I'm out

[SpaceGhost2K]

Sorry to say it, but I'm gone too .

Good times though ,
Ryan.

Chicken, I've still got those posters for you if you drop me a PM with your address. I sent an email and didn't hear back.

[gameking28]

This is the same crap that went on right before the Off Topic forums got deleted.

Sad to see you guys go. I know how frustrating it can be dealing with jerks online - it's too bad it has come to this though.

[pastries r fun]

This is the same crap that went on right before the Off Topic forums got deleted.

Sad to see you guys go. I know how frustrating it can be dealing with jerks online - it's too bad it has come to this though.

what went wrong with the off topic forums, except what can be implied from its name??

[SpaceGhost2K]

what went wrong with the off topic forums, except what can be implied from its name??

Arguments (ahem, discussions) got out of control to the point that people were threatening each other.

We're just a website about playing games and collecting stuff. The Powers That Be decided they didn't really need the headache, so they closed the off topic forums. I agree that a site can be focused on something but still allow people to talk about other stuff. But at the end of the day, you do have to decide if you're a gaming website or a "discuss religion/discuss politics/discuss movies" website. There are lots of other sites that focus on that stuff, so if you're looking to defend your position to the death, then maybe that other site is a better place to do it.

[pastries r fun]

Arguments (ahem, discussions) got out of control to the point that people were threatening each other.

We're just a website about playing games and collecting stuff. The Powers That Be decided they didn't really need the headache, so they closed the off topic forums. I agree that a site can be focused on something but still allow people to talk about other stuff. But at the end of the day, you do have to decide if you're a gaming website or a "discuss religion/discuss politics/discuss movies" website. There are lots of other sites that focus on that stuff, so if you're looking to defend your position to the death, then maybe that other site is a better place to do it.

nice description, space ghost, wish i had seen it, though on the other hand glad i didnt

[GamerSince'76]

Arguments (ahem, discussions) got out of control to the point that people were threatening each other.

We're just a website about playing games and collecting stuff. The Powers That Be decided they didn't really need the headache, so they closed the off topic forums. I agree that a site can be focused on something but still allow people to talk about other stuff. But at the end of the day, you do have to decide if you're a gaming website or a "discuss religion/discuss politics/discuss movies" website. There are lots of other sites that focus on that stuff, so if you're looking to defend your position to the death, then maybe that other site is a better place to do it.

Very well said. Since this thread has been left open, and others have commented, I'm posting a few of my thoughts.

I'm leaving out certain statements as not to inflame the situation.

IMHO members have done nothing to demonstrate that certain sections of XBA should return. The bickering and bitterness continues. This thread proves that.

No one person is to blame for sections of this site closing. We all are. Until we show that we can post here without flaming and bashing other members, I'm sure sections of this site will not return.

I have a lot of respect for the powers that be here. This site has less traffic but at least the site isn't filled with insults, personal attacks and bickering. Sometimes taking the high road isn't easy but it's the right road to take.

[Nurb]

I have never been around to see the nastiness people are talking about, but I stuck it out, hoping the forums would return and everyone can get back to the way things were. They haven't and there's less and less posts here every day while the place empties out. A full 24+ hours have gone by without a reply or topic posted in the main 360 forum. I hate having to go elsewhere with the time investment I put in here -_- mainly hang around Escapistmagazine.com's forums now.. Yahtzee's vids kept drawin me back take it easy folks, I'll still be lurking here though to shut off the lights.

[ll Mista GT ll]

But at the end of the day, you do have to decide if you're a gaming website or a "discuss religion/discuss politics/discuss movies" website. There are lots of other sites that focus on that stuff, so if you're looking to defend your position to the death, then maybe that other site is a better place to do it.

Its the way XBA had been for years, my friend. Long before you even joined. I still dont know exactly what happened, but I know it couldnt have been that bad. This is the way the Admins say thank you to those who have supported XBA for so long. All the people who posted, wrote reviews, promoted the site, this is what we get. We can all go to the Xbox.com forums, but we chose here because of the great discussions we could have here. I joined over 4 years ago and I've seen XBA go through its ups and downs. I mean, it happens. People move on with their lives, find other sites, leave because they dont like the site. But removing the OTL was a recipe for failure. I hope the Admins see this. Oh! But they would have to actually log on to see. (Sarcasm, everyone relax)

As for this thread, its pathetic. I'm pretty sure I made one of these 3 years ago when i had absolutely nothing better to do than sit at a computer. I was so upset that people like Reclaimer, Dark Enemy, and others would make fun of me. Guess what, I WAS A TOOL. I deserved it, and theyre all cool people who wanted to have jsut a little fun. If you can't handle someone teasing you online, then there's something wrong folks. Grow Up. Don't make a huge thread about it, don't whine or cry. People take things WAY too seriously around here. Let it be. I know one crazy mod, his name shall remain undisclosed, but I know he gets a kick out of pushing people around. And to you I say GROW UP. Let people be. This mod threatened to ban me and told me that the whole staff has been notified of my actions. GROW UP LMFAO. I called someone a "douchebag". Was it neccessary? No, not at all and i understand that. Did you have to make it a big deal? No.

To keep this short and simple, the members are not to blame. It is the Admins and Mods. Ultimately the Admins for deciding to make certain people mods, and for removing the OTL. Happy mods = happy members. No OTL = no members.

To anyone who read this, please feel free to send me a PM if you wanna further discuss anything. And thank you to all the awesome members who made XBA an awesome place to stay

[GamerSince'76]

The site was getting to the point that if Obama turned his chin a certain way, it was a sign that he was plotting to blow up the states. It was just a place for spreading hate.

All these so called long time members with high post counts, that have been here a long time couldn't get out of here fast enough when the OTL was removed. Zero loyalty. Instead of riding it out here and helping make the place a better site, they fled.

[ll Mista GT ll]

The site was getting to the point that if Obama turned his chin a certain way, it was a sign that he was plotting to blow up the states. It was just a place for spreading hate.

All these so called long time members with high post counts, that have been here a long time couldn't get out of here fast enough when the OTL was removed. Zero loyalty. Instead of riding it out here and helping make the place a better site, they fled.

I've got somewhere over 6,000 posts. 5,999 I'm sure were in the OTL. There's really no point of coming here anymore. This damned thread doesn't even have a place to exist. Fact of the matter is that those members were here for the OTL. Now they're all frowned upon for leaving because what they were here for is gone? If you're thinking "Well Mister GT, you sill man, you, this is an Xbox site after all!", well then you're absolutely right, but I didnt see the Admins having a problem with getting all the traffic when the OTL was still here.

Let's have the Admins show us a little loyalty, eh? The members make the site. You should never piss off your members. I truly hope one of the Admins will login and see this. By writing this I hope to get the same Xbox Addict Asylum I signed up for in October of '04 back.

EDIT

[SpaceGhost2K]

I've got somewhere over 6,000 posts. 5,999 I'm sure were in the OTL. There's really no point of coming here anymore. This damned thread doesn't even have a place to exist. Fact of the matter is that those members were here for the OTL. Now they're all frowned upon for leaving because what they were here for is gone? If you're thinking "Well Mister GT, you sill man, you, this is an Xbox site after all!", well then you're absolutely right, but I didnt see the Admins having a problem with getting all the traffic when the OTL was still here.

Let's have the Admins show us a little loyalty, eh? The members make the site. You should never piss off your members. I truly hope one of the Admins will login and see this. By writing this I hope to get the same Xbox Addict Asylum I signed up for in October of '04 back.

EDIT

I'm not talking about insults like "you're a dork", "No, YOU'RE a dork." Calling someone a douchebag is over the line. (Read the Terms of Service if you're in doubt.) You can't insult someone like that and then blow it off like "It was just a joke." Fact of the matter is, the OTL had gotten so vindictive that members were threatening other members with guns and violence in PM's because of arguments.

So, we have one owner, and a corporation whose sponsorship keeps the site alive. There are a handful of other admins and mods that aren't paid, and their volunteer work is needed to keep the site functioning, and to keep it civil. Keeping it running, and current, is hard enough. Would you put up with all that nonsense when you're here on your own time? I certainly have other things to do besides babysit a bunch of misbehaved forum posters. On top of that, we have Wal-Mart as a corporate sponsor, and Microsoft/Xbox is someone we work VERY closely with, and the truth is, they don't want their names attached to some place that is out of control like the OTL was. You go to the BioWare forums, or the Pandemic forums, or the 2K forums or the Xbox forums, and none of them put up with crap like that. Why should we? Just to keep people? That's a pretty lame excuse for accepting mediocrity.

When a thread gets out of control, it gets closed. What do you do when an entire forum gets out of control? What do you do when it gets out of control and pleas to chill out go unheeded?

Let me spell it out for you. This is a gaming website. The key attractive component of this site is the reader reviews. Unlike any other site that I am aware of, reader reviews aren't stuck in a forum thread to die. They're attached to the games, and occasionally listed on the front page, if the review is exceptionally well written. It also has what I consider the premiere spot for faceplate collectors and customizers to talk about plates, share what they know, do sales and trades, and research plates for their collections. This concept was tried before, by 360style.uk and others, and there never seems to be enough members to make the faceplate part thrive. People with actual "collections" are few. People who customize, are few. People who buy plates though, are VERY numerous. Part of our goal is to let those people know that they ARE collectors and that we have a home for them here.

But let me break it down further. This is an Xbox site. It's about games, reviews, and collectibles. That's IT. If you want to talk about something else, feel free to go somewhere else to do it. That's not that hard.

I'm not saying this to run people off. I'm saying it to strengthen the people who DID stick around. I don't care if you've got ten thousand posts. If the off topic forum is the reason you're here and not the games, reviews or collectibles, then this probably isn't the place for you.

What happens is that people come here for those other things, get sucked into the off topic forum, and then end up spending all their time there instead of the other places of the site. Then they take the OTL attitude and bring it to the other forums. They argue over games instead of discussing them. They don't write reviews. They don't offer constructive criticism. It's not a matter that XBA doesn't want that. It's that the members don't want that.

I've got somewhere over 6,000 posts. 5,999 I'm sure were in the OTL.... Fact of the matter is that those members were here for the OTL.

If you have 6,000 posts and 5,999 of them were in the OTL, then let me be perfectly blunt with you. Thank you for bringing nothing to the site. Having a member like that is like not having a member at all. The OTL is not contributing to the quality of the site, and in fact became a hindrance. You say people are leaving. I say, how many have never JOINED because of the crap that went on in there? How many parents told their kids they couldn't come to the site because someone called someone else a "douchebag?" I don't care how many people like that leave. I care very much about how many people who AREN'T like that, never join.

As far as traffic, our corporate sponsorship isn't dependent on traffic. I can't presume to speak for Kamshaft, but as for me, I'd rather have a quality site with moderate traffic, than a sucky site with a enormous traffic. A quality site will keep their members, while a sucky site will watch all their "traffic" pass right on through, never to be seen again.

** EDIT** I just looked again at your last post, and your avatar. I see that you don't have the text under your picture that reads "My Product Reviews." In four years here, you've never written a single review? Not ONE? That's what I'm talking about. Thanks for nothing.

[Ainokeatoo]

You guys need to stop going about trying to get the otl back this way.

[Shawn-XBA]

This kind of stuff is keeping the OTL from coming back, please refrain from these types of arguments in threads. This topic is now closed.