I'm leaving WP indefinitely

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Honestly, the reasoning for leaving is puzzling to me given the fact that the site is in the midst of undergoing a major upgrade. So the timing of this is questionable to me. I understand the frustration, but why leave immediately before the problems he spoke of were being fixed?

Last edited by alex on 20 Oct 2014, 9:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

Well, I hope that he comes back after we've migrated to the new site.

Thank you for replying to me, Alex, I appreciate it a lot.

May I ask when the process of upgrading the site began?

Thanks.

I felt it was weird all the "I'm leaving" posts magically popped up after you began serious talks about an imminent site upgrade.. at the same time I don't want to be a hypocrite because I've had to stop posting when the site's ads would freeze my computer for 10 seconds, I know what they go through.. and what you go through, I can understand why a high-profile television job would take priority over a website.

I would think if you stick true to your word and the upgrade proves to be efficient, they are likely to re-consider. It is exciting, the board has had the exact same code since inception.

I'm guessing they thought you were taking too long to get things sorted. They've been frustrated with the site's problems for a while. Tallyman has made multiple posts about it in the Mod forum.

See here, and note the date of the post: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp4243880.html#4243880

Post dated December 15, 2011

The promised site upgrade has been promised several times and has been dragging on for years and so far nada, zero, zilch.The update is now three years late and counting. I see it was promised again for "this week" but that was last week. Maybe the new site will become live sometime, but I've given up waiting. I have no confidence in anything Alex says.

A month or so ago Alex asked the mods to test the new version of the site and several of us spent time going through it and compiled a list of bugs and problems with it for Alex in the moderator forum. He never came back or acknowledged the points we'd raised. He couldn't even be bothered to tell us he'd read the list or to thank us for our time / input, but that is nothing unusual.

Several factors have contributed to my decision to leave WP. First and foremost lately has been all the trouble I've been getting from CloudFlare which has effectively been periodically banning me from the site. I appreciate that this problem affects a minority of members but to me it is a big problem if I'm blocked from the site, based upon my IP address. CloudFlare insists I solve a captcha but it doesn't actually show me one to solve!! !! This makes the site totally inaccessible. The only way I've found around this is to wait, sometimes several hours or even days before CloudFlare lets me onto WP again, or to reboot my router to generate a new IP address to get around the IP ban - but this isn't always convenient to do depending on whatever else I'm doing on the internet.

The ongoing bugs with the site software haven't helped either, not only is it irritating for us as members but also as mods as we have to go around the site cleaning up multiple posts and threads which have been created by members confused as to whether their post has been accepted or not, so they click back and submit again sometimes several times.

I've noticed a number of the long term members of the site have drifted away over the last year or so. As to whether or not the site problems have contributed to this loss I don't know. However, I have noticed that the PPR forum in particular has become very stale as it no longer has as many active posters and many of the threads are just repeats of topics that have already been done to death. There is no longer the critical mass of posters there to keep that forum vibrant and interesting and I have less reason to be here.

Speaking for myself and also repeating what other (long term) moderators (including former mods) have said: Alex has appalling communication skills. I appreciate he has Asperger's but I cannot reconcile his apparent communication abilities to advise media / TV and to talk at conventions with his inability to communicate with his moderators or admins. Our PMs or emails often go unread for several weeks or even months. Sometimes they are never read. Alex just turns up now and then and disappears for another six months. When Alex does respond to our queries it is with the fewest words possible, often failing to answer our questions and just leaves us trying to guess what his cryptic responses mean.

One example: After yet another fault developed in the site software we were left without the ability to ban anyone from the site! This problem went on for several months before Alex finally turned up and said he'd been away on holiday (around Europe as I recall). We were in the silly situation for several months of just removing posts of trolls and spammers as they posted, much to the amusement of some trolls who called us out on our inability to ban them. When Alex finally did respond to our pleas for help, he was unable to fix the ban tool and ended up giving me Admin access - the only way the ban tool would now work.

The mods have had various other problems with (lack of) site management too, but it wouldn't be appropriate to go into detail and air WP's dirty laundry in public. I think folks probably get the general idea of the problems we have faced.

Another problem we've had is getting and keeping new moderators. 99% of all the work has been done by me, Cornflake and GGPViper. The load has been too much for us at times, especially when dealing with complex social and personal issues between various members. Finding new mods to help out has been difficult and also frustrating as they tend to just disappear or not help out very much. The active moderators (me, Cornflake, GGPViper) have put in a colossal amount of time and effort in keeping the site ticking over smoothly, whacking spammers and trolls, diffusing flame wars and member conflicts, helping members with their queries and problems, moving threads, fixing broken quotes and so on. We never get any thanks or acknowledgement from Alex for our work. Instead we have to put up with offensive behaviour and foul language and even threats from trolls and others who we keep off the site. This all takes a personal toll on us. I've been moderating for four years and put up with a lot of s**t coming from all directions and I've had enough. Being a moderator on WP is a thankless task, made all the worse by a lack of support from Alex.

I received a short acknowledgement PM from Alex a few days ago but I gather Cornflake hasn't even received any communication from Alex to thank him for the several years of work and dedication he's put in, helping to keep the site going. It is the way Alex takes his "staff" for granted that is most hurtful. We weren't expecting a gold watch or anything; merely an acknowledgement and a "thank you" for the many thousands of hours of work we've put in would have been nice.

If Alex had bothered to keep people in the loop, I might have hung around a while longer to see the new site go live - which was apparently last week, though the site doesn't look much different today. Apparently Alex thinks it is my fault that I'm not psychic and can't read his mind.

Sorry, but I've just had enough. I've put up with all this crap on multiple levels for long enough and I'm out of here.

It will be interesting to see if this post disappears too, like the one I made several days ago, responding to someone's question. Removing that post was very petty and childish.

Last edited by TallyMan on 21 Oct 2014, 10:23 am, edited 2 times in total.

I wondered what happened to that previous post. Anyway, I hope that you'll come back if the new site does go live.

Really? In that case, I guess I shouldn't expect a new site after all. . .

You know, i got here right on the cusp of some major traumas going down here on WP!

and I left here indefinitely on many occasions
and I can EASILY understand how Alex took time off for himself!

Alex didn't create WP to be it's King, Emperor or ultimate dictator!
That teenage boy just created a web page for a lark!
with a bunch of friends

And now it's like...

It's so serious!

HE'S ABBROGATING HIS RESPONSIBILTIES!
HE'S LETTING US DOWN!!



How do you guys and girls feel like when someone shouts in your face and says
DO IT NOW!

Mods and admins are expected to take the site and their responsibilities seriously - it isn't a lark being a mod. If Alex wants the site to be taken seriously and to be successful he has to take some responsibility as the site owner and ultimate manager of the site; not just dump all the day to day responsibility on others and disappear.

Come on T Man

That wasn't a message to you, that was a message to Alex!

What I am saying is that Alex has been, is going through and will continue to go through a maturing process.

Alex is a work in process!

Can you imagine being a teenage boy and seeing your site rocket to fame?
Can you imagine meeting and mentoring movie stars?
Can you imagine how that would affect an autistic?

If I'd started Wp I'd still be shaking in a closet after the first negative post!

I think TallyMan deserves a big thank you and Cornflake as well, for the work they put in keeping the site alive.
.

this is a bit scary.

I must agree with TallyMan on this matter, as well as with similar sentiments expressed by SignOfLazarus elsewhere on the forum.

An online community -especially of the size of Wrong Planet- can't just be neglected, nor should its moderating staff be kept in the dark on such matters as site redesigns of software updates. On another message board I frequently visit, the site owner/top admin is always working very closely with his team of admins, 'super mods', and mods. The three administrators are the site founders eyes, ears, and fingers when he is away or otherwise occupied.

Perhaps, though, this is another sign of the times that message boards are going the way of the dinosaur in favour of social media. Wrong Planet and sites like it have functioned well as support forums in the past decade or so; but perhaps these days, newly diagnosed autistics are finding support on different venues.

Still, I can't help but view it as ultimate neglect as well as disrespect on Alex's part toward the moderator team, that he fails to communicate with them. Autism is neither excuse nor valid reason in this situation. If running the website on his own is too much for Alex to handle, then he needs to relegate some of the responsibility to the admin/mod staff; we are now seeing the consequences of the alternative: half the moderators have left, and some long-time regular members may well follow suit- with likely few people willing to take up moderating chores, given how untempting a position it is.

Dear Tallyman,


I don't blame you for leaving. I am amazed you stayed as long as you did. I will not ask you to come back because why should you?, given the way you have been treated. Of course, selfishly I want you around, but your wellbeing is more important to me.

Thank you for the incredible job you have done over these 4 years! We have not deserved your talents. Though I appreciate the fact that you cared so much.

I bow deeply to you. (ik you will understand what i really mean)
May you realize your true nature.
Aum, namaste.

I just sent a copy of this via pm to Alex Telling him to thank you.

Probably going to be banned for that though, if I do it would be worth it.