Changes in vBulletin.org staff.

[Brad]

As you know things have not been going so well over the last couple of days here at vBulletin.org. We (the staff) recognize there is need for change and we are currently working towards improving things in the community and the site as a whole. Because of this we're going to change the structure of the staff and bring in more staff members to help with the workload.

Before I go on I should mention that we've lost one member from the admin team today. As of today Erwin (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/member.php?u=4422) has stepped down as admin for a number of reasons. This is a big blow to the staff and the site as a whole but I hope we can move forward in a positive direction. I would personally like to thank Erwin for his time his as an administrator, he will be missed. :(

Moving on...

We will be separating the staff into 3 separate groups: Coders, Designers, and Customer support. Each group will have it's own responsibilities. For example the coder group will work on coding new additions for the site and moderate the release forums. The designers will design and maintain a style for vBulletin.org and be responsible for moderating all design forums (graphics, template mods, styles etc.). The Customer support group will mainly deal with users, and help members whenever possible when it comes to modification requests, or posts in the site feedback forum.

Each moderating group will work directly under their own admin, I will be the leader of the designers for example, and Stefan (Xenon) will be leading the coding group.

As this time we are currently sorting the current staff into these new groups and preparing the tools that will make it possible for these groups to work with each other. Once we've sorted our current staff, we will be looking to bring in more staff members into these new groups.

As I mentioned before Erwin stepped down today, due to this we've promoted a new admin to help with things. I'd like to be the first to extend my congratulations to Danny.VBT (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/member.php?u=66805) who'll be coming on board to oversee the Customer support group and help out with the day to day workload for the admins.

Please try to bear with us while we get all of these things sorted out, I promise that once they are in place we'll see improvements happening at vBulletin.org as a much faster rate.

- Brad

[Paul M]

All change - sounds an interesting plan.

Well done to Danny, it doesn't seem like five minutes since you became a mod, and now administrator :)

[Zachariah]

Groovy

[Logikos]

Congrats Danny!

[Gio~Logist]

I like the new system that has been thought out. Let it all be for the best and a thank you to everyone that has helped the change so far and everyone that will in the future!

[Chroder]

Congrats Danny :D

[FLMom]

Congrats to Danny! The new changes sound great :D

[TruthElixirX]

Sounds excellent. Congratulations Danny.

[smacklan]

I'm all for it and Danny is a great choice for admin...fine young man ;)

[DementedMindz]

Danny.VBT ??? hmmmm my personal view is i would have rather seen some one else who was more helpful and was willing to help others... Paul M or someone else just my opion though.. but i guess my opion dont matter around here...

[Gio~Logist]

Danny.VBT ??? hmmmm my personal view is i would have rather seen some one else who was more helpful and was willing to help others... Paul M or someone else just my opion though.. but i guess my opion dont matter around here...

I suppose you haven't dealt with Danny in the past, as he has helped me and various others a great deal. Also, please lets not turn this into a debate or try and say something like this in a thread where he should be congratulated and such, while the staff is trying to improve.

[Corriewf]

Awww my little Danny is growing up soooo fast!!!

Much love Danny... much love....

[Immortal]

Glad you guys choose a great addition to the administration! :)

Congratulations Danny, and the best of luck.

[The Chief]

congrats Danny again :D

[PennylessZ28]

The staff is younger than me!

[Boofo]

Everyone is younger than me. ;)

[Logikos]

Everyone is younger than me. ;)
Even god!

[Boofo]

And he calls me "Sir"? :cross-eyed:

[MThornback]

Way to go Danny! And someone get Boofo his walker :p

[joeychgo]

Nice to see progress, although a shame about Erwin.... Congrats Danny..

[The Geek]

Congrats Danny.

"With great power comes great... er... power!". Use it and have fun.

[kira]

Please try to bare with us

Why sir! I know we're trying to get friendlier and more intimate around here, but gosh, that's a little forward, don'tcha think?

Still, if it'll help matters, I guess a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do... ;)

Seriously, thanks for the update, and congrats to DannyVBT for the promotion. The changes look interesting and ambitious, and I truly applaud everyone who helps return vB.org to the phenomenal resource it once was, and will surely be again.

I'm very sorry to see Erwin go. I'm gonna post in his farewell thread, but I just want to say that I hope all new admins and mods will take a page from his book on how to display grace and humility under fire. He's a terrific role model for any admin to emulate.

[Krahl]

Well put Kira! I agree with everything you said. Well, and also, about that "baring" thing.. feel free to forward or post images. :banana:

Thanks for the update concerning the site and I'll toss my "congrats Danny" into the pool as well.

[Oblivion Knight]

We've had one of our low points, now let's focus on being positive and get things changed to please the people; after all, this is your site. For me, it's a very exciting time to be a part of vbulletin.org and I look forward to contributing what I can, toward a very promising future.

Congratulations on the promotion Danny! :)

[Boofo]

Congrats Danny.

"With great power comes great... er... power!". Use it and have fun.

So THAT'S how that saying ends. Thanks for the heads up. ;)

[peterska2]

As you know things have not been going so well over the last couple of days here at vBulletin.org. We (the staff) recognize there is need for change and we are currently working towards improving things in the community and the site as a whole. Because of this we're going to change the structure of the staff and bring in more staff members to help with the workload.

That sounds like a really good idea. Hopefully, bringing in people who have some respect and don't be causing some sort of upset every 5 mins here.

Before I go on I should mention that we've lost one member from the admin team today. As of today Erwin (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/member.php?u=4422) has stepped down as admin for a number of reasons. This is a big blow to the staff and the site as a whole but I hope we can move forward in a positive direction. I would personally like to thank Erwin for his time his as an administrator, he will be missed. :(


hear hear

Moving on...

We will be separating the staff into 3 separate groups: Coders, Designers, and Customer support. Each group will have it's own responsibilities. For example the coder group will work on coding new additions for the site and moderate the release forums. The designers will design and maintain a style for vBulletin.org and be responsible for moderating all design forums (graphics, template mods, styles etc.). The Customer support group will mainly deal with users, and help members whenever possible when it comes to modification requests, or posts in the site feedback forum.


Now we are getting somewhere :) This seems to be a really good plan. Having teams will give more idea of who is dealing with the backend and who deals with the users. This will speed up support providing that there are another staff in the customer support group.


Each moderating group will work directly under their own admin, I will be the leader of the designers for example, and Stefan (Xenon) will be leading the coding group.

Again, sounds like a great plan. This will make the staffing side of things a lot more structured. A who reports to who, and then as long as these groups are made public, a who speaks for what will be established.

As this time we are currently sorting the current staff into these new groups and preparing the tools that will make it possible for these groups to work with each other. Once we've sorted our current staff, we will be looking to bring in more staff members into these new groups.
I hope that the groups are arranged according to skills and current staffs wishes, and new staff brought in are not chosen out of a popularity contest. It doesn't matter how popular you are, if you can't do the job right, then you are not the person for the job. I suggest interviews with potential staff members via IRC/IM/Phone to check them out further before making the final decisions.

I think everyone probably has the same feelings here, and if they don't then I'm one on my own ;)

As I mentioned before Erwin stepped down today, due to this we've promoted a new admin to help with things. I'd like to be the first to extend my congratulations to Danny.VBT (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/member.php?u=66805) who'll be coming on board to oversee the Customer support group and help out with the day to day workload for the admins.

Congrats Danny. I hope you continue to be active and helpful and manage the support group well. Good luck to you. :)

Please try to bare with us while we get all of these things sorted out, I promise that once they are in place we'll see improvements happening at vBulletin.org as a much faster rate.

- Brad

I ain't gonna bare with you lot, you'd just be perving ;) I will however bear with you. It's not an easy process at any time, but with all the disruption that has happened normally it is even more difficult. Don't rush it, but keep the community updated. Better to get staffing right first time than have to keep changing them.

KA

[Lottis]

Are the new team, gone build on what Erwin "promises"/wishes was considering the coders?

Congrats Danny.

[Boofo]

Are the new team, gone build on what Erwin "promises"/wishes was considering the coders?

Congrats Danny.

The Staff is planning on picking up where things were left off and continuing on from there. ;)

[Brad]

Are the new team, gone build on what Erwin "promises"/wishes was considering the coders?

Congrats Danny.
The things that Erwin discussed in the public forums were discussed between staff members before he hinted at them.

His input will be missed around the staff forums and we will have to learn to get a long without him as a staff member, I hope he will stick around as a user and continues to provide input. :)

We are going forward with all things mentioned so far, but at what rate I am un-sure of. We want to move things quickly, but we want to get it right at the same time. I think once we make these changes to the staff, and bring in some fresh people things will start moving a long at the rate we all want them to.

Of course this will take time, it's not a next week thing. There is a lot of stuff to deal with on the back-end before all of this will be in place. :)

While all of this is going on I'm trying to find time for little improvements. For example I fixed the 'latest releases' quirk on the modification index today, a little change a few people wanted. I placed a few links to the mod index in the forums today, because some people were having problems finding them. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, just trying to show that things do happen. ;)

I edited the first post and will edit the front page now, thanks for the laugh ;)

[Lottis]

The things that Erwin discussed in the public forums were discussed between staff members before he hinted at them.

His input will be missed around the staff forums and we will have to learn to get a long without him as a staff member, I hope he will stick around as a user and continues to provide input. :)

We are going forward with all things mentioned so far, but at what rate I am un-sure of. We want to move things quickly, but we want to get it right at the same time. I think once we make these changes to the staff, and bring in some fresh people things will start moving a long at the rate we all want them to.

Of course this will take time, it's not a next week thing. There is a lot of stuff to deal with on the back-end before all of this will be in place. :)

While all of this is going on I'm trying to find time for little improvements. For example I fixed the 'latest releases' quirk on the modification index today, a little change a few people wanted. I placed a few links to the mod index in the forums today, because some people were having problems finding them. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, just trying to show that things do happen. ;)

I edited the first post and will edit the front page now, thanks for the laugh ;)
Thank you fore answering me. :)
Was it me who gave you the laugh?:bunny:

[sabret00the]

We'll all miss Erwin, i will at least. i got comfortable with his presence and what is offered. I'm sad to see him go.

Well done Danny though :)

[Dean C]

I think Boofo would have done a better job. Whilst I have nothing against Danny, Boofo has more experience and I think the members here respect him a lot more.

[Revan]

The staff is younger than me!You can't expect the entire vBorg staff to be made up of people like Boo either now can you ;)

Also, I hope this coding staff of yours isn't going to be picked purely on number of releases...

[Chris M]

Congrats Danny :)

@Revan - No it will be based on the largest bribe sent to me :)

Chris

[Boofo]

Did you get my check yet?

You can't expect the entire vBorg staff to be made up of people like Boo either now can you ;)

Also, I hope this coding staff of yours isn't going to be picked purely on number of releases...

There is only 1 Boofo and I think that is actually 2 too many.

And what Chris said. :cross-eyed:

[Revan]

There is only 1 Boofo and I think that is actually 2 too many.LMAO! Yeah I can vouch for that :p
@Revan - No it will be based on the largest bribe sent to me :)

ChrisMy gf is 17 years old, is that enough? :p

[peterska2]

There is only 1 Boofo and I think that is actually 2 too many.

No comment.

* peterska2 just points and laughs instead

[Xenon]

To give out a few little informations:

Each group leader is absolutelly free who he chooses into his team, we deeply change the staff structure and bring in a concrete hierarchy, which wll also be made public, so whenever a user has a problem with any staffmember, it will be obvious, who to contact about.

As for possibel staff members. well, each one chooses those who we think will be best. Of course personal reasons may play a role, as it would lead to problem if we have some direct "concurents" within the staff of course. But speraking for myself, i have already a few users on my list, which aren't know as pro-staff in the past ;)

And for those who'd like to see boofo as admin:
Sorry, but he didn'T have a real chance....


Ok, i'll tell you the reason: I wanted Boofo in my coding staff team, in a leading role, and therefore he couldn't be an admin ;)

More details will follow ;)

[Dan]

Butbutbut... Boofo is sooooooo cool Stefan, he'd be a wordful admin :P

[Boofo]

Not even like a 2 percent chance? I'd settle for that. ;)

[Alan @ CIT]

Niceone Big D - congrats :D

[sabret00the]

I think Boofo would have done a better job. Whilst I have nothing against Danny, Boofo has more experience and I think the members here respect him a lot more.
i took a while to think about this, and i actually think making boofo head of customer support would've been a logical decision. i'm not denying danny's contributions, but when i look at boofo he seems to be the member of staff that is the most known for his interaction with everyone.

however i'm sure there are legitimate reasons he wasn't given the role and so we throw our support behind the system in the hope it improved.

[Boofo]

It was rigged I tell you, rigged! :cross-eyed:

[Xenon]

@sabre: look at my post, i described, why boofo hasn'T had a chance for new admin ;)

but be sure his position will be hard enoug, erm i mean :D

[Boofo]

Aha! So lure me in with promises and then stick it to me! :cross-eyed:

/me likes the way Xenon stinks

[sabret00the]

@sabre: look at my post, i described, why boofo hasn'T had a chance for new admin ;)

but be sure his position will be hard enoug, erm i mean :D
it's an interesting choice, however without meaning to sound disrespectful, i think Boofo is a great man and has taught me a lot, however i don't feel he has the presence in the coding technical forums he moderates as opposed to the presence he provides in say "site feedback" and "the lounge". i can understand that given the sheer number of forums he has to moderate it's hard, but when you look at the technical forums and you see how neglected they are, i'm just concerned for what the site will ever be able to offer in that regard (i.e. talking code)?

what are the plans in terms of re-establishing a technical presence on the site?

has a road map been established in regards to vBulletin.org on the whole?

will Danny be able to offer what Boofo does, while Boofo undertakes his new responsibilities?

[Xenon]

Well, we will see

i have a road map for the technical aspects as well as for the leadership of the team, but as long as the team is not yet built completely, i cannot give you definate answers. Showing presence in the forums a mod is entered to is definitelly on the list, that's one of the reasons, why we decided to split the staff into teams. I am sure, Bob will fill out his position, that's why i choosed him, and same for Danny, if we wouldn'T be sure about him, why should we promote him?.

On a site note: Boofo did suggest Danny as well :)

[Corriewf]

Boofo is sooo old that his reaction time is quite delayed... I mean by the time he gets done reading this message, we will be on page 5. Then you have his time restrictions, he gets up at like 4 am and goes to bed at like 8.... I am sure all he is thinking about right now is spending time with his great great great grand children.

[Xenon]

just to show a bit of progress, on showgroups.php you'll see each staff groups already constantelly filling in.

of course you won't see what duties everyone has yet, (we know em, ;)) but so you can see, who'll be needed to kiss ass in the future ;)

[sabret00the]

just to show a bit of progress, on showgroups.php you'll see each staff groups already constantelly filling in.

of course you won't see what duties everyone has yet, (we know em, ;)) but so you can see, who'll be needed to kiss ass in the future ;)
your teams starting to come together i see :)

[Daniel]

Well done Danny. :)

[DrewM]

It's funnyI rember when Danny was becoming a Mod.

[Dr.Viggy]

Hey all. I'm relatively new here (2 months or so) but this site has already had a huge impact on my site between the mods/hacks, the level of support i've received, the general questions about vbulletin that have been answered for me and even the networking with other users who have sites that complement mine and vice versa.

when i first saw the shakeup i was nervous that my new vbulletin support structure may fall under its own weight but as they say, from the ashes rises the phoenix and as someone who has managed large teams of real people in the past, i think you've got an excellent plan of attack to make necessary turnarounds.

I'm not a coder or a designer in any way but i spend a ton of time in front of the screen on both this site and modifying/tuning my own and i'm trying to lean the code side of things (i've always been in the networking world). So if you have any duties for regular members who don't have credentials to be mods/admins that just want to lend a hand, turn to your pal Dr.Viggy. I'd be more than happy to help out in any way that you need and i'm capable

thanks for the site, the efforts, the hacks and just this community as a whole.

Doc V

[Developer]

Congrats again Mr.Danny

btw: How can get in Coding Staff :D

[darnoldy]

Everyone is younger than me. ;)
No they're not! You're the same age as my kid sister!

--donn

P.S. I am *not* older than dirt--we went to high school together, but I'm not older.

[Boofo]

Nice to meet someone in the same age group. Maybe we can whip these youngsters into shape. You think? ;)

[Roms]

Nice to meet someone in the same age group. Maybe we can whip these youngsters into shape. You think? ;)

Don't break a hip... :D

[davidw]

I'm starting to feel old now...

[Boofo]

I'm starting to feel old now...

But you look so young in your *cough*STOLEN*cough* avatar. ;)

[davidw]

Stolen? I'm only borrowing it, heck, I'll even make you a copy... hehe
:P Got anymore I can borrow?

BTW, nasty cough you got there - anything you taking for it?

[Boofo]

LOL @ christianb

Naw, keep the damn thing! I don't deal in used avatars, anyway. It's been "tainted". ;)

[davidw]

LOL :bandit:

[Zachariah]

Christian, did you know Boofo is the only man alive that had a stone tablet in grade school?

:laugh: :p

[ericgtr]

Okay, I have a feeling I have you all beat. In August I will be 40, not that I feel all that old but a lot more things go creek in the morning when I wake up and my girlfriend often accuses me of listening to geezer radio.

[Dan]

Butbutbut.... Boofo is suppose to be the oldest :S (and i can't remember his age)

[Zachariah]

Okay, I have a feeling I have you all beat. In August I will be 40, not that I feel all that old but a lot more things go creek in the morning when I wake up and my girlfriend often accuses me of listening to geezer radio.

I think Boof has ya beat by 12 or 17 years ?
<- 31 .... I am still wippen my nose .... :p

- Got a lot of grey hairs not going away :surprised:

[davidw]

Christian, did you know Boofo is the only man alive that had a stone tablet in grade school?

:laugh: :p

LOL

I think Boof has ya beat by 12 or 17 years ?
<- 31 .... I am still wippen my nose .... :p

- Got a lot of grey hairs not going away :surprised:

31 here as well

[darnoldy]

Okay, I have a feeling I have you all beat. In August I will be 40, not that I feel all that old but a lot more things go creek in the morning when I wake up and my girlfriend often accuses me of listening to geezer radio.
40!, jeeze! You're not even older than the Internet fer gawd sakes. You can't join the geezer club.

--don

[loonytune15]

Congrats to Danny.

And Thank you Erwin for all your great help and your input to this site..

[Logikos]

Boofo is like 60 yrs old. :speechless:

[gothicuser]

Okay, I have a feeling I have you all beat. In August I will be 40, not that I feel all that old but a lot more things go creek in the morning when I wake up and my girlfriend often accuses me of listening to geezer radio.
Makes me feel positively ancient (maybe thats why my kids call me 'Gothic' (as in structure :( )
(almost three score :D :D )

[Corriewf]

Okay, I have a feeling I have you all beat. In August I will be 40, not that I feel all that old but a lot more things go creek in the morning when I wake up and my girlfriend often accuses me of listening to geezer radio.

Your 40 and think you have boofo beat! HA! He has boogers older then that!

[stonyarc]

33 here

Congratz on all the changes and nice to see the creative thinking in action here.

[Xenon]

hmm, i must do soemthing wrong.

in the old staff most were younger than myself, in my own coding staff i am supposed to be the youngest now?
wahhhh ^^

[Gio~Logist]

hmm, i must do soemthing wrong.

in the old staff most were younger than myself, in my own coding staff i am supposed to be the youngest now?
wahhhh ^^

That could be because i'm not on the team. Hehe.

[Snake]

Congrats Danny! You definitely deserve it! :D

[Developer]

That could be because i'm not on the team. Hehe.
If you were in i WOULD say the same :p

[Gio~Logist]

If you were in i WOULD say the same :p

For us it doesn't even count! It's a 6 day difference hehe.

Also, i see that these new changes are making a couple of more things visible to me that weren't visible before. I like :p Heh.

[Xenon]

hehe, don't get used to :p

[kartik786]

aah well.. sorry guys ... i hate the new changes ... was very confortable with the previous version..

[Razasharp]

Congrats to Danny and everyone else on their promotions.

Sorry to see Erwin go too.

I do have concerns about vb.org and feel jelsoft need to take more control of the site, it is theirs afterall and their customers experience here has a huge impact on their product.

I'm not ageist so the age of admin/staff members does not bother me so long as the site is run professionally and maturely - otherwise vB will get the reputation it's run by kids for kids (yes vb not just vb.org) I hope that doesn't happen because I love vb!!!

[Xenon]

you won't say that Boofo or the rest of my staff are kids, will you? ^^

(hmm, i think boofo would like to be one again :D)

[Logikos]

He'd have to go backwards 80 years. :p

[Boofo]

LOL You guys have no idea. ;)

[Xenon]

but it's nice to have so much oldies around to delegate ;)

[Boofo]

/me keeps a list of those he is going to delegate the hell out of after all the old man remarks. Xenon is safe.

[Paul M]

/me ducks out of sight

[Boofo]

And well he should. ;)

[sensimilla]

Hope this will make only good to this great community.
Of course I will miss Erwin..funny he dont even know me but somehow he is a part of my web life... Part of vbulletin.org which I visit every day.

Good luck with the site.

[Bison]

As with all things there comes a time where change is needed. Erwin is going to be missed very much and I hope the best for him!

[Dead End Society]

I have not posted much with you guys, but I am debating stepping up to help do my part with the help around here. I do have all the coders and so on to thank for my site being what it is, and it only seems fair.

I like the customer support idea, because too often, people ask for help and get this "well look it up" type thing, usually a snotty response. I would like to compare this to ant store/market type deal where a customer comes in and asks where something is, they are to be told where specifically or shown directly, not just "well go find it, it's there", ya know? It's a major turn off, and I have seen that type of attitude boil over into other aspects of the site.

I hope this all works out.

[Gio~Logist]

Congrats to Danny and everyone else on their promotions.

Sorry to see Erwin go too.

I do have concerns about vb.org and feel jelsoft need to take more control of the site, it is theirs afterall and their customers experience here has a huge impact on their product.

I'm not ageist so the age of admin/staff members does not bother me so long as the site is run professionally and maturely - otherwise vB will get the reputation it's run by kids for kids (yes vb not just vb.org) I hope that doesn't happen because I love vb!!!
Believe it or not, i believe about 70% of the people that post modifications and such here are less than 20 years old.

LOL You guys have no idea. ;)
Don't worry boobo. I remember my days when i used to be your age. Those were the days. Writing on stone, playing with sticks, taking a ride on your favorite t-rex :p

[FlyBoy73]

Thank you Erwin.
Welcome to the admin team Danny.

[Developer]

btw: How can get in Coding Staff :D
Quoting myself :D

[kall]

Quoting myself :D
Given that almost every Forum selects staff based on contribution and general community participation, and generally frown upon asking...

Probably by having an existing staff member nominate you, then a vote by the staff as a whole?

[Paul M]

Each Admin picked his own team.

[mrahul]

congrats Danny :) & sorry to miss u Erwin :(

[majorxp]

Congrats Danny!

[Xenon]

Quoting myself :D
or by contacting one of the teamleader, in this case it's boofo


we already have a few ones to go through their mods and posts and then decide who else will be choosen, at least that's the way the coding staff handles it :)

[Developer]

or by contacting one of the teamleader, in this case it's boofo


we already have a few ones to go through their mods and posts and then decide who else will be choosen, at least that's the way the coding staff handles it :)
mmmmm, great :)
Wait for 3 weeks until i release my first great hack then start going through my mods :D

[Techno05]

Great to hear...........

[kall]

Each Admin picked his own team.
Ahh right, so they do.

;)

[Quillz]

I guess these changes are for the better.