Disappointed

[HokieRaven5]

Is there any recap from the past couple days (including the Dis DL event)? Just got back from WDW and haven’t been following updates since Friday and there’s too many pages to read through.

Loose rundown of things from last night:

-Users/Customers are upset with some of the lacking statements from atop the company
-A thread was created over the weekend to promote an upcoming podcast cruise which many find to be incredibly tone deaf given the current situation
-Thread got passionate and a webmaster came through and posted a remark that included what many view as anti-semitism
-Webmaster followed up with an “I’m sorry you got offended” which only served to add fuel to the flame
-Thread had more angry/passionate posts and webmaster went through and started to cover tracks of what she said and even went as far as to edit other posters quoting her.
-Thread was then briefly removed from the boards causing more concerns over the transparency of the Dis
-Corey provided a transparent remark that gave a semblance of optimism that something of change has a chance of happening

 

[LSUfan4444]

I think constructive is the key word here. i don’t think it means the same to some as it does to me- “serving a useful purpose”must mean “trying to make myself look really cool and smart while trying to make other posters appear stupid whenever I disagree with them”,to some I’ve read.

Of course it's subjective. What one person views as constructive will not be the same as everyone else, nor should it be. The word "constructive" can clearly be defined but our perspectives are different and this is exactly why differing views are so very vital to growth and conversation. Not to try and change the other person's perspective or tell them they're wrong. It's not about right or wrong. It's about having a purpose and sometimes, differing opinions IS that purpose.

How it's presented obviously dictates alot but even should (IMO) be taken with a grain of salt. Sense of humor, age, gender, culture, etc. are all parts of the vital makeup of what makes us who we are. It's what makes living in Portland differ from Boston, Dallas, Tulsa and Ocala. The small differences in how people think, talk, coo, react and treat each other is so vital while traveling to different regions of France or islands in the Philippines, etc.

These differences, how they're presented, how they're believed and how they make others feel should be celebrated not muted and personally, a MAJOR change in the culture is welcomed while fully expecting there to be some negative impacts as well. It's worth it to me.

 

[LSUfan4444]

grand master Kathy

 

[yorkieteacher]

Of course it's subjective. What one person views as constructive will not be the same as everyone else, nor should it be. The word "constructive" can clearly be defined but our perspectives are different and this is exactly why differing views are so very vital to growth and conversation. Not to try and change the other person's perspective or tell them they're wrong. It's not about right or wrong. It's about having a purpose and sometimes, differing opinions IS that purpose.

How it's presented obviously dictates alot but even should (IMO) be taken with a grain of salt. Sense of humor, age, gender, culture, etc. are all parts of the vital makeup of what makes us who we are. It's what makes living in Portland differ from Boston, Dallas, Tulsa and Ocala. The small differences in how people think, talk, coo, react and treat each other is so vital while traveling to different regions of France or islands in the Philippines, etc.

These differences, how they're presented, how they're believed and how they make others feel should be celebrated not muted and personally, a MAJOR change in the culture is welcomed while fully expecting there to be some negative impacts as well. It's worth it to me.

Very thoughtful and respectful response. Your viewpoint is truly enlightening. I appreciate you sharing.All regional and cultural differences aside, it still seems like some posts are blatant attacks. Most of us aren’t snowflakes and shrug it off. And venting can be useful. Personally, I’ll be glad when all this shakes out on the boards, as it does seem the most important aspect, which to me is the victims receiving support and help, is taking place. We are not the victims here, that’s what I keep
at the forefront.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Very thoughtful and respectful response. Your viewpoint is truly enlightening. I appreciate you sharing.All regional and cultural differences aside, it still seems like some posts are blatant attacks. Most of us aren’t snowflakes and shrug it off. And venting can be useful. Personally, I’ll be glad when all this shakes out on the boards, as it does seem the most important aspect, which to me is the victims receiving support and help, is taking place. We are not the victims here, that’s what I keep
at the forefront.

It’s where I’m disappointed that it took these allegations and possibly more so the Amex lawsuit for these potential changes that probably have been needed for a long time, to finally come.

What happened to Sean and Dustin is abhorrent and I wish them nothing but the best in processing and healing from the trauma they’ve experienced.

Same goes for any other members of TheDis, Disboards, DUT who may have been subject to any form of abuse and thrown out.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Very thoughtful and respectful response. Your viewpoint is truly enlightening. I appreciate you sharing.All regional and cultural differences aside, it still seems like some posts are blatant attacks. Most of us aren’t snowflakes and shrug it off. And venting can be useful. Personally, I’ll be glad when all this shakes out on the boards, as it does seem the most important aspect, which to me is the victims receiving support and help, is taking place. We are not the victims here, that’s what I keep
at the forefront.

Very true that most of us aren't snowflakes, and that we're not the victims in this whole nightmare. But....this has brought up a lot of trauma for a lot of people around here as we're all part of this community and we watched it unfold...and then explode, right in front of our eyes.

The absolute worst thing they can do here is to try and "moderate it away".....which is what was starting to happen....because it's always what happens around here. They do need to let everyone talk it out and work through it. Corey is younger than John, and presumably the silent partner....and seemingly a bunch of the moderators. Not trying to "age shame here".....I'm not a kid, in my mid-50s, but this isn't a "pull up your bootstraps and walk it off" kind of thing. Corey seems to heading in the right direction.....and that's a good thing.

 

[pianomanzano]

Basically, they had the event in California and continue to post content as if nothing has happened. Podcast was recorded - no mention of the allegations and not been posted yet. The DVC posted a show recently, too.

There was an incident last night where a moderator / webmaster said something shockingly anti-semitic and then tried to erase content to cover their tracks and Corey had to come in to say that moderation was one of the things being looked at in the future plans for the site.

Loose rundown of things from last night:

-Users/Customers are upset with some of the lacking statements from atop the company
-A thread was created over the weekend to promote an upcoming podcast cruise which many find to be incredibly tone deaf given the current situation
-Thread got passionate and a webmaster came through and posted a remark that included what many view as anti-semitism
-Webmaster followed up with an “I’m sorry you got offended” which only served to add fuel to the flame
-Thread had more angry/passionate posts and webmaster went through and started to cover tracks of what she said and even went as far as to edit other posters quoting her.
-Thread was then briefly removed from the boards causing more concerns over the transparency of the Dis
-Corey provided a transparent remark that gave a semblance of optimism that something of change has a chance of happening

Thank you both!

 

[SeanWM48]

Very true that most of us aren't snowflakes, and that we're not the victims in this whole nightmare. But....this has brought up a lot of trauma for a lot of people around here as we're all part of this community and we watched it unfold...and then explode, right in front of our eyes.

The absolute worst thing they can do here is to try and "moderate it away".....which is what was starting to happen....because it's always what happens around here. They do need to let everyone talk it out and work through it. Corey is younger than John, and presumably the silent partner....and seemingly a bunch of the moderators. Not trying to "age shame here".....I'm not a kid, in my mid-50s, but this isn't a "pull up your bootstraps and walk it off" kind of thing. Corey seems to heading in the right direction.....and that's a good thing.

bit of hindsight from me but it seems the move was to have Corey address the boards and speak on behalf of John, Kevin, and the team. John probably could've gotten by with a brief statement and acknowledge that, for now, it'll be business as usual until we find the right path.

Let Corey come on here and be the actual customer-facing person as he seems far more equipped to handle. I get that this is the biggest crisis in the company's life and also completely unprecedented for all of them.

 

[clgwli]

I sincerely hope those that were banned, including Dis leaders (and yes, we do view mods, admins, etc as leaders and reps for Dis boards) come back to have a voice on here. I'm honestly shocked by the fact that the mods and admins are actually allowing dialogue for a change on this thread. Usually, if you don't fall in line, your posts are removed and/or you are banned. This thread allowed to remain open is a refreshing change and one that I hope continues on here.

Where is mod Rteetz? Mod Yulinlin? (spelling.... apologies, its been so long since they were banned, I can't recall how to correctly spell their screen names) Not saying that their situations were anywhere near the level of what the "big" issues on Dis are, but they had their voices taken away nonetheless. I hope everyone can get their voice back. Not least, for those who had the most stolen from them. I won't comment on the PW thing, as its far too triggering for me, other than to give love to Dustin and Sean, and others that I'm probably missing, although not intentional.

I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I loved the Dis and what I thought it stood for; Disney fans sharing that love and having a safe space to interact and share, I saw toxicity and an unhealthy "leadership" on the boards (isn't the saying "s--t travels downhill?", and chose to remove my self for several reasons and don't post much at all anymore. I hope the new leadership for Dis can learn from the mistakes and move forward in a healthy way.

Probably the first thing would be to not post pics from a vacation showing fun and happy times when a lot of us are hurting for those we liked and looked up to. This is a time of mourning for those who we considered "friends" and the horrible things they've experienced, who we genuinely feel sympathy for, who who we became invested in by watching them. Allow them the respect of knowing people support and care for them. Allow us to experience our own emotions of shock and sorrow. Although, maybe that's too similar to "sitting shiva"? Isn't that what we SHOULD be doing for one (and more) of "our own" who experienced something horrible? And yes, John's message was garbage.

My original username was banned in 2008 simply because I was a member of another site. I had been a member since late 1998 - so one of the first members. I didn't trash talk on the other site, but just kept in touch with others who were removed due to draconian methods of moderation. We knew at the time how unfair and unkind some moderators and WMs were. I see one still is as nasty as they were in the early days. I had been a regular for over a decade when it happened. This username was created to keep in touch with friends only before I dropped off. Came back at the request of a friend during Tron to post but otherwise I avoided clicks here because we all knew how toxic the environment was here. We knew the moderation was unfair and heavy handed. WMs reading users PMs and perma banning names simply for keeping in touch with others speaks volumes. This site has a lot to do if they want to maintain it. Many decades of apologies need to be made. Nothing here was extremely shocking to read. Disheartening and truly heartbreaking at times, but not unexpected. Good luck trying to fix this mess.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I haven’t been on for a while and hopped on a few days ago and this thread popped up so I read a bit. What a way to come back to the boards!

I never watched or listened to the podcast and barely knew who PW is/was. I did not know he owned the boards but I knew the travel agency and the Dis had a connection but wasn’t really that interested in all of that. The story is still shocking and disgusting.

I got on last night and just walked into that whole hot mess. The veiled racism I felt on these boards (on certain sections) is one of the reasons I took a break. Now I see how/why it’s at times allowed and not called out on.

I do remember popular moderators abruptly leaving (rteetz and Yullin??) and it’s starting to all make sense.

 

[mckennarose]

The absolute worst thing they can do here is to try and "moderate it away".....which is what was starting to happen....because it's always what happens around here. They do need to let everyone talk it out and work through it.

This /\
That's where a lot of frustration is coming from.
I've said before, I didn't come around a lot anymore because of the toxic atmosphere. It wasn't until I saw Ryno's video on YT that I came here to see what the heck was going on. Even then, the info. on here was minimal. I get that that the issues going on are a HUGE dumpster fire for HR and PR, (although I have my doubts there IS a HR in either company) but people are not necessarily being a troll or "haterz" because they're trying ask questions and find out what is going on. Every day more people are finding out about this and that's probably going to continue for a while as the Dis has a lot of members/posters who do not post regularly or for long periods of time. Don't be offended by people trying to find out info for themselves, try to brush it off as "old news" that people should get over quickly, or get defensive if someone has an issue with tone and attitude of how an admin is acting and replying to people.

Came back at the request of a friend during Tron to post but otherwise I avoided clicks here because we all knew how toxic the environment was here. We knew the moderation was unfair and heavy handed. WMs reading users PMs and perma banning names simply for keeping in touch with others speaks volumes

Agree. As a former admin for a message board similar to this one (not travel or Disney related) I think most members would be surprised to know what admins/webmasters/mods can actually see and do on message boards. I don't know who has what ability (power?) to do what on here, but I have been told that mods don't have the ability to see PM's. Admins and webmasters are a different story. The main webmaster/admin would have the ability to grant different message board staff certain powers, if this board is indeed similar to the one I used to admin for.

 

[clgwli]

This /\
That's where a lot of frustration is coming from.
I've said before, I didn't come around a lot anymore because of the toxic atmosphere. It wasn't until I saw Ryno's video on YT that I came here to see what the heck was going on. Even then, the info. on here was minimal. I get that that the issues going on are a HUGE dumpster fire for HR and PR, (although I have my doubts there IS a HR in either company) but people are not necessarily being a troll or "haterz" because they're trying ask questions and find out what is going on. Every day more people are finding out about this and that's probably going to continue for a while as the Dis has a lot of members/posters who do not post regularly or for long periods of time. Don't be offended by people trying to find out info for themselves, try to brush it off as "old news" that people should get over quickly, or get defensive if someone has an issue with tone and attitude of how an admin is acting and replying to people.

Agree. As a former admin for a message board similar to this one (not travel or Disney related) I think most members would be surprised to know what admins/webmasters/mods can actually see and do on message boards. I don't know who has what ability (power?) to do what on here, but I have been told that mods don't have the ability to see PM's. Admins and webmasters are a different story. The main webmaster/admin would have the ability to grant different message board staff certain powers, if this board is indeed similar to the one I used to admin for.

Like many sites, my understanding is that there is a private (or was back at thr time) forum where private PMs were posted for others to read. Nothing was private. I would have to ask my former mod friends what powers they had outside of "normal" moderation abilities. Now I have zero issues with hidden forums for moderation. A site I help run has the same and it makes sense. But the use and abuse of powers is decades old for here.

I actually help run a Disney (very small niche group) and have for work as well. We never had the ability to look at PMs - well we could have with a plugin but it was never installed for privacy reasons actually thanks to this site. I see no need to use it. But yes, on every forum I have been a part of you can select who can do what in the CP and permissions

 

[Itinkso]

This /\
That's where a lot of frustration is coming from.
I've said before, I didn't come around a lot anymore because of the toxic atmosphere. It wasn't until I saw Ryno's video on YT that I came here to see what the heck was going on. Even then, the info. on here was minimal. I get that that the issues going on are a HUGE dumpster fire for HR and PR, (although I have my doubts there IS a HR in either company) but people are not necessarily being a troll or "haterz" because they're trying ask questions and find out what is going on. Every day more people are finding out about this and that's probably going to continue for a while as the Dis has a lot of members/posters who do not post regularly or for long periods of time. Don't be offended by people trying to find out info for themselves, try to brush it off as "old news" that people should get over quickly, or get defensive if someone has an issue with tone and attitude of how an admin is acting and replying to people.

Agree. As a former admin for a message board similar to this one (not travel or Disney related) I think most members would be surprised to know what admins/webmasters/mods can actually see and do on message boards. I don't know who has what ability (power?) to do what on here, but I have been told that mods don't have the ability to see PM's. Admins and webmasters are a different story. The main webmaster/admin would have the ability to grant different message board staff certain powers, if this board is indeed similar to the one I used to admin for.

I know from the mod side here we had a designated board. Like for me was rumors and news. You only had powers on that board. The "powers" were also pretty basic. Merging threads, deleting, locking, editing.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

I’m starting to think the other site is actually less toxic than this one …

Honestly hilarious that anyone associated with this community would call any other website "toxic"

 

[Jennasis]

Is WMkathy THE Kathy from the podcast??

 

[MK4ever]

Is WMkathy THE Kathy from the podcast??

No

 

[Jennasis]

No

Thank you.

 

[take36]

Is WMkathy THE Kathy from the podcast??

No, Kathy Werling from the podcast and a DUT agent is not the WM here.

 

[sayhello]

I know from the mod side here we had a designated board. Like for me was rumors and news. You only had powers on that board. The "powers" were also pretty basic. Merging threads, deleting, locking, editing.

This was true when I was Mod of the ABD Forum, also. I only had powers on that Forum, and they were very limited. I DEFINITELY did not have the powers that the WebMasters have, especially things like reading Private Messages!! I have to admit, I had no idea they had that power!

Sayhello

 

[soniam]

I have a statement that yulilin3 wanted me to post.

“I miss being able to interact and help plan everyone's trip, miss our sww threads, our Galaxy's edge sub forum. But seeing the recent moderation I cannot come back. It has only become worse from when a big group of us were banned for voicing our opinions about true actions taken by PW and the WM/Mod team. Speaking for myself, I am happy on the DBCPod/DBC Server, it's a smaller group but we are all very open, honest and most importantly, respectful of everyone's opinion. As always, happy planning"