JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: Sprry75 on February 13, 2006, 09:36 PM
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Yeah, but you've gotta admit, Rebelscum's Toy Fair coverage is pretty sweet.
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Jedi Defenders coverage topped it. :P J/K
I actually thought Yak Faces coverage of ToyFair was pretty good. As was Galactic Hunters. I love Rebel Scums blurb about it, "Rebelscum's annual coverage of the 2006 International Toy Fair", I may be reading it wrong, but I didn't know the 2006 Toy Fair came every year. ;D
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Yeah, but you've gotta admit, Rebelscum's Toy Fair coverage is pretty sweet.
Yeah, I'm digging that coverage they have of the new Little Mermaid collectibles.
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Yeah, but you've gotta admit, Rebelscum's Toy Fair coverage is pretty sweet.
Yeah, I'm digging that coverage they have of the new Little Mermaid collectibles.
(http://tk421.homestead.com/files/icons/lol-anim.gif)
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I actually thought Yak Faces coverage of ToyFair was pretty good.
Thank you ;)
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Yeah, but you've gotta admit, Rebelscum's Toy Fair coverage is pretty sweet.
Yeah, I'm digging that coverage they have of the new Little Mermaid collectibles.
Well, at least you know new Little Mermaid collectibles are at Toy Fair. Seriously, WTF happened with the JD Toy Fair coverage? Is there a discussion about this somewhere?
There's got to be more to it than the sick/weather note on the front page. JD only sent one guy to Toy Fair?
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Seriously, WTF happened with the JD Toy Fair coverage?
There's got to be more to it than the sick/weather note on the front page.
Trust me Deanpaul, all the staff here is incredibly disappointed that we couldn't bring you coverage of Toy Fair. But the "small" blizzard in New York combined with a very ugly illness prevented us from doing this.
...edit... Yes, JD sent one guy to Toy Fair.
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Trust me Deanpaul, all the staff here is incredibly disappointed that we couldn't bring you coverage of Toy Fair. But the "small" blizzard in New York combined with a very ugly illness prevented us from doing this.
Jesse, your enthusiasm around here is great but your sarcasm doesn't answer my question. And let's be clear, this isn't just about you not bringing me coverage. There are other people here that were expecting to see a report and some pictures. It's been hyped on the main page all week, and I remember seeing a thread suggesting questions to be taken to the show that forum members were curious about for some time. It's been talked up for months, and then wasn't delivered or adequately discussed.
You say you’re disappointed? I don’t hear disappointed. I hear a shrug. I guess I was under the impression that Jedi Defender gave a crap about covering Toy Fair. It's not like this is the first time the NY report fell apart, remember 2004? Sure, they're just toys. But Jedi Defender has access to shows like Toy Fair that the average person doesn't, and this year even the nose-bleed sites managed to get someone there.
I'm not blaming Dave, or anyone else, but was Dave the only staff guy covering this? I'm just asking a simple question about what happened. One guy craps out (for the second time) and the whole thing doesn't happen? You might want to rethink that next year. No one else from the staff wanted to go along? C'mon.
I guess I thought Jedi Defender was a little more together than letting something like Toy Fair fall apart. Maybe it's just not that important to the site? Then say so. This debacle makes JD look like it has the organizational skills of a Junior High yearbook committee, if that. After all, they usually get the book out.
Thanks again for completely ignoring my original question. Overall, very poor performance. F-
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You say you’re disappointed? I don’t hear disappointed. I hear a shrug.
You hear a shrug? You don't think I'm disappointed? Star Wars has been a hobby for me for so many years and it's given me so much. This is actually one of the most exciting times everfor Star Wars collectibles as many companies have jumped on board to create some incredible lines. And I certainly wanted to bring that to everyone at JD because it was very important to me. However, did we let our members down? Undoubtedly. Why? Perhaps we weren't organized enough, but certainly part of the reason is that, personally speaking, I don't have the finances to make it to all the toy shows.
And to show how bad I feel for being a part of letting our great members down, I'm resigning my staff position here at JD.
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And to show how bad I feel for being a part of letting our great members down, I'm resigning my staff position here at JD.
Okay, I know I'm not especially active in the forums here so my opinion probably means little, but how many others think this is not right?
So the TF coverage fell apart. Does that make you any less of a leader for these forums?
I think not.
Ian
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And to show how bad I feel for being a part of letting our great members down, I'm resigning my staff position here at JD.
Okay, I know I'm not especially active in the forums here so my opinion probably means little, but how many others think this is not right?
So the TF coverage fell apart. Does that make you any less of a leader for these forums?
I think not.
Ian
I agree Ian. Jesse has been an excellent staff member here, and I don't think that he should leave based on this solely alone. If there are other factors behind his resignation, thats fine, but I think that the site shouldn't lose a great staff member because of the Toy Fair coverage, or lack there of.
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C'mon Jesse...is it the reason for the Toy fair blunder or the reason you left in another forum about Hasbro's toy outputs this year? I don't think you should leave for all this... you are our 'balancer' after all :(.
Why couldn't we send more folks. Does the site not get enough funds from sponsors through the year to afford send multiple members to every show annually? Perhaps an administrator's postings or PM about the JD's personal income (from sponsors) would clear this up? Out of all the staff members there were no others wanted(or could) to go? Was that the reason? Then what is the reason? An explanation or reason please(why we only send 1)? This happened BEFORE and we didn't learn?
Sending 1 to a show is just waiting for a disaster to happen..as proved 1 person from one location ...something happened and there's no backup.(risky)
<wish Coleman went then I could stock up on gold titanium ties :P JK>
--Urb
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And to show how bad I feel for being a part of letting our great members down, I'm resigning my staff position here at JD.
WTH? Come on now. Don't you think that's an overreaction? (http://cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/traurig/g045.gif)
If there are other reasons, then that's your business (admittedly I don't have all the facts before me), but how is this your fault and yours alone? Anyway, this is only one screwup of a single event, on an otherwise outstanding track record. Don't do this. (http://cheesebuerger.de/images/midi/liebe/a074.gif)
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Ok usually I don't respond to any of the silly site drama/politics bull****, but I gotta say that anyone bitching and moaning because things didn't work out for JD to get someone to cover Toy Fair is ******* ridiculous. Having ran and currently running a Star Wars fan site, I know how difficult it can be to get something like coverage for Toy Fair done.
For starters, has anyone thought that perhaps JD had one staff member slated to go to the show because only one staff member was able to make it? Being that this is a fan site, every person that works on this site has a life and responsibilities away from it. Work, school, family, health, finances, any one of these issues could prevent a person or persons from going to New York for Toy Fair. Perhaps the one member who could go, was able to work around their real-life issues so that they can go, but to expect a large number of people to do so isn't very smart.
And what about finances? I know a couple of staff members are in Canada and a couple more are in California, a 2-3 day trip to NYC could cost a bundle. Perhaps they can't afford to drop that kind of cash just to cover a toy show. And don't go expecting sponsors to cover the bill too, their payments often can't even cover the costs of running a site and that's even if they pay you in cash. And so what, that would leave Chris to flip the bill to get any of the staff to NYC for the show. Do you all expect him to be able to cover costs just because other site owners have the luxury of doing so? No ****** way, if I recall correctly he's a college kid (like many of you) and he's in this for the hobby.
So the Jedidefender coverage didn't work out, in the end big ******* deal. I'm sure the staff members and particularly the one person who was supposed to go are disappointed. And certainly many of us fans are disappointed that we didn't get to read about JD's take on the show, but it's not the end of the world. **** happens and it happens often, they made a concerted effort to try to get things to work out. Unfortunately, external factors came into play to prevent the coverage, coverage which by the way cost you nothing so don't even go complaining about not getting something that would have been free to you anyways.
So until you go out there and try to run a site that can compete with a big boy like RS, GH, or SSG, keep your complaints to yourself. Unless you've been involved in trying to get **** together on such a scale just to make fans of your site happy, you have no bearing to judge them for a minor, practically insignificat, faux pas.
Oh and Jesse, don't ****** resign as a staff member due to the lack of Toy Fair coverage. If other ****'s going on that's making you resign just say so, but don't feed any naysayers the potential delight of your resignation due to this ****, it ain't worth it.
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It kind of is a big deal, as Toy Fair is one of the two marquee events in any given year (along with the San Diego Comic Con) for new toy/collectible items/pictures/news.
When dumbass sites like Sandtroopers (http://www.sandtroopers.com/events/toyfair2006nyc/) can get Toy Fair coverage, and JD can't, that's kind of a problem.
Should JesseVader08 have quit his staff position? No, because it doesn't appear to have been his responsibility at all. But still, the lack of JD's coverage is something that should at the very least be questioned.
It's bush league.
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Ok usually I don't respond to any of the silly site drama/politics bull****, but I gotta say that anyone bitching and moaning because things didn't work out for JD to get someone to cover Toy Fair is ******* ridiculous.
Really, and who insulted you directly?
Having ran and currently running a Star Wars fan site, I know how difficult it can be to get something like coverage for Toy Fair done.
Know-it-all-expert opinion, so considering you know everything about it..have you considered that others do not. You get to judge these folks as stupid? What an ass.
For starters, has anyone thought that perhaps JD had one staff member slated to go to the show because only one staff member was able to make it? Being that this is a fan site, every person that works on this site has a life and responsibilities away from it. Work, school, family, health, finances, any one of these issues could prevent a person or persons from going to New York for Toy Fair. Perhaps the one member who could go, was able to work around their real-life issues so that they can go, but to expect a large number of people to do so isn't very smart.
No **** Sherlock! Duh..of course I thought of those reasons, my question was 'Is that(one) of the reasons'? Who's expecting a large number? Where did you get that? I don't think a pair is unreasonable -and if it isn't a simple explanation to explain it wouild have been fine.
So the Jedidefender coverage didn't work out, in the end big ******* deal. I'm sure the staff members and particularly the one person who was supposed to go are disappointed. And certainly many of us fans are disappointed that we didn't get to read about JD's take on the show, but it's not the end of the world. **** happens and it happens often, they made a concerted effort to try to get things to work out. Unfortunately, external factors came into play to prevent the coverage, coverage which by the way cost you nothing so don't even go complaining about not getting something that would have been free to you anyways.
I'm free to complain like anyone else here...just like you're free to come on here and insult folks with all your information you ASSume everyone else knows-which is why it's called a forum. No, this isn't communist country and no, you can't tell people what they can't do-nice try ::)(much as you'd like to)
So until you go out there and try to run a site that can compete with a big boy like RS, GH, or SSG, keep your complaints to yourself. Unless you've been involved in trying to get **** together on such a scale just to make fans of your site happy, you have no bearing to judge them for a minor, practically insignificat, faux pas.
This is funny, you say that we can't judge..what are you doing now? Yes, I've done stuff to make folks happy on this site. I noticed smaller sites than this covered it.
Oh and Jesse, don't ****** resign as a staff member due to the lack of Toy Fair coverage. If other ****'s going on that's making you resign just say so, but don't feed any naysayers the potential delight of your resignation due to this ****, it ain't worth it.
What is this assclown talking about? Anyone? I DON'T want you to leave Jesse but I think this shallow person's insulting post resembles many I've read at another site. "Ok usually I don't respond .." . Maybe you shouldn't have. Whatta blue vein throbber!
Remember it always the 2nd guy who throws gets busted-remember when you read his asinine post I replied to.
PS: Don't leave Jesse
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A few things:
1. JD didn't have toy fair coverage. BFD. Go over to Rebelscum if you want to see the news. You can still come back here and chat about it.
2. To the handful of people bitching about a lack of coverage at this industry con....how about you make a paypal donation to JD so they can afford to send someone to Comic Con and cover it the way you want it covered this summer? If it's this important to you that you see 10 or 11 more pictures or reviews of that new GG mini-bust (and NO pictures of that Little Mermaid statue), then hey....I'll bet that paypal fund would collect 3 or 4 whole dollars towards the cost that the people from JD who are going will pay out of their own pockets come July.
3. Jesse, if you're really quitting over THIS, that's silly. It's not your fault JD didn't have coverage. If one of the many people Rebelscum had at Toy Fair was sick, I'm sure Phil would have flown someone else out. I doubt Chris has the bankroll to do that on a whim....but if he does, hey Chris, I hearby volunteer to be flown to any convention you want coverage for. I'll work for expenses + the cost of exclusives I'll "have" to buy to photograph. There, problem solved. ;D
Ok, seriously though, JD is a fan-run site. RS is a business. There's a BIG difference and in cases like this, a business always has the advantage on the little guy. RS is all about ads, clicks and dollar signs. That's how they pay for their Toy Fair coverage and get the invites to go to places like Sansweet's house. That's their thing. They're not just Rebelscum, they're "Offical Pix" (tm)
JD seems like it's about catering to their membership. They do it well. That's THEIR thing. When I come here, I can chat with people whose names I remember, and who aren't going to ask me who I am. We're free to joke and talk, and not have to worry we'll get banned if we accidentally say something around the wrong moderator. It's a pretty good community.
Given the choice between cool people here, or yet another article covering a convention 4 or 5 sites have already covered.....I'll take the former.
I go to Rebelscum for my Star Wars news.
I come here to hang with the cooler members of the Star Wars collecting community.
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OK, first lemme say your post of a different viewpoint was much more tactful and didn't include personal attacks, thank you.
Easier to agree with Joshee after he puts things more tactfully(ala moderatorish)
I would like Jedidefender to become it's own identity-I don't wanna compare it to Rebelscum. At the same time I think of JD as one of the 'big four' sites.
What I wish for? RS to implode and our better staff to 'cleanse' new recruits from there to here to make this a huge great site that still has a 'small site feel' to it.
I only know from the negatives of RS what I learned in our RS (talk ****) thread. Jd is the first site SW site I signed onto. I like the site alot. Just have questions I would like answered in more detail about this recent event coverage, that is all.
I'm not thinking about leaving the site over this -no way
In the same sense I'm not taking matters personally and name-calling about it either(unless it's out of defense of course).
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I'm free to complain like anyone else here...just like you're free to come on here and insult folks with all your information you ASSume everyone else knows-which is why it's called a forum.
I'm with CorranHorn on this one.
He didn't point any fingers at you specifically Slothus. If anything, I'd assume he was referring to the nice friendly post from DeanPaul which was followed by the post announcing Jesse's resignation.
To send someone to an event like Toy Fare, you'll be looking at transportation, accomodation, food, and of course spending expenses. That can quickly add up to alot of money.
If it comes out of the person's own pocket, as it most likely will, it probably also means that they have to book vacation time with their job, or take a leave of absence at school, if they're students.
That's alot to expect of people who, aside from the owner of the site, are in all likelihood volunteers donating their time to make this a better place.
Many sponsors donate toys rather than money - where do you think the contests come from? Like CH said, those that do supply cash are probably barely covering site expenses. Certainly not enough to book even one staff member a holiday trip to Toy Fare or Comic Con.
Therefore, before people call the site 'bushleague', or find other ways to make their lack of appreciation for this free site known, maybe ask questions first. Slothus, I know you did ask questions first - and that is why I do not believe CH was calling you in his post.
The accusation was made that 'know-it-alls' assume everyone knows the financial make-up of the site. To hear some of the whining is equally assuming that the site can send people across the country at whim.
Ian
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I'm not dissapointed in the least that JediDefender couldn't get some one else down there. I'm only an hour and 45 minutes away, and I would not have risked putting some one on the road there, or a flight. I live in Upstate NY, and I'm quite familiar with bad weather, and what NYC had was bad weather. In fact, flights from Albany International to Boston, NYC, and Maine (IRRC) got canceled. So good luck there. And if some one gets the flu, hey, it happens.
I look forward to more great coverage from JediDefender, and I'm not going to let this bump get in the way of that.
Kevin
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Ian C
His post was really arrogant, had an air of superioirity..the words he used are there-I will not speak of it further
I don't refer to it as whining but rather..questioning. How do you quell that? With detailed answers, of course. Would like to know is all. Nice post, eloquently stated.
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Therefore, before people call the site 'bushleague', or find other ways to make their lack of appreciation for this free site known, maybe ask questions first.
Is the site bushleague? No. The site's great. Not having any Toy Fair coverage, when other, ****head sites like Sandtroopers and SirSteve's have coverage--that's what's bushleague.
I have tons of appreciation for the site. This site is pretty much the only SW-themed site I post at, which is why it pained me to have to go to places like SirSteve's to see Toy Fair pictures. I'd prefer to do all of my SW-related websurfing here. I know that JD has better people working for it than pretty much any other site, so there's no reason why their coverage should be lacking in comparison.
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First, knock off the fighting.
Second... CorranHorn's defending us, so while I appreciate your thoughts Darth Slothus I'm going to back him on this. He's got experience in this "business" and he knows the difficulties that come with it. Fact is none of the rest of us were able to go, Dave was it, and Dave didn't... Dave's raging sick, and the blizzard didn't help. Irony of ironies is that one guy living close to the event (Dave's a bus ride away from NJ) turned out to shoot us in the foot rather than flying in one or two guys. If that were the case we'd have been in on Friday and staying at a hotel if one or two of us could've made the trip, unfortunately that was neither the plan nor possible.
Jason's points are valid... And now's not a good time to "come down" on this site though DeanPaul's got some good points going along with his post. And believe me the site staff aren't all cheers and smiles at the situation, we're handling our business though and that's all there is to the situation. Basically, what I'm saying is that we KNOW this is a problem, we're working on this now, and basically doing a pile-on from our membership's perspective isn't going to help matters. Jason was defending us, and in my view he's right... But we're working to better things because unlike other sites we work with a LOT less around these parts... Yes, even some "small" sites have more base **** to work with than we do because of a number of reasons.
The fighting stops now though. This isn't a good time to be duking it out in the forums.
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I know that JD has better people working for it than pretty much any other site, so there's no reason why their coverage should be lacking in comparison.
I'll go out on a limb here and give you two potential reasons.
$$
It sounds like what you're suggesting is that because the people here are cool, they should also have unlimited funds?
Fansite == No big pay roll. No Google Ads. No thousands of members racking up tens of thousands of "clicks" on ads, meaning no big residuals that can pay for things like plane tickets and hotel rooms.
Sure, maybe other "bushleague" sites had some coverage, but that's just because someone that is on the staff was probably already going anyway. It sounds like Jesse was going and then couldn't. I don't see how that should reflect poorly on him OR JD.
Why not lighten up on the whole situation a bit? I'm sure JD will have multiple dudes at Comic Con (I hope to run into them down there again) and they'll make up for whatever was missed at this show. ;D
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I'd prefer to do all of my SW-related websurfing here.
And nothing would make me happier than to provide that coverage so that people could get all their SW info here.
there's no reason why their coverage should be lacking in comparison.
What would make you happy? It comes down to money. Dave lives in an area where he is relatively close to Toy Fair, so naturally he was the one who was ready to go because it would be the least expensive for him to do so. But is he expected to sacrifice his health in order to provide coverage? No, of course not. And the rest of us don't have the funds to get there, especially for a last minute change of plans.
Did we let our members down? Yes. But there's no conspiracy theory. Just good old fashioned $$.
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It is $$, and we're talking about things. Again apologies to our readers because we have delievered great coverage of Toy Fair in the past. The best on the net I believe, and we're doing what we can with what we have... It's a big complex thing.
CorranHorn is right though, there's more to this than you guys perhaps all realize. there's a lot of talk in our admin areas that you guys don't see because it's all site business and it's a lot of work. Jesse's been one of the best staffers here, he's not giving out BS answers... There's issues at hand we're having to deal with and it's simply not easy guys. And I ask that you respect that... Hopefully we come back stronger because of this because we want to, that's for sure, but there are obstacles to overcome as with anything in life.
Believe me guys, NOBODY at this site is more disappointed in the Toy Fair issue than the staff. Myself included. So don't be upset and just try to understand that we're trying to remedy things and make sure stuff like this doesn't happen but that we do this all out of our own time, work, $, and effort, and because we want to. Things can be better and hopefully they will be better, and hopefully you can bare with us while we turn it around.
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And nothing would make me happier than to provide that coverage so that people could get all their SW info here.
I don't know why you're taking this whole thing personally, Jesse, unless it was somehow your responsibility to put the Toy Fair coverage together. It seems a bit odd, given your relatively low position on the JD totem pole (no offense intended).
I don't know why the Toy Fair coverage didn't happen--all I know is, it didn't happen. It was hyped on the front page, and discussed in the forums, but for whatever reasons, it just didn't work out. Maybe it was because of a nasty illness, maybe it was because of another reason, but regardless, do you think that maybe there should have been some sort of backup plan? I mean, it's not like this hasn't happened before. And given that this same exact thing happened two years ago, the staff should have been even more prepared.
Maybe it's really not that big of a deal, in the long run. Maybe Josh is right (well, he's always right, isn't he?)--maybe for all of our SW-related news, we should just rely on other front pages at places like Rebelscum, Galactic Hunter, SirSteve's, and Sandtroopers.
If the front page and it's news and stories don't really matter, when we can go to other places, and the forum is what counts around here, then why even bother having a front page to begin with?
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Jesse sending you a PM >:(
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so there's no reason why their coverage should be lacking in comparison.
Very true - when the site can afford to send someone there.
If someone was able to go, then I agree wholeheartedly. However, in my opinion I think it's wrong to take shots at the site because they were not able to compete financially in this instance at least.
The site I moderate on couldn't afford to send someone either. Am I upset? No. Do I consider my site minor-league? Compared to the big spenders like RS or GH, I have to say yes, but quality sometimes rules over quantity, and I like the friendly atmosphere of the smaller sites more.
Ian
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We don't know that the site wasn't financially able to send anyone else to Toy Fair, primarily due to the fact that the people who were most responsible for the coverage have been mum on the subject since it happened--rather, didn't happen.
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I'm pretty disgusted with the attitudes in this thread but I'll explain to the best of my ability. I need to talk with Dave further because there are some things that should not have happened that did. For the record, Dave was on site at Toy Fair. I'm leaving it at that until I can take care of the issue as best as possible. When I have a concise answer, I'll post it.
But I do want to say this: I am sickened by the few people who are bitching, moaning, and complaining here. This site is 100% free to you. EVERYTHING we do here is because of our love and devotion to you and the hobby. I have 3 jobs. This is not one of them. This is something I do on the side. The same goes for everyone else who works here. I don't want you here if you are going to have that kind of attitude. I will go so far as to say you are not welcome here if you can not accept the fact that Toy Fair coverage didn't go through. Until you start paying me and everyone else on my staff here a weekly salary and in addition, pay all of our plane fares, food, and hotel expenses do me a favor and shut the **** up. If you don't like that- leave. Now.
This is a hobby and I am supposed to have fun here. You are supposed to have fun here. If you are not having fun here, I'm sorry. Find somewhere else to go. I will continue having fun here and we all will continue to do our best here.
Another note that needs to be made is for the people criticizing Jason; you are being ignorant because every last word in his post is only the truth. If you only knew exactly what it takes to run a site... Wow. And then to tell him he is wrong. What audacity. I think for the sake of enjoyment that we might have to start asking people to leave based on their personality and attitude. It comes down to that... if we are going to keep the quality; we have to pick and choose.
Was this a big screw-up? It sure as hell was and as I said before, I will come back and give the full story when I know it. But believe me, I have never been more disappointed in our readers and fan base than I am today.
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here here Chris!
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Wow. You tell 'em admin guy. It's tough running a website. I think we all need to take a deep breath and realize how awful we all have been. I feel horrible.......so ashamed.
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Wow. You tell 'em admin guy. It's tough running a website. I think we all need to take a deep breath and realize how awful we all have been. I feel horrible.......so ashamed.
Is it possible that you'd become an even bigger dick if you took Viagra? I think so.
Kevin
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Well said by Chris, and it's refreshing to see a site admin that will take such a stance publically.
Mojo, if you're joking, it doesn't read that way, and if you're being sarcastic, then maybe you should pay attention to a certain part of Chris' post. ;)
Ian
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Wow I sure missed a lot today... :-\
Jesse I'd really hate to see you leave, you have been such a great staffer and I've really enjoyed chatting with you. :(
I'm inclined to agree with Jason, Jesse, and Chris. I can't really add much since they've all summed it up pretty good, but I've seen how hard all these guys work. Jason and all the FFURG crew spent almost their entire time at C3 working at their booth. The JD crew was busy giving us great C3 coverage. I know the guys would have loved to give us their typical fantastic coverage but, **** HAPPENS. I sure missed the coverage but I don't in anyway blame the JD staff for the lack of it, it was all a big fluke. Sure I missed the coverage, but it isn't the end of the world, and I don't think anything less of this sute or anyone who runs it because of the lack of coverage. God knows I couldn't have afforded to go to Toy Fair.
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Well said Chris -- thank you for stepping in. I would really hate to see Jesse leave over this. He would be sorely missed. :'( I have to say that I was quite taken aback by the "us vs. them" attitude that some of our members took. I just wanted to say thanks to that Admins for all of their hard work and effort that they put into to JD. We need to remember that this is a fan based site.
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Was this a big screw-up? It sure as hell was and as I said before, I will come back and give the full story when I know it. But believe me, I have never been more disappointed in our readers and fan base than I am today.
It seems like you’re more upset about the negative response you’ve gotten here, than you are in the reason for the response itself. That’s a shame.
I can only speak for myself, but if I’m coming off as “bitching, moaning, and complaining,” well, then so be it. I’m disappointed that this is the second time in three years that this has happened. I like this site, I like it a lot, and I think it’s pretty much the best SW-based forum out there. That’s why I think it absolutely sucks when other sites can get their coverage up, and JD can’t. I know that this site is better than that.
I don't want you here if you are going to have that kind of attitude. I will go so far as to say you are not welcome here if you can not accept the fact that Toy Fair coverage didn't go through.
I’m not leaving just because you can’t handle a little bit of criticism. If you want to ban me, because you don’t like what I’ve got to say--hey, it’s your site, go right on ahead. It still won’t change the fact that the site **** the bed on Toy Fair this year.
I really hope that this isn’t turning into a Rebelscum situation, where we’re free to say whatever we want around here, just as long as it isn’t anything remotely critical of the site itself. I’m not bitching just to hear myself bitch—I’m bitching because I’m genuinely disappointed in how things have turned out around here in the past few days.
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V, I figured you of all people wouldn't be riding Chris and the Staffs collective ass on this one.
Kevin
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I dont' think the Coz is riding anyone's asses - he's said several times that his motive here is that he really likes this site and wants it to succeed.
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V, I figured you of all people wouldn't be riding Chris and the Staffs collective ass on this one.
Please elaborate.
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It's all valid criticism and moving forward we'll change how we cover upcoming events. People have been able to articulate their disappointment and that's infinitely more constructive than "where's your coverage, you guys suck" messages, so it's all appreciated. Chalk this up as an unfortunate learning experience.
And I don't really like the notion of having a collective ass...
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My suggestion: LET IT GO. It's just a freaking toy convention. Yes, it sucks that JD couldn't cover it in their own unique way, but there will be other conventions. Also, if you want the coverage, just go to another site and get it. To be honest, I completely forgot about JD's coverage until it was mentioned by DeanPaul. I just clicked a link provided by a forum member in one of the threads, looked at pics, and posted my opinion. No different than if I had viewed the pics at JD.
To quote everyone's favorite webmaster, "Get a life and move along."
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V, I figured you of all people wouldn't be riding Chris and the Staffs collective ass on this one.
Please elaborate.
Your generaly layed back and sarcastic. Not serious and on Chris and staff. Thats why I'm suprised.
And Jared, if it's any consolation, it's a nice collective ass.
Kevin
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I think certain people should just STFU until we actually know what happened. Most of us (myself included) have no idea what really went down, and without facts on the table, it's just speculation and poo-flinging.
Get some perspective. It would have been nice to get some of those Q&A questions answered, but to be perfectly blunt (and no disrespect intended to Dave and whoever else was going to cover TF), photos and most of the highlights have been covered elsewhere anyway.
And if I may briefly indulge in pontificating from the "fansite admin" high-horse ... this is a volunteer hobby, and running a site is more work than it may at first appear, which is why I'm willing to cut the guys a good deal of slack. Despite the terminology of "staff" who "work" at this or that site, 99% of fansite people are doing it for free in our sparetime, which is limited to one degree or another. When push comes to shove, reality trumps Star Wars. That's why sites go through ebbs and flows, long fallow periods, or even die out, as their staff goes through other things in real life.
P.S.: Good to see Jesse came back to his senses and his profile reads "Staff Member" again. :)
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I think certain people should just STFU
It's okay, you can say my name. I don't mind. I really don't care much for you, either.
:-*
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Awww ... I love you too, Virex.
:-*
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Huggles?
(http://www.livingwithms.co.uk/cleveland/smiley_hug.gif)
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I think it's safe to say the situation's handled... Chris is, obviously, frustrated and I think you can chalk a lot of what he said up to that, but at the same time we're all a little upset on the staff but it doesn't have a baring on your guys' individual thoughts. Like Jared said a few lines up there, this is pretty valid criticism, so I dont' think anyone's riding anyone's ass... collective ass or individual ass even.
There are underlying variables that I know a lot of you don't quite follow and it's not because you're ignorant or anything, you just don't know what they were and the best answer is we're fixing them because they hurt our efforts here.
JesseVader deserves no blame obviously, and that's a wholely separate issue we'll be dealing with guys and I'm as hopeful he's here to stay as anyone else.
There's no anymosity to the guys voicing their thoughts on this like the great and powerful Coz, Dean Paul, or Darth Slothus... Jared said it best that there's genuine concerns brought up, and we're addressing those now, so I hope that's the end of it and we're ready to move on from it. Just try to bare in mind that "**** happens" is a good phrase to apply here and we'll be trying to make sure **** doesn't happen again because we obviously are no more happy than you guys are. Imagine if you actually worked here the level of disappointment you'd have? :) Yeah, that'd suck.
I'm asking you guys though to take a step back and bare with us as we change things up where we need to. While we're considered one of the top collecting sites, we also are small and we make things work here out of our own hard work with little outside help, so just bare with us please guys. All your concerns are all our concerns... Pardon all anger from us as we rebound, as I'm sure a lot of things are said just because frustration builds in with some of us is all.
The good news?
Toy Fair was about as fascinating as watching paint dry this year. :) Barely anything new was shown, and what was shown wasn't making me do backflips, so that's a plus. At least this wasn't SDCC where usually some big bombshells drop and there's Q&A's to have Matt get in trouble at. :) See, you gotta be positive guys. You gotta stop sending those negative waves! [/end oddball quotes]
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There's no anymosity to the guys voicing their thoughts on this like the great and powerful Coz, Dean Paul, or Darth Slothus...
No anymosity towards Slothus? Awesome. Well said again Jesse.
Will leave off my ?negative Q's? -waiting for more explanation as per Chris explained.
Nice title change Jessevader now make it permanent please, require our 2 Jesse balancers in effect for smooth operation of site ;) 8)
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For what it's worth, I bear a significant amount of animosity toward Cosby, Deanpaul, and Darth Slothus.
If you ask me, there's no reason for the secrecy and there being a bucket of **** that needs getting to the bottom of. Fact is, those three douches went to New Yourke, hid somewhere in the Sideshow Collectibles booth, jumped Dave, and beat the **** out of him just so they could sabotoge JD's coverage and then come over here and ruffle everyone's feathers.
Mystery solved, *************.
And for the record, I thought the Little Mermaid collectibles were badass.
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And for the record, I thought the Little Mermaid collectibles were badass.
As did my daughter. :-X
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In the spirit of bitching about things that don't matter . . . a lesson in homophones.
. . . Just try to bare in mind that "**** happens" . . .
Bare = to make naked. (in the case of the Top 5 Hotties, I suppose I "bare in mind" frequently)
Bear = to hold/carry
.
I'm asking you guys though to take a step back and bare with us as we change things up where we need to.
Bare = again, make naked. . .and I'd rather not do that with you guys, but again in the case of the Top 5 Hotties, I'm afraid it's likely that I already have at one time or another.
Bear = to endure
. . .but it doesn't have a baring on your guys' individual thoughts. . . .
Baring = showing one's ass. (see Slothus)
Bearing = relation or connection
Barely anything new was shown, and what was shown wasn't making me do backflips, so that's a plus.
DING DING DING DING DING :-*
Ah well .. . just an old English teacher having his giggles. You say sandwich, and I say sandwhich. Doesn't really matter in the end, I suppose.
And FWIW, I didn't notice any lack of coverage. For the most part, I glance over the news page, click an occasional ad to make sure the advertisers know they're being noticed, and come in here to look at boobies and say **** a lot.
Ultimately, who the hell cares? It's on every site, and it's all **** that we'll see covered in painstaking individual detail over the coming months.
In all honesty, I was excited to see pictures of R5D4. Turns out, he looks exactly like I expected he would. What a monumental ******* surprise. Thank God for the internet that R5D4's sculpt details have been cleared up for me three months before he hits Hong Kong Ebay. Not seeing that picture would definitely be grounds for going on a rampage and alienating friends and yelling at people who work hard for free.
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Oh yeah. And name. Bill Cosby, Deanpaul, Darth Slothus, and name all jumped and beat the **** out of Dave.
Little Mermaid hating douches, the lot of you.
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What I miss?? :o
;)
By the way, what's Toy Fair? j/k
But to update my original post, it appears RS banned those two gay-bashing scalpers. Or at least banned their original screen names. I guess someone listened.
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I'd just like to give my two cents real quick.
I view JD as my new home for all things Star Wars. Yes, I'll admit, I check out RS once in awhile for images (TF) and obscure info.
Last Saturday, I stopped by JD to check out the latest images from TF and, as everybody knows, was informed that nobody made it in.
Not a big deal. I hopped on over to RS, checked out the TF images and then came back to JD to discuss my new findings (and hotlink their images)! 8)
I know JD is run by just a few guys and that money is probably tight while RS is the huge corporate conglomerate that can afford to send out mass emails and send more than one staffer to NY.
I absolutely love the staff here - they don't have big heads, nor do they talk down members. Everyone respects each other here no matter what your views are or how new you are.
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I'd just like to give my two cents real quick.
Everyone respects each other here no matter what your views are or how new you are.
Really? You knew everybody? Awesome then! Glad to know I'm new AND respected
I knew Name loved my butt :-*, thanks for mentioning the kind words ruiner! ;D
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My $.02 are as follows:
If it's really such a problem that some people didn't get their Toy Fair news, then perhaps they should've gone to Toy Fair and done up some articles for the rest of us to read... Perhaps contribute to the site in that way... you'd be a hero for it. Oh, and now comes the "it's not my job" or "I can't afford to do stuff like that"... odd isn't it?
This isn't a "we're out for your $" site like other forums out there, so relax. Chris already said that there was a problem. He didn't say "We didn't care about giving you guys TF news... so shut up". He said that something happened that wasn't supposed to and he's looking into it.
There's just too much whining going on. You don't like how something's done (or not done), then do it yourself. This is a fun site, and some people are turning it south. Knock it off. Like I said... maybe you complainers should've taken a trip to TF. And honestly, how hard is it to just look at another site for coverage and talk about it here... it's not.
At any rate, that's all I have to say, and no matter how bitchy or rude people get here, I'll still stick around. This place is far superior to other sites in every way (except for TF coverage this year... boo hoo)... let's try to keep it that way. That's all I have to say, go ahead and stone me. I've got wide shoulders, I can take the hatred. :-*
Oh, and nobody should resign their position just because of something this petty...
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Children, please.
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You know what pisses me off about this whole sitation. No Alice. Seriously, WTF happened to him?
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You know what REALLY burns my ass???
A wee flame about three feet tall.
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If it's really such a problem that some people didn't get their Toy Fair news, then perhaps they should've gone to Toy Fair and done up some articles for the rest of us to read... Perhaps contribute to the site in that way... you'd be a hero for it. Oh, and now comes the "it's not my job" or "I can't afford to do stuff like that"... odd isn't it?
I'm sorry, that's just such a bull**** argument. "If you don't like it, you can do it yourself."
The next time you're served a bad meal at a restaurant--"don't like it, you can do it yourself." Yes, you can go to culinary school and become a chef, and you can cook the meal just the way you like it.
And if you complain about the poor game the quarterback of your favorite NFL team had. . . "I'd like to see you get out there and try." Like you'd actually have to be a pro football player to say that somebody stunk it up.
Or the next time you complain about one of Hasbro's action figures. . . could you imagine?
Just because I don't personally operate a Star Wars website, doesn't mean that I don't personally have the right to think (and say) that the lack of coverage sucked.
I'm done making my point, because I've already repeated it ad nauseam, and the staff knows where I'm coming from, but let's end this whole "I'd like to see you do a better job" bull****.
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Great points Virex. My issue is... all those people you listed are being paid for their performance. As I said, when you start paying my salary I will give you the best damn coverage of Toy Fair you could possibly ask for. Or you can accept that a mistake was made which is being fixed and that we will do whatever we can to bring you that best damn coverage next time or at the next show. Free of charge. On a side note, we were lucky that there wasn't really jack **** shown that was new or unheard of. But regardless, I'm glad to hear you've decided to stop making your point. :)
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Great points Virex. My issue is... all those people you listed are being paid for their performance. As I said, when you start paying my salary I will give you the best damn coverage of Toy Fair you could possibly ask for. Or you can accept that a mistake was made which is being fixed and that we will do whatever we can to bring you that best damn coverage next time or at the next show. Free of charge. On a side note, we were lucky that there wasn't really jack **** shown that was new or unheard of. But regardless, I'm glad to hear you've decided to stop making your point. :)
I do accept it. I understand that people were "sick," or what have you. **** happens. I get it. But this whole "can't complain about it unless you actually do it/pay for it" stuff has got to stop. It's a cop-out, and it's crap.
But if you want to talk about payments, and that sort of thing, that's cool. What kind of reimbursements are you getting from the sponsors of the site? And of that, how much is going to the other staff members who are working for you?
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The reimbursements we getting from the sponsors are much, much less than you would think and with that money I pay for the server and all related hosting fees. The staff here works for free, and they willingly and knowingly accept that.
You can complain all you want. The only effect that complaining will have on you is that people will see you as more of an ass than you already are.
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The reimbursements we getting from the sponsors are much, much less than you would think and with that money I pay for the server and all related hosting fees. The staff here works for free, and they willingly and knowingly accept that.
Alright. Thanks. I've always been a bit curious as to how that works. So, after the server costs and the fees, is there anything left over for you?
You can complain all you want. The only effect that complaining will have on you is that people will see you as more of an ass than you already are.
I am a total ass. I have been for years. I know it, everybody here knows it. So, by complaining, if I'm viewed as more of an ass, no big deal. I don't care. If people don't like me, so be it. That's on them.
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For me, this is about accountability. That means doing what you say you're going to do, being accountable for your actions and their consequences. If something comes up that prevents doing what you said you would do, fine. But be straight with that. Tell me what really happened.
This isn't about wether the site is free, the geographic location of members, personal finances, operating a site/site revenue or any other point in Jason's post (http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11199.msg201341#msg201341). Wheter his post is true or not isn't the point. It's not relevant to the issue. A lot of people have jumped on those topics, and in the big picture they're fine. But again, they don't answer the questions I asked which were simple.
On page two this thread began arguing the wrong points. Or at least, different points than the ones I made on page two. (http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11199.msg201247#msg201247)
To infer that my questions are "bitching, moaning, and complaining" assigns tone to them that, well, just isn't there. They were simple, and for the most part went unanswered. I've taken the liberty to fill in answers using a quote where appropriate, and others from inference.
Q1: Seriously, WTF happened with the JD Toy Fair coverage?
A1:I need to talk with Dave further because there are some things that should not have happened that did. For the record, Dave was on site at Toy Fair. I'm leaving it at that until I can take care of the issue as best as possible. When I have a concise answer, I'll post it.
Was this a big screw-up? It sure as hell was and as I said before, I will come back and give the full story when I know it.
Q2: Is there a discussion somewhere?
A2: Yes, in the Saga section. But don't expect any answers there. You can't handle the truth/we don't have the truth, and it makes us look like a Junior High yearbook committee.
Q3: JD only sent one guy to Toy Fair?
A3: Yes, JD only sent one guy to Toy Fair.
Great. The reply from Chris is what I was looking for, at least the part of his reply I quoted. I'm interested in hearing the update. How long is that going to take? It's been three days. Is this a deep rabbit hole, because obviously there's more to it than just "sick" and "weather".
This also isn't about being let down. At least not for me. I expected to see a report, because it had been promised for weeks. The only thing I'm surprised by is the lack of explanation about what happened and the tone of some of the replies in this thread.
Jesse resigned before this thread went to hell, so I'm going to guess there were other factors influencing his decision to do that. I meant what I said about appreciating his enthusiasm. He's done a lot in a (relatively) short time as a moderator. I'm glad he was reinstated. I also meant the rest of what I said, but want to be clear that the "shrug" comment was directed at the site's overall response to missing Toy Fair, not his.
I like this site, and like Matt this is the only place I post, even then I don't post a lot. Do I expect any one site to have everything? No, just what they say they will - or an explanation.
One thing I like about Jedi Defender is the discussions we've had here in the past that haven't spiraled into hissy fits like this one has. Granted, we're usually looking at other sites in those, and not in the mirror. Is that what is different here? At least no one pulled out the lock, so there's still hope.
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I hearby offer to cover comic con as a backup backup reporter for JD. I'm planning on going anyway and I have a really snazzy digital camera now that kicks all sorts of ass.
See, I'm a problem solver. ;D
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I hearby offer to cover comic con as a backup backup reporter for JD. I'm planning on going anyway and I have a really snazzy digital camera now that kicks all sorts of ass.
See, I'm a problem solver. ;D
Super, one of the better things to come out of the thread.
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Oops, topic just got split and I replied to the wrong one.
Super, one of the better things to come out of the thread.
I don't know about THAT...but it's a genuine offer nonetheless. I didn't see the lack of coverage as a big deal (stuff happens), but it's clear some people were really upset by it.
So...next con I'm going to, I'll raise a hand to volunteer. If someone gets sick, broke, or dead...then hey, they have a backup. ;D
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Josh, can you be as scathing as Colman to Hasbro? Or as persistent? If you can pull it off, fine. But if you can't, don't take away my personal highlight of the year.
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I had 'em reeling last year I asked 3 questions(made several other stated facts) that they were hoping they wouldn't have to answer. They looked pretty poorly managed as a result of their political answers. A LOT of folks were snickering and saying negative things about their new design team leader afterwords. Coleman was right in the front and it was funny because they kept trying to look around,over, down anything to not make eye contact with him(LOL). You know how when a dog is busted and he knows it and you hold his head in your hands and he can't look at you no matter what? That's what it looked liked they were doing with MAtt...LOL. Myself and Jediscar noticed it 4 rows back and it was reallly funny. ;D
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I didn't make it last year, what were Matt's scathing questions?
The year before that I was at the panel Matt went to as well...and I think I asked a couple of "hard hitting" ones. One was about the decline in lightsaber quality (they went from that awesom metal back to plastic that year). I brought up something someone at RS suggested about a magnet on the belt to hold them (which they should have done). The year before that I did a lot of bitching about Jedi Master points, and we later got those silly auctions.....because a lot of people had just as much curiosity as me.
However, the best questions are always the guys that ask why Hasbro doesn't sell figures directly instead of all the shortages at retail. People love that one and Hasbro hates it for some reason. They really think all their figures hit retail equally.
Of course, if you want a really off-topic reporter that will get them scratching their heads, my wife always asks them whether or not they'll ever bring Jem back. Every convention we see them at. She even asked at a Star Wars panel one year. At C3 they told her they were thinking about it, which has only encouraged this quest of hers. ;D
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OK, before I get started, I spun this Toy Fair stuff off since it really has nothing to do with Rebelscum anymore (other than a tangential point about how we let you talk "bad" about us without just locking and/or deleting the thread... for the most part ;)).
Well, at least you know new Little Mermaid collectibles are at Toy Fair. Seriously, WTF happened with the JD Toy Fair coverage?
What happened with the JD coverage? Well, as it has been painfully explored in here, we didn't have any coverage. Despite planning and preparation and front page hyping, we dropped the ball.
Again, in my mind it doesn't really matter the who/what/when/why of it. The end result is we promised coverage and then didn't have any. It sucks. I know I felt bad about it, that's why I posted my aplogies in the Saga Toy Fair Thread (http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11206.msg200792#msg200792). I assumed the rest of the gang would also extend apologies and comment once more info was known on the details, but no one did so I guess I can see how that came off as appearing like no one cared enough to comment.
Is there a discussion about this somewhere?
Not really, just my post on the main page and in the Saga Toy Fair Thread (http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11206.msg200792#msg200792)... and then of course this messy thread here.
Obviously if more info had been shared as to the how/why of the Toy Fair screw-up, this thread may have never rolled out the way it did. I posted what I knew at the time and I assumed that the others around here would fill in more details as they became available (which, again, didn't happen for whatever reason).
Heck, I'm on staff here and I'm still not exactly sure how on earth we made it on-site at Toy Fair (as Chris said in one of his posts), but couldn't get things straight to get coverage going. The weather made us miss appointments at Toy Fair, then we couldn't get them rescheduled or something is my best understanding of the situation.
There's got to be more to it than the sick/weather note on the front page. JD only sent one guy to Toy Fair?
Yeah, we only sent one guy to Toy Fair, because we only have 1 guy who lives close enough to go. This is where all that money talk comes in. Unfortunately, we don't have the finances to send someone to stay in NYC, so we sent the guy who lives closest and can make it. He was taking a buddy of his to help take photos and what not.
Like Jesse pointed out, this was a big factor in what happened. We took for granted that Dave could get into the city with public transportation so he didn't need to stay in downtown. If he had been able to stay in NYC like some of the other sites, the snow wouldn't have been an issue. As such, it was a big issue for the way we planned our coverage. :-\
I know this doesn't deal with everything that has transpired in this thread, but I think it hits the high (or low) points of the discussion.
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I'm not sure I can offer much more than what Jeff said. It turns out Dave did manage to make it out to Toy Fair on Monday despite still being sick (which caused him to miss Sunday). Because his plans initially involved meeting with the various companies on Sunday, they wouldn't allow him to make appointments on the Monday when he arrived. (Which personally pisses me off - I'm disgusted how he was treated)
What I can offer is my apology to Deanpaul for losing my cool. JD is a pretty important place to me, so when you asked some tough questions, I took them as an attack rather than genuinely wanting to know what want wrong and how we can prevent it from happening again. Normally I pride myself in keeping my cool, but I wasn't able to do so because I was (obviously) emotional about the disappointment in missing a key event for our front page reporting.
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In the spirit of bitching about things that don't matter . . . a lesson in homophones.
. . . Just try to bare in mind that "**** happens" . . .
Bare = to make naked. (in the case of the Top 5 Hotties, I suppose I "bare in mind" frequently)
Bear = to hold/carry
.
I'm asking you guys though to take a step back and bare with us as we change things up where we need to.
Bare = again, make naked. . .and I'd rather not do that with you guys, but again in the case of the Top 5 Hotties, I'm afraid it's likely that I already have at one time or another.
Bear = to endure
. . .but it doesn't have a baring on your guys' individual thoughts. . . .
Baring = showing one's ass. (see Slothus)
Bearing = relation or connection
Barely anything new was shown, and what was shown wasn't making me do backflips, so that's a plus.
DING DING DING DING DING :-*
Bastard. >:(
Ya know I was writing that thinking something wasn't right... but after all the typing I did last night, both public and private, I didn't really care.
And YOU can kiss my BARE ass. :-* (_Y_)
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This is the longest thread I have ever read....really...(I just thought I'd point that out). I am too old to respond with anything that doesn't sound like a mother hen (Chris is younger than both my kids) so I'm just going to ask the same question that someone else did before, where's Alice?? :-*
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Ran her over when I pulled in to the driveway. The shopping bag full of groceries flew everywhere what a DISASTER!
ROFLOL wooohooo.. ;D
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This bickering is pointless...
Others have articulated my view points already, but I just wanted to say that first and foremost I'm concerned about Dave's health I wish him a speedy recovery. Sure the timing is awful, but that happens and there's nothing we can do. I'm only dissapointed because, like others, I love this site and want to see it grow and TF coverage surely attracts news members. I know we're all frustrated, but I'll bet we're not as frustrated as Chris and the staff members who wanted badly to provide us with excellent coverage.
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I don't see what the issue is. Someone from JD couldn't go, but it's not like we didn't see any pictures from the event.
**** happens, and they're just ******* toys.
I begin to sympathize with a guy like Philip Wise, having to put up with **** like this every day. Now I can see why he takes a terse attitude towards his members. Granted, he's making buckets of cash, but still.
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Great points Virex. My issue is... all those people you listed are being paid for their performance...
Bottom line, that's what I was talking about...
We understand that JD didn't get coverage, but it's not like you couldn't go to another site for 5 minutes and see their coverage. You want someone to be able to come through a pristine 100% of the time, go look at RS, they have a hardcore cashflow... but don't bitch bitch bitch about JD's lack of coverage, **** happens. Like you don't have things that take priority to going to a convention and taking pictures. Like I said before, don't like it, do it yourself. ;)
I'm done on this topic. It's ****** that it had to be started in the first place...
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There are bigger issues here than just, "well, we had to go somewhere else to see the pictures," folks. It's more along the lines of "why did this happen in the first place, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again?"
The pictures themselves stopped being the issue over the weekend, after all the other sites got their pictures up.
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Has anyone else read this entire thread and feel like they just got done watching the 6:00 news?
It just seems eerily similar to how the press is reacting to the whole Cheney-shot-a-guy-and-didn't-tell-anyone-for-three-days thing...
Eh...maybe it's just me.
Anyway, it does suck that JD wasn't able to have coverage of TF but realistically nothing was shown that we hadn't already heard about and, in some cases, seen pictures of.
I didn't read all the commentary from the various sites, I mostly just looked at photos. And although it's nice to see pictures and coverage on your favorite site, I always hit 3, 4 or 5 different sites because everyone gets a different shot, includes something that someone else missed or covers other lines that may be cool but not related to SW.
As a matter of fact, a large number of sites I visited for info weren't even SW sites, they were more generic toy sites. A lot of times those guys end up with better overviews of lines rather than focusing on minute details and that type of coverage is sometimes better IMO. I take the same approach to get all my news, I don't just watch CBS I also look at CNN, MSNBC, Fox and Internet blogs.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that yes, it does suck that something happened and JD didn't get coverage, but that doesn't mean that coverage and pictures weren't available. And you don't have to go to sites you don't care for if you don't want to...there was plenty of coverage available from various sites.
E...
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And I can attest that we're obviously going to learn from this as a staff and having contingency plans built up for these things. Some things fell through, the weather surely didn't help, and ironically having someone close to the event wound up working against us (in conjunction with the weather... Had someone been flying in we'd probably have had that person there by Friday to handle it), so that's just an irony we didn't foresee.
Problems are having the iron taken to them, believe me.
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so that's just an irony we didn't foresee.
It's OK, it's my website too...I guess "we" didn't know Murphy was attending then. It's OK, I'm sure we'll get kick-ass coverage at the CC from..Matt? Did I ever tell you the one about how he had a chance to be on a TV documentary about SW geeks and fans and he turned it down? Well, I did too(turned it down). He even had a JD shirt on(not a pink one!)!Nice guy..so modest. ;)Another JD member agreed to do the video interview instead. Mattie answered alot of Q's until they wanted the camera on and then that was it. MMmm Hmmm.. how many knew about THAT incident...LOL
Hey..at least I'm responsible enough to turn down a video interview about our website where I could...uhhh ..possibly be myself and adversely effect it :-[. Phew ..lookin' back now I'm glad I didn't ..aww
I wish Mattie would come on here and talk some smack to me right now.. haven't seen a post of his in a long while-
--Urb
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There are bigger issues here than just, "well, we had to go somewhere else to see the pictures," folks. It's more along the lines of "why did this happen in the first place, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again?"
Do we really need all this redundant coverage from every single web site? Seems to me to be a waste of time and resources. GH had fantastic photos of every Star Wars thing you'd want to see at Toy Fair. And RS had those wonderful photos of... uh.. SpongeBob. Sure, it'd be wonderful if there were equally nice photos here, but I think it'd be even nicer if JD had some nice, exclusive coverage of something we didn't see in 6 other places.
I guess I'm just looking at it from a newspaper industry perspective. Every single newspaper doesn't send people to the White House to cover press conferences - they get their coverage from the AP, and they focus on local coverage. Since JD has a good relationship (outside the forums) with other SW sites, it'd seem to me to be much more efficient if you'd work together and share photos from events like this.
I mean, if a guy on the staff wants the free press pass and wants to walk around a convention, have at it. But if it's too expensive or not feasible to make it to a big event, I don't think you guys should kill yourselves over it to make it there. These web sites are all free, so you really have no obligation to anybody to provide exclusive coverage of every event. Hell, http://CreatureCantina.com hasn't sent anybody anywhere since I scored that free press pass to Wizard World Philly last year. ;D
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And YOU can kiss my BARE ass. :-* (_Y_)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/BearAss_lg.jpg)
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Mine's more hairy.
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All right, here it is. I'm the ******* who ****** up this site's coverage of Toy Fair this year (as well as in 2004). If you want to bitch about it to anyone, do it to me. Send me a pm. Ask for my address, so you can send me a hate package of dog ****. But it's all my fault. Don't blame anyone else. Blame me. I suck.
And for the record, the reason the other sites were able to get coverage of Toy Fair while we were not? Location. You see, being a staff member here works out well for the site, because I live in New Jersey, about a 20 minute car ride outside of Manhattan. Less than an hour by public transportation. Convenient? Sure is. 99% of those other sites had people who live outside of NYC, and flew in to town for the weekend to cover the event. They were probably staying at a hotel somewhere within walking distance of the Javits Center. So when they woke up on Sunday morning, and there was 27" of snow outside, it wasn't a big deal to them. But for me, waking up on Sunday morning and finding 27" of snow outside was a nightmare. I won't even get into the "I have a 103 fever and the flu" excuse. We'll skip over that. That's my fault.
On a normal, everyday morning, it takes about 20 minutes by bus to get from my house to Journal Square, where I can catch the PATH train over to NYC. From there it's maybe another 20 minutes by train, and I'm smack dab in the middle of NYC. On a normal day.
When I wake up and there are 27" of snow on the ground, guess what? My car is not leaving it's spot on the street. I have the absolute worst car in the snow (trust me, I've tried to drive in the snow and it sucks balls) - a 1990 Nissan 240SX. And the bus that would have taken me from my house to Journal Square wasn't running. I guess the bus company decided that since it was Sunday, and most people were off from work anyway, they weren't going to put any lives in danger by running the bus service. And you know what? It was the right choice.
And in case anyone forgot, back in 2004 was an almost identical case. Yeah, I was sick then too, but hey, that's my fault.
So yeah, maybe those other sites were able to get to the show. And yeah, maybe some of them are considered "below" us on the scale, but they showed us up at Toy Fair. Good for them. Go you.
So what it all comes down to is this: blame me. I dropped the ball. Me. No one else. Don't blamce Chris, or Jesse, or Matt, or the other guy named Jesse, or Scott, Dale, Jeff, Rob, Brad, Jared, or Thomas (who?) - it's all me. I'll be honest, I didn't read the thread. Maybe the first two or three posts. But I just didn't feel like reading them all. And if you don't like that - then **** off. No one makes you come here. If you don't like it - leave. I don't get "paid" to do this. I sure as **** won't miss you. And I'm sure you won't miss me either.
And in case you don't want to believe that "I was sick with a 103 fever and had the flu" bull****, just take a look at my current activity on this site. Over the past week and a half or so, I think I have less than 5 posts, and probably about 10 minutes spent online here. And that's just sad, because I'm usually pretty active. When I'm not hunched over the toilet puking my guts out for hours at a time, at least. This place is my home away from home, my escape. Or at least it was.
Peace.
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You know what pisses me off about this whole sitation. No Alice. Seriously, WTF happened to him?
...I am too old to respond with anything that doesn't sound like a mother hen (Chris is younger than both my kids) so I'm just going to ask the same question that someone else did before, where's Alice?? :-*
I wish Mattie would come on here and talk some smack to me right now.. haven't seen a post of his in a long while-
I'm still around, barely. But seeing how adversely this site can apparently affect some people makes me even less inclined to chime my MIA ass in around here - especially right now. Fortunately I wasn't around during all the hoopla this week though, so my belated reply here will be somewhat tempered. While criticism of, and disappointment in, our lack of TF coverage is certainly very warranted, I think some people are going a tad overboard, and being overly dramatic here. Granted, I think if we'd posted an updated news blurb on the main page about not being able to attend TF a bit sooner, it may have helped reduce the ****storm here a little. But the blurb we did eventually post was accurate - bad health and bad weather kept our guy from being able to do his reporting duties. The conspiracy theories to the contrary are completely asinine.
So Deanpaul and Birchall are/were highly pissed off at us because we couldn't cover Toy Fair this year. Big ******' deal. If they couldn't find Toy Fair pix elsewhere, then they're probably ready for the Special Olympics. I'm fairly confident, however, that they managed to find plenty of TF pix, but just wanted to give the staff a piece of their mind, and rile up our members in here a bit for some mild amusement, and a pointless debate in semantics. If Dp feels like JD betrayed his trust and lied to him, then I'm sending his engagement ring back to him, 'cause obviously we weren't meant to be. If Virex thinks there's other deeper/hidden issues going on here, let him think that. The rest of us, especially the staff, knows our lack of attendance was nothing more than a simple money and/or time constraint. Obviously every single person at this site would love to attend Toy Fair (staff or otherwise), but as Jason, Josh and others have pointed out, that's not always feasible for most of us. JD definitely doesn't generate the type of revenue to afford any of us a trip, that's for damned sure. Like Chris said, our limited advertising and referall fees pay the bills, and not much more. Dave is our local guy on the scene when it comes to TF, and as we've all seen, and as he's stated above, that didn't work out this week (or two years ago either). So guess what? I had to scope out the pictures at GH and RS. Big whoop.
But to see six pages of animosity stem from just a few isolated posts from two or three disgruntled guys is just silly. If people here can't figure out that the more riled up they get over those guys' posts causes said individuals to fan the fire even more, then you should pay better attention around the boards. Fortunately, it appears to me that most everyone else seems to understand and/or sympathize with our unfortunate TF coverage issues this week, as disappointed as they may be in us, and was able to find pictures of the few new items elsewhere. Good deal.
Obviously the entire staff here is disappointed that things didn't work out better for JD's TF coverage this year, and we apologize to our readers for that, as we strive to do the best we can here in supporting our beloved Star Wars hobby. But when our fansite falls short, try not to take it too personally. **** happens. At least in our world. That said, we're always interested in listening to our community's ideas and constructive criticisms on how to make this site better. Obviously, providing TF coverage is a no-brainer. We get it. Hopefully we'll have better luck next year. Or maybe we won't. Who knows...?
Guess it might be a good idea for me to start working on my Comic Con plans first thing in the morning though, eh?
- M
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Thanks for the explanation, Dave, and for the mild rebuking, Colman.
But can someone explain this?
For the record, Dave was on site at Toy Fair. I'm leaving it at that until I can take care of the issue as best as possible. When I have a concise answer, I'll post it.
Because from that, it sounds like Dave was at Toy Fair. But from what Dave said, he never went to Toy Fair at all, because of the snow and the car and the bus and the sick and all of these things.
So. . . what's the deal?
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I did try to explain that as I mentioned here:
It turns out Dave did manage to make it out to Toy Fair on Monday despite still being sick (which caused him to miss Sunday). Because his plans initially involved meeting with the various companies on Sunday, they wouldn't allow him to make appointments on the Monday when he arrived.
So his illness and the weather kept him away on Sunday, but he did manage to get out there Monday. But it was all for naught as he couldn't speak directly with anyone and any pictures he did get of Sideshow and MR product he didn't feel were worth uploading.
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I can't believe how many of the crap sites got coverage. Yakface, JediTempleArchives, YodasNews.... They might as well have not gone since Rebelscum got the best coverage. Yes, I said it. RS has the hookups and they are able to get the best pics earliest. Nobody even came close this year.
And GalacticHunter... What the hell happened to that site? They update so infrequently now. Pawlus isn't on top of the game anymore. And their forums suck too.
And with that, I will end with one last thing...
(http://www.rebelscum.com/TF2006/tf06-SSCluke/IMG_0064.JPG)
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Slamming on other great sites...
That's classy. ::)
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Others have been doing it too Justin. Makes no sense really. ::)
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Slamming on other great sites...
That's classy. ::)
Can you really expect any more from Durge Commander Cody?
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Slamming on other great sites...
That's classy. ::)
Can you really expect any more from Durge Commander Cody?
Wait, Commander Cody is "Durge?" The same guy from RS?
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Slamming on other great sites...
That's classy. ::)
Can you really expect any more from Durge Commander Cody?
Wait, Commander Cody is "Durge?" The same guy from RS?
I didn't know that either...
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Oh well according to Dave Myatt's article at RS it sounds like Hasbro was none to friendly to the internet sites at Toy Fair. Although their main reason for going is to get retailers to buy their products but still.