- Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:34 am
#7884
Sob614, I've been watching this situation closely since June 9th, and up are right, people are upset, but you are not entirely accurate in your assessment as to why they are upset. Most of the people posting here regularly, and most of the people that I've talked to outside of this BB are not upset about the site being down for 4 weeks...they've missed VW for sure, but that's not the foundation for their anger and frustration. Starting with the shock of the events of June 9th, followed closely by the explanation offered by VW at the time people became very concerned. Most of these people were not viewers, but contributors who's photos were now being used in a way they had not expected. Then came the promise from VW to be back on line in 4 to 7 days, and this BB was started to keep everyone updated and to discus pertinent issues.
A new spokes person introduced herself, and started responding to concerns. Copyright infringement and credit card concerns were discussed, thought the responses were often not direct or helpful at least there was the hope of progress. When tougher issues were raised, they were either brushed aside, blamed on former employees or ignored all together. As the self-imposed 7 day deadline approached, VW posted on their homepage a notice that a big announcement was in the offering, and to watch for it the next day on these boards. Under the circumstances, it would be reasonable to expect that this announcement would have something to do with either the possible legal actions against the 'villains' which caused this crisis, or about the expected return of the site. Well, very late on the next day the announcement was made...and it was about the 'Biggest VoyeurWeb party ever.' But it wasn't announcing the big party, nor was it announcing plans for the big party, it was announcing plans to plan a big party. So the first self-imposed deadline for the return of VW passed, without so much as a word or an explanation. At this point, the mood of many users began to shift. It wasn't until well into the next day that VW posted an official statement saying they had run into some last minute technical issues and the site would return on Wednesday instead. Wednesday passed, and still no site...and no explanation until late Thursday.
Around this time VW started saying that they would not bring the site back piecemeal, but would return the site in a revised and improved condition...that would be "Out of this world". During this period of time, VW continued to ignore valid concerns from users and began actively censoring posts in this forum. VW also began soliciting members to submit their usernames and passwords to the site by separate email...claiming that they needed to manually verify every member so they could issue new usernames and passwords. After a major outcry over this, they figured out that they no longer needed this information. Another two deadline were set and missed, with total lack of presence on these boards to explain why until well after the deadline passed. During this time several representatives of VW posted numerous posts on these boards insisting that VW would not return until they had the site fully functional. Then, on this last Monday, VW returned with what we currently have...a static site with no interaction, old content and links that don't work. But also, with the explicit areas deliberately opened up for anyone to access.
When you look back over this chain of events, do you not see a constant trail of broken promises, misdirection and flat out refusal to take accountability? Most of the people that are still visiting these boards are angry and frustrated, not about the delay but about the manner in which VW has conducted itself. Since most of these people are contributors, they are more important stakeholders then most users, for without them, there is no site.
On the positive side, VW has returned the former members area to a restricted area again, and by doing this, shown that they are willing to listen to the concerns of their users. This is a step in the right direction...of rebuilding credibility within the community. It's the first step, and it's a small step in what will likely be a very long journey, but at least it's heading down the right path...and offers us all a ray of hope.
We all hope to see VW back up to it's original standards, but I fear that many of it's prior contributors will be somewhat hesitant to contribute here for some time to come.
- By sillydaddy