Repetitive Login

[muppetperson]

Sometimes circumstancial events can happen and you think you are being retaliated upon but it may not be the case.For example, a while back, I could not log into eFX collectibles and everyone else could.I thought it was me being locked out! After my server kept investigating it, they found the problem.One of there relay signals just decided that they didnt like that site,which can happen.They changed my route pickup to come direct and it fixed the problem.You may think that upper MC management dont like you, but think about the following-Why has this only happened since the new server? Why did Phillip offer to work with you to sort it out? And if he doesnt like you that much to annoy you, then why hasnt he given you a complete ban? Maybe MC has more ads, but the website fees have to be paid somehow.For all the great things you have done, I cant see why suddenly you wouldnt be appreciated.

 

[frogboy4]

Sometimes circumstancial events can happen and you think you are being retaliated upon but it may not be the case.For example, a while back, I could not log into eFX collectibles and everyone else could.I thought it was me being locked out! After my server kept investigating it, they found the problem.One of there relay signals just decided that they didnt like that site,which can happen.They changed my route pickup to come direct and it fixed the problem.You may think that upper MC management dont like you, but think about the following-Why has this only happened since the new server? Why did Phillip offer to work with you to sort it out? And if he doesnt like you that much to annoy you, then why hasnt he given you a complete ban? Maybe MC has more ads, but the website fees have to be paid somehow.For all the great things you have done, I cant see why suddenly you wouldnt be appreciated.

I understand where you're coming from and I'm aware of all the inner-workings of Muppet Central site and forums since joining the staff in 2001. I used to believe the same things too. There's more history to this and other things happening and not happening behind the scenes that have fanned the flames.

This half-baked attempt and faux concern for the login issue is the just the latest example how I and others have been shown a lack of courtesy, respect and gratitude over the years. In this life we tell people how to treat us - what's okay and what isn't. It wasn't until poking around in my old files that I fully comprehended the mammoth proportions of my contributions to Muppet Central. And all of this effort was gratis, of course. It was gladly done because I was proud to be a part of the fan community. There is no community here anymore. Just a dusty archived site, a forum and an aloof webmaster more concerned with advertising banners than fans or content.

(Please forgive the underlinings here. Just trying to make a point.)

No matter what the problem is or where it's coming from; the truth is that the webmaster just doesn't care until he wants something from somebody. It's nothing personal against me or anyone else and nobody's discussing anything about a ban. I don't know where that came from. This is part of a larger pattern over the last ten years and it's finally taken a toll. You've just happened upon the final straw.

Two years ago there was a campaign to reignite the Muppet Central website with wonderful, rich content. Fans created, edited and submitted many wonderful free polished articles to be published on the site. Phil thoughtlessly tossed them all in a drawer and they were never talked about again. Some of these were time-sensitive articles intended to keep the site up-to-date with current events.

This place used to have fresh reviews, news and articles. Fans wanted to do that again and it wouldn't have cost a plug nickel or taken any effort. Fans were willing to maintain the portion independently if necessary, but all of these efforts were ignored. This is how the Muppet Mindset came to be. This is also how Tough Pigs came to be ten years ago. There's a larger history here that keeps repeating itself.

Now that there's a movie coming there's a cynical attempt to cash in on that attention and focus some here. That's why the forum's shifting and things are buzzing a bit. It just confirms MC as a fair-weathered friend...er...acquaintance. I love my forum friends here. I just wish we had an alternative place to hang out. A real community.

This is less about the login issues and more about care and follow-up that I have yet to receive after having made it clear that Muppet Central will get no more free work from me. Make no mistake, the work I've provided over the years would register in the tens of thousands of dollars in billable hours. When somebody's given so much you'd think they'd be treated a little bit better. The fact is - I am and it's still not very much. I'm thinking how other members must feel who get even less!

I might be coming off as angry here. That's really not the case. It does hurt to see such efforts on my part and the subsequent and preventable erosion of Muppet Central. I'm saddened and disappointed and moving on. I'll still be around the forum, but no new free swag for MC. You can see my work along side that of all other members of the fan community at the Muppet Mindset. That place is exactly how it should be done.

 

[theprawncracker]

I've been trying to stay out of this because, as Jamie said, I don't want it to seem like I'm angry or bitter because of my dealings with the hierarchy of MC in the past. In fact, if it weren't for the failings on the part of the higher-up here I wouldn't have changed my life for the infinitely better by starting The Muppet Mindset.

But I do feel like I need to support my friend Jamie in his frustrations at the ridiculousness going on around here. It's incredibly hard and disheartening to see people like Jamie (amazing art and technical work) and D.W. (amazing work with the MC Awards and NO recognition from the brass) and Dwayne (amazing support of the very-much unofficial MC Revival) and others who put in a real, honest effort to better this place and seeing them merely shrugged off in favor of an Amazon banner.

I don't want to start a rebellion or draw lines or anything like that--that's the LAST thing I want. A united fandom is and always has been my goal. That's why it is so incredibly frustrating to see talented, dedicated fans with a real desire to make something happen shafted like this. This is a HUGELY exciting time to be a Muppet fan... but we can't get excited here unless it's about a useless forum upgrade--heck, even if we did show excitement we can't show it because of FIVE YEAR OLD RESTRICTIONS ON PUNCTUATION.

I'm saddened and disappointed as well... it's wrong of MC to attempt to fix what isn't broken (menus, smilies, the forum, etc.) conveniently in time to cash in on this upcoming movie when over the past five or more years there has been virtually nothing of note that has happened here. Instead, quality fan produced content has been available at ToughPigs, MuppetCast, and, yes, Muppet Mindset for years where we cared BEFORE a big-budget movie would bring us more traffic and bring more people clicking our Amazon and eBay links.

 

[frogboy4]

Fandom, like friendship, should be an all-year-round investment and not just when the spotlight is shining brightly. I feel this forum feeds off us fans rather than offer a true community relationship. And I froggin' wish we could use as many ! ! ! and as we feel necessary.

 

[frogboy4]

Frog it!

Well, I guess this will never be addressed and I have been made aware that this login issue is not just isolated to my account.

Since 2001, I have provided well over $40,000 worth of free work for Muppet Central because I love the Muppets and the fan community. Calculating that figure surprised me too. I've neither received nor expected reimbursement of any sort. I was glad to do so! Every member here is a valuable contributor to Muppet Central, but we are not treated as such by the webmaster and our concerns mostly fall on deaf ears. I do not see why we all continue in allowing this forum to profit from our fandom. And yes, it most certainly makes more than the pretty penny it takes to maintain this space. I'll keep that projected estimate to myself. I guess it's because we're used to this space and have nowhere else to go.

MC has just become less Muppety or in the spirit of Henson for my taste. I'll contribute here and there to Mindset and Tough Pigs when able to do so. It's not really a mountain I can climb, but if someone were to create a cross-generational forum by the time the new Muppets movie is released in theaters they would receive my full support! And thanks for all the forum members for giving so much to this place over the years. Someone had to say that and it sure as frog wasn't going to come from Phil.

 

[Phillip]

Jamie,

I'm sorry that you are still having trouble with the repetitive logout issues. The day of your original message, I began looking into the issue and am continuing to do so. I've also contacted vBulletin's support team for their insight into this matter. As I mentioned earlier, we've been mostly off-line since the week before Easter as our family has moved due to a job relocation. That is the reason I'm just now responding to your latest posts. I appreciate your understanding while we've been off-line. We care about this logout issue and want to try to get it resolved.

If anyone else is experiencing the repetitive logout problem please post here with your browser and version number so that we can try to duplicate the glitch. This is not something that's happening to everyone so it's not easy to replicate without more information.

Concerning the other site issues… While some areas of the site like the forum and radio continue to grow, the other areas of the site are always in need of continual updates. As my personal life has changed over the recent years (having children, experiencing health issues, career advancement, etc.) the time that I'm able to give to the site has changed as there are only so many hours in a day. So I fully share in the frustrations that you feel of the main site not being updated more. Yes, affiliate income is a part of the site because it pays for our server, forum hosting and our radio and royalty costs.

We are making changes in order to ensure that the site is updated much more frequently and that everyone here has an even greater role in that process while taking advantage of the latest web technologies. The first signs of these changes will begin with the rollout of our upgraded forum scheduled for the next few weeks.

 

[frogboy4]

Bull Frog!

Jamie,

I'm sorry that you are still having trouble with the repetitive logout issues. The day of your original message, I began looking into the issue and am continuing to do so. I've also contacted vBulletin's support team for their insight into this matter. As I mentioned earlier, we've been mostly off-line since the week before Easter as our family has moved due to a job relocation. That is the reason I'm just now responding to your latest posts. I appreciate your understanding while we've been off-line. We care about this logout issue and want to try to get it resolved.

If anyone else is experiencing the repetitive logout problem please post here with your browser and version number so that we can try to duplicate the glitch. This is not something that's happening to everyone so it's not easy to replicate without more information.

Concerning the other site issues… While some areas of the site like the forum and radio continue to grow, the other areas of the site are always in need of continual updates. As my personal life has changed over the recent years (having children, experiencing health issues, career advancement, etc.) the time that I'm able to give to the site has changed as there are only so many hours in a day. So I fully share in the frustrations that you feel of the main site not being updated more. Yes, affiliate income is a part of the site because it pays for our server, forum hosting and our radio and royalty costs.

We are making changes in order to ensure that the site is updated much more frequently and that everyone here has an even greater role in that process while taking advantage of the latest web technologies. The first signs of these changes will begin with the rollout of our upgraded forum scheduled for the next few weeks.

That all sounds fine and nice, but none of that is really true, is it? Come on...

The cards section has been offline for over 5 years. I and others have offered all sorts of pragmatic alternatives, but you fell silent. I suspect some sort of copyright issue, but you've maintained it's just a software concern. Bah. Something doesn't seem right. There are work-arounds until software can be resolved. Better something than nothing for 5 froggin' years!

Members mounted an active campaign to reignite the website’s content with new current reviews and polished articles two years ago. This was ignored for some inane reason and an alternative competitor site was formed (with one he|| of a masthead provided by a proudly proactive frogboy). I admire every aspect of the Muppet Mindset from mission statement to execution. These fine fans were willing to take the uploading and publishing duties without a need for a darn thing from you, but you just fell silent and prohibited advancement of Muppet Central until this recent film development.

The truth is that members have offered to contribute and have been dismissed by an aloof webmaster that seems to maintain the revenue links just fine.

I contributed so much to this site believing it to be a living, breathing creation, but it’s turned into a dying advertising ploy. What are my standards for MC’s fan site?

Well, not very much:
a working cards section
fan involvement in content
at least two website news updates a month
and time-sensitive fan reviews when a new product comes out

That’s not much to ask for and this is NOT a recent development. This current faux concern is much too little far too late. I’ve moved on. I’d say sorry, but I’m not.

I feel used, taken for granted and taken advantage of. I've provided premium services and received poor excuses. The fans here deserve better - Not just because they demand it but because so many have tried to help and have been dismissed by you. Seriously, if not for my forum friends I’d fall just short of scorching the earth here. I've thrown so much time and energy into a black pit of a hole that's reaped nothing but ad dollars for you. I'm aware how much ad revenue and web costs accumulate to know that this place is more than breaking-even! It's just not passing any of the advantages along to the fans here.

 

[frogboy4]

On another note, the login issue seems to have finally gone away.

 

[RedPiggy]

Usually I blame my brother when I'm logged out, 'cause he likes to clear my history an' stuff. I finally check back here to see any updates ... and I'm logged out, LOL. Hopefully, this isn't a sign or anything.

 

[Nick22]

I just kinda wanna give my input on this whole issue:

I have no idea how website costs, updating, advertising, etc. work, but in the 2+ years I've been a member of MC, the forum, front page, and ads are the only things that are updated. And heck, the the only reason the forum is still up is because of us! All the new members who join MC post once or twice, and then they're gone. It's the members like me, and ones who've been here longer that keep this forum going.

I would LOVE to see new articles posted and more website updates. I myself have considered joining TP forum and leaving MC all together, but I'm so accustomed to the people on this forum. If Muppet Mindset had a forum, I'd probably be right there with Jaime. I'd be gone.