That statement reads like a politician wrote it.

Rather than be up front about the reality of why they are closing the forum, they make up a bunch of shit that only a fool would believe.

"the new era of social media and incredible technology"

What the hell is the internet?

I just hate being treated like a chump.

It is always somewhat disappointing to see a forum close up. Many folks are averse to FB and Twitter, so it leaves them out of the new information loop.

Renatogeeks 2.0 went down quicker than a $5 hooker...oh wait that was renatogeeks 1.0 the 2.0 version went down quicker than a $2 hooker.

Savvy avvi is being way to transparent about her agenda. I know she is supposed to shill the product/ brand but to suddenly join a few forums just before the shlop relaunch and then open the sales forum again is just horrible. Epic fail!

It could have and should have been thought out a little more clearly.

A perfectly good sales tool pissed down the drain...I am sure mzb won't be happy but who knows...maybe twitted and bookface will sell more timepieces for them.

I just don't think avvi is as savvy as her new nickname may suggest. A pretty smile and nice rack won't get you everywhere.

Stormchaser wrote: I have full confidence Neddles (with our help) will make this the one-stop-shop for Renato info good and bad. I'm looking forward to it.

Will do my best. "Fair and Even" is what I'm shooting for.

He will keep the bullies and trolls out and I have been doing my part to help on that

Mrneddles is a great guy to run this forum.

Stormchaser wrote:Maestro, in your opinion, why are they shutting it down?
I must be a fool, because I believe their reasoning.
Why? Because the forum never really took off. It seemed as if they wanted to get back into social media, but didn't really know where to start. So, they went back to the "forum" and soon realized it wasn't working.

I don't know why it shut down. I assume it was due to mismanagement. Whatever reason the forum failed they should admit to it, publicly. They don't need to go into specific details. Everyone knows Renato has had management issues. They should say that going to Facebook is an attempt to better meet the needs of their "supporters", because the forum, for whatever reason, wasn't doing it. Admit that the forum failed and they are moving on, rather than giving the impression the decision was made irregardless of how the forum was doing.

It just rubs me the wrong way. If the forum was doing well, I doubt they'd be pushing Facebook and twitter to this extent. Of course this is nothing more than my opinion. I'm not a business person, thank god. Perhaps it's a business faux pas to admit to the public when something fails, even though it's obvious.

Maestro wrote:If the forum closed because it never really took off, then they should say so. Say that going to Facebook is an attempt to better meet the needs of their "supporters", because the forum wasn't doing it. Admit that the forum failed and they are moving on, rather than giving the impression the decision was made irregardless of how the forum was doing.

It just rubs me the wrong way. If the forum was doing well, I doubt they'd be pushing facebook and twitter. Of course this is nothing more than my opinion.

What you say makes complete sense to me, Maestro. Of course, I keep coming back to the way Avi "handled" the mini-controversy of supposed trolls from WL stirring the pot on RG. Ultimately, she took the mongo-like course of indiscriminately banning a number of "suspicious" members, including our very own Fearless Leader ( ), Mrneds. I recall reading a post by one of their dissatisfied members who expressed the opinion that most of the members of the original RG's wouldn't bother with the new site, but would stay on Facebook where they already were. (Emphasis mine.) So maybe Avi & company are coming to them instead of the other way around; the situation does, after all, have sort of a desperate feel to it for them.

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I'm not very tech savvy, so I don't truly understand the implications involved in this "move" to Facebook and Twitter; nonetheless, the timing is a bit suspect here. IMHO, something shady seems to be happening.

Oh, almost forgot; I'd like to echo the comments above about our admin/moderator/majordomo. Neds, you're doing a terriffic job, and I like the "Fair and Even" policy you're looking to follow. It's really cool to be in on the ground floor at a place like this forum, and I'm looking forward to seeing it grow and mature.

I don't Twit or Bookface, nor do i intend to. I think the biggest reason they went the route of ending RG's was the utter stupidity of some of their own supporters. A select few went after WL members whenever and whatever they posted.

The shilltress saw she couldn't control it and precipitated the move and demise. From what i saw for the most part WL members took the high road on this phase of RG 2.......... JMHO

Oh yes and as a postscript, kudos to you Dave for an excellent job as Admin. This forum will last one hell of a lot longer than RG'S.............

Agree with above, the RG "supporters" there are the ones that caused RG demise (and I'm laughing my ass off !!!!!).

For you RenatoGeek lurkers, you made your own bed.


Twit & FB are for teen age girls......
Nuff said

I was initially resistant to FB, but eventually caved and signed up. I have been able to reconnect with many old friends, which has been a personal benefit.

Twitter just seems like too much chatter with very little meaningful content, so I have avoided it.

In ref. to watch companies:

Facebook will never take the place of watch forums. These companies don't want to interact and don't really want you to say anything either. That is why they chose Facebook. All they want is you to like their page.

In ref. to individual groups:

I'm sure groups like Renato Geeks work fine. It's a small (closed) group of Renato fanbois. It's easy to make a small group work in a total control atmosphere. Hell, is there really any difference between Renato Geeks on Facebook and Watchgeeks?

I told Avi what I thought on RG of her sneek peeks on twitter. Asked her what was the point of having a forum? Tinman you might be right but I think Avi had a plan going in to Renato's first Shop show by hitting all the forum a week before.

Hater wrote:Agree with above, the RG "supporters" there are the ones that caused RG demise (and I'm laughing my ass off !!!!!).
For you RenatoGeek lurkers, you made your own bed.


Twit & FB are for teen age girls......
Nuff said

I'm not one to "like" too many people or places, not much of a "socialite" either.

I also couldn't imagine "chatting" with the likes of a billy smith, spinner, 6to12, or 90% of the other fanboi's that were from a defunct forum (x2).

Still

Hater wrote:

Hater wrote:Agree with above, the RG "supporters" there are the ones that caused RG demise (and I'm laughing my ass off !!!!!).
For you RenatoGeek lurkers, you made your own bed.


Twit & FB are for teen age girls......
Nuff said

I'm not one to "like" too many people or places, not much of a "socialite" either.

I also couldn't imagine "chatting" with the likes of a billy smith, spinner, 6to12, or 90% of the other fanboi's that were from a defunct forum (x2).

Still

Bingo........

A few thoughts, do with them as you all see fit.

First, there is a fine line between someone with healthy enthusiasm and a "fan boy", someone who is a jocular ball buster and bully etc.

Anytime a large enough group is gathered, there will be a spectrum of all such personality types, it is human nature.

Third, when someone seems to over-react towards an issue (negatively or positively), it usually is not the issue at hand, but something else even deeper going on that is underlying and driving the over-reaction.

I would only ask that everyone gives this a moment of thought before this thread spins out of control.

Tinman1965 wrote:

Mortuus wrote: Of course, I keep coming back to the way Avi "handled" the mini-controversy of supposed trolls from WL stirring the pot on RG. Ultimately, she took the mongo-like course of indiscriminately banning a number of "suspicious" members, including our very own Fearless Leader ( ), Mrneds.

Hi Mortus - Avi didn't ban anyone but spammers. There was a glitch in the system that unfortunately ended up banning a few people for whatever reason. Prior to me taking the moderator job there, Koi had told me mrneddles was banned and then I had corresponded with mrneddles about it. When I mentioned it to Avi she told me to immediately take the ban off as it was a glitch. I had just "unbanned" mrneddles right before the forum ended up shutting down.

What you see as their reason for shutting down is for the most part accurate but it was also due to the amount of time it was going to take to get the forum up and running to where it should have been and building up a fan base. MZB was the final decision maker in closing down the forum as it was their forum.

Thanks, Tinman; your response makes sense, though the timing of MrNed's restoration is rather unfortunate for all concerned. Thanks!

Stormchaser wrote:I'm seeing a lot of negativity toward members of other forums. I can understand six2twelve, but why the hate for the other guys?
Please point out the hate above??? Just because someone doesn't want to do the social thing with certain people doesn't mean that person is spewing hatred. The group hug thing isn't for everyone, but happy you favor them.
I never saw anything on the RG forum that would warrant such.
Warrant what?
Maybe I'm ill-informed. That is possible. Can someone enlighten me? Probably not (the forum died for the second time) and for the record, I'm still laughing my ass off over that.
I'm trying to look at things objectively and not jump on any sort of "I hate those guys or I hate this" mentality. Excellent, that is always the best route to take.

We're supposed to be "Fair and Even". Right? Says who??
I'll light a fire so everyone that wants to can roast marshmallows and sing Kumbaya. Fortunately I can't make it but will get the fire going all the same.

And again, please take some time and read through this post and point out the hatred.

Smores anyone??