Recent Debates/Problems/Etc on Forum

[Mad Dog]

Agreed. WDWMagic is a little too lax on moderation.

It's the Wild Wild West....But the plus is that there's a lot of good WDW info, especially when Len Testa (TP) pops in the discussion. Their Universal info , which is rare, is generally pretty weak though.

 

[Brian G.]

I would love if Len posted here.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

It's the Wild Wild West....But the plus is that there's a lot of good WDW info, especially when Len Testa (TP) pops in the discussion. Their Universal info , which is rare, is generally pretty weak though.

They're pretty weak on Disneyland though ever since that section of the forum became a fiefdom for one to three posters, one of whom exclusively uses it as a bully pulpit to snidely dog whistle on anything he finds unseemly or dirty about the current parks (i.e each and every cast member).

I'd also say that from what I've read on those forums, a lot of the top posters rarely seem to visit the parks and only observe it on an abstract level. They often aren't criticizing changes on a practical level, but rather using changes as props to leverage in whatever aesthetic or political battle they're (for some reason) attempting to wage on a Disney Parks forum.

TLDR that place gives me the ick, and there's no point in venturing over there when information will always filter down here in a much more condensed, and much less ideologically loaded, form.

 

[Mad Dog]

They're pretty weak on Disneyland though ever since that section of the forum became a fiefdom for one to three posters, one of whom exclusively uses it as a bully pulpit to snidely dog whistle on anything he finds unseemly or dirty about the current parks (i.e each and every cast member).

I'd also say that from what I've read on those forums, a lot of the top posters rarely seem to visit the parks and only observe it on an abstract level. They often aren't criticizing changes on a practical level, but rather using changes as props to leverage in whatever aesthetic or political battle they're (for some reason) attempting to wage on a Disney Parks forum.

TLDR that place gives me the ick, and there's no point in venturing over there when information will always filter down here in a much more condensed, and much less ideologically loaded, form.

They're almost purely a WDW site. Their Disneyland info has always been insignificant/minor. For Disneyland, I like Mice Chat.

 

[kristenabelle]

They're pretty weak on Disneyland though ever since that section of the forum became a fiefdom for one to three posters, one of whom exclusively uses it as a bully pulpit to snidely dog whistle on anything he finds unseemly or dirty about the current parks (i.e each and every cast member).

I'd also say that from what I've read on those forums, a lot of the top posters rarely seem to visit the parks and only observe it on an abstract level. They often aren't criticizing changes on a practical level, but rather using changes as props to leverage in whatever aesthetic or political battle they're (for some reason) attempting to wage on a Disney Parks forum.

TLDR that place gives me the ick, and there's no point in venturing over there when information will always filter down here in a much more condensed, and much less ideologically loaded, form.

This exactly. It's a very unfriendly place and seems personality-driven in the worst way.

I feel the complete opposite here. I love Disney, clearly love Universal too or I wouldn't be here. Do I sometimes internally bristle at some of the worse Disney digs? Sure. But overall the mods & community here have made it a friendly and welcoming place. I'm grateful to get solid updates, news, and thoughts where I know (for the most part, anyways) I can post without feeling judged.

 

[Brian G.]

I don’t want this thread to dog too much on other sites. While I disagree with OrlandoGuy’s post, we should still keep it about that and try to work on how we can make this forum better for everyone.

 

[Alicia]

I don’t want this thread to dog too much on other sites. While I disagree with OrlandoGuy’s post, we should still keep it about that and try to work on how we can make this forum better for everyone.

I could have been nicer, and for my part of it I am sorry.

 

[Brian G.]

I could have been nicer, and for my part of it I am sorry.

Ma'am! You are one of the nicest people in the community altogether.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I don’t want this thread to dog too much on other sites. While I disagree with OrlandoGuy’s post, we should still keep it about that and try to work on how we can make this forum better for everyone.

This post is why I love this site. Not going against anyone or anything, just trying to welcome discussion as best as these mods can. Appreciate you all and our regular contributors.

 

[Clive]

This will probably get removed and I’ll probably get banned or whatever but for some reason, maybe it’s the hangover, maybe it’s stress, I dont know, but I felt compelled to make this post because the last couple weeks of Epic discourse (including some posts in the Epic thread I read today) have been a microcosm of what I’d consider some serious culture rot that’s been trending over the past year or so.

Culture rot a strong term? Probably. But let me explain. A while back, a fairly new user stated that trims were being added to the new roller coaster at Epic because forces were too intense…predictably, he was met by a handful of 10,000+ post count users not just calling him wrong, but borderline mocking him. Then, sure enough, we’ve confirmed trims were added to the ride.

That same user today answered a poster’s question about Express at Helios; he answered, and was met with a reply condescendingly telling him, “You’ve already made that point before.” Well, sure…but the question was asked, and he answered.

That same responder was really critical, again borderline condescending, toward a new-ish poster who suggested Universal may play ball with Disney to get the Marvel rights back…glancing over the fact that a (arguably THE) prominent insider had suggested the same thing just a page or two beforehand.

The most upsetting thing to me happened during the Stella Luna previews—one particular Twitter user was absolutely trashed for being critical toward very specific aspects of his stay (not the whole stay, mind you…just a couple things). Now it wasn’t necessarily on this forum, but users from this forum on Twitter took to personal insults of the guy, commenting on his capitalization of every word in his tweets. Not long after, the guy had to come out and explain this was a result of having a learning disability…he was essentially “outed” for his dyslexia because fanboys couldn’t bear the fact that he had something critical to say about their favorite theme park. Not that he was critical of them directly, mind you…just their theme park.

[Sidenote: any forum built for intense fandom is going to attract individuals on the spectrum/classify as neurodivergent; these forums should be spaces for those individuals to express their passion in a constructive way that they can’t necessarily vocalize/interact with in the real world. Not a place for incumbent users to punch down to them]

“OG, stop white-knighting for randos on the internet.” Okay, fine. I’ll use my own example…when the Helios concept art were released (after weeks of speculation that we’d be at truly premium prices), I suggested the rooms looked cheap. It wasn’t about the “theming” of the rooms, just the presentation and lack of certain amenities (walk-in showers being the biggest). I said this not as a fanboy, but as a status Bonvoy member who has stayed in a lot of bad hotels and a lot of five-star luxury hotels…and yet I was sure enough come for in the comments. However, once a well-know theme park community stan posted his thoughts about the resort, it was met with zero resistance; in fact, there was a lot of outright agreeing with the same opinion I had shared earlier.

All this to say, the theme it seems is that if you’re on the inside of the “online theme park fan” fraternity…the ones with thousands of posts…your word is gospel. Any dissenting opinion is written off as a result of blind bias or a grab-bag of internet accusations (whataboutism, gatekeeping, straw man arguments, etc.) and mocked in the process. The only way to get on the inside of this club? Don’t say anything bad about the things those folks like. Period.

The reason I even care is because I genuinely enjoyed this site. This is a secret hobby of mine—I don’t run in circles that care about the parks and save my time spent on this site for when I’m alone. I will not be a 10,000-post user any time soon, nor will I ever have a theme park twitter presence. Even from a more objective, non-personal standpoint, I can’t be any of those things because I have history with the company at the corporate level. This site was supposed to be my little escape and outlet to talk parks.

Now, I’m not saying every single post should be met with acceptance. I think in any sort of forum you have to expect people to get chippy with one another (you all probably realize I’m guilty of this too). Disagreements are part of the nature of the beast, but they typically come when someone is being:
a.) legitimately hurtful/annoying
b.) purposefully contrarian
c.) personal

And in all of the examples I described above, none of those things were at play. Like I said, it all boiled down to… ‘you didn’t agree with my take about my favorite theme park so I’m gonna use my following to start a pile on.’

This is not a plea for people to just let me spout contrarian takes about Universal. I’ve noticed this site starting to bring out the worst in how I communicate with strangers and that’s on me to step away from it. But I figured there might be some other folks who feel the same way who wouldn’t want to speak up because of their post count or social media influence score.


As always, just my $.02…

At risk of reopening a conversation that's largely already happened, I figured I'd weigh in here, seeing as I'm the person you're referring to in several of these incidents. This was originally posted while I was at Disneyland, or I would've responded sooner.

In the future, you can feel free to just name me if you have concerns or issues with how I'm participating on the forums. As @Jake S said, none of us are above criticism.

Regarding your first point about the trim brakes - I'm not sure I participated in that discussion, but if you are a purported insider offering privileged information, you have to be prepared for pushback and skepticism if you don't have a track record. In this instance, the new-ish user demonstrated they do have some form of access, and that has indeed changed how people respond to their posts. If the original slate of posts did descend into mockery, then yeah, that's a problem and something to be mindful of.

As for your second point about the express question and my response... the question, which was sincerely asked, had already been answered further up the thread. The post I responded to did not quote the question, so I had no idea the intention was to answer one. It did appear that he was repeating claims he had already offered. That user has also been wrong before, so I personally take issue with stating unconfirmed spec as fact, even if it's allegedly well-sourced -- hence the curtness of my reply.

I do stand by the post you're referring to in the Marvel thread. If we don't reign things in at a certain point and agree to deal with a foundational set of facts, you can't have a productive conversation. As a moderator, I sometimes do have to be the bad guy, but I feel I addressed that subject as cordially as I could.

That said, and as the other moderators who've weighed in here have indicated, no one is perfect, and that includes me. Just as you have said some of your comments might be linked to a hangover or stress, my participation has been undoubtedly impacted by my nearly losing my home and the bulk of my possessions in the Los Angeles fires. In the last few weeks, I have spent an inordinate amount of time helping friends who have been displaced and making sure the air in my apartment (which again, was mercifully saved) is safe to breathe. Only this week has it been considered safe to be active outdoors. This is not an excuse but another reminder that everyone here is likely going through something. No one exists in a bubble.

All that to say, I agree with Jake's point that we should do our best to assume posts are being made in good faith. Frustration has definitely shaped how I've responded sometimes despite that, perhaps more than it should, and I'm happy to keep an eye on that.

 

[Mad Dog]

At risk of reopening a conversation that's largely already happened, I figured I'd weigh in here, seeing as I'm the person you're referring to in several of these incidents. This was originally posted while I was at Disneyland, or I would've responded sooner.

In the future, you can feel free to just name me if you have concerns or issues with how I'm participating on the forums. As @Jake S said, none of us are above criticism.

Regarding your first point about the trim brakes - I'm not sure I participated in that discussion, but if you are a purported insider offering privileged information, you have to be prepared for pushback and skepticism if you don't have a track record. In this instance, the new-ish user demonstrated they do have some form of access, and that has indeed changed how people respond to their posts. If the original slate of posts did descend into mockery, then yeah, that's a problem and something to be mindful of.

As for your second point about the express question and my response... the question, which was sincerely asked, had already been answered further up the thread. The post I responded to did not quote the question, so I had no idea the intention was to answer one. It did appear that he was repeating claims he had already offered. That user has also been wrong before, so I personally take issue with stating unconfirmed spec as fact, even if it's allegedly well-sourced -- hence the curtness of my reply.

I do stand by the post you're referring to in the Marvel thread. If we don't reign things in at a certain point and agree to deal with a foundational set of facts, you can't have a productive conversation. As a moderator, I sometimes do have to be the bad guy, but I feel I addressed that subject as cordially as I could.

That said, and as the other moderators who've weighed in here have indicated, no one is perfect, and that includes me. Just as you have said some of your comments might be linked to a hangover or stress, my participation has been undoubtedly impacted by my nearly losing my home and the bulk of my possessions in the Los Angeles fires. In the last few weeks, I have spent an inordinate amount of time helping friends who have been displaced and making sure the air in my apartment (which again, was mercifully saved) is safe to breathe. Only this week has it been considered safe to be active outdoors. This is not an excuse but another reminder that everyone here is likely going through something. No one exists in a bubble.

All that to say, I agree with Jake's point that we should do our best to assume posts are being made in good faith. Frustration has definitely shaped how I've responded sometimes despite that, perhaps more than it should, and I'm happy to keep an eye on that.

Even before you were a moderator, you were always cordial and knowledgeable in your posts. Your background in the film industry also gives you a keen insight into the reality of a lot of info, as opposed to those who aren't so closely involved. I've always considered you an excellent contributor and moderator, and I give you a pat on the back for a job well done.