Am I the only one who is bothered by the public face(s) of 9rules?
From the Official 9rules Blog, the private member forums, the IRC channel and the personal blogs of the 9rules staff I feel a consistent permeating sense of unprofessionalism, drama and immaturity.
The lack of grammatical prowess cheapens the staff's communication and only exacerbates an underlying problem with the actual content: it's trite, unimportant and mostly vacuous. I don't feel like I gain anything from the 9rules staff when reading any of the aforementioned sources, instead I usually feel I've just wasted my time and am left disconcerted.
I despise drama in all of its forms and so it should be noted that I intend no personal offense, but only hope to point out the lack of coherence and direction in 9rules staff communication. I would vastly prefer that the staff publish useful, informative and intelligent content instead of faux internal dialogs about upcoming features and the staff's apparently comedic lack of ability to discuss them.
I realize that this request exceeds the standards for what is "normal", but seeing as though 9rules is supposed to be an aggregation of and community built around true quality, nothing less than stellar performance from its principals should be expected; nay, tolerated.
» The Public Face of 9rules ... Last Reply: 2 years ago by lifecruiser.
Hey Mike,
First, I am not inclined to leave because I believe in the original mission of 9rules and most of the work that 9rules does.
Second, I too find it refreshing that you forgo press releases for talking to your users like real people, but I see that as distinct from talking for the sake of talking. It should be obvious to all that the actions or attitude of the company I work for do not reflect my own, nor do I have direct control over the conduct of the company I work for as I am not in PR or marketing.
Third, my lack of posting on the forum doesn't seem to be relevant here at all -- I am talking specifically about reading the communication from 9rules staff members.
By "faux internal dialogs about upcoming features and the staff's apparently comedic lack of ability to discuss them" I was referring specifically to the following from the official blog:
That isn't the only example, but it is the type of content that I described.
The reason for saying this "in the most public way possible" is simple: I wanted to get the opinions of 9rules members and readers alike. In addition to talking to your users like people, I believe that 100% full disclosure at all times can only help a healthy organization. I am still interested in those opinions and will duly ignore the typical emotional reactions like JPhill's.
Lastly, you still seem to be missing the entire point of my note. When I say "I despise drama", I mean that without equivocations. Had I wanted to leave 9rules because of these problems I perceive, I simply would have left. It is precisely because I value 9rules and what it is trying to do that I have written to you, the members and the readers.