Community announcement - Contributor Banned

Good for you, Britni! I just can't fathom being as outraged as people are claiming and still wanting to stand behind them just for free toys. Especially knowing that at any moment, it could be YOU on the chopping block next. I have strong beliefs and principles and won't promote a company that will behave in this manner, no matter what kind of free goodies I can get from them. I am happy to see I am not the only one willing to make that stand against this behavior by passing by the chance at free toys, porn, lingerie, etc.

Yes. I actually came to this thread to make almost this exact post. I find that administrators and mods are so quick to speak up on every other thread in the forum, but on this one, they're oddly silent. Which is them just further failing to handle this situation properly or tactfully, or with any respect to the community itself that's clearly asking for more of an explanation.

To respond to your earlier comment, I am going to be finishing my outstanding EF review and leaving as well. There is a limit as to how much I will just ignore, and I really should have walked away long ago. This, with Epiphora, was not actually the clincher. The clincher was finding out the things that have happened to others. It's the totality of problems I have heard about from trusted friends that is the reason I will be leaving and quitting reviewing at EF.

However, this incident triggered my learning of the other situations.

Amen; great comment.

I know first hand there is alot of drama all over the internet but for people that plainly go out to start drama that can be avoided and people who make sure to do just that deserve to be banned. As far as the letting everyone know I don't care either way as long as you let the person you ban know there the ones that deserve the explanation more than the rest of us.

It's the weekend! They deserve a bit of a break...

I personally think they absolutely should not give a detailed reasoning of why she's gone. That would be a huge invasion of privacy. They listed her name in the first place based on learning from past issues.

Other peoples names have been mentioned publicly in posts that they received warnings, etc.

This went up on Wednesday night.

But shouldn't Epiphora at least have gotten a reason? She was told less than we were (in this thread).

Yes.

I absolutely believe that Epiphora should have been given and the opportunity to respond. Adriana, I'm willing to bet that you went to Epiphora's blog and read that she feels as if she wasn't given a reason but Gary's post does not mention what Eden's communication to her was. I don't believe that everyone reading the forum has. They certainly don't know the company's history that has existed at Eden like you and I do. A detailed airing out of the laundry really isn't an appropriate action on the forum.

Eden uses the forum for most of their communication - from the announcement of the Mentor program to almost all communication regarding a security breach. They use email for new events on Sexis and interviewees. In that context, this is the natural channel for this announcement.

I missed it's initial posting, but saw it Friday night. By Saturday morning there were several posts that the Eden admin should step in and comment and slightly offended reviewers that they had not. I was commenting specifically on the lack of action by employees of a business during the weekend should not be a cause of hostility and aggressive actions.

And I know that you went to Epiphora's blog (you commented; a comment which had quite a different tone than your comments on this thread do) and read that she *wasn't* given a reason. Gary's post may not mention what Eden's communication to her was, but her blog post most certainly does. All she was received was email notification that she was banned. Not a warning. So saying that we don't know is false.

And also, like I said in my initial comment to you, this thread went up Wednesday. There were two full business days for employees to reply. This has nothing to do with today being a Saturday.

I'm not arguing about the time frame. The staff could very well be waiting for things to settle or be mulling things over the weekend or not be planning to comment at all. Nor am I asking for an 'airing of laundry.' I would like to see the staff comment about the inappropriate announcement, however. If they are going to comment, though, the sooner the better.

I posted before Epiphora put up her post (I believe). She has been very open about the communication she did receive and I have no reason to believe she would lie. The email she copied and pasted contained no helpful information whatsoever. As far as I know, she is still waiting for the reason and I believe that is a completely rational response on her part.

All I want, even if it's in vague generalities, is for an EF employee to admit that this situation was handled badly. I just want to know that I've (we've?) been heard, not ignored. Because right now, I'm feeling ignored. I'd even appreciate an "We heard you, we will make a formal reply on xxxx date, after the dust settles."

Ideally I'd like them to either apologize to Epiphora for the lack of a warning/explanation since they did violate their own policy, or I would like them to tell us why they chose this course of action. In all likelihood we'll never know these answers, but I would like to know so that I, and others in this community, don't unknowingly make the same mistakes.

I totally agree. I think an explanation or an apology is deserved. A lot of people here put time and effort into EF and should at least receive some feedback about their concerns.

I personally am leaving EF as my last review has been completed and is awaiting moderation. However, I think the others here that have decided they would like to stay deserve a staff explanation since this thread has been so active and filled with concerns from contributors.

Britni-
This situation is more complex than it appears. I do support Eden's right to ban a contributor. I do support Eden's decision to announce it in the forum without elaborating on why they made the decision. I am not personally evaluating if it is the right thing to do. I am sorry that it happened to Epiphora and I do believe that she should have been given more information and a right to answer/defend.

I do not believe that the review community/forum community on Eden has the right to demand changes in business decisions are made. Not anymore.

I do believe that individuals must decide for themselves if this is a place that they want to participate in, and at what level with their knowledge of the company. This includes as a customer, reviewer, and on the forums. I have made that decision some time ago.

Perpetuating drama isn't going to solve a damn thing or change anyone's minds OR change what happened.

Just sayin'.

* correction: I am sorry it was not Elodie I was relpying to, it was Vieuxcarre! Can't agree more. Everyday is becoming more and more of a case of he said/she said. I feel although I am a newbie I have watched and witnessed this whole thing take on a life of its own, I have no right to take sides. And although I have my opinions, I will keep them to myself. With that being said this is a business, first and foremost this company must make extreme decisions that are in their best interest. Business is business and the CUSTOMER is always right. This IS just a business whether anyone likes it or not. If you work for a business it deserves respect! Even more so if you are representing that company. And in return it will give you respect, give you freedom to carry their brand and represent the company. But, in the end it should not tolerate a behavior THEY feel maybe detrimental to it name and/or brand. It is time to make a decision as an adult to stay or go, life goes on, but to broadcast it to the world is completely unprofessional. The company will move on, but are you willing to destroy what you as an individual built for yourself, YOUR name/brand. Is it worth losing it all? Just bow out gracefully. As far as the company is concerned, I do not feel it was completely appropriate for them to broadcast either. But, I am sure there are reasons. It is called "live and lean" if you do not like the company or its recent practices, then so be it. It all lies in personal decisions. We all must learn from our mistakes, we heard the warning and we will watch ourselves, no need to keep destroying your name/brand. Stop digging your own graves, with your words. We got it loud and clear. We must watch our backs or else. Me as a newbie appreciated all you all have taught us the good, the bad and the ugly, but their is a point when we stop listening, because as hard as it may seem feeling my get hurt, but no matter what "A Business is a Business! Customers is Always Right"!! Companies drop PROFESSIONALS names all the time, IN THEIR BEST INTEREST! It is what it is. Move on and be happy and share it, the whole reason to what brought us together in the first place!! If this hinders my possibles of moving forward here so be it, I just had enough. I came here to be happy, sometimes silly and carefree. I did not sign up to go back to High School!

Are you saying she's outright lying, then, when she states she was never warned in any formal way, or via PM from an employee?

I have to agree with Jess, that it's a bit hard to expect someone to respond to the sender of a terse "this decision is final" karate-chop of an email.

And I have to disagree with your final goal, or at least say that I don't feel it's been met.

Thank you Victoria for this well written response, and now I definitely think it's time to move on.

I have been eerily quiet about this entire situation so far. I have made one previous post before now and had not planned on making another because really, what's the point? Nothing regarding this situation is going to change the fact that Epiphora has been banned with seemingly no evidence (and no warning, according to Epiphora) and nothing is going to change the fact that Eden Fantasys handled it badly. And for the most part, the consensus among this thread is that Eden Fantasys handled this situation badly.

So even though I told myself I wasn't going to post in this thread again, this post really struck a chord in me. My reluctance to post here again, especially responding to this post, really shows what the Eden Fantasys community has come to after this ordeal and how this situation and the openness contributors to the site once felt in the forums is severely damaged.

This post by Victoria reads as extremely condescending and left me feeling like staffers see people who don't hang on every word a staff member types or who doesn't agree with them completely as being a nuisance and unwanted. In the words of Eden Fantasys themselves, it makes me feel that those who don't agree with everything a staff member says is being "negative" and don't have the right to voice their opinion. That makes me sad. Sad for the people who have dedicated so much time to this website, to reviewing and participating in the forums and who have promoted Eden Fantasys whenever and wherever they could and sad for Eden Fantasys.

The sentence "Many of you are questioning our reasons, you want more than the answers we've given you." is like a parent scolding a child. It's like saying "We already gave you our reason for doing something and we're the company and you're merely the little people and who are you to question us?"

When you send an email to someone saying that a decision has been made and that decision is final and then expecting them to send you an email back to defend themselves is completely backwards. It's like telling someone to not do something under any uncertain circumstances and then asking them why they didn't do what you just told them not to. It makes no sense whatsoever.

By expecting a blogger, someone who blogs frequently and passionately not to blog about a significant event that had just happened to them that they can make no sense of and then saying that blog post is nothing but creating drama and tension is misguided. Bloggers take to their blogs when they need to release tension. When they need to give their side of a story when they have an entire company calling them out and calling attention to them. For Epiphora to not blog about this would mean she would be laying down and saying Eden Fantasys was right when it came to this decision and that she was wrong, which she didn't believe she was. If Eden Fantasys is standing by the thought that they were right and handled this entire situation perfectly and without any flaw and then talking down about a person's right to share their experiences is hypocritical. She had as much right to blog about this situation as Eden Fantasys did in creating this thread on the forums.

Another thing that really rubbed me in the wrongest way possible is bringing up that people flagging a post made by a staff member of Eden Fantasys. Isn't the flag system in place to alert Eden Fantasys when someone has offended someone else on the forum? If the three people that flagged Jenn's contribution to the conversation were offended or angered by what Jenn had to say, I see no problem. Unless you are stating that we, as mere contributors, have no right to question the authority of Eden Fantasys and that is wrong. Again, it is a clear "You have no right to question us." blanketed statement. As a business, you should always be growing and learning from your mistakes. A business should be open to criticism and take that criticism to fix what in their system could need a little work. By saying that contributors had flagged Jenn's post and THAT is the reason why no further details will be given regarding this situation is Eden Fantasys treating its contributors like children who need to be punished. We do not need to be punished. We did nothing wrong.

Elodie had contributed to this conversation. She wrote a thorough, well-written, thought-provoking post about how she personally feels regarding this entire situation. Her post was flagged by Carrie Ann, an Eden Fantasys staff member. Why doesn't Elodie's contribution matter? Because she doesn't agree with everything Eden Fantasys has done regarding this situation, that's why. And she had the audacity to post her true feelings. The nerve!

I will use your exact sentence verbatim to make my point. "No one person, despite their popularity, is more important than the community as a whole." That should also go for people who just so happen to be employed by Eden Fantasys. There is no reason for a staff member, of all people really, to talk down to another person in this community or make harsh or negative comments toward them, either personally or in generalized blanketed statements, yet that is what Eden Fantasys is doing and has been doing.

You have claimed that it is your goal to make the community at Eden Fantasys as positive and free from fear and negativity as you can, but the fact that I am actually scared to hit post on this entire thing I have just written is proof that you have not done that.

This situation has made me scared to post my true feelings and the fact that I feel like I could be flagged or maybe even banned because of my feelings regarding this situation, and this post made by an Eden Fantasys staff member in particular makes me feel like we are not talking about the same "community" here.