Quoted from robin:I think it upsets Jack to read a lot of negativity and rumors or even accusations spread about his company. And the moderation team not doing enough about that. I can fully understand where he is coming from, but it saddens me that he seems to be viewing all of Pinside as one entity instead of a community of many different people who all have different opinions. Yes there is a vocal minority of guys seemingly trying to hurt JJP, but that will change as either these people get tired of it or the moderation team gets tired of them.
Standing on the sidelines and calling Pinside "wrong side" is not very constructive. It would make more sense to join in the discussion, debunk any nonsense that some feel the need to spread, reassure people who have questions or doubts about their orders etc. Instead of alienating a large part of (potential) customers he could use this forum as a direct means of communication with his customer base - like Ben Heck or Skit-B are doing so well.
I would hope he would start the dialogue again with the large part of his customer base who are here on Pinside on a daily basis. What better way to stop rumors then to speak the contrary, explain what's going on etc. straight from the companies founding owner?
Unfortunately, to many people, Pinside has the appearance of slowly becoming the wrong side only because they no longer perceive it as a civil and open forum where they (the pinball hobbyists) can freely express their opinions, share their knowledge, and exchange their stories.
An inveterate group of skilled and determined trolls whose primary purpose is to pursue their own agenda while pretending to be hobbyists are frequently gang-tackling and subduing anyone who dares to go against them, as they have successfully done so with people including but not limited to Jack, Keith, and Alex, to mention of a few. These trolls do this regularly and with apparent impunity while a few of the Pinside "moderators" aid and abet them, and cheer them from the bleachers. This has now become a very large problem and it has become obvious and unacceptable to many veteran Pinsiders, are you surprised?
Pinside has always been a great pinball site and I hope that this is just a temporary hick-up in its long existence, and that it never gets irreversibly compromised by a few bad eggs. I think you have a tough job on your hands Robin to make sure that it doesn't, and I don't envy your position. I'll take this opportunity to speak my mind freely one more time though and wait to see how many ban votes I get from the "moderators".
As to the direct information to dispel rumors I agree with you, last I heard was that JJP was going to do a news release one of these days.
St. Louis, MO
