How to contact Cygnus about the Webteam's ineptitude

[nmfire]

This might come across as me being a dick. Maybe I am. Or maybe I've been watching this go on for 7 years and I'm tired of it? I know I'm not the only one. I'm sure some of you are happy as clams and if you are, move along and that's great. If you are not, exercise your e-mail! So even it comes across that way, I'm not doing this to be a dick. I'm doing this because the BS has gone on too long and there is no reason for it.

Are you unhappy with the "webteam" (if it is even actually a team). Do you like most of us get ignored when we send them PM's or report posts that require their attention? Are you tired of their inattention and ineptitude? Are you tired of them deleting and locking posts that are useful for no reason?

http://www.cygnusb2b.com/PropertyPub.cfm?PropertyID=62

Publisher
Mike Natchipolsky
800-547-7377 ext. 3225
[email protected]

Vice President, News Operations
Lon Sleipicka
301-486-7500
[email protected]
[This address is bouncing. Surprise.]

Director of Web Development, Public Safety Group
Sharon Wright
800-547-7377 ext. 1639
[email protected]

Jenny Williams
Public Safety Web Team Manager
[email protected]
Don't bother with this person. She is the webteam and is the one responsible for the problems in the first place. Figured I'd put it up here though in fairness to the others.


And if you ever get mysterious spam, it might have something to do with this:

List Rental
Elizabeth Jackson
Account Executive
Merit Direct LLC
Phone: 847/492-1350 ext. 18
Fax: 847/492-0085
[email protected]

[nmfire]

And this is the e-mail I just sent to all three of the people listed. I've already e-mailed Jenny. She's just as unresponsive by e-mail as she is under her handle of "webteam"

I've been a member of the firehouse.com forums for nearly 14 years (had to stop and think about that one). I've watched it grow and evolve, devolve, re-evolve, crash, come back, etc etc. In that time, I've also been a member of many other fire and automotive related forums equal in size. I've been an extremely busy moderator on a very large forum. Until recently when I moved, I managed several websites for my own department and other organizations. Point being, I have a clue what I'm talking about based on experience as both a user and a manager. So I'm going to be extremely blunt. You have a serious problem with the management of the FH forums, or more accurately the lack of management. The membership of the forum has been trying in vein for many many years to get you to fix this. Members with experience in the field, myself included, have offered our personal time to act as volunteer moderators to help. We bring attention to problems, some of which are very serious on a regular basis. The problems themselves are ignored. The "webteam", whoever it is, is terribly unresponsive. Our pleading for improvement is ignored. Our offers of free help are ignored. Everything is ignored. And as a slap in the face to pretend they're actually doing something, they are on this new kick to lock and/or delete posts older than 60 days even if their content is still valid. The reasons this is a foolish and damaging idea has been brought to the webteam's attention over and over and over and we are all ignored.

So, since you three are the big top people listed on the Cygnus website for firehouse.com, please explain to me why this has been happening for years and why it is allowed to continue? I've been in contact with Jenny to no avail. She is one of the ones who ignores everything so I am turning to you. I look forward to your response.

Thank You
Matt

[dmleblanc]

In before the lock!

[nmfire]

It would be less than amusing if they lock this. Although I wouldn't be surprised. I'll just post it again if it gets deleted. Or maybe I'll buy the e-mail list that they apparently sell and mass-mail it to everyone

[FIREMECH1]

What do you expect from two women, without a clue???? Seriously, their moods dictate what happens on the board.

I Mod 5 sites, and have never re-opened a closed thread, nor closed a thread without a good reason, or without explanation to the public.

Time for a new WEBTEAM!!!!!

FM1

[FWDbuff]

What do you expect from two women, without a clue???? Seriously, their moods dictate what happens on the board.

You know, I think you are onto something here......Seems like they only appear and moderate (and ban innocent posters) once a month!

[ridebmxnc]

I Mod 5 sites, and have never re-opened a closed thread, nor closed a thread without a good reason, or without explanation to the public.

Time for a new WEBTEAM!!!!!

thats for sure... i've modded two sites myself, one with over 50,000 users and never managed it as poorly as the webteam here does. i enjoy having access to firehouse at work, but the forums can be quite the cluster at times...

[ChiefKN]

I come here, I like it here...

Some of you guys are really invested in what goes on here, huh?

[Rescue101]

I come here, I like it here...

Some of you guys are really invested in what goes on here, huh?

Not me,I come here to see what YOU'RE doing,hehe T.C.

[FWDbuff]

Bump.............

[nmfire]

Seemingly appropriate bump...

[DeputyMarshal]

[This address is bouncing. Surprise.]

It's also not in the same format as the others. Have you tried it adding the last name so that it's formatted the same?

[nmfire]

No. I conversed extensively with the other people listed last month. They're in another universe and absolutely drop dead useless.

[Bones42]

It's a free website. What do you expect for free? Don't like it....find a new one.

[nmfire]

It's a free website. What do you expect for free? Don't like it....find a new one.

It being free to you and I is irrelevant.

Forum administration comes with an expected level of responsibility. The incompetence and lies displayed by this administration would be just as frowned upon at any other forum on the internet. And frankly, no it isn't free. There are about 100 ad banners that hit every time you load a page which generates income for Cygnus.

These administrators are paid employees. They don't do this for free. They are paid for it by cyngus. Which is even more deplorable since they actually collect a paycheck for this sorry excuse for a days work.

So yes, perish the thought, I do expect these people to actually do their jobs and expend an iota of effort doing it well. To date, and frankly for the last 5+ years, they have done nothing. I'm sorry but deleting a spam post now and then is nothing to be proud of and that is all they are minutely capable of doing, once in a while, sometimes. It is unacceptable.