BravesMG

I believe Geoff just locked the XCritic poll question in the other forum. And I'm not asking this sarcastically, but is he now considered a Mod or did he have one of the Mods close that thread?

nemein

Some one else locked it.

Kittydreamer

I don't know if people understand what it takes to run a forum. I ran a very small message board for a few years and trust me, it's not all cake and pie. You have to deal with figuring out what's ok, what's not ok, members that don't like each other, members that are constantly breaking the rules...trust me, it's a nightmare. I'm shocked and disapointed at how poor Geoff was treated. All he wanted to know was if he made a "Otter" at Xcritic, would you go. A simple yes or no would be have been fine but no, some of you people had to stab the guy in the back, then twist that knife and then set him on fire. Seriously. Some of you should truly be ashamed of your behavior recently. Geoff's a good man and he ran an awesome site, for free may I add.

LiquidSky

Kitty I agree with you 100%.

Bandoman

I agree with your agreement with Kitty.

Geoff is good people. He didn't deserve the harsh responses he got in that thread. People don't want to have to go to a porn site to discuss sex. Okay. Say that and leave out the "your site sucks" comments. He created the community here we've all enjoyed for years.

Spicollidriver1

Yeah I think the timing of the thread was kind of bad because everyone was a little riled up already.

orangerory

And yes, while some of the comments in Geoff's thread were certainly uncalled for, I thought Geoff's closing comments to that thread were just as whiny and immature.

It sounds to me like Geoff's taking it personal that people are pissed about the rules and don't want to post at xcritic. But I thought there were many legitimate posts in that thread about why people didn't want to do that - in the midst of a few assholish ones.

Anyway - if you can't take the heat...

DarkestPhoenix

I don't know, but for me, in regards to the original question, NO. Here's my bottom line and I'm not afraid to say it: HARDLY NO ONE, IF ANYONE, WANTS TO GO TO XCRITIC AT ANY TIME. I don't get why that's hard to understand for our new owners.

This was pretty obvious by the poll results in that thread...I think it was closed because the thought of going to XCritic was categorically rejected and they didn't get the answer they wanted.

I wanted to help by letting the mods, et al, see what people really want. People want the old Otter and DVDTalk back. People don't want another website to come in like some loser at a party and try to poach OUR members to go check out the classless dude across the hall in the other apartment playing Jazz while no one's around and claiming his place is an awesome time. We're not mentally challenged. That place is not an awesome time and nothing you can say or do will convince people otherwise.

One of the main problems with XCritic is the fact that you're selling it too hard. Trying so desperately to convince everyone it's cool. It's not cool. It would be cooler if you put a link to the sister sites on the top of the page and unscrewed everything else around here back to its original state. Some people would click on the other sites and for the few people who find it a fit, they would stay. Congratulations, you bolstered the audience for that site by a few and made sure the people here are still content. Win-win.

You can't sell meat to a vegetarian, unless you make an attempt to be underhanded. I feel like a vegetarian looking at a plate where the meat hasn't been hidden very well.

That wasn't an Adult Talk reference, but feel free to take it that way.

DarkestPhoenix

I agree wholeheartedly that Geoff is good and he ran an amazing site. I have the utmost respect for him, because this here would not exist without him and I love coming here when I can. However, then he sold it and the new people have their own agenda...

I distinctly remember the rose colored glasses and pretend joy at the initial announcement of the merger. Don't worry, we were reassured, nothing will change, we're just adding on to a great community. I was immediately unconvinced, but there really wasn't much I could do about it. I know I'm resistant to change, but that's because people generally want to change things I love. Things which don't need changing.

If the investors or whomever want to take advantage of a great website with a loyal and dedicated community, they're free to do so, and I will think they have made a fantastic investment. If they want to fragment the site and sell it off for parts so they can try to make a success out of other websites no one is interested in, you'll kill this place and end up with nothing. I know we've done enough damage to ourselves at this point that we should really go to the hospital and try to fix whatever problems we have.

I love this site enough to know I'd be championing that, any day.

DarkestPhoenix

The reason I think people are getting out of line is because people are caring less and less. People aren't bothered as much if they get banned, because, to them, they're not losing a website with as much value as it had before. So, they push the envelope even further. I don't agree with it, but I see it.

I don't think everyone with a hatred of the changes is filled with vitriol, as was suggested, nor are they being unreasonable. If a question like this arises, people will want to voice their concerns. Stabbing a still painful wound will provoke their cries, don't be surprised by it; also, I think being offended by it is ludicrous; you had to see it coming.

I think most people, like me, were just telling them what their honest opinion is. If you tell me, "Bottom line...it's not going to happen, we're not getting our old site back," that's fine. But believe me, you will NEVER, EVER get me to go to XCritic. Ever. The very thought of it raises the defenses of most, and it is seen as the source of most of the problems, this skirting off to go elsewhere notion.

Which I think was the sentiments of most in that thread. Knowing the past is dead is hard to come to terms with, especially for those who, far more than I ever could have, made this such a fun environment to be a part of.

Houstondon

DP, some of you are either too close to your preconceived notions or simply asking the wrong questions in these (related) threads. G! does not have any direct contact with IB any more and the claim, made by a few of you lately, that they are somehow directing him to make his "offer" of setting up a less restrictive Otter forum (not even necessarily attached to Xcritic by the way) is misguided. I venture to say that IB would prefer the links to Xcritic be gone as much as the most prudish, anti-porn zealot that has ever posted here but a contract is a contract.

I think G! is a lot more open to adult material (including non-porn adult material) than most corporations (including IB) so taking him to task over his question, a simple yes/no question by the way, went way over the top. It is cool that that there seem to be a lot more forum lurkers at Xcritic since the blowout, maybe they just like the nudity or the porn performers, but make no mistake about it; the numbers for the rest of the website are higher than they were here, including how many people are reading the threads. I don't think he ever believed that hundreds of you would jump over to a "porn site" for the forums but beating him up over his offer strikes me as excessive. Did a single one of the detractors ever consider emailing him to ask if he was put up to the offer by the suits at IB?

The ongoing discussion about "family friendly" versus "work safe" versus "anything goes" (and all parts in between these three concepts) has been a point of contention since DT began. There have been times when words were censored (under G!'s reign), pictures were taken down (under both G! and IB), and threads were locked for all the reasons discussed in the TOS. There are still arguments about review covers (as there has been for years) as well as exactly what limits are in place for posts; suggesting any of this is something new seems strange.

LiquidSky

That's odd since most of my reviews get thousands of hits.

Kittydreamer

I like your reviews. I think you write very well.

lordwow

Come on now Liquid, hitting refresh doesn't count.

lotsofdvds

From DVDTalk?

LiquidSky

That's not what I'm doing!

LiquidSky

Thanks!

LiquidSky

XCritic.

Tarantino

I believe he was referencing Otters, or people from the DVDTalk community. Sure, there are people who frequent XCritic. I'm guessing most of them aren't from our boards.

Congrats on your fanbase, though.

= J

DarkestPhoenix

My entire post referenced the closed Geoff thread in Otter, which tried to recruit us to go over to XCritic, though since Other was most affected by the changes, virtually no one has an interest in doing.

I would have no idea what your reviews do, but congrats.

I'm not surprised a porno site gets hits, though.

Darknite39

I go over to Xcritic from time to time to check out the adult talk forum (which I initially thought would just be an analogue to the forum that used to be here). It used to be filled with some of the most interesting (e.g., who's the oldest virgin) or laugh-out-loud (e.g., the thread from which part of my sig is derived) threads here, but the new forum is, well...different. It's kind of sad, really. Especially since we seem to be a tad more censored on the remaining dvdtalk boards than we have been in the past. If it gets bad enough that you all start a mass migration somewhere else, PM me and let me in on it.

Rival11

I have to kind of agree with this. While I'm not that well known, this is the only forum I've ever posted in for years. I know that after years of posting, I don't have much in common with too many people here but I still post anyway and enjoy others views.

To me, that says a lot about what type of community Geoff wanted and there are also many others who are not too found of forums stepping in and joining as well - this is something very few other forums/sites can accomplish.

Houstondon

DP, we were referencing your comments about "no one" going to Xcritic when it is clear that a LOT of people are doing just that (from this website too) even if they aren't actively posting in the forums as much as G! might want. Liquid's "following" is due to the quality of his writing but those of us that actively contribute to both websites tend to find fault with sweeping generalizations. I again state that a simple "no thanks" by some providing nasty responses would have shown more class (and if G! seemed taken aback, it was mainly due to the sheer meanness of so many responses as well as the lack of respect given for the guy that provided everyone a forum for all these years; free of charge).

Trevor

Don, I agree that rudeness was inappropriate, and that we all owe Geoff a lot. He shaped a fantastic forum.

But just to be thorough, I don't think it was quite "free of charge". He made a profit from the ads and referrals, and we "paid" by using the referral links here instead of using sites that pay us the referral fee. If he paid all the server fees just to be magnanimous, then I apologize.

Houstondon

Trevor, it was (and remains) free to members (though technically, using ad blocking software changes that IIRC). As I said, I'm G!'s biggest supporter but so many here appear willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater that it's concerning...

PS: It's my understanding that very few people use the referral links (currently or historically) too.