Other things I have noticed

So, if you look at the list of Administrators, you will see two Winberrys, Gresh, and Bernie, among them. However, Bernie is the only one on the list who we cannot send a PM to. Interesting.

Secondly, I find it rather annoying that I cannot subscribe to a thread or forum. Subscriptions are great tools (particularly for theme league threads and live drafts within threads) that should be made available to us.

I think it should be painfully clear to everyone that Bernie does not want to be accountable here. I wouldn't be surprised if "he wasn't the one who asked SOM" to keep him away from any direct contact with us, and not the other way around like many assume it was....

There is evidence to support Nevs assertion here.

The first being that he also has not responded to those who tried to contact him via Facebook.
The second being that communication suddenly cut off at the height of intial fiasco, and already post move.

I generally agree with all of you regarding the state of the game.

However, I do not agree regarding Bernie's responsibility to respond to the SOM online customers. Bernie is first and foremost a programmer. JMO, Bernie's strong suit isn't customer service. Sometimes he put his foot in his mouth unintentionally at TSN by promising too much and probably not vetting his postings before he actually posted his messages (or so it seemed to me.) He was wearing all hats at TSN because TSN was too cheap to hire anyone else.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like Bernie and I appreciate the interaction he had with us on the MB's on occassion (good or bad). And I hope he is able to post to the MB's on occassion.

When they first turned on the new site, Hal Richman's state of the SOM address stated that SOM had 8-10 new people dedicated to the online game. Someone who is actually the customer service rep in that group should be the person interacting with us (the customers) on the message boards. I think we all agree that we want more transparency, more frequent updates, and not someone who is just going to post standard B.S.

I agree the the policy of non-interaction on the MB's is a terrible policy and is just causing unnecessary animosity between long term customers and SOM management. But, I think it is unfair to put any of this blame on Bernie (wheter you think he is responsible or not). I doubt he is the one responsible for making policy.

SOM needs to understand that this online game is recurring revenue for them. That we (online customers) just don't buy a board game and a couple of discs one time and they never hear from us again. Some of us are here 5 to 10yrs plus. We are passionate about the game. SOM needs to understand that is is their best interests to forge a relationship with it's online customers for the long term benefit of their company.

I generally agree with all of you regarding the state of the game.

However, I do not agree regarding Bernie's responsibility to respond to the SOM online customers. Bernie is first and foremost a programmer. JMO, Bernie's strong suit isn't customer service. Sometimes he put his foot in his mouth unintentionally at TSN by promising too much and probably not vetting his postings before he actually posted his messages (or so it seemed to me.) He was wearing all hats at TSN because TSN was too cheap to hire anyone else.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like Bernie and I appreciate the interaction he had with us on the MB's on occassion (good or bad). And I hope he is able to post to the MB's on occassion.

When they first turned on the new site, Hal Richman's state of the SOM address stated that SOM had 8-10 new people dedicated to the online game. Someone who is actually the customer service rep in that group should be the person interacting with us (the customers) on the message boards. I think we all agree that we want more transparency, more frequent updates, and not someone who is just going to post standard B.S.

I agree the the policy of non-interaction on the MB's is a terrible policy and is just causing unnecessary animosity between long term customers and SOM management. But, I think it is unfair to put any of this blame on Bernie (wheter you think he is responsible or not). I doubt he is the one responsible for making policy.

SOM needs to understand that this online game is recurring revenue for them. That we (online customers) just don't buy a board game and a couple of discs one time and they never hear from us again. Some of us are here 5 to 10yrs plus. We are passionate about the game. SOM needs to understand that is is their best interests to forge a relationship with it's online customers for the long term benefit of their company.

E X A C T L Y I have said this before but not this clearly.

I am not blaming Bernie for the lack of communication. I am blaming SOM for the lack of communication.
I will give Bernie some of the blame pie for the poor transition. He offered more than he could give. He overpromised and underserved. And SOM has made it worse with their lack of respect and communication with the community.