Community section is taking over the site

DrPhil

Call me old fashioned, but the Fight Club has been the Fight Club for many years.

Now the UFC.com community has been merged, and has taken over the entire site. The Forum homepage is flooded with community posts and threads, while the original FC section is crammed into a tiny section marked Exclusive.

Why not simply have a landing page under forums where you then choose whether to enter the free section or the paid members section?

It seems that there is a determination to force both groups together whether they like it or not.

wesleywells1

You have a valid point. Many of us former UFC Community Forum members feel the same way. Nothing against you Fight Club guys, but it seemed that things were fine the way they were before. My first reaction was to leave the forum permanently, but I'm going to stick it out and give them a chance to work out the kinks.

I like your idea about a "landing page." It would let you guys have the exclusivity you paid for and make the rest of us feel more at home. Until then, I guess we'll just have to try and make the best of this shotgun wedding they call a forum merge.

DrPhil

Glad you agree, I was worried that my comment would be seen as offensive to the community guys.

We've been complaining in the FC section for a few years now. The perks we pay for were not coming through, the site was being completely neglected etc. We have been strung along for months now with promises that things would be changing, but now what has happened is that they have gone all guns blazing with the forum merge/redesign even though nobody in particular wanted it to happen.

Our real issues are still not being addressed. Yet. Leonie assures me that once the dust settles on the forum then she can move on to the other issues.

wesleywells1

I'm just hoping they can get it figured out. For all of us.
[-O<

Raiderbeast

After 6 years on the FC Forum this seems wierd.. lol Gonna take time to figure it all out.

BanMeNow

I agree, they need to split the old community guys like myself and you fight club customers. It's not right at all. I would be angry if I paid for exclusivity and I ended up being grouped with free members. Judging by your post, it seems like they paid no attention to you fight club fans.

DrPhil

As long as you're on a chrome browser the site itself is passable, but a step back from the simplicity of the old FC forums.

I still don't see a reason for this merge at all though.

StompGrind

I agree but what's done is done i guess. Not sure why they merged it either but it is what it is just have to make the best of it.

CactusPete

DrPhil said:

Glad you agree, I was worried that my comment would be seen as offensive to the community guys.

We've been complaining in the FC section for a few years now. The perks we pay for were not coming through, the site was being completely neglected etc. We have been strung along for months now with promises that things would be changing, but now what has happened is that they have gone all guns blazing with the forum merge/redesign even though nobody in particular wanted it to happen.

Our real issues are still not being addressed. Yet. Leonie assures me that once the dust settles on the forum then she can move on to the other issues.

DrPhil has summed it up with this post....

Basically they heard our complaints, ignored them, went with their own idea, alienated many long time forums members and eventually they will move on to the other issues,,,,totally **** backwards. Of course now I have no faith that any of the real issues will ever be looked at.

CactusPete

BanMeNow said:

I agree, they need to split the old community guys like myself and you fight club customers. It's not right at all. I would be angry if I paid for exclusivity and I ended up being grouped with free members. Judging by your post, it seems like they paid no attention to you fight club fans.

Yup, you got it. They paid no attention to the FC members and now people are angry, go figure.

sobercuban

CactusPete said:

DrPhil said:

Glad you agree, I was worried that my comment would be seen as offensive to the community guys.

We've been complaining in the FC section for a few years now. The perks we pay for were not coming through, the site was being completely neglected etc. We have been strung along for months now with promises that things would be changing, but now what has happened is that they have gone all guns blazing with the forum merge/redesign even though nobody in particular wanted it to happen.

Our real issues are still not being addressed. Yet. Leonie assures me that once the dust settles on the forum then she can move on to the other issues.

DrPhil has summed it up with this post....

Basically they heard our complaints, ignored them, went with their own idea, alienated many long time forums members and eventually they will move on to the other issues,,,,totally **** backwards. Of course now I have no faith that any of the real issues will ever be looked at.

I think there is a false impression that the current format is what was asked for by Zuffa. I can assure you NOBODY is happy on the admin side with the results.

There was no systematic exclusion of input or decision made to marginalize the FC Community. I promise.

PATSTER

Lol you think we like this merger too?

CactusPete

sobercuban said:

CactusPete said:

DrPhil said:

Glad you agree, I was worried that my comment would be seen as offensive to the community guys.

We've been complaining in the FC section for a few years now. The perks we pay for were not coming through, the site was being completely neglected etc. We have been strung along for months now with promises that things would be changing, but now what has happened is that they have gone all guns blazing with the forum merge/redesign even though nobody in particular wanted it to happen.

Our real issues are still not being addressed. Yet. Leonie assures me that once the dust settles on the forum then she can move on to the other issues.

DrPhil has summed it up with this post....

Basically they heard our complaints, ignored them, went with their own idea, alienated many long time forums members and eventually they will move on to the other issues,,,,totally **** backwards. Of course now I have no faith that any of the real issues will ever be looked at.

I think there is a false impression that the current format is what was asked for by Zuffa. I can assure you NOBODY is happy on the admin side with the results.

There was no systematic exclusion of input or decision made to marginalize the FC Community. I promise.

I don't think they are intentionally trying to marginalize either community.

If Zuffa didn't ask for the current format then who did?

Is it SparkArt or some other 3rd party running this?

GSP_over_Silva

Agreed/

sobercuban

CactusPete said:

sobercuban said:

CactusPete said:

DrPhil said:

Glad you agree, I was worried that my comment would be seen as offensive to the community guys.

We've been complaining in the FC section for a few years now. The perks we pay for were not coming through, the site was being completely neglected etc. We have been strung along for months now with promises that things would be changing, but now what has happened is that they have gone all guns blazing with the forum merge/redesign even though nobody in particular wanted it to happen.

Our real issues are still not being addressed. Yet. Leonie assures me that once the dust settles on the forum then she can move on to the other issues.

DrPhil has summed it up with this post....

Basically they heard our complaints, ignored them, went with their own idea, alienated many long time forums members and eventually they will move on to the other issues,,,,totally **** backwards. Of course now I have no faith that any of the real issues will ever be looked at.

I think there is a false impression that the current format is what was asked for by Zuffa. I can assure you NOBODY is happy on the admin side with the results.

There was no systematic exclusion of input or decision made to marginalize the FC Community. I promise.

I don't think they are intentionally trying to marginalize either community.

If Zuffa didn't ask for the current format then who did?

Is it SparkArt or some other 3rd party running this?

Correct, this is somewhat Sparkart's baby. I know the actual Zuffa employees are fighting tooth and nail to get this deal right for all of us.

DrPhil

Sparkart have been making an unbelievable balls up of the FC site for years, basically walked away and let it fall apart. Not sure if they did the same at the community site .

One of the things I have been pushing for is for Zuffa to cut Sparkart loose from their contract to run the FC and let someone competent do it.

If Zuffa don't necessarily want this merger, and neither group of fans want it, why the hell are Sparkart being allowed to do it?

PATSTER

DrPhil said:

Sparkart have been making an unbelievable balls up of the FC site for years, basically walked away and let it fall apart. Not sure if they did the same at the community site .

One of the things I have been pushing for is for Zuffa to cut Sparkart loose from their contract to run the FC and let someone competent do it.

If Zuffa don't necessarily want this merger, and neither group of fans want it, why the hell are Sparkart being allowed to do it?

Chill out Phil.

We have to do our best with the cards we've been dealt.

StompGrind

DrPhil said:

Sparkart have been making an unbelievable balls up of the FC site for years, basically walked away and let it fall apart. Not sure if they did the same at the community site .

One of the things I have been pushing for is for Zuffa to cut Sparkart loose from their contract to run the FC and let someone competent do it.

If Zuffa don't necessarily want this merger, and neither group of fans want it, why the hell are Sparkart being allowed to do it?

If you have legit grievances then make a list of what you think could be better and if possible provide thoughtful solutions and ask others to do the same so most can benefit as a collective whole.

"Walked away and let it fall apart" is pretty vague and if they don't know what the communities desires are for improvement of service then they can't exactly make improvements without knowing what the consensus wants and keep in mind these request have to benefit all and be within reason for them to do.

and know this, you can't make everyone happy.

DrPhil

StompGrind said:

If you have legit grievances then make a list of what you think could be better and if possible provide thoughtful solutions and ask others to do the same so most can benefit as a collective whole.

:))

Really? Sorry I don't recognise the username, but I can only assume that you're from the Community site rather than the FC?

Myself and probably dozens of other users in the FC have been offering constructive and thoughtful suggestions for a very long time on what is wrong with the FC and how to fix it.

They have been ignored.

You think my description is vague? Problem is, it isn't. FC admin stopped responsing to PMs, stopped replying to complaint threads. Just disappeared. A handful of Moderators kept the place running but they were also kept in the dark about the real problems of the site.

In the last 2-3 months we have been promised results by a FC member called Smitty. Not by site admin, not by Sparkart or Zuffa people, but by one of our own guys who had contacts. Now the only result so far is the merge of the 2 sites which apparently absolutely nobody wanted!

StompGrind

DrPhil said:

:))

Really? Sorry I don't recognise the username, but I can only assume that you're from the Community site rather than the FC?

Myself and probably dozens of other users in the FC have been offering constructive and thoughtful suggestions for a very long time on what is wrong with the FC and how to fix it.

They have been ignored.

You think my description is vague? Problem is, it isn't. FC admin stopped responsing to PMs, stopped replying to complaint threads. Just disappeared. A handful of Moderators kept the place running but they were also kept in the dark about the real problems of the site.

In the last 2-3 months we have been promised results by a FC member called Smitty. Not by site admin, not by Sparkart or Zuffa people, but by one of our own guys who had contacts. Now the only result so far is the merge of the 2 sites which apparently absolutely nobody wanted!

I was only offering the suggestion if you guys/gals over at FC hadn't done so before. Was just trying to be helpful don't take it any other way.

Have the services provided thus far been worth the cost of membership? If not and you feel like it never will be cancel it. If so then try to have more patience ( im sure you already have ) and realize not everything can be implemented at once.

DrPhil

StompGrind said:

I was only offering the suggestion if you guys/gals over at FC hadn't done so before. Was just trying to be helpful don't take it any other way.

Have the services provided thus far been worth the cost of membership? If not and you feel like it never will be cancel it. If so then try to have more patience ( im sure you already have) and realize not everything can be implemented at once.

Sorry if I was rude, not my intention.

At the end of the day I attend any event that happens in the UK or Ireland, and I need to be a member to attend the Q&As etc. The ticket access is worthless so I just take the basic membership.

I also recognise how good the FC COULD be. So while I'm here I'm going to point that out whenever needed.

My frustration (which may have spilled over to you in my earlier posts :\"> ) is that the FC has been gradually going downhill for years.

-We're promised fighter chat sessions, you'd be lucky to see one every year.
-Q&A and weigh in sessions are screwed regularly due to a lack of competent staff onsite.
-"First access" to tickets is a joke, better seats often available in the newsletter and general sales.
-Membership package prices are the same for all members, but non-US/Canada members get considerably less in their packs.
-It takes 2-3 MONTHS for the membership packs to arrive.
-The content on the site is usually months/years out of date.

You say have patience? We have been here for years saying the same things and not even getting an acknowledgement from "above". Then when change finally arrives, it is a change to something that didn't particularly need changed while the major issues remain untouched.

Don't get me wrong, I am encouraged by the fact that we finally have someone in Admin who responds to questions (Leonie) and merely the fact that Sparkart seem to have remembered that we exist. So I have faith in Leonie when she promises to deal with the other problems but until it happens I will remain sceptical.

CactusPete

Once again Dr Phil has summed things up.

I will assume that Sparkart merged the sites becuase it is cheaper and easier to maintain one site than two for them. But if the sites memebers and Zuffa etc didn't request or want that, it makes it seem like all the members suggestions have fallen on deaf ears.

CactusPete

PATSTER said:

DrPhil said:

Sparkart have been making an unbelievable balls up of the FC site for years, basically walked away and let it fall apart. Not sure if they did the same at the community site .

One of the things I have been pushing for is for Zuffa to cut Sparkart loose from their contract to run the FC and let someone competent do it.

If Zuffa don't necessarily want this merger, and neither group of fans want it, why the hell are Sparkart being allowed to do it?

Chill out Phil.

We have to do our best with the cards we've been dealt.

Phil is chillin, despite the crappy hand we have been dealt.....

DrPhil

-We're promised fighter chat sessions, you'd be lucky to see one every year.
-Q&A and weigh in sessions are screwed regularly due to a lack of competent staff onsite.
-"First access" to tickets is a joke, better seats often available in the newsletter and general sales.
-Membership package prices are the same for all members, but non-US/Canada members get considerably less in their packs.
-It takes 2-3 MONTHS for the membership packs to arrive.
-The content on the site is usually months/years out of date.

PS, the real clincher was recently when we found out that after years of the UFC denying that it was possible to have sections specifically reserved by Ticketmaster for FC members, fans on The Underground received that very priveledge. UFC staff arranged for a set block of seats to be set aside with a password for UG members.

The UG fans also had a Q&A session with Dana and had the opportunity to go into the Octagon. Something paying FC members have never to my knowledge been allowed to do.

Yerbo

wesleywells1 said:

You have a valid point. Many of us former UFC Community Forum members feel the same way. Nothing against you Fight Club guys, but it seemed that things were fine the way they were before. My first reaction was to leave the forum permanently, but I'm going to stick it out and give them a chance to work out the kinks.

I like your idea about a "landing page." It would let you guys have the exclusivity you paid for and make the rest of us feel more at home. Until then, I guess we'll just have to try and make the best of this shotgun wedding they call a forum merge.

Yeah if this mess doesn't sort itself out quick I'll be hanging elsewhere.

DrPhil said:

Call me old fashioned, but the Fight Club has been the Fight Club for many years.

Now the UFC.com community has been merged, and has taken over the entire site. The Forum homepage is flooded with community posts and threads, while the original FC section is crammed into a tiny section marked Exclusive.

Why not simply have a landing page under forums where you then choose whether to enter the free section or the paid members section?

It seems that there is a determination to force both groups together whether they like it or not.

All I know is this is an ugly, dysfunctional mess. What was wrong with the old forums? I can't figure out how to find anything and when I do find something by accident it is so busy it is nearly impossible to deal with. Yuck...off tot he underground I guess

SeattleJosh

If DrPhil seems mad, its because these issues and concerns have been expressed for OVER A YEAR in the FC forums that we PAY to be part of and we have been brushed aside the entire time. While getting the cold shoulder and silent treatment from Zuffa/Sparkart, we've seen our benefits decrease while free members or the f'n UG keep getting better treatment from the company.

There are VERY legit reasons for FC members being pissed off and the forum changes aren't exactly making things better. The only positive is that Leonie is now here and at least making an attempt at changing things. Just the acknowledgment of problems and promises of things getting better are much more than we've received for over a year. So yeah...that's where its coming from.

sobercuban

DrPhil said:

-We're promised fighter chat sessions, you'd be lucky to see one every year.
-Q&A and weigh in sessions are screwed regularly due to a lack of competent staff onsite.
-"First access" to tickets is a joke, better seats often available in the newsletter and general sales.
-Membership package prices are the same for all members, but non-US/Canada members get considerably less in their packs.
-It takes 2-3 MONTHS for the membership packs to arrive.
-The content on the site is usually months/years out of date.

PS, the real clincher was recently when we found out that after years of the UFC denying that it was possible to have sections specifically reserved by Ticketmaster for FC members, fans on The Underground received that very priveledge. UFC staff arranged for a set block of seats to be set aside with a password for UG members.

The UG fans also had a Q&A session with Dana and had the opportunity to go into the Octagon. Something paying FC members have never to my knowledge been allowed to do.

THIS was quite shocking to me as well. I lurk the UG from time to time and found that to be pretty distressing.

Same concerns as to why Dana would go out of his way to NOT support a forum owned by his company. I understand the "history" Dana/Lorenzo have with the UG ... but .... damn

A couple of us have tried really really really hard to get more fighter involvement on the Community site and really only have Alan Belcher, Vinny Magalhaes and Paul Buentello stopping in from time to time. Their presence is great but we could have so much more.

Vadge

Doc/Pete and SJosh are all right... Ive been a paying member since '08 and the interaction/communication was spot on (when I first started) ... the members are what make the site better and when frustrations fell on deaf ears membership started to dwindle... its the lack of communication that has pyssed off far too many... and to see this jumbled mess its an outrage...

I understand its all new and there are "kinks" to work out... but the navigation here is beyond atrocious... my membership is up again in a month... at this point it will NOT be renewed... I will communicate with you all at a (FC Member designed forum) FCUFF.com - you can Fantasy Fight or just plain communicate with alot of members from here that moved there...

I will keep an eye on this for the remainder of my "ship" and wait and see... cheers all,

NeonJefe

TheVault

What a mess ! Seriously, I get what they tried to do with this, but it does not work, pretty mad about this, I think it could have been handled in a much better way... Cant find **** with the new layout and posts will get drowned in the regular community members, and its also not fair for them...

DrPhil

FYI, Sparkart just confirmed over here;
http://forums.ufcfightclub.com/discussion/comment/3190884#Comment_3190884

That the "landing page" concept will be implemented. Excellent news.

mmafan73

we dnt take kindly to your FC kind round' here....GTFO

Community 4 life bitchez






























lol
its a forced play date "ok guys now play together!"....looks like the FC guys are more reluctant than community rly....nothing against u guys but i guess the change wasnt very smooth