Q&A: 2009 staff changes

[Neo]

I've gotten several inquiries as to where certain members of the staff went. I told myself that I wouldn't make a post publicly regarding this topic, but since I've gotten several inquiries over the last few months I figured it is best to just create a thread and let that be the end of it.

In August 2009, I let administrator Monsoon go from the staff. While many found his style of administration distasteful, many also found his participation engaging. Unfortunately I felt that a change was needed thus he was let go from his administrative and moderator position. Unfortunately he chose not to stay an active member on the site and no longer participates in any way.

In late 2009 I also removed inactive moderators or moderators that no longer wished to be a member of the staff for whatever reason (mostly this occurs because of school or work load elsewhere since all positions on this site are voluntary).

Overall I believe the changes have been positive for the site and have created a more open atmosphere where folks can be free to express their opinions without hesitation so long as it is within the boundaries of our set rules.

[zman9810]

Thank you for the information and I certainly agree with your last statement.

[teshadoh]

Ah! I was wondering what happened to him as I haven't been posting much in the past few years.

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

When I joined Urban Planet in May of 2007, I had never been a member of a forum before and I knew nothing of the lingo, like what a thread was, or the difference in a forum or thread, I was totally lost. Well I guess I had been a member for a month and I disagreed with what a supposed retail analyst said about Atlanta being a premier shopping destination. Well I had programed all my PM's to be pop ups and, Oh wow, there was monsoon( known as Metro.M back then) and his avatar ( ( I did not know what those were either) was this monster with a basketball shirt on, a monster face, and horns sticking out of his head, and it scared me to death. He blasted me about my thoughts on Atlanta which now IS a shopping destination, and with Phase I of Oliver McMillans Buckhead-Atlanta development, it is going to be a whole lot larger. Knowing that Oscar de la Renta, Etro, Brioni, Dolce&Gabbana, Van Cleef & Arpels etc. had signed on, this REALLY will rival Bal Harbour, and to some degree Beverly Hills, but Metro.M would hear nothing of it and told me that because my post was so outlandish he was more than likely going to ban me. I thought, What have I done except base a retail opinion on what the press had said, in particular The Atlanta Business Chronicle. Next year when phase I of the former Streets of Buckhead is completed at a cost of $700 million, I guess if moonson were still here I could say that I told you so, but he probably would ban me, it seems he never gave warnings, he just banned you, and made the Urban Planet atmospher feel "extremely hostile", I was practicaly worried about making any post after that. So Neo you did the right thing, you dismissed monsoon, and it seems the feel of Urban Planet has changed to a more relaxing atmosphere where you are not afraid to voice your opinion, as long as you stay in the UP guidlines, and then some moderators will just clean up flamming war areas, and not even warn members. They just clean it up like it should be to make it inviting and unhostile, and everything works out fine. It seems in 2007 Mods. could not wait to start handing out warnings or suspensions. A lot has changed and for the better, I feel good being back at UP and I hope word gets around that it has changed for the better and is a great forum to belong to once again. Thank you Neo!!

[Neo]

I'm glad to hear that the atmosphere is more calming these days. Now if I could just get rid of the constant bombardment of spammers on the site.