i heard about what was happening in this thread (as well as what happened last month) from a friend who likes to occasionally share what happens still in TBT after my having quit, as even though i've distanced myself from it, we still met on this website & so he likes to talk about it still at times. and i have to say. it's quite frankly appalling that the main thing that pushed me away from this forum (a frustrating lack of appropriate conduct from staff) is still this much of an issue
three years later. upon review of both threads involved i cannot think of a single
mean post from seliph. he has been firm, yes, very much so, but he has every right to be considering the situation at hand and the accountability and conduct requested of staff members. this entire situation could have been handled by offering sleepey, the person whose feelings were hurt (by what
was a hurtful statement, whether intended or not), an apology in a timely manner. and one wasn't, which has led to mass user discontent. that's all there is to it. there are two sayings i think of here:
- "the road to hell is paved with good intentions";
- "impact always matters over intent".
whether it was meant to be cruel or not, telling someone something they put effort into is viewed as low-effort completely publicly is inappropriate, and arguing whether it was mean or not does not change the fact many users are viewing it as such, and that an apology should have been issued. that is what this entire situation is about at its core, and for the owner of the website's postings to devolve into attempting to villainise a user for trying to address this is frankly inappropriate as a user in power on this website that completely twists the situation. again: accountability requested of staff members.
oh, and for the record, i appreciate seliph's presence here, and i am not alone in that. just because someone is blunt and straightforward does not mean they are being rude for no reason. some real irony in that, seeing as you've defended chris doing the same exact thing. just because you don't want to hear it, doesn't mean it shouldn't be said. i think every staff member directly involved in this incident needs to take a step back, because the responses in this thread are wildly inappropriate and have crossed a line i never expected to see.
seliph has always been one of my favourite users on this website
because of how he posts despite how he's being shamed for it here, that blunt and straightforward approach. we've never spoken personally, but i've always appreciated what they've had to say & their firm and level-headed approach to this forum and topics addressed on it, even after i've left (as again, my friend likes to share TBT happenstances and i always appreciate seeing seliph's part in them when i see he's contributed in whatever is being shared with me). frankly, it's something this forum needs more of and has always needed more of, even if staff - especially the owner of the forum - does not want to address it in an appropriate manner. a community cannot survive if those in charge of it refuse to handle feedback unless it caters to what they want to hear, or if they read malice into it when it's not there.
i don't use this site anymore. if i get banned for throwing my hat into the ring, so be it. i've few good memories left. but i wanted to say something anyway simply because this kind of thing is what chased me from the belltree forums - the site that introduced me
to forums, which i love as a social media setup very dearly - to begin with, and it's deeply frustrating seeing it continue up to now.