I'd love to be able to go to events everywhere in the world, trust me. lol
[split] Going Away/Coming Back Topic
Hey, I need to admit to something straight-up: I had actually shared that image in question with some members of the community that I spend time with in real life. I seriously just thought the image was funny and the post was confusing and meant nothing of it beyond that. But I'm sorry that it got back to Sion without any context remaining to it. I wish I could've had the chance to explain this sooner, and I also wish I had remembered this before now.
I can't take back the things I've said so far that are now factually incorrect, so I'll leave them there. I maintain that this isn't indicative of a culture of bullying on the WBO as much as me probably being a bit too childish, and that we do everything for the community with good intentions. But I was seriously wrong about something, and it sucks, and I'm sorry to anyone I misled based on my error.
I can't take back the things I've said so far that are now factually incorrect, so I'll leave them there. I maintain that this isn't indicative of a culture of bullying on the WBO as much as me probably being a bit too childish, and that we do everything for the community with good intentions. But I was seriously wrong about something, and it sucks, and I'm sorry to anyone I misled based on my error.
No Brad, it's fine. Actually, I've got something to say too, but I'll do it in PM.
![[Image: 2hdvatw.png]](https://i64.tinypic.com/2hdvatw.png)
Just to add a little non-committee perspective...
Is the committee perfect? No.
Is any leadership team ever perfect? No.
Is the committee a group of dedicated individuals who put an absurd amount of time into doing everything they can to support something we are all deeply passionate about? Absolutely.
Point by point:
Ignoring combos likely to not be successful: Beyblade is a game of physics. Round things spin for a long time. Heavy things aren't likely to get KOed. Pointy things are likely to KO other things. There is definitely some basic intuition that can be used as a general guideline as to whether or not a combo will be successful. By all means, this is not an absolute, things like Gryph Gryph E230 BSF are perfect examples. However, when no one else is able to duplicate results it takes away a lot of the credibility from the combo.
Committee not being the most mature: So what? Honestly, if any of them were the most mature for their age it would take away a lot of the creativity that goes into making this site a fun place for which to be a part. If Brad leaves funny reasons for banning people, honestly, that's a good thing, it means he or anyone else on the committee didn't make the decision rashly in a state of high emotion or anger. Comedy and anger don't go together.
Bullying: The WBO has a high learning curve. It is incredibly difficult to become acquainted with all the ins and outs before making someone's first couple of posts. This is exactly why no one is ever met with substantial anger for making a thread that doesn't need to exist. They are always answered relatively warmly and directed to the proper place for their post. Do I think this high learning curve has a tendency to discourage new members? Yes. Unfortunately, outside of establishing a default user group for new members as beginners and limiting where they can post to a beginner forum (which would be a ton of work) there really isn't much that can be done to help this. The case with Meta madness was a rare one. Meta flat out lied about access to a substantial sum of money and generally disrupted forum discussion. His ban was one that had to happen sooner or later.
Everyone else has addressed the point of a current Canada focus extensively.
On plotting against people offline: How in the world could the committee aim to do anything about this? They're not police, they have absolutely zero jurisdiction outside of the WBO and WBO-run activities. Is it sad that some people are so insecure about themselves that they feel the need to bully others behind a mask of anonymity? Incredibly so, but that is the society in which we live. Honestly, Beyblade is a physical rather than a digital activity which means it helps delay the progression towards socially inept children that the entire internet as a whole helps to promote.
"With the most active and highest socially ranked members being nothing but bullies and elitists there is nowhere for the organisation to go but downwards." -ClaraM
"With the most knowledgeable and respected members doing nothing, but trying to help, perhaps at times in improper tones, there is a strong foundation on which the WBO can grow with the worldwide release of the next Beyblade generation, Burst" -Reality
Thought these posts were pretty relevant to this as well:
Is the committee perfect? No.
Is any leadership team ever perfect? No.
Is the committee a group of dedicated individuals who put an absurd amount of time into doing everything they can to support something we are all deeply passionate about? Absolutely.
Point by point:
Ignoring combos likely to not be successful: Beyblade is a game of physics. Round things spin for a long time. Heavy things aren't likely to get KOed. Pointy things are likely to KO other things. There is definitely some basic intuition that can be used as a general guideline as to whether or not a combo will be successful. By all means, this is not an absolute, things like Gryph Gryph E230 BSF are perfect examples. However, when no one else is able to duplicate results it takes away a lot of the credibility from the combo.
Committee not being the most mature: So what? Honestly, if any of them were the most mature for their age it would take away a lot of the creativity that goes into making this site a fun place for which to be a part. If Brad leaves funny reasons for banning people, honestly, that's a good thing, it means he or anyone else on the committee didn't make the decision rashly in a state of high emotion or anger. Comedy and anger don't go together.
Bullying: The WBO has a high learning curve. It is incredibly difficult to become acquainted with all the ins and outs before making someone's first couple of posts. This is exactly why no one is ever met with substantial anger for making a thread that doesn't need to exist. They are always answered relatively warmly and directed to the proper place for their post. Do I think this high learning curve has a tendency to discourage new members? Yes. Unfortunately, outside of establishing a default user group for new members as beginners and limiting where they can post to a beginner forum (which would be a ton of work) there really isn't much that can be done to help this. The case with Meta madness was a rare one. Meta flat out lied about access to a substantial sum of money and generally disrupted forum discussion. His ban was one that had to happen sooner or later.
Everyone else has addressed the point of a current Canada focus extensively.
On plotting against people offline: How in the world could the committee aim to do anything about this? They're not police, they have absolutely zero jurisdiction outside of the WBO and WBO-run activities. Is it sad that some people are so insecure about themselves that they feel the need to bully others behind a mask of anonymity? Incredibly so, but that is the society in which we live. Honestly, Beyblade is a physical rather than a digital activity which means it helps delay the progression towards socially inept children that the entire internet as a whole helps to promote.
"With the most active and highest socially ranked members being nothing but bullies and elitists there is nowhere for the organisation to go but downwards." -ClaraM
"With the most knowledgeable and respected members doing nothing, but trying to help, perhaps at times in improper tones, there is a strong foundation on which the WBO can grow with the worldwide release of the next Beyblade generation, Burst" -Reality
Thought these posts were pretty relevant to this as well:
(Sep. 28, 2015 3:56 AM)Time Wrote: I don't log in quite often enough to see things as they happen like what I saw today with Sion's quitting thread, but just wanted to add a few thoughts of my own.
@[Siⱺn] I know how hard it is to sometimes come across as yourself on a medium that incorporates only text. Things that may seem quite intelligent and meaningful given the proper context can sometimes easily get ignored. Even when I joined the forum I was among the older members on it, yet I still came across as rather immature and uneducated at times. The WBO has given me a great opportunity to improve my skills at digital communication among other things (like graphic design, working with children, and what not) and I know it has done the same for a lot of others as well. It takes a long time to build up respect here and become a well-known member. However, one of the best things you can do is keep trying. My first few threads got closed as well, but now that I have learned the way things are done it would be very rare to have something like this happen.
To everyone who feels that another WBO member has bullied them at any point in time, make sure to reach out to Kai-V, she in particularly is great about responding to PMs practically instantly and is always open to hear where you're coming from. @[Meta madness] It was rather upsetting to hear that you've been made to feel that way. I know as a newer member it can sometimes seem like the committee is picking on you, but that's not the case. Their only intention is to help educate you so that you can learn the ropes and become an extremely valuable and contributive member of the community. I made a couple of posts I regret that I received warnings for early on (I'm guessing this must have happened to you), but looking back they are also definitely things I deserved warnings for. I treated the site like a medium that understands tone (the posts I received warnings for were meant to come across as humorous, but were taken seriously). So, I hope that in the future you'll be able to gain the same perspective I have and ascend into the ranks of members the community would truly be different without.
I can't remember whether it was @[MissingNo.] or @[Classik], but one of them made another point I would like to address. In the big picture, yes, losing one member or another can seem non-consequential. However, the community is made up of individual members. Obviously, some have more power and are more likely to be listened to than others, but the collection of individual members is what gives these members their authority and their reason for contributing. Without the huge user base the WBO has, all the committee, global moderators, organizers', and mentor roles would be worthless. So, while losing one member may seem trivial it is important to remember that losing a thousand individual members would substantially lessen the fun all of us are able to have with this hobby and with this forum. Therefore, every individual member is important. That was my 2 cents I thought I would put into this. If everyone could make an effort to ensure no one even feels bullied like Sion did, it would probably help us grow our active userbase which would be better for all of us. If anyone ever has concerns like this again I would highly recommend reaching out to the committee or even anyone in the mentors' circle before upsetting a number of members of the community.
(Jan. 27, 2016 5:01 AM)Time Wrote: But in all seriousness, guys, chill out. Everyone who has been offended lately needs to realize that text is a non-verbal medium meaning that it is nearly impossible to convey tone or inflection. Try to take the bright side and hope that any comment that could be construed as offensive was meant in a joking manner. For everyone who has been posting these potentially offensive comments, take the time to read your own posts before you post them. Follow the golden rule. If you wouldn't like to have something like that said to you, don't say it to someone else. On the subject of competition, don't trash each other's communities. The simple fact that North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, London, Montreal, and Toronto (sorry to anyone I'm forgetting) are hosting even semi-regular events right now is fairly incredible. A very strong argument could be made that these are the seven most competitive regions in the world considering even the advanced meta game knowledge of an average WBO member. Yes, we don't have any Burst rankings at the moment to back stuff up and the regional rankings thread has been dead for months, but accept the fact that at it's core Beyblade Burst is still Beyblade. By and large, the same tactics apply. So, if you respect someone's knowledge about Bakuten Shoot or MFB, you should respect their knowledge about Burst. Heck, if it's not someone who has currently impressed you with their knowledge help educate them rather than telling them to scram.
The whole idea that the WBO is apparently no longer "a fun place for Bladers to connect and share ideas and opinions" and is full of bullies and elitists seems so daft to me particularly after what I have experienced with the Toronto community since last summer when Beyblade Burst launched. Case in point, a few posts from Toronto members (including several new members) after a selection of our events since last August:
Does any of this even hint at the possibility of the WBO being anything but welcoming and fun for newcomers and veterans alike? I realize that the Toronto community is not necessarily representative of the entire world and everything that happens online. What happens at our events is arguably just as important–if not more important–than what happens online, so I feel as if it is important to highlight my own experiences as of late to help paint a more realistic picture of what is actually happening across the board. There are no doubt people out there who are less than welcoming and accepting of others, but I feel as if this small sect does not represent the entirety of the WBO and the experience of each of our members. And like I said before, if presented with concerns (and evidence), we are absolutely happy to look into any potential issues on the forums or at our tournaments, whether they be bullying, elitism, or anything else.
Spoiler (Click to View)
). Ha, basically all Canadians are kind and helpful from my experience so far.
I don't mind losing so much, but I want to earn the respect of the community. So I'll work hard to keep improving!
The atmosphere was great and it was great to see such a big turn out. I can tell that the annual Anime North event is going to be stellar this year~Does any of this even hint at the possibility of the WBO being anything but welcoming and fun for newcomers and veterans alike? I realize that the Toronto community is not necessarily representative of the entire world and everything that happens online. What happens at our events is arguably just as important–if not more important–than what happens online, so I feel as if it is important to highlight my own experiences as of late to help paint a more realistic picture of what is actually happening across the board. There are no doubt people out there who are less than welcoming and accepting of others, but I feel as if this small sect does not represent the entirety of the WBO and the experience of each of our members. And like I said before, if presented with concerns (and evidence), we are absolutely happy to look into any potential issues on the forums or at our tournaments, whether they be bullying, elitism, or anything else.
![[Image: beybase-signature-is-beyblade-a-sport-Article.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/VLksgt2k/beybase-signature-is-beyblade-a-sport-Article.jpg)
I would have atleast gone through with hosting the LA event before supposedly setting up an international event, it just doesn't make sense. Also, I highly doubt the WBO would promote an event where the independent host insists on shipping possibly young players out of the country. I'm sure that's not the only reason he got banned, his posts were pretty... you know. I have nothing against him, I think that I and multiple users saw this coming and tried to tell him his posts were very low quality, basically spam. When I was a newer user and spammed a good bit, multiple users PMed me and I realized not everybody was against me, it wasn't a big conspiracy. I simply wasn't being a contributing user. I also think that he should focus on improving and being a constructive user rather than trying to expose a non-existent conspiracy theory. Even then, Let's say the committee is corrupt? So what...? they aren't forcing anyone to stay here. If I was him, and I'm sure he is watching this thread, I would wait a while and email the committee a legitimate case for an unbanning if I wanted to return.
Yes a few users come off as very elitist, but I like to think they are the minority.
Oh yeah, I'm back I guess.
Yes a few users come off as very elitist, but I like to think they are the minority.
Oh yeah, I'm back I guess.
![[Image: f759d58.gif]](https://i.imgsafe.org/f759d58.gif)
![[Image: rcFJUxo.png]](https://i.imgur.com/rcFJUxo.png)
We're splitting this into its own thread and closing it at Clara's request. If anyone wants to continue the conversation or have their concerns addressed, please please please reach out to any Committee member (if there are certain ones you'd rather have the conversation with than others). 