Meaningful content in the forums and more!

[Disney Villain]

In my opinion UD has gone downhill, especially in the forums. I visit UD every day, several times a day, but due to lack of interest/wanting to avoid conflict with forum members/not having time, I’ve been avoiding the forums. There are so many arguments lately, and I am fed up with nasty, rude, appalling members. I agree with Amy, UD should be a pay only site. Maybe then there will be worthwhile posts again. If I have something of worthwhile interest I’ll post it, but other than that I refuse to re-join the forum on a regular basis, at least for awhile. I’ve also been accused of posting “fluff”, but I disagree, I feel that when I post I almost usually always provide worthwhile, new information. I was the FIRST person in the forum to post the news that Sleeping Beauty was coming to Blu-Ray and DVD in 2008, I ripped and uploaded the 101 Dalmatians trailer for all those who could not see it, and I have other credible posts. However If I want to obsess over Princess Aurora, then let me! Don’t argue with me for 3 pages and then say I’m not a worthwhile poster. I’m sorry for the rant, but I very much dislike UD. I’ve had problems with forum members, but I when I tried to report it I get the “your over reacting” response from certain mods. It seems that worthwhile posts and opinions don’t matter if you’re up against people who are all “buddy buddy” with certain mods, and it disgusts me. Once again I’m sorry for ranting. I am just really fed up with the forums, and refuse to participate in them unless I have major news. Thank goodness for some wonderful members who actually take the time out to write me e-mail’s and say “hey I agree with you, and I’m sorry for your distress.” Thank you, I appreciate it.

UD as a whole has gone downhill, not just the forums. Now I understand that Luke has to expand to survive, but I feel that in the process the Disney content is being neglected. 95% of the people who visit the UD front page are looking for Disney content. If I were visiting the site for the first time, I wouldn’t stay. It has become a mess of mixed content, and Disney has been neglected. The only worthwhile Disney news that I read on the front page was several weeks ago, when there was post about The Little Mermaid III: Ariel’s Beginning. Now I understand that the Disney Company probably has not released allot of news, but still there has to be something. I have not read a review on UD in I can’t tell you how long. While I like other movies occasionally, my passion is Disney, not some other films. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate this site. There are some wonderful interviews on the site, but that’s really it. I understand that running a site with little money and time can be a big task, and Luke does the best he can. I really appreciate that. I really think that UD should be a pay site.

Now I’m sorry for the rant. I wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas!

[Anthony]

I've been watching this thread since it started. I feel that all the posts have lots to say and I feel ready to take my turn.

I too have been bored with UD lately. The discussions and topics are near non-existent. People are not contributing to the threads and mostly only posting one sentence (I am guilty of this I'm sure as well). It's really hard to get excited to talk about anything on here when you know no one else will contribute. For the most part, I've given up on starting my own threads or adding to anyone else's. It just seems that no one wants to talk anymore.

I am also extremely annoyed lately at most of the newer members on here. They seem to be on a mission to get their post count up or something and post in every single thread. Yet they have nothing really interesting to say. I really think that any new members should be limited to a certain # of posts per day for their first month.

I'm also really bothered by some of the ridiculous threads that do get started. Members who have been gone awhile and then return start a thread just to announce that they are back. Ummmmm - okay, that's great and all.... but how can that be discussed much further?

There is hardly any interest in topics such as pop culture, films, music, travel, heck even the General Discussion devoted to Disney topics pretty much has nothing interesting to say. I still lurk around the UD Forums, keeping an eye on any new topics that might pop up, but with less and less interest as days pass by. This forum was once one of my favorite places to visit. I hope that one day I'll get that feeling back. But right now I've begun moving on to other forums where actual interesting discussions take place.

Thanks for listening to my rant. I wish everyone a great Christmas.

[2099net]

I think some of us are at odds here - I have no problem with any single thread as such, or any single post as such. I participated in threads like the "What did you just eat?" thread for example, which were pure fluff. But they helped to build a sense of community. The forum becomes a “virtual meeting place” and we make “virtual friends”. I’m sure every single person who has responded to this thread regularly messages, emails, chats or even meets with at least one Ultimate Disney forum member outside of Ultimate Disney as a result of the community we have here. You only have to look at stuff like the annual Secret Santa to know the community is important.

As I see it, Ultimate Disney exists for two (or maybe three depending on how you think of the community) reasons; as a source of facts and opinions (primarily on Disney DVD releases, but also about Disney in general and DVD in general), a place for people to enthuse about their likes (primarily Disney, but also other forms of entertainment).

There's nothing wrong with any of that, be it a member like Deathie Mouse who normally now only seems to post on the forum to inform us of existing or upcoming Blu-ray releases (fact and opinion with some enthusiasm) or Disney Duster posting about Cinderella (primarily enthusiasm but also fact and opinion - and that's not an insult, because Disney Duster's love of Cinderella is clearly visible in most of his posts - but who's long and thought out posts have made me view Cinderella in different lights - even if I don't always agree with what he writes).

But recently there are far too many posts which are enthusiasm only, and that gets boring. I have nothing against enthusiastic posts as such, but so many threads end up either going round and round in circles for hundreds of posts or full of single or double sentence posts which say nothing but "Me too" or "I agree" with no reasoning or explanation. I'm not going to become a single sentence post-Nazi because I can easily accept that in some circumstances single sentence - even single word - posts are perfectly acceptable. I can also easily accept that some people's enthusiasm can lead to excitement, and excitement - especially of a major revelation, such as a release date for a DVD being announced for example - can lead to posts motivated by pure emotion rather than intellect.

But my main complaint isn’t that what a certain section of the UD community calls “Fluff posts” exist – it’s just that more and more the fluff is overrunning the forum. This causes me dismay for two reasons. Firstly, from my point of view, it’s personally disappointing to sign-on each day and find less and less on the forum that I want to respond to. Secondly – and I’ve said this before – I strongly believe it is presenting an unflattering view to Disney itself, being as we know BVHE-Rep (and probably more) read this forum.

All that I’m asking is that every member, once every one or two days (or log-ins) makes an effort to at least explain or describe their feelings more, or perhaps read a thread that they normally wouldn’t and contribute to that, again with reasoning.

I don’t think this makes me “Elitist” at all. Am I “Elitist” because I don’t (as a rule) watch Children’s Television any more? Or is it because I’ve grown up and Children’s Television (as a rule) no longer challenges or excites me? I know some will point out this is primarily a Disney forum, and therefore posts from younger members cannot be avoided. And again I agree and I welcome that – but in the early days of the forum we had young posters who contributed greatly to the general readability and content of the forum.

Going Pay only is not the answer, as it will result in fewer posters and fewer voices will result in stagnation. Rules about post counts or word counts are unenforceable. I’m just hoping my thoughts will result in certain posters being voluntarily more thoughtful about their posts.

Everyone on the forum is an individual and individuals have different likes, dislikes, writing styles and backgrounds. I’m not particularly arguing for the individual voice to be muted, more for the fact that each individual can contribute something unique and worthwhile to any discussion, if they are motivated to do so. We’ve all seen A Bug’s Life so let’s put it into practice – individuals standing together and making the forum stronger.

[reyquila]

I have to react to this thread, because although I dont feel alluded (believe me), I think there are some people here that have a wrong take on life. I usually use my intellect in the courtroom or when counseling clients, here I just get a lot of information from those Disney films that my kids and I love or from the parks and cruises where we have our vacations.

That's the only thing that matters to me, to connect with my kids with something we have in common: our love for Disney. That's the only important thing in life for me. If you want to be a Leonard Maltin, do it right and get money for it, otherwise you have nothing to show for if. (Hopefully you have your Star Wars od Disney Plushs!!!

PS. My dvd shelves are full of value!!!!

[I Love Bambi]

Newbie here. I may be in the minority, but I find the quality of the posts in UD very high. I have never seen such detailed posts before on a forum, and I've been to quite a few. I am pleased just at the fact that I haven't yet seen a post full of chatspeak and leet.

As for the length, some subjects call for a detailed explanation, while other subjects can be summed up in just one sentence. Some may have quite a bit to say about a particular subject, while others do not, though they would like to leave their opinion on it nonetheless. That is my opinion of the content here.

[blackcauldron85]

Thanks, Disney Duster & Scaps!

I'd rather UD not be a paid site, but I was just saying that that would reduce some of the kinds of posts that we're complaining about.

I haven't had time lately to come on UD as often as I usually do (usually I'm on UD for hours)- after Christmas, I'll be on here catching up (I really want to read and comment on the "Oliver & Company" & "Sleeping Beauty" discussion threads, for example, but I'll need a lot of time to read all the posts & comment, so I'm holding off until I actually have time).

Maybe our New Year's resoultions should be to do what Netty said- post outside of your comfort zone a bit...I'll try that- I/we shouldn't be afraid to say that I like something (but I/we should also be able to say why we feel that way).

[Kossage]

Well, I've been busy with a lot of stuff, so I don't have as much time for visiting various forums as I'd like. When I do have some time to spend online, I usually only manage to read posts (which might take several hours, depending on the amount of posts in various forums), after which I'm exhausted and can't think of posting anything that hasn't been said before. When I do post, I try to bring in something relevant, but often I feel as others have already said things better than I could, so I feel my posts might look redudant.

And as for the general state of the forums, it's a common phenomenon. Every forum gets newbies who react to things differently and might post 'fluffier' posts than oldbies. This has happened, is happening and will happen at various forums, and it's a natural thing: one can't expect everyone to post thoughtful posts all the time. In any case I don't really have anything against fluffier posts, because the enthusiasm new members bring with them kind of revitalizes the forums and introduces new world to the community, which is never a bad thing. Sure, they could post stuff with more 'meat' in it, but as long as at least some people post some 'deeper' posts, I'll remain happy.

UD has been and hopefully will be a great place for information about Disney and for general, thought-out discussions about Disney with lots of wonderful members who share the same passion to the subject matter as I do. I'm welcoming the change with open arms, but I'll also do what I can to keep discussions going and to keep them relevant (whenever I have the time to get online and actually post).

I wish you all a merry Christmas, and I hope we'll have plenty of great conversations in the future as well.

[Disney Duster]

Well, Escapay, I'll just say that I've heard your complaints about Wicked very often in many places. I said James Baxter because he did the animation for Enchanted, and I was always confusing him with Tony. I'll watch The Black Hole one day for you but I really don't have much interest in Disney's live-action in general, and almost all the ones I'd try to see have animation combined with the live-action. I agree with what you said about why animation is more well-known and known by more people when it comes to Disney, and they were all good points, but like I said, I really like Disney for their animated stuff.

As for the (in Miss Swan's voice) "He no looka lika crab!", I already know about literal and metaphorical and abstract interpretations in theater, but most people have complained that the creatures are far to far away from what they represent, and that's from the big critics, not just people who want the cartoon translated frame by frame to the stage. And the costumes are just not very appealing. Personally, I like some things and not other things, I'd have to actually see the show (which I will in April) to decide if I like it overall or not.

I didn't exactly see what you were doing the the going away from your computer thing, but if it was to illustrate how lots of words can not get a post aywhere, I see. I'm glad you agree we shouldn't do a pay-to-post.

Disney Duster posting about Cinderella (primarily enthusiasm but also fact and opinion - and that's not an insult, because Disney Duster's love of Cinderella is clearly visible in most of his posts - but who's long and thought out posts have made me view Cinderella in different lights - even if I don't always agree with what he writes).

Ah, a moment of happiness for me! Thank you so much! I will say that you have said things I didn't like in the past and so my opinion of you has not always been positive but as I get to know anyone more and more I see they just have different opinions and like them overall. So now I like and respect you more than ever. I don't know if I agree with it all but I certainly liked/appreciated everything you said in your long post.

I especially liked all that you said, I Love Bambi! I was rather surprised people were finding a forum that was better than ours, and I suspect some people have just found forums where more posters have the same interests as them.

So after reading more responses, I'll just say I'm sorry that things seem fluffier these days but maybe it'll turn around when Disney comes up with more to talk about or we get more members or the newbies will learn what is desired of them. Of course, let's try to think everyone's desired just to be here and contribute something. Personally, I'm fine with how things are, I admit there's less things that interest me, but usually I can find something and it's good that UD's not taking up my whole life like it used to... If something doesn't interest me, I may start a thread, and it's true I often don't get to many responses, but like Netty said, we have a nice community, and I usually have people here with interests like mine or just forum friends of mine who will post about something I said and I have enough happiness there.

[Escapay]

I didn't exactly see what you were doing with the going away from your computer thing, but if it was to illustrate how lots of words can not get a post aywhere, I see.

More or less, yeah, that's what it was. A bit of random non sequitur posting that started off as a "I agree", but moved on to something useless to the topic at hand (lemonade and "Friends"), then back to the topic at hand, in order to display that quantity doesn't always equal quality. Plus, "I agree" just sounds so bland and depressing that I wanted to jazz it up a bit. And of course, I have to mention lemonade at least once every 59 posts!

By the way, does anyone know what happened to my coffee pot?

Scapsta

[Chernabog_Rocks]

Perhaps (empthasis on Perhaps) if more meaningful content is wanted so badly, then why don't some members who want to just make an article or something similar, and we could discuss it? My 9th grade teacher did that with us for a project, everyone wrote an article about anything they wanted and each day we would read one and discuss it. Perhaps that could bring back the meaningful content? I dunno, just an idea I had thought I've got nothing to lose sharing it (except dignity but who needs that? )