I thought I was being obvious- apologies if it's too much for you. I'm also reluctant to be purely direct because I've known plenty of friends that "used" to be WC'ers. Direct translation so you'll understand: They were either banned or felt so unwelcome that they voluntarily left. In making a case against the admins here, fear certainly exists that the same could happen to me. The precedent already exists.

Whoa, what can one say besides why don't you take a self-righteous dive, head first off your moral high horse.

*sorry for double post, catching up on reading this thread as I made em.
[Message Edited]

IPlural, I honestly feel as though your posts here were intended to be insulting, so my attempt was to be as explicit as possible. I've also attempted to maintain a fairly objective stance despite feeling strongly on the issue, whereas others, yourself included, have made jabs, cracks and comments that have consequently been edited. This is not an equitable solution.

If I had to blanket you into a group, it would be the "Adversarial group," of which MindlessPuppet and Jafo would probably also admit to. Whether you intend to or not, your excessive candor has offended many and probably driven a healthy contingent of WC users into thinking that they're point of views were less than acceptable.

With regards to the overdog worshippers comment- I also felt when the comment was made, as now, that there are people that will butt-kiss. The ratings system here is another evidence of that behavior. You were not labelled in this category, although it appears you feel you were, and the reference was not levelled at those whose views directly opposed my own. It was a statement that whenever there are people installed in positions that obtain popularity, people will bow to that person's opinion simply because of the position. That's why I believe it's unfair to post self-proclaimed blogs on the front page of the site, because FrogBoy's opinions, acknowledged or not, carries great weight in the community, and must therefore be excercised with great caution. To "the great un-washed" any bias presented by a person in his position could have potential to sway community opinion. I think those that have posted here are inherently a cut above the rest in their abilities to formulate and express individual opinions, for which you are to be commended. It's the common, everyday kid that may not that I worry about.

This is the crux of my argument, and it's clear that nobody else echoes these sentiments. I was intending to initiate some conversation on the topic and instead introduced a great deal of contention, and created an avenue to let adversarial individuals say some inappropriate things, of which I too am guilty, for which I apologize.

No need to apologize. I understand your feeling about the demigod status here and the "Bradites". Whether or not such a situation actually exists is plausible. But, this is just a website. Just a customization website in fact. And it is owned by Brad, I guess. So, I guess he can do with it how he likes. If we don't like it, we can leave. And, if enough of us leave, maybe someone will get a clue. If we don't like the moral stance presented to our children, then I wouldn't let my children come here.

As far as the content of the news "Blog", I don't have a problem with it. It's Brads play yard. This is obviously a "Pro" Windows Site, and "Anti" Mac Site, and I don't have a problem with that either. I mean, why would you come here if you are a Mac User?

I understand the "Anti" Style XP info and I find it very interesting.

There is a lot of terrible stuff going on all over the internet and all over the world. Brads little rants are sometimes quite informative, and if I disagree with him, I'll let him know and so should you. If the Brad Followers(Bradites) jump on you, then beat them back with a rubber hose. And, lets try to have a little fun. Life is too serious. We all gotta die someday anyway.

ChasUGC....language, please....

If I had to blanket you into a group, it would be the "Adversarial group," of which MindlessPuppet and Jafo would probably also admit to.

Heh, clearly you missed the thread about the previous poll 'should wincustomize support premium suites' (or something to that extent), in which it was basically me butting-heads with everyone. It's not a matter of being in group or whatnot, sometimes people agree, sometimes they don't. As towards initiating conversation, well this is about as civil as forum coversations get. It's in their nature to seem hostile.

If I had to blanket you into a group, it would be the "Adversarial group," of which MindlessPuppet and Jafo would probably also admit to

Yes, I'd admit that IPlural would be in that group....

If you mean that I would be in it....no....I'm in the 'Bradite' group...haven't you heard?  I don't have a brain or my own opinion...[you can call me 'Parrot'].

In reality I'm in the 'Pro Wincustomize.com and will do all I can to help maintain its success, prominence and popularity' group.....

Regarding a quasi-deviantWatch type feature, we are going to have a feature that allows users to subscribe to a given user's mini-site.  So when they do something, you'll be notified of it.

But remember, deviantART is a very different type of site.  We're not looking to become an art site or something.  We're a customization site.  But we do want to have a lot more interactivity than we currently have.

We've been building up technology for the past year and a hafl on sites like JoeUser.com in preparation for doing the next generation WC.

ChasUGC....language, please....

Language? I didn't recognize any curse words. A little critical? Slightly, sometimes, but a mind is a terrible thing not to speak.

Being a Bradite, isn't neccesarily a bad thing either. I think we're all partly Gate-ites.(Chas places his foot deeper in his mouth)

So when they do something, you'll be notified of it.

Hehe, that's actually all I was refering to.

Chas...I removed the post.....using asterisks to censor a word, particularly in such an obvious phrase isn't sufficient....

Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Bad Chas.

I too never saw them as Blogs, although Brad himself calls them such. To me, a Blog is more "This morning I ate 2 toasts and a bowl of cereals" and is ultimately very boring, unlike Brad's articles.  I do consider them editorials too, and enjoy reading them on the front page.  Many newspapers have a editorail column on the front page. Nobody has ne read them if they don't want to.  There are editorialists I like to read, and there are some that I totally despise and prefer not to read any more. You can do the same with Brad.  You don't have to read it, just scroll down to the net news item or click on the msgboard link at the top.
BTW: users opinions do count. That's why there was a poll about it.  If the poll would have clearly indicated that these articles were'nt appreciated, you can be sure that Brad's current "blog" (I hate that word) would be the last one.

Jafo- known you long enough to know you're neither Bradite, nor Parrot, but nobody can argue that you're bona-fide pro-wincustomize.

MindlessPuppet- Point taken. It's amazing how many really cut-throat threads there have been over the last 2-3 years here, ones not engendering a tenth of the sentiments expressed in this one. Honestly, I don't have a clue why these type of things happen so prevalently at WC, the most tightly regulated of theming sites (regulation being a good thing, here). Makes you wonder the terror that would exist without moderators!

Just realized that I've fallen into the jaded category Oh well, if anything, it'll help develop a thicker skin.

I think the thing to remember here is that, as Paxx said, the poll was taken because at heart Brad respects the WC community and his efforts and contributions are all in the effort of furthering that community. While WC is a Stardock website, it IS a community, and Stardock are a company who are known for listening to customers and users, in software support and in changes for the satisfaction of the end-user. If the poll had reflected that Brads editorials were not appreciated they would have stopped.

I understand what you are saying Mr Biotech in regards to the appropriateness of the placement, but as a somewhat casual user of Wincustomize, I enjoy reading Brads editorials, and if they were elsewhere they would be missed. While the statistics for this website show millions viewing it over monthly periods, a large percentage of those are probably not ACTIVE community participants, they will view the main page and explore some articles, maybe comment, and download a skin.
While Brads editorials are opinionated and very much perspective pieces, he neither claims he is right, and furthermore usually links to appropriate external news sites so that a person can get the 'full perspective' if they feel that Brad's vibe is taking over there thinking.

One has to remember that we all want the same thing, a prosperous community that is productive and fulfilling. That will mean different things to different people, but in the end if the majority speaks then some people have to suck in a deep breath and continue on with things. brad is obviously at the center of progress along with his staff at Stardock. One has to remember that his time and energy are spent looking 'forward' and right now that incorporates 'WC2K5'. I'm sure I am not the only one that wants to bring my own dreams into glorious fruition as soon as possible, and I think these editorials are a part of that future possibility.. we are getting a glimpse, and I think it is a good one.

I am not 'Pro Brad' or mindlessly consuming everything he says. But I do enjoy the chance of hearing the perspective. Admittedly as someone said in this thread earlier, Brad could make use of the 'Full Story' link to sum up what is shown on the main page, but that is just semantics.

I like them, I think they should stay where they are. I look forward to the possibilities in WC2K5 and I hope more people post news with a bit of flavour as well... with use of the 'full story' link if possible *hint*