Advice on what to do next

You have been banned for the following reason:
We take you at your word: I want no part of this "brave new world" because I am not being treated as a valued customer.

Date the ban will be lifted: Never

 

What did you say ?

 

Bit of advice Mark. Never say something you don't mean. Obviously, you didn't mean this. Everyone knows you would have eventually embraced vb4.0 and used it, you wouldn't have purchased a license otherwise.

What I suggest you do, is pm one of the staff members and ask them for your access to be active and learn from that mistake of don't ask because you just might get what your asking for.

If they have done this to others it would be interesting to know what reasons they where giving and what they said to get their access taken away.

You can still be constructive and shout to the hilt without saying you want no part of this new world or venture or whatever we are all part of this roller-coaster ride because at the end of the day only say such words if you really do intend on leaving.

Personally, if a client/customer said this to me I would have done the same if I'm being honest.

edit: I'm sure they will give back full access mark, but you better word whatever you say perfectly if they are any way inclined to giving this back.

 

He said just that. He said "I want no part of this "brave new world" because I am not being treated as a valued customer."

 

This is not right to ban a client that I found.

 

It is.

A person who doesn't want to be part of my 'creative little world' then they shouldn't even be hanging around in it. They could take a spaceship to another world.[referring to SD]

'Never say what you don't mean'.

 

Thanks Shelley.

Thing is, I *did* mean that i didn't want vB4, at least not in the near future. But I did make it clear I didn't want to leave - just that I wanted to stay with 3.8. And in fact earlier today I was trying to be constructive about vb4 and see the positive side...a search on my posts will prove this.

I've had several emails from people who have also been banned today and it looks like the common theme is this "take you at your word" thing....but I never said I was leaving. So I don't get it.

I don't mind the ban, but they should not cripple sites by blocking vB.org.

I have sent tickets over but from what I've read in emails, that may be a waste of time.

 

I don't think somebody should be banned for making a statement like that. To be honest, I've been threatened by members before, who say "I'm tired of this place, I hate it, and I'm never coming back". Did I ban them? No. If they intend to leave, let them do it on their own.

What I suspect is the case here, is that the team over at vB.com is tired of Mark and his postings (even though they aren't in violation of the rules, I suppose) and used his comment as a reason to ban him.

 

Which is their absolute right, but they certainly have no right to prevent me from downloading vbulletin modifications, which incidentally they don't even own the rights to!

I bought my license in good faith on the basis that it would allow me access to the modications site. They surely have no right to arbitarily revoke that, and if they do, they shouldn't have. they have effectively finished off my site on a whim with no right or reply.

 

Why I only quoted what I would personally do at SD and not my anime site.

For ME when it comes to my business, if you really don't like it, and your 'criticism' includes 'I don't want to be part of your site' then okay, fine, you won't be.

Now on my anime site, I let things slide, it's different there.

 

Since I have full faith that anything I post in a private message under confidence is going to be posted publicly all over the net, I am just going to reply here.

This is above my head and there is nothing I can do to reverse this. Sorry. Your only hope is to send in an support ticket and apologize for what has been construed as repeated ranting even after you continually said you would stop. You should put "Attn: General Manager" in the subject line.

I get that you're unhappy. I get that the product doesn't do what you want anymore. Unfortunately, it is not my call. Maybe if I felt there was an inkling of respect, I would put my job on the line for your forum access but I simply don't get that feeling. It literally hurts me to say that and I wouldn't have a couple of months ago. It is my job to be an advocate for the customer and do everything I can for them. I have done that for nine years and really am losing to desire to do so because I am treated as if this is my fault personally.

 

Thank you for replying Wayne.

For the record, you have my absolute assurance that nothing that is said to me in confidence in a PM or anywhere else would ever be repeated without consent. I'm not the ogre some people think I am.

I have a great deal of respect for the vB staff and I certainly apologise if this has not come across. I have been very careful not to be rude to any of the staff at any time, and even publicly thanked Ray on this very site only the other day.

I am not really that concerned about actual forum access - on vbulletin.com my board is too modified to qualify for official support anyway and so that much is not a problem.

My "rants" have *never* extended to vbulletin.org, not once, my only concern in all of this is that I no longer have access to the modifications on vbulletin.org. Beyond that, the vb.com ban can stay.

I would not want you or anyone to genuinely put your job on the line for me, that would be asking too much. I accept I have probably over ranted but this was because I felt strongly about the situation.

It is worth noting I paid my $130 only the other day. It's not like I'm relying on an expired license or anything. I've said my piece in the forums, I've no desire to say anything more, but I don't feel I deserve to have my site pulled for this.

 

You need to put that in your ticket "Attn: General Manager" please. Really it is a single checkbox to undo but I cannot override my superiors.

 

Thanks Wayne. I have done that, and we'll see what happens. The ticket is largely what I put here with a bit of tweaking so it makes sense in the context, and a little bit more besides.

 

PS For the record I have never blamed you or any of the support staff for any of the recent decisions. I hope I've made that clear in the past, but if not I'll happily do so now.

I have worked for a company that has made wholesale changes that annoyed some of its customer base, I've been on the front line of that, except on the phones, and some of the abuse I've taken over it has been horrendous. So I do know where you're coming from.

 

Unfortunately its not. When you purchase vBulletin, its a "privilege" to have access to support forums, not a right.

Same with vB.org.

The only thing purchasing vBulletin does is grant you access to the software, and the support ticket system (not forums)

If you purchased vBulletin, and have been revoked access to your download and a refund not given, then it's probably illegal.

 

The part that I feel could be illegal is taking away his "Licensed" status when he clearly has a valid license.

Also, because of that, he has had his "privilege" to maintain the mods that he has installed WITH CONSENT FROM JELSOFT (They're the ones that put the plugin system in their product, and also they're the ones that maintain vB.org).

I love vB, and I totally appreciate the situation that their staff have been put in, but what one of their staff has done in this particular case is just wrong, IMO.

 

My opinion don't mean much either. But shows a lack of professional disrequard for what customer service is. I could understand the ban on the forums and as such should be seperate from the members area.

My thought is you paid for the license and product. As a product it should be inpartial in support and service.

I.E. You think for Chevy's going to void the warranty because half of congress owns one.

 

Putting in another ticket may help. Sometimes these decisions are kneejerk although we already know the kind of people who are running vbulletin now and they don't exactly care much about what you have to say as a whole. We'll see how this works out.

@Chani - I don't think there is any legal right to an account in the forums. You get your license and the rest is according to their terms of their web site.

I am sympathetic to Luke who may only be a consultant but the rest who are employees have an agenda and its clear they haven't a clue on how to run a company properly. But like in many companies who have had recent success and cash, they will let incompetent people making too much money "learn on the job." Phrases will be tossed around like "we expect to learn from our mistakes" etc. etc. etc. And you, the customer, will bear the brunt of it because the repercussions mostly affect you. IB bought vBulletin because they perceived a greater ability to extract money from the customer, not to develop great software. If you can't accept the fact that the shake out will take time, you may wish to consider getting out of Dodge while its feasible.

 

Again, what I'm saying is that he PAID for an "active license". What someone has done is go against that and take away his "active license" status, which, again, he paid for.

I'm not trying to bash Jelsoft, vBulletin Solutions, or IB. It's a particular person on their forums that did this and is to blame.

But the good thing is that he sent a support ticket explaining what his goals are, and hopefully that will take care of things for Mark.