archBOSTON Update: A New Dawn

SkyriseCities

SkyriseCities

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Messages
180
Reaction score
123
Hello all,

My name is Edward and I've taken over from briv as the one running archBOSTON.

First off, I think we should all thank him for all the work he did over the years to build up archBOSTON to the level it currently is. A very valuable resource.

Now to me. I've been a lurker here for a number of years but I have a strong background in running sites like this so I have a good idea of what needs to be done.

Initially I have a couple of goals:

1. Stabilize any pressing issues
2. Build up a group of moderators.

Longer term:

1. Upgrade from vBulletin to something better like Xenforo
2. Grow the site

I'm new so some patience but trust me I'm here to take the site to the next level.

Please use this thread to present any issues that I need to address immediately.

And PM me if you have any people you'd like to offer up to me as potential moderators.

Looking forward to building up the site.

Thanks

Edward
 
Hello, Edward! Thank you for taking this on.

You've summarized the key issues fairly well. Our previous discussions had identified some specific desired functionality if we move to a different forum software, such as persistent project summaries with updated renderings and perhaps embedded maps at the top of threads, and some type of upvote/downvote system (that one wasn't one of my priorities, so I can't speak to the details).

On a larger scale, I think that there was an appetite to split discussion of economic and social issues from discussion of developments (as well as establishing and enforcing a mild and open-minded code-of-conduct). Having a larger team of dedicated moderators who are willing to move and redirect the inevitable tangents we all get on helps us get there. While I'm sure you will get many PMs with the same names today, I'll start it off by sending mine in a moment.
 
Ban TheMagicMan.

Also, not knocking you or anything, but I wonder what the selection process for choosing you was. Are you a personal friend of briv? Trust will be earned over time. Right now we definitely need to ban a troll and approve new user registrations. Medium term upgrade to Xenforo and include a like button. Longer term start up a blog to highlight good effortposts.
 
jass said:
No offense Edward....but why you?
Click to expand...

He most likely is Bias and will only focus on what is best for the site.

Unlike your group trying to Coup the website in control of an overall idealogy of Boston.
 
Nothing at all against you, Edward, but I want to go on record saying this has all been extremely strange and I'm uncomfortable with both the way it was handled and with the result.
 
Thank you, btw, for changing the username. If you run SkyriseCities, your forum seems to be doing well and looks attractive. Nothing to hide there.

IMO, this site needs transparency, redundancy, and responsiveness. Thank you for being transparent.

That said, since you have another forum that you've promoted here in the past, I think we'd appreciate some more clarity on whether you intend to keep running archBOSTON as an independent entity.
 
SkyriseCities said:
My background for those who want to know why me.

https://urbantoronto.ca
Click to expand...

If you can bring that database and map to archBoston, we would be golden. That is what we have needed for a LONG time and actually what some of us had planned (more on that later in a PM).

Edit: Skyrise uses the same one (exact same template actually), so it seems like you've built something that is nicely replicable!
 
Justin7 said:
Nothing at all against you, Edward, but I want to go on record saying this has all been extremely strange and I'm uncomfortable with both the way it was handled and with the result.
Click to expand...

What has happened before today has nothing to do with me. Let's look towards the future. Check out my sites if you need an understanding of what can be done here.
 
SkyriseCities said:
What has happened before today has nothing to do with me. Let's look towards the future. Check out my sites if you need an understanding of what can be done here.
Click to expand...

I agree, and as I said, nothing against you. Would you mind sharing some more details with us? How did you end up taking over admin duties here? Do you now have total control and ownership of the site including the back-end server access?

Thanks.
 
Justin7 said:
I agree, and as I said, nothing against you. Would you mind sharing some more details with us? How did you end up taking over admin duties here? Do you now have total control and ownership of the site including the back-end server access?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I bought the site. Which means complete access to everything.
 
SkyriseCities said:
What has happened before today has nothing to do with me. Let's look towards the future. Check out my sites if you need an understanding of what can be done here.
Click to expand...

Do try to understand that if we seem reluctant, it's because the ownership situation has left us frustrated for awhile. So it's not that we don't trust you, it's that we have trust issues right now. But I think there's also a lot of excitement here for an admin who's committed to modernizing the site and engaging with the community.
 
One thing I'd like some clarity on - if you bought the site, you're looking to make money back (aren't we all :) ). I see that UrbanToronto sells featured newsy posts on developments for its front page. This is a frequently critical forum, so while we've had corporate accounts in the past (and been cordial), I think the community would appreciate guarantees that the conversation in the forum won't be impacted by whatever relationship you have with a developer or project. It wouldn't surprise me if those terms have been laid out at UrbanToronto, FWIW.

You own aB now, because aB can be bought and sold (always an issue I've had with it, as I know others have). I'd just like to make sure that the discussion will always be free within a moderated code of conduct, and that the effort I and others go to to enlighten ourselves and each other about development in Boston on this site won't be subordinated to the site's business interest.

The community offered to buy this site from Briv multiple times as a group. We were rebuffed.
 
SkyriseCities said:
I bought the site. Which means complete access to everything.
Click to expand...

That is rather interesting.

You mentioned being a lurker here, but I don't know if you followed any of the recent discussions in regard to the future of archBoston. If you'll allow me to provide a little history that I think you should be aware of:

Briv has not actually been active here in a number of years. We have managed to stay afloat as a community, largely through the work of our one active moderator, Statler. Throughout this period we were unable to accept any new members or, as you can see, update the forum software.

We recently took a near unanimous vote to move archboston to a new site/forum in order to resolve these issues. It was at this point that briv resurfaced, deleted all of our discussions concerning the forum, and apparently proceeded to sell the domain. (It was also at this point that Statler, after many years 'running' the forum, seems to have disappeared.)

As to your initial goals, I've previously recommended datadyne007 and Beton Brut as moderators which was met largely with agreement.

It is something of a relief to have someone with experience at the helm and I'm hopeful that all of our issues can be resolved in timely manner. As others have said, the transparency is appreciated.
 
Edward, congrats on making your new purchase.


May I ask the following of you:

1. Please be open with the community. Briv was a ghost, which is what caused issues.

2. Please do not use the same template as https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/ It is way too white. AB forum software is old, but the color scheme is very easy to read.


This is a good community, and people are happy here. The biggest issue was that point 1 meant no new users were being approved, which is not healthy for a forum. That, and the cancer who is TheMagicMan/Rifleman
 
jass said:
This is a good community, and people are happy here. The biggest issue was that point 1 meant no new users were being approved, which is not healthy for a forum. That, and the cancer who is TheMagicMan/Rifleman
Click to expand...

Dear Jazz,

I could never say anything negative about you because out of the 4,376 posts that you posted I have only read 2. Both from this thread.

There is an ignore button on the site if you don't appreciate my comments or ideas concerning the city of Boston developments.


regards,
theMagicman
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top