Patronizing Letter from the Owner

I get this piece of BS from the owner of the site:

I saw your comments about V2 vs V3. I'd love to hear a few SPECIFIC things you don't like about V3? I know it's always hard to get used to something new, but there is a lot to like in the new version. Again, let me know some specific things. Thanks!

This Dude does not allow messages from non-friends so I am unable to tell him directly what a [Insulting epithet removed. Watch your language - MOD] I think he is and how patronizing and insulting it is to tell someone he does not even know that "it's hard to get used to something new."



No, it isn't.
Your note is patronizing and insulting.

The problem is not that the system is new.  The problem is that it did not need to be changed so drastically in the first place and that the changes are superficial and have nothing at all to do with making this a better site for serious chess players.  

 
~  Not allowing adults to have adult converstaions in the forums is an ongoing problem. 
~ Censoring all talk of the rampant and continued cheating here is an ongoing issue.
~ Allowing moderators to use their personal set of belief systems as a template for how to moderate a forum is insulting.  There should be at least one open forum with zero moderation. 

 
The best thing that could happen for this site would be for the ownership to sell this site to someone that is serious about chess and not just looking to line their pockets by grifting monies through exploitation of the ignorance of n00bs and gumbies who think they're finding some secret to chess by spending money here. 

Shameful things you do.

 

Amen.

lol... I got the exact same letter from Erik. I didn't feel like it was all that patronizing though.

By the way, you can perfectly leave Erik a note without having to be friends.  As for sending him a message, I don't know.

I also got the note from Erik. (Maybe he sent it to everyone?) I didn't take offense to the note, but I didn't try responding. I'll just accept whatever V3 turns out to be. If it's not too bad, we'll adapt; If it's terrible, some of us will leave. No big deal. I haven't really tried V3 yet, so I'm ignorant on the specifics of V3.

He probably sent it to everyone who voiced a negative sentiment about V3 in that thread. I can't remember which one it is exactly, since there are so many threads about V3. Maybe it's all of them.

I guess we'll soon find out.

                                                I TOO got a letter from Mr Erik   Is anyone here NOT a member of Chess.com ?    I suggest we stack all the letters in THIS thread, and then we quietly leave out the back of the forum.

If oprah ever posted something positive, it would be the first time.  I think they just make a habit of complaining about everything. Some people are never happy.  

If Erik contacts someone regarding V3 its insulting.  If he doesnt respond to someones complaints he doesnt care.  Its a no win situation at times.

What if I told you that not liking V3 doesn't necessarily mean that I don't like or can't adapt to changes? Amazing isn't it?

LOL The owner took the time to try and find out from you what you don't like, and you found that insulting? Dude, no owner normally does that. Would you have preferred that no one asked you anything...and changes are made without any feedback? I think his communication was a positive thing, and you wanting to curse him directly was a very poor chess move...a major blunder in my opinion.

I bashed V3 in a thread and recieved the same letter from Erik. I responded to the SPECIFICS of the letter & recieved an additional response that they will try to address the issues i had. Politics or concern? Time will tell.

I personally find erik nice :)

I'm sorry that asking your opinion upset you. I'm all ears to feedback. Weird that the system blocked you from messaging me. I get lots of messages from non-friends all of the time. 

Sounds like you are unhappy about our forum moderation. We try our best to be in the middle of those who want total freedom, and those who want family-friend and moderated. At the end of the day nobody is totally happy, but that's what happens when you try to please in the middle  

We have a forum for discussing cheating. The issue is that it normally gets heated, accusatory, and personal. So we keep it off the main forums. 

We do not moderate Private Club forums. Sounds like that might be something you are interested in. 

Running a community is hard. A million people have a million different ideas of how to do it. We have many Support Staff and dozens of volunteer moderators trying their best to keep this a fun and friendly place for everyone. I know we can't make them all happy. 

I also know that not everyone likes the new site. It's the pain of moving forward. It happened when people went from Windows 3 to 95. Or from iOS 6 to 7 (oh I HATED that!). Or when YouTube changed things a few years back and people went bananas. I totally understand it. I feel it too sometimes and have to remind myself it takes a little bit to adjust. And then I forget about the old version. We are keeping the old version around until almost everyone has voluntarily moved to the new site which should be faster, less buggy, and more pleasant. Until then, feel free to use whichever version you want. And if you ever want to send me your feedback - I'm all ears!

I got the same message from Erik. I didn't find it insulting at all, constructive in fact. And he responded again to my specific feedback. And I plan on responding to his feedback to my feedback. In that way hopefully some of the issues can be fixed. I still prefer V2, but it looks like it's due to be chopped at some point, so we may as well either accept it and try to make V3 as good as it can be, or leave the site. Obviously lots of folks are deciding just to leave when that day comes. At present, and in contrast to my earlier position, I am leaning more towards staying. The fact that I am not a paying member but Erik still took the time out of his presumably currently overloaded schedule to respond to me personally says something.

Erik - here's my delayed response to your letter.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/suggestions/how-do-you-see-the-number-of-views-for-your-threads-in-v3