Before I start the body of this post I want to state two things:
1. This post is not ant-Chad, anti-GBN, or anti-GBCentral.
2. This post is not anti-Netsolo, or anti-GBHQ.
So mods, please, delete any replies that have a strong one-sided ferver to them. Okay, here goes:
We've all heard the rumours about Chad wanting to “re-unite” the community. I for one, believe that he wants us all on one message board, and that is fine with me. Of course, it is only natural that Chad wants us all on his message board, just as Netsolo wants everyone on his.
This obviously isn't working well. The problem is, while some prefer GBC, others prefer GBHQ, and pretty much everyone has friends on both sides. So basically, we have to figure out the reasons why the community is divided. I believe these are the main reasons, and have divided them up by board:
People stay at GBCentral because:
-There are more members
-Many of their friends are there
-They support Chad
People go to GBHQ because:
-There are less members, and virtually no spamming
-90% of the real hardcore ghostheads post there
-They support Netsolo
Now without taking any shots at Chad, I am going ot explain why many people don't like him:
1. Everything he did in the first two years of GBN's existence, was to promote his “one site to rule them all” idea of a community. How else do you explain him registering ghostbusters.everyavailableextension and linking them to his site?
2. Wherever Chad goes, legal issues follow. Whether you believe they are real or not (and I believe some of them), the fact is, we have seen Chad delete three months worth of posts with no explanation. This doesn't work for the community, and it's what causes most of our problems. Also, for some reason, it's never a legal issue for Chad to broadcast episodes that he doesn't own the rights to over the internet.
3. His site policies. We're constantly being bombarded by rule changes, additions, etc. This really links up with number two.
4. His presence or lack thereof. There have been times where Chad has disappeared for months on end with no explanation. The “I have a life outside this site” excuse gets very tiresome, as we all have lives…well, most of us. Also, many members feel the Board Suggestions is a useless forum, because Chad rarely replies to any of the suggestions, and he is the only one who can do anything. I have seen posts go for twenty pages in that forum with no word from Chad. And then there's the banning of members…Nothing is done about most of the real troublemakers (spammers, rabid gb haters, and people sending virii), presumably because Chad doesn't have time. However, as soon as someone comes out and says “I don't like the way things are being run”, it appears Chad has loads of time.
Now, we need to come up with a way to solve these issues, and the fact is this:
Chad should not be running the community's biggest message board.
Now, before you think that this is massively anti-Chad, hold on one second and let me finish that thought:
Chad and Netsolo should combine their efforts.
Now I have no idea whether either party would be interested or not, but think about what I'm saying for a second. IF both Chad and Netsolo had an equal stake in ONE message board, I can garauntee that 99% of our problems would be solved.
Chad isn't around much, but Netsolo is.
Netsolo doesn't have internal contacts, but Chad does.
Chad isn't exactly known for helping the small guys, but Netsolo is.
Netsolo doesn't have the resources to host a board of this magnitude, but Chad does.
The changes recently made to this board are a good start, good enough to get me posting here again. But they are in no way a finished solution. More work needs to be done.
Ghostbusters Forever!