ChaotixTails, on Sep 29 2007, 09:14 AM, said:
Two boards with a noted lack of activity, one moreso than the other, merge. The slightly more active board bitches about the name change because really, everything else is going to be the exact same and it's the job of the oldbies to bitch as much as possible at change.
Get over it. It's just a name. Everything else is going to be the exact same, if not better. I doubt you'll even notice (in fact, I had to check to make sure it hadn't already happened).
Not much will change, life will go on, etc.
It's really easy to say it's not important when you don't know what the old S2B was like and only look at it from the point of view of one who has nothing much to lose from such a merger.
Nothing can really keep lie from going on, either. The place could have been taken over by Glowing Bridge and life would still go on.
Get over it? How'd you like it if somebody suddenly assimilated a place you'd gone to for a long time without telling you much until it was already on its way to being done? While acting as if the name and main site of such place were disposable, and announcing they were going to summarily replace those with their own people? And then give their own place's staff members power over that place? Would you like that, huh?
Oh yes I'll notice the changes, unless this is a lot of posting over nothing, I'd expect for the header of the board to change, these 'sysops' to appear and be getting priveledges, and such. No it's not much, but the point I've been speaking on is apparently moot, because I'm an oldbie.
That's called poisoning the well. 'Circumstancial ad hominem.' I'm saying this on a logical basis; here, let me break it down.
Place A has survived for a long time, has a unique culture and things specific to it.
Place B is relatively new, borrows from Place A and has a significant piece of its own culture separate.
So then the time comes to combine them. Let's analyze the play by play here.
1. Place A loses its name, and is renamed to Place B.
2. Place A's stuff is placed as a subsection of Place B.
3. Place B's staff gain control of Place A as well as Place A's staff.
4. Place A's staff get no new control.
5. Place A's members are ignored, told at a fairly late time, and then left to spin around hopelessly.
What is the conclusion?
Place A is assimilated by Place B. Place A's culture is overwritten by Place B's. Place B takes what it wants from Place A and discards the rest, whatever it may be.
Hence, there is only Place C, which consists of Place B's culture and staff controlling Place A's stuff. At their whim they can probably alter Place A however they want, in fact this is already in effect if this was a surprise to LocalH.
The idea of merging isn't bad; but the way it's being done is, frankly, horrible. I shall personally hope the 'revert to S2B' thing happens, mainly because if the merger's done to abruptly and without concern for the members (until they open their mouths), then I can furthermore predict Sonic Retro will have fairly free reign to alter S2B, and when it does so, it may be likely it similarly abruptly announces it, ignores the members and surprises S2B's staff, and so on.
Correct me if I'm wrong with my breakdown of the merger, but it seems fairly cut and dried to me. S2B's getting the equivalent to when a company buys out another one: It loses its sovereignty, and thus, its distinctive flavor will slowly vanish. Hence making it no longer interesting to its original members over time.
Of course, I'm not going to just leave. S2B's done nothing wrong, it's Sonic Retro's actions I will comment on. The good, and the bad. For example, the merger, in theory, is just fine (We're already on the same server, I think). It's just that it could be done a lot better.
Mainly, I'd move the S2B stuff to the wiki, keep an archive of the old page, keep the S2B board 'Sonic 2 Beta Message Board', but changing the title to something neutral that would indicate both Retro and Sonic 2 Beta, not one or the other. I would also restrain from staffing Retro people at said board, at least not above moderator, moderator of Retro-specific forums. Leaving Scarred Sun as she is, of course. This way it is a fusion rather than Sonic Retro assimilating S2 Beta.
But this is probably just tl;dr to all of you, so I'll just have to watch what happens.
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