WW RIOT FOLLOW UP

This may seem silly to some- but we ARE a community- and we are not “just people planning our weddings”. Anyone who thinks that- is missing the great picture here and I’m sad for you. Because the amount of support that can be seen for each other is overwhelming- for things like this- and big personal life matters. We support each other- quite a bit. And I think that’s amazing. It’s truly what a community and family means. And I get that we don’t all like each other ALL the time- and we have issues- but it is really fucking cool how we can come together- so big giant fucking thank you for that.

To the Mods- I realize your job is practically an impossible one- this isn’t a standard forum- and you aren’t involved directly- and it honestly sets you up to fight a seemingly lose-lose battle. I know you get a rash of shit- and I’m sure moderating isn’t what you signed up for at your job. It’s certainly LESS than ideal. I know you guys are busy doing things- and I’m sorry this sucks for you. I can’t say we will apologize for what we are asking and what we want- but I can say- we appreciate the effort- as difficult as it may be.

Finally, one of our members here worked with WWCathy to get a conference call set up with WW directly. Four of us spent roughly an hour on the phone with the VP and the Customer Experience (??) discussing what we thought was problematic about the forums and how to improve user experience and to try to make it even without treating us like children.

The big take away

-Moderating is poorly done based on the set up- and it’s complicated b/c often taken out of context and rules applied unevenly.

- There should be moderator who is actively part of the community who understands the flow and does not drop down on high when things are going to shit. It’s not fair to the other mods to drop them in the middle and expect them to really manage and or diffuse in advance.

- “bullying” on the internet is not really a thing- and we need to move away from the concept that members are bulling others- it’s not accurate and it’s borderline offensive to members who have been victimized by true bulling in their lives.

-Flagging is WW’s first line of defense to defuse the system (their concept)- and that we the members feel the system is flawed and not conducive to actual self-moderating- it’s a self-defeating system that actually causes more problems than it solves.

-Changes are pending- and imminent. 4 of us heard directly when they are planning to roll out new changes- and I know I personally will follow up with emails next week with where/when changes are happening if we don’t see anything moving.

-Celia’s suspension shall remain in place. We did discuss it- and they said they ARE willing to review (and back to modding and consistency of rules etc) and reverse decisions- but in these case they are opting not to. While I’m not happy about it- I understand they still have a business to run and at some point- it’s in their hands and it is their prerogative.

Final take away was ultimately that we are unhappy about the suspension and the way things are we are invested in trying to help make sure our forum was still a community we wanted to be a part of and we were willing to fight to make better and that we wanted to work with the staff at WW to improve the system and forums so. I expressed clearly to them we liked their site- and OUR community and we wanted to keep using it- and that’s why we were fighting.

... and I feel like we are violent with our support- so this meme seems most appropriate for my emotions.

Thanks for posting this, Jo, and thank you also for taking the time to speak on our behalf.

I am glad our voices were heard, and I sincerely hope our community can improve and strengthen through some of these changes that are coming!

Jo, thank you for taking the time to post. I was a little unsure of what/whether to post re: the call, but as usual - you summed it up perfectly!

For those new(er) to WW - this is the lengths we go to as a community. Take the time to learn, listen, and share. We can all benefit from great new friends!

And what about the strike system? Was that adressed because in my mind thats one of the BIGEST issues. They are implementing them diffrently based on the user. They also need to expire at some point. 3 strikes means your out of ever is a bit drastic IMO.

Very well said. Thank you so much for keeping us posted and for going above and beyond for one of our own and the community!

Thank you to those who spoke. I hope the proper changes come soon.

Thank you for such a detailed update. This is the kind of communication that is necessary to make things run smoothly. Hopefully that call was a step in the right direction.

Thanks Jo....

Thank you Jo! you Rocka!!

I / We appreciate the time and energy it took to be involved with WW to help us with the community here.

Kathryn-

 we talked about the apparent inconsistency of the moderation - what appears to be the crack down on heavy long term users vs newer users/apparent trolls. We said we felt it was inconsistent and we couldn't see any impact/discipline to others when we are the ones it felt like getting disciplined.   I think a lot of it came back to inconsistent moderation- and the fact we don't have regular moderators involved to diffuse situations before official warnings needed to be issued. 

Being said- SPECIFICALLY the strikes- I totally forgot about asking about strikes and how they are handled and if they go away. I drafted an agenda and I guess I just forgot to put it on there.   I didn't realize till I came back to my desk that I totally forgot. 

FYI-we spent an hour on the call with them- it wasn't a quick 15 minutes LOL- we were definitely trying to move forward

Thank you for the update Jo!

Thank you for taking the time to take these issues to the higher ups. It sounds like you represented the community well!

Thank you to everyone who took time from their schedules to speak with WW on our behalf! It's great to hear that there are real people on the other side (meaning WW) who are open to hearing the community voice and concerns.

Thank you for posting this and letting us know where things stand, and that we can/should expect change moving forward.

Thanks Jo, I really think they need to adress that.

Also, what are these new changes? If you cant say, As someone who knows do you think the comminity will support/like or not suppoort/dislike?

Thank you for summing it up Jo.

@Kathryn, they are working (yes we let them know we are tired of hearing that) on how to improve the system and making it clear.

I personally wanted to focus on how to move forward. I felt like of we were dealing with our own jobs and other companies what we would do and how we would handle it, and it seemed very much like focusing on 'how can we make this better' because it's true. We like it here. And we want to stay. But clearly something wasn't working so how do move forward in way that's good for everyone? Or at least palatable.

We cannot talk about the changes. But if they happen I believe it will help the community.

Thank you Jo and everyone who took the time out of their own busy schedules to speak to higher ups. You ladies are awesome and hope things can get better here! <3