment struck me as a clear warning sign, although to be completely fair I engaged in a debate with HTQ sometime ago and he not only was reasonable in it but he took the time to PM me and encourage me to keep posting. Well before these changes and bps' efforts this was the first reason I tried to post a bit more in that forum as I came to believe that I was not as unwelcome as it seemed. But I have no doubt that the fact that the moderator is now someone I know to be a long time fan of the company who basically wants positive or constructive discussion (even if he's happy lodging fair criticism) increases my comfort in posting.
The new moderators and administrators also appear to at least be open to discussion and change, which is always a good thing. I am not a part of this community and I only know so much of the drama and relationships from observing this board and others, so I have no idea if these sentiments are sincere. But as an outsider who has no reason to doubt their sincerity it seems like a positive.
The basic idea of giving previously banned posters a clean slate seems like a very open and good one, even if there has been some controversy and criticism lobbied to it.
2. What have we done that you wish we hadn't?
Given my account deletion that's probably the most obvious. I don't know what the nature of the "mass purging" was but I can account for the impression I've gotten. It LOOKS like there was miscommunication from the moderators and that one moderator perhaps became overzealous and did the action himself, seemingly deleting quite a few accounts that he didn't intend to and possibly causing other problems. Its an understandable mistake and one I've made myself, but it does come off as a bit unorganized. And while criticism have been made by some that there are too many cooks in the kitchen and that some are unqualified, an action like that seems to support that. And I'm not saying that the moderator or moderators who did this are overzealous, unqualified, or any of those things. Merely saying that with the limited information I have and conversation I've seen its easy to believe some of the things said.
I also think that the basic idea of a spontaneous mass purging was a bit harsh. Deleting inactive accounts makes a lot of sense, but it seems like a mass PM or email announcing you'd do it in a few days or a week would have made more sense. This would have allowed posters who do actively lurk or have been meaning to start posting to at least get one in so that their account remained active. I for one have a steadfast rule when joining a large board that I should lurk for some time before I wade into conversation, so that I don't fall into too many traps or upset too many social norms. So its not uncommon for me to be registered on a board and not posting for awhile as I try and get comfortable with the environment. But an action such as this would have left my account deleted and made me feel quite unwelcome. Especially reading some of the things said and not said in its wake.
I've seen the criticisms made about the moderators, their number, and their relationships. And the arguments had over banned posters and past members. As I said, I'm not in the community and I don't know where the truth lies. I do think that if the moderators are all largely friends who are "members of a clique" or may have had issues with other "cliques" in the past it complicates things. A few more clearly unrelated moderators might help to alleviate that concern and of course people on the other side of arguments would help. But at the same time the sides of this "battle" seem to be very polarized and the moderators need to at least have some level of respect for their "peers" and be able to work together. But none of this truly affects me in much of any way as I am on the outside looking in.
The Gulag is an idea that as a bit of a jerk I think is very interesting, but seems more trouble than its worth. The biggest problem that has seemed to plague the new administrators is the idea of a clique of friends who like to pick on people outside their clique. True or not, the Gulag seems to support it unless you have some sort of clear and established set of rules for ending up there. Personally I've been one of the guys trying to have good humored fun with things like that and finding I was just upsetting people who didn't trust me or share my sense of humor and I've been one of the victims of what could have been good humored pranking but which looked like an unwelcoming clique "picking on me."
3. Is there anything you'd like us to do?
Presuming the things said in public have been sincere I would think the board is at least headed in a direction led by good intentions. Appeasing some of the more vocal critics would add confidence to someone like me (especially when some of their criticisms seem valid) but at the same time many of those critics seem unreasonable and far too rude or disruptive to work with. So I certainly wouldn't presume to tell people how to handle their affairs that I know little about, and I wouldn't take sides.
4. Would you invite people here to expand the community?
Truth be told and with no disrespect intended this is a very uninviting community in my opinion. While there does appear to be an effort to change that there seems to remain a strong core of hunters ready to pounce upon any new prey. And I personally am a member of a board or two that have gone through similar personalities so I'm not really judging that. But just as I've told friends and posters that joining one of my most loved boards might not be a good idea because he will be attacked and most likely ridiculed and will be clueless as to many of the injokes... I'd probably do the same here for at least the moment. But the wrestling forums appear to be undergoing a positive change and appear to be trying some interesting and unique ideas, and I have long lurked in the sports and entertainment forums. So I can certainly see recommending those for particular parties.
5. Are you optimistic that we're not going to be fucking terrible at this?
You certainly seem open to opinions and criticism and that's always a good thing. Whether you take it to heart and use it to affect change is another thing that only time will tell. But I can only presume to give you the benefit of the doubt and you can only hope that your actions bear out your words.
