Author Topic: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH  (Read 127005 times)

Toy Ranch

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NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« on: April 21, 2014, 04:43:34 AM »
The Universal Monster Army has decided to return to our roots and focus our forum back to what it was about when we started, which is monsters. As such, the following forums will be removed sometime on April 27, 2014.

Non-Monster Toys
Non-Monster Movies
General Discussion
Games, Polls, and Lists
Music
Sports
Technology & Video Games
Members Only

We realize this comes as a shock to many of our members, and may be very unpopular with some as well, however this decision was not made in haste, and it is not going to be reversed.  You are free to comment on this in this thread only, however if you are disruptive or abusive, your account will be suspended.

After the forums are removed, threads and posts off the topic of monsters may be deleted, at the discretion of forum moderators and administrators.

As the main General Discussion forum contains threads which are relevant to monsters and contain important parts of our history, it will be edited for non-monster content and returned in read-only form.  If there are threads in any of the forums slated for removal that contain significant monster content and you would like to remain available, please post a link to them below, and they will be reviewed and considered for moving to Gen Disc when it is returned as read-only.

Any off-topic threads that you may wish to save for posterity just hit the PRINT button in the top right toolbar and then right click and save as. You can save it to your hard drive.

Thanks for your attention and cooperation.

The Universal Monster Army Staff

BigShadow

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2014, 05:25:15 AM »
Wow,
This place used to feel like a home to me and a place I could discuss monster stuff and a few non monster stuff as well with people I really enjoyed and shared common interests with.  The General Discussion area held a lot of monster-related topics and was a fun place to interact and get to know other members.  The Members Only thread was a great place to vent problems to others, give birthday wishes, and further bond with our fellow monster lovers.  I felt really close and secure with members due to these many sections of both monsters and non-monsters.  I think this is a huge mistake and should have been put to a vote by all members.

This is a sad day.  I'm sorry to say, with this decision, I no longer feel this is a family but a group dictated by a few people.  I guess I won't be on here as much since I really enjoyed all areas that the threads provided for us.  So sad that a few dictate the many.
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Flower

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2014, 06:40:56 AM »
While I don't believe this to be a wise choice .. it's not my choice to make.  The non-monster issues have been few and far between.  Things such as the photos of ill/sick/dying people were out of place (I certainly hope that my kittens and cakes didn't offend anyone) and some nudity did cross the line, but these too were few and far between as well as other inappropriate remarks. I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes or if anyone has been cautioned or not.

There is no way to keep any forum 'Drama Queen' free.

It's the 'Drama Queens' who whine that they are leaving ... etc. that turns many people off.  If you are upset, PM a mod and/or not post in a thread or take a break.

Perhaps I am incorrect and this isn't related to 'Drama Queen' activity and it's something else.  Sorry but I guess that this is the last chance to air our feelings.

I am curious if the admins plan to rebate the donations made to the forum or to offer the choice to the members who did donate to (for lack of a better word) the complete forum as it was and not the new (or very old) extremely specialized forum??
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats" ...  Albert Schweitzer

Wich2

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2014, 06:54:29 AM »
That's too bad.

I've been around since the early Yahoo days, and the more single-minded a site is, the less fun overall. Sure, the main focus is the focus; but once such a great group (and this is one of the BEST) has formed around that, it is the "other" stuff that makes that group a real community of friends.

As said above, this is sad. And it will likely mean less time spent here by many.

-Craig Wichman

frankenstein73

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2014, 06:55:36 AM »
Bravo, I am all for it.
I lost interest in the site and completely stopped posting due to the amount of non monster related topics that i felt should have been discussed on a different site.
it made no sense to me when i or someone would post a comment about a monster related toy or movie and get little to no feedback or interest back, yet a completely off the wall topic would get pages of discussion.
Thank you moderators for making this tough decision.
I look forward to the change.
Mirabile dictu,don't you agree?

Toy Ranch

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2014, 07:01:34 AM »
I am curious if the admins plan to rebate the donations made to the forum or to offer the choice to the members who did donate to (for lack of a better word) the complete forum as it was and not the new (or very old) extremely specialized forum??

It hasn't been discussed, but I will personally refund any donation made in the past 12 months by anyone who is leaving the forum due to these changes, based on a prorated amount equivalent to the daily value of the donation from the time the forums are removed to the 1 year anniversary of the donation.

In other words, if a donation of $12 was sent on November 14, and the member chooses to leave the UMA and wants a refund of their donation, they would have 201 days left on their donation, and their pro-rated refund would be $6.61.   

Just send me a PM that you would like to do that, along with your name and the approximate date and amount of your donation. I will send you the money and restrict your account.

Toy Ranch

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #6 on: April 21, 2014, 07:03:20 AM »
Bravo, I am all for it.
I lost interest in the site and completely stopped posting due to the amount of non monster related topics that i felt should have been discussed on a different site.
it made no sense to me when i or someone would post a comment about a monster related toy or movie and get little to no feedback or interest back, yet a completely off the wall topic would get pages of discussion.
Thank you moderators for making this tough decision.
I look forward to the change.


That's the primary reason for it, Frankenstein73!

MONSTERMOSH

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #7 on: April 21, 2014, 07:19:02 AM »
This is a great community and nothing lacks mistakes. I agree with this decision partially. I think that the threads with "non monster" in their name,sports and menbers only should be eliminated.I also think that the music,general discussion,games,polls,lists and video games threads should be left alone because all these include a lot of monster related content that is important but the non monster posts on this threads should be removed. I will stay on this great forum.

I hope more members agree with my opinion.

Hepcat

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #8 on: April 21, 2014, 08:41:47 AM »
it made no sense to me when i or someone would post a comment about a monster related toy or movie and get little to no feedback or interest back, yet a completely off the wall topic would get pages of discussion.

I've often wondered myself why so many monster toy threads and posts don't get the interest I expect on this board (just as I've wondered where you've been this past year but you're not set up to receive PMs).

You're making a mistake, however, to think that removing non-monster topics from this forum will somehow spark more posting in specifically monster related topics. It will not. If you think non-related threads somehow "crowd out" monster related threads, you don't understand discussion forums. It's activity that begets activity. As Toy Ranch has observed in the past, new members don't come here in a vacuum. They have a question, they are attracted to some topic they find in a random search, they find other things of interest, and then they stay. I discovered this forum doing a search for Standard Plastics monster wallets, and then discovered a lot of other cool toys and stuff. And since then I've learned about a lot of other interesting monster toys here. And that's what any forum is about, the sharing of information.

Limiting the scope of information that can be shared though is not good for a forum, this or any other.

 cl:)

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Toy Ranch

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2014, 09:07:27 AM »
You're making a mistake, however, to think that removing non-monster topics from this forum will somehow spark more posting in specifically monster related topics.

We don't think that, but thanks for your input.

Hepcat

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #10 on: April 21, 2014, 10:21:41 AM »
The Universal Monster Army has decided to return to our roots and focus our forum back to what it was about when we started, which is monsters. As such, the following forums will be removed sometime on April 27, 2014.

Non-Monster Toys
Non-Monster Movies
General Discussion
Games, Polls, and Lists
Music
Sports
Technology & Video Games
Members Only

We realize this comes as a shock to many of our members, and may be very unpopular with some as well, however this decision was not made in haste, and it is not going to be reversed.

From the standpoint of encouraging growth in membership and posting about monster-related topics on UMA, this is a mistake, a bad mistake. (Now admittedly I am assuming that the admins here have an interest in growing this board.) Non-monster threads in the appropriate forums in no way detract from monster-related discussion. Quite simply, if a topic isn't of interest, you don't click on it. If there's nothing of interest being posted, you always have the option of starting a thread of your own. And any forum ultimately lives and dies with thread starts.

Now I can to a certain extent understand the motivation of refocusing on monster related topics. Therefore I could also understand closing the non-monster related forums to new threads, or even to new posts in existing threads but even then I'd say that's going a bit too far. Members started those threads in good faith in the appropriate forum(s).

Deleting existing posts is a crime though.

First of all, there's been a wealth of great stuff posted by the members here in the forums slated for deletion. For example, Bigbud, Jimm, Horrorhunter, dlhenderson, Therin, etc. have posted some absolutely fabulous toys/items from their collections in more threads than can quickly be named - guns, wheels, dinosaurs, sports collectibles, Marx Nutty Mads, Viewmasters, etc., etc. A quick glance at the post count and views in these threads reveals how enormously popular these threads have been with the membership of this board. Sure, sure, you say we can save these threads in our hard drives, but there are hundreds and hundreds of interesting threads on this forum! I don't understand why the admins here think putting the membership of this board to such a monumental task is a good idea.

Secondly, from a personal standpoint, I've put a lot of effort into this board over the past three years. I've shared volumes and volumes on this board with other members about all kinds of stuff, both monster related and non-monster related. And I've started threads in the appropriate forums that have proven enormously popular with the other members of this board. Just check the views of threads such as my "Show your comics!", "Big Daddy" Roth, Weird-Ohs, Batman collectibles, etc. in the Non-Monster Toy forum. The care I put into not just my threads but so many of my individual posts should be obvious at even a cursory glance. I wrote these posts in good faith; I had a right to expect them to stay indefinitely. I often like to say "The internet is forever. Don't post words that you're afraid might come back to haunt you years later." But now so many of my carefully crafted and constructed sentences/paragraphs are slated to disappear on someone's whim? That to me is a hostile act. It's an absolute icy dagger to my heart. Yeah, sure, I can save some of those posts, but come on, I have over 10,000 posts now through which I have to sift.

I have to say that the admins are treating this forum as their own personal bailiwick as opposed to something built up by the membership over the years. And I know that Toy Ranch for one thinks that this forum belongs to the admins specifically as opposed to the posting members in general. But this is wrong, very wrong.

 cl:)
« Last Edit: April 21, 2014, 11:46:53 AM by Hepcat »
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Anton Phibes

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #11 on: April 21, 2014, 11:10:04 AM »
I have a quick question that may or may not be on anyone else's mind: When we say Monsters Only discussions are to occur---does this mean we arent going to be permitted to discuss Star trek, Star Wars, Comic heroes, Lost in Space, Dr. Who etc.? Or films that might feature an actor from various monster flicks in a non monster role? Not trying to be jerky: just dont want to get on some banned list for jumping the rails.  :-X

If those types of things (which all have monsters in them to some varying degree) are banned....we are gonna run out of things to talk about mighty fast. I also know that a great deal of monster nerds like myself gravitate towards the whole of geekdom., and the lines often blur between Jawas and the little gnomes from Phantasm. So---please clarify for those of us with a moderate case of OCD. :angel: Thanks. ;)

Mike Scott

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #12 on: April 21, 2014, 11:44:36 AM »
When we say Monsters Only discussions are to occur---does this mean we arent going to be permitted to discuss Star trek, Star Wars, Comic heroes, Lost in Space, Dr. Who etc.?

I assume all sci-fi/horror/fantasy films/TV included in that one broad term.
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Toy Ranch

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #13 on: April 21, 2014, 11:59:01 AM »
I have a quick question that may or may not be on anyone else's mind: When we say Monsters Only discussions are to occur---does this mean we arent going to be permitted to discuss Star trek, Star Wars, Comic heroes, Lost in Space, Dr. Who etc.? Or films that might feature an actor from various monster flicks in a non monster role? Not trying to be jerky: just dont want to get on some banned list for jumping the rails.  :-X

If those types of things (which all have monsters in them to some varying degree) are banned....we are gonna run out of things to talk about mighty fast. I also know that a great deal of monster nerds like myself gravitate towards the whole of geekdom., and the lines often blur between Jawas and the little gnomes from Phantasm. So---please clarify for those of us with a moderate case of OCD. :angel: Thanks. ;)

What Mike said, and Star Wars has monsters in it. Lost In Space has monsters in it. A lot of modern horror films don't have monsters in them but still apply. But just because some girl was in a monster movie and is also in a romantic comedy about going on a first date, we don't need a thread about the romantic comedy just because she's in it.

At the same time, the Great Gazoo in the Flintstones does not mean we have Flintstones threads.  But people aren't going to get banned for stuff unless we can see they are just trying to be disruptive.   I think you are fine, Anton.

Mike Scott

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Re: NON-MONSTER FORUMS TO BE CLOSED AND REMOVED ON APRIL 27TH
« Reply #14 on: April 21, 2014, 12:03:47 PM »
But just because some girl was in a monster movie and is also in a romantic comedy about going on a first date, we don't need a thread about the romantic comedy just because she's in it.

I assume we're thinking of people like Karloff, Price, Lorre for their non-monster films?
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