Topic: Chris Shepard gone?

[Nick's Picks]

tix are fun and all....but I guess i'd rather see them go too.
it just begs to be abused.

[Brian Skalinder]

Why can't they just ad a script to show who is t'ing you?  Seems reasonable to me.  Would stop trolls in their tracks.

Showing who -T'd whom wouldn't help.  People would create even more aliases for the sole purpose of -Ting people.  The only real "solution" to the "problem" is to remove tix outright, which probably won't happen.

I think despite whether TSers are "nice people" or not offline, a lot of people bring -Ts on themselves by the way they present themselves online.  Chris absolutely brought great value to TS, but he also, on occasion, engaged people in a way that some might consider...inappropriate, or abrasive, or condescending, for lack of a better words.  Does that mean the -Ts were justified?  Not necessarily.  I'm just suggesting that -Ts generally don't start flying in a vacuum;  the recipient usually has contributed, in one way or another, to it happening.

[Nick's Picks]

I know i've received my share of negative karma at times....and have never known why.

do they compel me to watch how I post
you bet. 

[OFOTD]

Why can't they just ad a script to show who is t'ing you?  Seems reasonable to me.  Would stop trolls in their tracks.

No it wouldn't stop them.  I have a troll.  I know who the troll is.  I've called him out many times in PM and in public.  Still hits me. 

Now I get some satisfaction from knowing that this guy thinks about me everyday enough to take tickets.   Really is it flattering or sad that this person takes time out of their own life to go out of their way to find a post or PM of mine and ding me?  I think a little of both.   

Typically with SMF forums and the publicly available modules the ticket system (SMF calls it Karma) is either on or off.  Karma can be changed by a moderator with the appropriate permissions.  AFAIK there are no modules that show who is giving who tickets (+ or -) but you can see what a user's total (+ / -) given counts are.  Whether that is available to publish or even publicly associate with a user profile I don't know but I would think not at all.
   

[Tim]

I'd be surprised if anyone who is a regular on here didn't have a couple of trolls... especially those of us who are more strongly opinionated than others

it is a shame when someone doesn't have a 1000 ticket (or more) cushion though and they end up buried in negatives.

I can take me or leave me. Though I think we'd miss saying "+T" and giving each other tickets more than we realize. Sure the number doesn't really matter but it's such an ingrained part of the dna of this board.

I remember the debate to switch from Karma to tickets and choosing GDSTOO and PTBM after the reunion ticket fiasco

"I saw you... with an $800 ticket stub in your hand..."

[Church-Audio]

Me and Chris have had our disagreements.. But I am sorry to see the guy leave because of a troll. I to have had my fair share of trolls and I left a while back because of one enough people reached out to me and I came back. I hope enough people can Reach out to Chris and bring him back. I have learned * the hard way once you really stop caring about tickets they seem to move on to someone else. Lets face it you can take away tickets, but if someone has a valid point to make it really does not matter how many tickets he or she has. The point is still valid and still should be respected.

Chris

[som]

Wow, this is a bummer! I bought my first (and only, at this point) tube amp from Chris, an Almarro. Great service, great product. He also seemed really helpful on the boards, especially here in the playback area.

I also never understood the high -T count he had. I don't post that much, and I'll see my meager T count go down one or two, and it *is* a little disturbing. Can't imagine what it would be like to have the forums built-in "popularity" indicator be negative! Yeah, yeah, they don't mean anything, blah, blah, blah, but still....

[it-goes-to-eleven]

We, on the other hand, here at ts.com, are tolerant of the retailers, and invite them in, as they are experts in our area, and have a good touch on the cutting edge of our field.

Fwiw, I watched a decent msg board get run into the ground (hard!) over greed and vendor mentions. It seemed to start with having a 'supporting vendor' program where some vendors donate to the board... and then those vendors got pissy over folks who seemed to be promoting non-supporting vendors.  Some of the mentions were promotion and some just mentions.  Next came the widespread censorship of any post that mentioned a non-supporting vendor. Censorship became the norm... It was unfortunate and disgusting.  Oddly, at that time the site would not accept donations or support from the user base (a car collecting user base that was quite wealthy). User donations (in addition to the banner ads they always ran) could have easily funded the site and allowed the discussion to remain completely open. The site is now all about monetizing the user base.

Chris has always been totally stand-up and professional during our interactions and I would not hesitate to recommend his business.

[OFOTD]

The Oade board.  Seems like so freaking long ago doesn't it.  It lived a year too long I think.   

[prefrace]This post is opinion only.[/preface]

With regard to retailers I have a few thoughts and I know that each case is different and there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rules..

Len and Core Sound - Len been in the game for a while.  With the internet and message boards like this one people can now confirm that they are not the only ones that have had less than stellar experiences with him or his company.   Len gets flamed I believe because he offers little to no customer service.  Too many other retailers that do.  The fact that he rarely answers emails is that start of the problems with Len.  Others have had great experiences with him.  It appears tough that once a person comes in contact with another of his customer's then that's when ill will towards Len starts. 

Chris Shepard -He just had a bad run with the cable comp thread.  Hind sight is always 20-20 and I have a feeling if he could have gone back and changed some of his responses maybe things would have been different.  Maybe not.   The other issue is that he was selling a high dollar product that several members here felt was b.s.   I never understood those that ripped him for selling expensive cable.  Welcome to a free-market.  One person's value of something is always different than another's.   Some felt the need to slam him for it.   A shame if you ask me.  Then Chris got so far in the negative tickets that it would have been a miracle to get him back up into positive territory.   If you don't believe in expensive cable then why follow the threads about them and bash them.  Don't understand that one.

Chris Church - A perfect example of what was wrong and what is right about a retailer.  He started off really rocky.  Pushing his product everywhere.  Disparaging other products in the process.   Deleting posts.  You know the story.  Then one day he got it.  Very little if any intrusion into others threads.  The incessant product pitches and claims slowed and in most cases stopped.   He runs a good business here now.  I for one keep a more open mind towards his posts because I don't feel like he's pushing stuff on me anymore.   Above all else he seems to have great customer service.  People dig his products.  He responds to people.   And after all of the war of words between us he seems like a genuinely nice guy. 

Frank Rinaldi - Shame he's not still in business.  The model for what I think we all want.

Doug Oade and Chris Johnson (Busman) - These two to me seem divided by age.  Alot of our more seasoned tapers seem to gravitate towards Doug and alot of our younger folks seem to gravitate toward Chris (exceptions always).  I would suspect that alot of it has to do with finances as Doug will only mod stuff he sells while Chris is way more flexible.  Some prefer Doug while others prefer Chris.  No right or wrong one to choose.

I wish it was as easy as say having a retailer login and a personal login.   I'd love to hear about Chris' taping experiences and his wealth of knowledge separate from his Hi-Fi business.  But i'd also liked hearing about his business as well.    I also believe that as a retailer if you can't take punches you're probably in the wrong business.

Then again are we debating issues like Chris leaving us if we didn't have the ticket/karma system?   I guess Bri and Chris are the only ones that can answer that question.

[George]

We, on the other hand, here at ts.com, are tolerant of the retailers, and invite them in, as they are experts in our area, and have a good touch on the cutting edge of our field.

Fwiw, I watched a decent msg board get run into the ground (hard!) over greed and vendor mentions. It seemed to start with having a 'supporting vendor' program where some vendors donate to the board... and then those vendors got pissy over folks who seemed to be promoting non-supporting vendors.  Some of the mentions were promotion and some just mentions.  Next came the widespread censorship of any post that mentioned a non-supporting vendor. Censorship became the norm... It was unfortunate and disgusting.  Oddly, at that time the site would not accept donations or support from the user base (a car collecting user base that was quite wealthy). User donations (in addition to the banner ads they always ran) could have easily funded the site and allowed the discussion to remain completely open. The site is now all about monetizing the user base.

Chris has always been totally stand-up and professional during our interactions and I would not hesitate to recommend his business.

Money corrupts everything.

Kinda sounds like what has happened to Head-fi with their retailers "buying" retail space and lately, Head-fi has become the kind of place where any negative/critical speech regarding any of these vendors results in the thread being deleted and a stern warning (or ban) from one of the mods.  Censorship is alive and well when it involves someones bottom line/business venture. 

Head-fi has become a very fishy and difficult place to trust anyone's opinions (it's become filled with fanatic fanboys) and there's so many new faces that it has become a clusterfuck of a forum.  I've personally steered clear of Head-fi minus the occasional check up.  It's a damn shame that the owner has picked up on that business model for a forum, but as the old saying goes, "buyer beware."

TS?  I like it here, I started off a little rocky as well when I offended a member and got torn apart by some of you guys.  I learned my lesson and moved on.  This site has been very consistent and it has avoided that business model that basically creates an atmosphere of tyrannical moderation over its members.  Plus, ts members are honest, even the freggin mods here are nice, even though I may disagree with their opinions once in a while, you can actually write a dissent with it being deleted.  I mean, look how long funkoff/todd/fluff has lasted.

[Nick's Picks]

we all deal.
when something becomes a drag...and you decide to ditch it (ts.com, a GF/BF/Wife...job..whatever), then you're doing "whatcha gatta do", or at least feel you have to do.

I'm a somewhat retailer here.  Although, I dont consider myself that i'm sure those who drop coin on me think otherwise (and I'm aware and try to be a pro for you).
I've had my share of issues w/my transactions here. 
Ive got trolls who -t me.  Its all good though. 

However...if for whatever reason the tide turned on me and I had a huge -T count..., ts.com might become a memory for me.  I dont want to hang out someplace where it would appear as though i'm a leaper.
my loss ?  you betcha
yours?  ymmv.

Its worth it to me to stick w/ts.com as I learn so much, and have met soo many people and made some great friends whom I can't wait to meet in person. 

[OFOTD]

Its worth it to me to stick w/ts.com as I learn so much, and have met soo many people and made some great friends whom I can't wait to meet in person. 

+T

[Church-Audio]

Its worth it to me to stick w/ts.com as I learn so much, and have met soo many people and made some great friends whom I can't wait to meet in person. 

+T

Hey Dave thanks for the kind words and you are 100% correct. I have learned a lot and continue to learn more every day. I have a great respect for a lot of the people here you included.

Thanks again.

Chris

[Nick's Picks]

(((suckers)))

;-)

[George]

(((suckers)))

;-)

lol.  +T backatcha for the good words.