Ok, so there's some problems with the site... how do we change it?

This is going to be a long post, and hopefully a long thread, so bear with it and try to read the entire thing.

I always hear "NS sucks now" "NS was so much better" "I'm leaving NS from all the hate" many comments like that. Each and every one of them scare the living piss out of me. You see this site is my only job. It's my livelihood, my life, and my passion. Pathetic as that may seem, I love it and wouldn't trade this job for any other in the world.

I'm glad that Ethan stickied this thread, as I feel this is an issue that we all need to band together and deal with. You see the problem with simply leaving to go ski, is that skiing only happens for MAX 10 hours a day, and then you're pretty darn tired. There's always time to check the internet, and a lot of times the internet can be pretty darn interesting.

Since this is our job, all of the admins have the time to make changes to the site, and improve it to be the perfect place for all of you to come and do your thing. We've lost Jacob, and many other members to the hate, shit-talking and general stupidity that fills the forums. If you "read between the lines" you see that there is wonderful content on the site, it is just sometimes hidden within lots of crap. Most internet forums are that way, but instead of simply accepting it, why don't we try and do something about it?

First off, our team of mods (bless them) put countless hours into cleaning up the site. Every time a thread is deleted, there is huge backlash from the member who created the thread. Every admin/mod has the authority to delete anything you see on this site, and the simple answer would be to do more harsh moderating. Then we get into the whole "freedom of expression" and blah, blah...

Perhaps, if people really feel that NS is terrible, we as moderators of the site need to start deleting more stuff. I know I'd be more than stoked to simply remove anything I deemed useless crap. Perhaps this is the way to go, perhaps not.

I would think that the very first step is for everyone on here to think about what they're saying. Really ask yourself, "did this post contribute?" if the answer is no, then don't post it.

We've also discussed various ideas that would facilitate positive threads. Thread rating systems (like the pics/vids), member karma, mod ability to bump threads up and down, etc... perhaps a new technological feature is the answer?

As well, there is a bit of a lack of stuff for people to do on the site. The news was average this year so far, the reviews/articles/tricks sections are all broken, and lots of the site's traffic was focused around the forums. We are changing this. Next year we will have an actual news department, and the broken sections of the site will be fixed soon. There are more changes being added, and overall we want to improve the hell out of the "member experience". Perhaps this will be a part of the solution as well, as people will have more things to do than simply talk shit in the forums.

My main point in this thread is that if you guys hate the way the site is, then let's change it! We've got a team here that works full-time, and we can change anything we want! It's the internet! It's not like anything is in print, so we can change anything, everything, nothing, whatever about the site at any time. We want to make it the perfect site for you, and make it a fun place for all skiers to come and share opinions, and learn about this wonderful world of skiing that we all live in.

So take some time, really think hard, and formulate a response to this thread.

I want you to cover the following:

1)What do you hate about NS?

2)What are 3 suggestions to fix what you hate?

3)What do you love about NS?

4)What could happen to make it even better?

5)Give 3 reasonable suggestions for how to stop the hate and shit-talking in the forums.

6)Comment your brains out on everything you need to see changed on the site, so that you never say "NS sucks, I'm leaving" again.


Share your opinions! We want to make this site better, and you are the people who use it, so your opinions are pretty much all that matters. Remember....

WE CAN CHANGE IT!