Ok I said I was not going to do this , I said I was going to stay out of the forums and just let whatever happens to this place happen and when it closes drink a cold one and weep a sad sad loss. However I care about this place more than even I care to admit and I have found myself drawn back here watching the fallout and just hoping against hope things somehow resolve themselves and the community I love will some day return. So I am going to offer some thoughts on how to help that happen. I mean no disrespect and everything I share is meant to HELP not hinder anyone. So here goes :

1. Repair the relationship between staff and members. This has to happen first and at this point will be no easy task.

2. Open up an honest dialogue where you ask and really want to hear your community give you suggestions and feedback on what they would like to see in THEIR community. Yes , it is their community , many have been here longer than some of the current staff and every member is a customer . If they were not here , the staff would not be either , without members the site closes and no one has jobs ( no one wants that right ?).

3. DO NOT lock threads with valid points still being discussed. It does not matter if YOU think it is productive , if it does not break the T.O.S it should remain as perhaps people are working through their frustrations and feelings by doing something healthy..TALKING ! Locking the threads when there is no violation only shows that you , the staff have decided that the conversation is not relevant and this is a dangerous assumption to make. You are dealing with very real people here , and their feelings MUST always be considered. Figuring out what they need and what they want and then making adjustments is how a community stays afloat. Not to say that the staff should jump at every single whim , but if there are enough members behind a request perhaps it is time to consider it .

4. Veiled rudeness , Not answering site mails , T.O.S not being followed by the staff itself ( not everyone by any means but it has and is happening ) and generally not listening when a member is distraught, are some of the main reasons people are not connecting with staff. If you have a set of rules ( The T.O.S ) you must as staff and representatives of this Community , first and foremost and at all times follow this T.O.S . That includes the steps taken when the T.O.S is violated . We must ALL follow the rules if the rules are to be the law of the land.

5. Updates to the forum and Galleries as Khai mentioned are a necessity. The search is broken and has been in the Gallery , the forum is outdated in it language and is clunky. The Gallery has tons of options but half of them don't work right or don't do what you would think. I won't go into lengths about it yet , but maybe we can have an open discussion about how to improve forums and gallery with its own topic.

6. Never in my life have I been to a website where I needed a tutorial to navigate it. That is not efficient and it is counter productive to what I would think is the staff's mission to attract new members and keep the ones you have. You want the site to be just as easy for your first time users as your seasoned veterans.

And finally my last point and I do hope that as Community manager , Hope , that you listen and really hear what I am saying here....

7. We are ALL human beings , with feelings , dreams and emotions. This mess of a battle between staff and members seems to be making many of us in frustration , desperation or just a real need to be heard , forget this. As Staff...you must remember this first and foremost and bring that realization into the bright light of day. You must take the first step BUT you must be genuine in this and THEN everyone else will follow , I am sure they would be glad to if they felt that the Staff here were being genuine and were making this their priority.

In closing , in the days since this began I have seen and heard a lot of things I find disturbing and also was reminded why I love this place so much...the members . I have watched as long standing members were dismissed without warning . I have watched as members voiced concerns and received in response " I will be happy to delete your account". I have watched as members were talked down to and made to feel small by the very people who are supposed to be creating and maintaining a positive and productive site. This was done in a subversive manner but even a blind man could see it , your members are not stupid , and those who are displaying this behavior may think that it is suttle enough not to be noticed or that the members here are fools...We are not. I have seen such a huge passion for this place and a love for it . They fight , they yell , they go toe to toe with you...because they LOVE this Community. It is more than just a site , it is a second home, and many are defending it passionately as they watch it seemingly slip through their fingers. When you back someone into a corner they will fight and those who are not too tired to voice an arguement are doing just that. I can , on the flip side see where some of you on Staff are also backed into a corner by those who have the power above you and how frustrating that must be. In the end however , you took this job and therefore you must face this head on , you will only win if you do this hand in hand with the people you are here because of ...The Members.