I don’t think it would be an overstatement to say things have gotten a bit testy the last couple weeks regarding the most recent fundraiser. Speaking for myself, I’ve been uncomfortable about the fundraisers for a couple years now, and like many others, I was less than satisfied by the accounting explanation for this one, as well as how the entire episode was handled. Many people have complaints and/or criticisms, and IMO, most of these criticisms are justified. To be blunt … it was not Frederick’s finest hour.
There are a few things that should be said, though. To Frederick’s credit, he’s stayed true to the philosophy of the forum and everyone has been given a chance to have their say. There may have been a couple miscues here and there, including a mistaken (IMO) temporary banning of Mario, but you gotta admit, when it comes to not censoring dissent, Frederick walked the walk. He got pounded pretty good, but he let it all stand. I could name several other forums (two of which I personally have been banned from) where that is not the case.
I’ve been speaking with Fredrick and what upsets him more than what’s being said about
him is that he hates seeing the
forum taking a hit in all this. Fredrick is 100% serious when he talks about the vision he had 13 years ago for this forum. He truly is a
"Lets make the world a better place" kind of guy. This will sound like hyperbole, but Frederick is one of the most ethical and sincere people I know. (Mind you, I work in Hollywood, so the bar for ethics and sincerity is pretty low. Sorry, couldn’t resist a little joke there.)
Don’t get me wrong, mistakes were definitely made, and things certainly snowballed. Believe me, I was pissed, too, starting with Mario’s banning. We kinda had it out over that one. I tried to explain that he was misinterpreting what Mario wrote, but Frederick really believes his wife was attacked. He’s mistaken IMO, but he believes what he believes, and if he thinks his wife was attacked, it’s hard to fault a guy for defending her. Especially when you bear in mind he’s allowed all sorts of things to be said about
him. It’s not that
he’s thin skinned, it was only when he believed his wife got dragged in that he reacted. I’m not saying it was right, I’m just saying that was the mindset.
The other major issue for many (including me) was the lack of transparency, as well as a lack of communication. I’ve come to learn, though, that there are some behind-the-scenes factors in play that will make a full reveal very unlikely. I hate to sound so cryptic, but I can’t go into further detail. I’m not saying I’m completely satisfied, mind you, because like I said, mistakes were definitely made. As in
“What are you doing?!?” mistakes that still annoy me. And the silence was maddening. But I’m hoping that this is a dustup we can put behind us, even if no further explanations ever come.
Frederick is credited with starting VI-Control, but the truth is that it was also started by his wife, Cindy. (Although I’m not sure if they were married yet at the time.) Frederick was the visionary, but it was Cindy who made things work. Frederick had the heart, but it was Cindy who had the head for business. Many of us in Los Angles had the privilege of meeting Cindy when they’d come out here. She was great.
When Cindy passed away a few years ago, many of us noticed that things didn’t run quite as sharply as they used to. I suspect Cindy was the business “filter” who might say,
“I don’t know Frederick, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
With all due respect to Frederick, I think he struggled to make the forum run without her. His heart is definitely in the right place, but I think running the forum, now for 13 years, has become a bit overwhelming and stressful, because he doesn’t have the business expertise, nor does he have the funds to solve problems by simply throwing money at them. I think he hit a breaking point. Frederick is truly one of the nicest and honest guys you’ll ever meet, but frustration, and I’m guessing burnout as well, set in. I’m sure many of us have also been there, where we just can't bring ourselves to answer another email or put out another fire.
So, I made an offer to buy the forum a couple weeks ago when I thought Frederick might need a way out. I felt I have the resources to do handle issues as they arise and the business experience to make (hopefully) sound decisions. More importantly, as an old-timer who’s been with the forum almost from the beginning, I understand and believe in the philosophy of the forum, so I’m a guy who will want to keep the forum on course.
We came to an agreement yesterday. Contracts aren’t yet signed and payment has not yet been made (so for now, I still own that little red car in the avatar, although now I'll have to replace it with a Yugo), but we have a handshake deal and I’m posting now in hopes that we, as a forum, can move on sooner rather than later. Are all questions answered? Nope, and I can understand some people may still be frustrated by that, but this is the best I can offer.
To that end, if anyone feels they were mislead and gave money they wished they hadn’t, either to the recent fundraiser of for any Premium subscriptions, let me know and I will send you your money back out of my own pocket. Yes, I realize adding the words
“out of my own pocket” adds a little guilt trip to the offer, but truly, if you feel duped, I can handle the expense. Restoring good vibes is worth the money to me.
Regarding the future of the forum, I’m optimistically hoping we can all hit a big Reset button to a time before the drama began. I want things to be like they were. There will be no further fundraisers. There won’t be a Premium section. (Although it will take some time to get rid of the Premium button. Again, if you paid, just tell me and I’ll refund you.)
I’m also going to try to limit the emails to maybe one per month. (The email barrage really annoyed me, too.) Although who knows, at some point, we may do a KVR style weekly newsletter with release announcements and stuff. That would be way in the future, though. You know, like so far in the future that it would be after we release the Realivox Men. I’m talkin’ WAY in the future!
Oh wait, did I just sneak in a plug for my business? Yeah, I guess I did, although I thought it was a pretty good joke, and you know how I struggle to resist a good joke. But more to the point, yes, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a little weird for a developer to own the forum. Especially a developer with such amazing products as what
Realitone has to offer! (Dang, I did it again.)
Okay, no more jokes. I promise. Anyway, for those concerned that I’m doing this so I can somehow gain special opportunities for my company, I’ll mention that I’ve already been a moderator here for 5 or 6 years. I’ve never edited, deleted, or modified any post regarding my company. That won’t change.
Further, I joined this forum long before I started Realitone. Part of the reason Frederick agreed to sell to me (he did have other offers) was that he knows I have the same love for the forum and its philosophy as he does. This is a forum where moderation is very light-handed, and magically … it works! The membership here is incredible and I don’t want to do anything to change that.
So there you have it. I'm hoping this transition is a smooth one and call me a dreamer, but with a little luck, I'm hoping in a few weeks it will be as if nothing ever happened. I'm certainly open to questions, concerns, or even criticisms, so if you have 'em, bring 'em on.
Oh, and one last thing. In case any IRS people are reading this, it is not actually me who is buying the forum. It will be a separate LLC where Mike Greene is a mere worker drone. So back off!
