I don't know. Maybe I missed something

I think that most of the trouble is mis-communication. When you type spmething it is hard to gauge the "tone" of the message. Someone who types something fast can come across harsh. I think people try to read into the posts when most of them are on the level.
My comments in another thread are directed at the poeple who are complaining about the fee for selling knives. They are not directed at the people who are just reading the forums. Although I think that people who post in other forums should also pay a fee, by that is just MY opinion. I consider this an online, interactive magazine. And so I think people should pay for it just like a printed magazine. But again that is just MY opinion.
Even if I do not sell onther knife on Bladeforums, I will pay the $30 for the upgrade. I just think that it is the fair thing to do. That 's just the way I was raised.

Rich
 
why are you guys in here bickering and not outside getting drunk, showing off your knives and lighting fireworks?

wait, why am I here? Oh yea, my girlfriend in freakin Ephraim Utah for 6 weeks for a geology class and I've got an ankle sprain.

Anyways, everyone could stand to take a step back and relax. The questions have been answered. Let's just recognize that there might have been a better way to answer them, and a better way to ask them. Live and learn.

I'm going to go back to drinking and watching the Indians get their clocks cleaned.:D
 
Tom,

At least they aren't outside, drunk, beating-up their wives!
.:D.


I, for one, am VERY thank-full for all the effort (and money) that Kevin has put/is putting into making BladeForums a better place for all of us.

We all just need to sit back, and wait for when he is ready to share more "info". After-all, un-like some of us here :D, he just might have a life outside of BladeForums.:).
 
Q: Why does a customer have to wait when he orders a custom knife?

A: Because it takes time to build it right!

Q: Why do we have to wait for Spark to tell us how the new Membership Options are going to work?

A: BECAUSE IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD IT RIGHT!

Spark is in a position where he must set policies that will either be very good, or very bad for his business.

If he rushes, and just slaps something together to please the impatient ones, then no one will be happy with the end result and BFC will suffer for it.

If, on the other hand, Spark takes his time, plans carefully, and sets up Policies and Pricing that are fair and well thought out, then BFC may very well turn a profit for the first time in it's history, and ONE thing I've learned, is that what is good for BFC, is good for it's members.

BE PATIENT!
It takes time to set such things up and cover all the bases.
 
Originally posted by Spark
Max, nothings been announce yet because I don't like to do things half assed.

I've been asked about 100 times now when I'm going to post details on this, and every time, I've said "later".

Nothing has changed yet. The For Sale forums are not going to pay only until at least the 12th. Until then, everything is business as usual.

In the meantime, until I've posted an announcement saying "Hey, the rules have changed!", how about cutting me some slack and not prejudging what is going to happen? Or, better yet, how about relaxing and waiting to see what happens before you get hot under the collar and making proclamations?

Kevin
Click to expand...

Kevin,

You have this wonderful ability to post announcements.

PLEASE post an announcement telling us a little of whats going on, and when you'll have more information available.

This should help calm things down, and give you some breathing room.

Just my .02, but I bet it will do the trick.
 
Spark I don’t think you’re a dickhead or Greedy. I really don’t care if you are looking to offset costs, break even or make a huge profit. This is America !! You are not only allowed to make a profit …. It is fully expected. The cable company, and magazines and various other sources of information and entertainment operate to make money. God Bless them ! It’s obvious you spend a good deal of time supporting these forums. If you don’t feel adequately compensated you need to do something about that. I have ZERO problem with that.

I have also stated in another thread that OF COURSE you should pay for knife ad’s. Sorry for whoever doesn’t agree but where else can you place an ad for free. Newspaper, pennysavers,ebay all charge a small fee. Again nothing alarming here.

Once the fee structure is in place and once the benefits of membership are clearly outlined everyone has to look in the mirror and in their wallet to determine if the enjoyment and information they receive is worth it to them. I was one of those that thought the site was entertaining enough to subscribe to “Too the point” and then leave my balance for support. Whats 20 bucks. Buttttt….

Im sorry but when I pay for something I like a certain amount of Customer service. If Im going to pay 30 bucks I want information. Having operated in a large organization you know that the Rumor mill never sleeps. I don’t want to make decisions based on rumors. I don’t really visit the for sale forums and I haven’t participated in the “Premium Membership” threads. I too have been confused about whats going down. I would love a sketched plan and updates from you. I don’t want to have to search for them. I KNOW that taking over the business and attempting to make it pay for itself or turn a profit is stressful. I guess I had a Knee jerk reaction to your reply to Max’s question. Just like when we were in school ….. so many, many years ago …… sometimes ¾ of the class had a question and no one had the balls to ask. Max asked and he … in my view … was slapped. Man I always felt bad for that kid !!

Lately every damn thread turns into the loyalist vs the ship jumpers (or worse perceived ship jumpers). Even the “What steel” threads are becoming angry fights over who is paying, who should pay and who isn’t. God forbid someone asks a question about the structure or offers a suggestion and he is immediately pounced on by the loyalist screaming to guys who have been here forever “If you don’t like it leave”. This along with some Dumb ass adolescent name calling. I think all this or most of this could be avoided if everyone was on the same page and heard it from management. Then at least they could argue intelligently. At least then it wouldn’t be an issue that is now creeping into every thread and making the forums less than enjoyable. Sorry I got heated. Not sorry for what I had to say.
Alex

And I still dont think your a greedy, dickhead
 
Max got jumped on because of the tone of his post, not because he didn't understand the details of the upcoming changes. If you guys could all wait a few days, Spark will work out all of the bugs in the new software and decide for sure what will happen, he'll post it then. Spark is smart enough not to give the details before he has them because he knows we'll all give him hell if he tells us one thing and then does another, so he's waiting till he knows exactly what's up before he posts the announcement. Yeah, it'd be helpful now if he'd give us the details he has before he has them all, but really we're gonna get all the information anyway, why not just chill out until it's here?

I'll say it again, Spark will post the final word about what's happening when he's ready to, then we can all love him or hate him for it, until that time these threads and arguments are pointless because we don't even know what we're fighting about, so hold yer friggin' horses a few days, k?
 
Spark,

I have felt neither confused nor enlightened on the subject of Premium Memberships and Priice Structures. I was able to figure out from the posts that I did see that it mainly had to do with Selling Knives which I don't do. However, I would encourage you to post an announcement that You will make an announcement before putting any Premium Membership Fee Structure in place.

I understand and agree that the people here should know that you will make an announcement BEFORE implementing a change without such an announcement. However, the rumor mill has obviously gone out of control and an announcement does appear to be in order.
 
So what you're saying is that we're going to have to mail 3 cucumbers and 1 radish to every one of the moderators to be able to post on Mon-Wed-Fri and a dozen melons to you to be able to post the other days?

:D
 
Hi Guys,

I have zero problems with Kevin not posting the fee, benefits, and policy of the new Premium Membership until he is ready. Good planning and doing it right is good business planning.

But, what has happened is that partial information is already being discussed. This is where misunderstandings come from. Personally, I've never seen the "original post" where Kevin made an announcement. It's allegedly located in a forum I do not frequent. Everything I've heard has come second or third hand...and then, of course, what Kevin has said here.

If there was no partial information given, Kevin could wait as along as he wants to make an announcement. But since partial information has been given, I think Kevin is in a position of putting out a hundred little fires all over the forums that have stemmed from misunderstandings. I've probably only seen a couple of the fires Kevin has needed to put out.

This situation can be frustrating for everyone. Forumites are frustrated that they don't feel they have a good understanding of what's going to happen and Kevin is possibly frustrated trying to keep everyone patient and trying answer what questions he can (likely on top of a zillion other things he's trying to do) and not making a more complete announcement until he can "do it right."

Since partial information has already been given out, I still suggest that Kevin make a proactive announcement to everyone telling what he knows, what he doesn't know, and when the full announcement might be expected.

None of this would be an issue if none of us heard that there would be changes coming and that there would be a Premium Membership. No one would could complain about something they know nothing about.

In the meantime, patience and calm demeanors need to prevail from us all.
 
You guys can argue till your blue in the face for all I give a rats ass! Now me I'm god damn sick of being a basic member! Jeez all the freaking time I have spent here taking you all under my wing and for what I say! Basic member "BAH" I want a better title then basic member for my stinking 30 bucks.
Bob
 
Easy now Bob, it'll be ok soon enough :D
<-------- now that is a title.
 
A couple of observations here:

Change, any change is stressful. It causes people to do and say things they normally wouldn't do or say. This includes the change agent (Spark) and those affected by the change. Being a manager in a high tech organization, I use a few buzz phrases to try and capture the importance of realizing how change affects people. One is "High Tech equals high touch." This means the more complicated and extensive the change, the more I have to reach out and communicate to those affected by the change. I may even have to repeat myself over and over again to the point where it becomes almost frustrating. I say almost because if I allow myself to get frustrated and then reflect that frustration in my communications I start a feedback loop that works against the reason I made the change in the first place. So my communication has to sound like a broken record, and it has to be completely clear of emotionally charged words.

One of my favorite books is "Dune" by Frank Herbert. Besides having some great knife fighting scenes (anyone know where I can get a Crysknife), the book talks alot about change. One of my favorite lines in the book is, "Beginnings are such delicate times." Spark, et al, this new software is a new beginning, and even the slightest remark can have unanticipated consequences. Former friends and associates can suddenly find themselves making ultimatums to one another that destroy mutually beneficial relationships forever. The change to this forum is not worth that to me. Because this new beginning is delicate, you won't find me responding to any flames, or other comments that I perhaps could take personally.

Finally, remember Kubler-Ross's four stages of human adaptation to change (she actually developed the concept for the terminally ill, but it has universal application to human behavior). The first stage is denial (the forum is not going to change), the second is anger (damn Spark for messing up my life), the third is bargaining (Ok, Spark, if you'll change this back, or let me know this), and the last is acceptance (you know, this new forum format is okay). The important thing is to understand is that all humans go through these stages when they encounter change. It takes some people longer than others to reach stage four, but eventually they do. Think of it this way, what if you were absolutely new to Bladeforums, you wouldn't be upset about the way it is because you wouldn't know how it was before, you'd lurk and learn and then step in. It might help if we all acted as though we were beginners again.

By the way, Spark, I think I just reached stage four. ;)
 
Yes, partial information has been announced, but that information is sufficient for anybody with the slightest bit of curiosity to determine that if they don't feel like paying the only privilege they will lose is the ability to post in the "for sale" forums. Otherwise, it's clear that we can just hang loose for a bit and all should become clear. Sure, Spark hasn't posted the full schedule or the address he wants money sent to, or what kind of payment options he will be able to handle, but we just have to chill for a little bit.

When Spark does announce all the details, anybody who needs them can evaluate their options and make their decisions. There's clearly no need to panic now. Let's all just take a deep breath and remember that.

Paul
 
Having been a software dev. jocky for 25 years I enjoy riding the wave of change. With that enjoyment comes a lot of minor short lived "pain". In the end it seems to be worth it. (or I would still be looking for a job writing assembler code for IBM mainframes :).

well said Mat.

There seems to be a lot of stress around here lately relax we will get through this and it is not going to be as bad as we are making it out to be.
 
Be glad to tell ya, but then I'd have to kill ya.
(and I hate doing that to friends :D) It makes me feel bad :D

You can edit your profile to change the title from the default.
(Keep it clean MO) - :)
 
Edit your profile and in the Custom User Text section change the box that is labeled Title (box is on the right side of the page).
 
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