My Opinion

[threatx3]

I never got a chance to chime on on the ESEE forum closing and I just wanted to state my opinion for the record. I don't care if you mods close it, move it or ban me at this point.

I am a paying member. I joined because of the ESEE forum and have since moved over to their forum. I have also been able to trade sell and buy quite a bit and for that I thank the forum creators. I am disappointed because I made friends in the BKT forum but just don't have the time to spend on both.

I have seen it said in several different threads that these forums are not a democracy and run by authoritarians. That's fine and dandy and you can run your forums anyway you want. But when you provide a service and you have paying customers they should be treated like customers. I'm not going name names, but some of the posts by the mods here are downright insulting. If I ever treated a customer that way I would expect to be fired. I don't care you you've been here 1 day or 12 years, treat people the way you would want to be treated.

I also see a lot of the mods complaining about having to deal with trolls all day. So quit. Are you even being paid to be a mod? Prioritize your lives! If it's causing you treat your fellow human beings with less respect get off the computer and do something else. Don't get so wrapped up with yourselves.

I have met Jeff, Mike, Tony, and the rest of the crew. I like their products, their business model and the way they treat their customers. That's why I followed them to their forum. I don't see their move as taking their ball home. It more of an evolution for their business.

Their knives are great knives but ask Jeff and he'll tell you there are knives made by other companies that are just as good. The reason so many people are buying those knives is because of the way he treats customers.

The way I see mods talking down to paying customers here on this forum makes me not want to spend another dime here.

Best of luck to all, I hope things change for the better.

 

[Kiah]

So much mixed up in there.

First off, as has been stated repeatedly, it was Jeff and Mike's decision to close the forum. Period. Nothing could be done about it within reason. If you joined because of the ESEE forum and are now upset that it's gone, take it up with them. Nobody here wanted them to leave.

As for the mods "talking down" to members, sure occasionally it will look like a mod is being curt or insulting. The ESEE forum mods weren't exempt from that perception as you can see by reading other complaints here. Perception is a funny thing though and no matter how sugary you give someone a nudge, some are gonna get butthurt.

Kudos for stating your opinion here though instead of running off elsewhere to do it. Nobody's gonna ban you for it.

When did we get a "Complaint!" prefix by the way. That's priceless.

 

[threatx3]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not upset about about paying and then having ESEE leave. I feel like the sales and trades I've made in the Exchange forum have made it more than worth my dues. Not to mention the info and friends i've made in BKT.

I'm more concerned with the way members are talked to and treated....that's it.

 

[Karda]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not upset about about paying and then having ESEE leave. I feel like the sales and trades I've made in the Exchange forum have made it more than worth my dues. Not to mention the info and friends i've made in BKT.

I'm more concerned with the way members are talked to and treated....that's it.

Kiah summed it up nicely here:

As for the mods "talking down" to members, sure occasionally it will look like a mod is being curt or insulting. The ESEE forum mods weren't exempt from that perception as you can see by reading other complaints here. Perception is a funny thing though and no matter how sugary you give someone a nudge, some are gonna get butthurt.

In most cases, if a member takes the time to read and understand the rules and has a little bit of manners and etiquette, there would be no need to be spoken to by a moderator. From what i've seen, generally when a member gets curt or insulting responses, it is because he is being obstinate, argumentative or clearly isnt following clear instruction from the moderator and it is pretty much deserved.

 

[Spark]

If you have a problem with how a specific thread or post was handled, you come to me with it. If I agree with you, I'll veto whatever infraction was issued. More often than not, however, I'll back the moderators.

Despite claims that we're a bunch of a-holes, authoritarians, power hungry or power-tripping whatever, BladeForums.com is by far the most laid back site I take part in.

It behooves everyone to act like adults, because that's how you are going to be treated. That said, I do have a low tolerance for people who are nut-huggers and hysterical drama queens, not to mention whiny babies who throw temper tantrums. That isn't directed to anyone specifically, before anyone gets their feathers in a ruffle. The mods here don't go out of their way to insult or belittle anyone. That's not our belief structure. We may not have a huge amount of tolerance for people who try to get over, or who think they are special unique snowflakes (that the rules don't apply to), but we tend not to be knee jerk with our responses.

You joined in Dec 10. Here you are 4 months later, talking down to the mod staff, trying to talk up ESEE's new site by tearing us down. If you don't like it here, and prefer to go elsewhere, be my guest. Nobody is forcing you to stay, we don't have loyalty oaths or anything dumb like that. You'll also notice that nobody on the mod staff here is making threads about how ESEE sucks or what happened behind the scenes. You don't know the full story, but we don't have to puff ourselves up. We're here, we're more than fair to everyone, and if you aren't happy we're willing to listen and fix what we can. The problems people typically have with us are of their own making.

 

[Blues]

For the record, Spark, I've been in touch via PM with the OP and I think everything is pretty copacetic. (Not to diminish any legitimate grievance he (or anyone else for that matter) may have had in mind.)