This is the kind of disrespect toward the coders that will eventually implode a site like this, and eventually vB itself. The coders here are not "just part" of the community, they're key framework that a community like this is built upon. Do you think your house would be standing for very long if you removed its framework? Likewise, if you're going to be so cavalier about an important issue such as this, then all of us paying customers will just make some popcorn and watch this site, and ultimately vB's sales, sink like the Titanic. It seems to me that the decision makers of the Titanic once thought that they were unstoppable to.
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the other 99.99% of the users on this site are its lifeblood.
Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Why do you think that people come here in the first place? Here's a clue; remove all of the hacks that are here, prevent any new ones from being posted, and you'll soon learn what most of us vB customers already know.
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One coder does not make or break this site
I agree, one single coder does not make or break this site. However when it's one coder after another, after another, then like Chinese water torture all of the good coders will have left and gone somewhere else. Now all of a sudden it's a totally different issue. Sounds to me like you think this is a power struggle. It isn't. The coders are doing this in part because they are not given the respect that they are rightfully due. A good leader would seize a situation like this and use it as an opportunity to make this site better, not pour more salt on its wounds. I agree with you that there are a few coders that have used this site as a stepping stone for their own benefit, but we are not talking about those coders. Certainly LiveWire is not one of those coders. He has bent over backwards here and at other sites to help vB customers when his only benifit is knowing that someone who needed help received it. As a customer he has helped me when vB staff has not. It's disturbingly sad that you can't realize what an asset he is here. No doubt he will certainly be missed by the vB customers here.
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If EVERY signle person on this forum up and left, it'd be a differnt story.
Well there's an obvious statement I'll even go one better. If people stop having a reason to come here it will adversely effect vB as a company. Here's an example for you. I was about to buy another copy of Vb next month. However, because of all of the cavalier comments like the one that you made above toward the coders here, I will not. That money will now stay in my pocket until I, as a paying customer, can be reassured that the product that I'm paying for is going to be supported by the "coding community". Like most customers I do not have the ability to code very well, which is why I appreciate it so much when others who can code, donate their time and their hacks to a site like this. I didn't buy vB just for its default features, I bought it because of its expandability, but when you think about it all forum software is expandable, and upon closer inspection it's really the caliber of the coding community here that make the big difference. Simply put; No good hacks - no reason for people to buy this software over Invision (or any other brand) that IS supported by a solid coding community. I think most resonable people would agree that if it wasn't for a site like this, that vB wouldn't be so appealing, and you can paint it any way that you want, but the bottom line is that this site is only as good as its coders. It appears to some of us as customers that the higher-ups at vB can't make that fundamental connection. I can't begin to tell you how surprised (and disappointed) I am to learn that fact. One way or another this site will ultimately be shaped through decisions that ultimately shape its environment. I think an open thread like this one is very important. Constructive criticism may not be easy to read, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things, and as we all know when something unhealthy is ignored, its potential to die increases. If all the good coders leave this site then you don't have to be a psychic to know where that will lead. I love vB, I really do, and I hope that they take one step back and realize just how important having good coders here is.
05-13-2006, 05:43 PM
I'll even go one better. If people stop having a reason to come here it will adversely effect vB as a company. Here's an example for you. I was about to buy another copy of Vb next month. However, because of all of the cavalier comments like the one that you made above toward the coders here, I will not. That money will now stay in my pocket until I, as a paying customer, can be reassured that the product that I'm paying for is going to be supported by the "coding community". Like most customers I do not have the ability to code very well, which is why I appreciate it so much when others who can code, donate their time and their hacks to a site like this. I didn't buy vB just for its default features, I bought it because of its expandability, but when you think about it all forum software is expandable, and upon closer inspection it's really the caliber of the coding community here that make the big difference. Simply put; No good hacks - no reason for people to buy this software over Invision (or any other brand) that IS supported by a solid coding community. I think most resonable people would agree that if it wasn't for a site like this, that vB wouldn't be so appealing, and you can paint it any way that you want, but the bottom line is that this site is only as good as its coders. It appears to some of us as customers that the higher-ups at vB can't make that fundamental connection. I can't begin to tell you how surprised (and disappointed) I am to learn that fact. One way or another this site will ultimately be shaped through decisions that ultimately shape its environment. I think an open thread like this one is very important. Constructive criticism may not be easy to read, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things, and as we all know when something unhealthy is ignored, its potential to die increases. If all the good coders leave this site then you don't have to be a psychic to know where that will lead. I love vB, I really do, and I hope that they take one step back and realize just how important having good coders here is.
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