News Expose reveals WDC control in online fan community

[Jedi Stitch]

I told a joke once on this board , you laughed, I laughed, Disney Laughed.

 

[NormC]

Maybe Tom Unscrupulous is behind all of this to make WDWMagic look bad after all the grief we gave him over the past few months. LOL I am sure Tom is on here. Hmmmmmmmmmm?

 

[TiggerDad]

It really comes down to a bunch of jealous queens (and one Log Cabin Republican) who don't get along.

Just wanted to point out that TP was upset about one thing in all of this, and it was being labelled a Republican. He claims to be unaffiliated with any political party.

 

[disneyflush]

Agreed. Not only this, but it was a very unprofessional move and made Micechat look very sketchy.

Compared with the mods here who have really let a lot of discussion happen without becoming a part of it or trying to shape it.

I'm certainly not implying it was an attempted act of extortion (the practice of obtaining something through force or threats) but setting a deadline for someone to comply with your demand of them by leveraging user registration information feels somehow extortiony. Glad it all got settled harmlessly and no one is starting to ban people or make blatant threats over there. That would look super bad obviously.

 

[Mr Mindcrime]

All of this could be cleared up if anyone involved had integrity.

Integrity. That's a nice word.

In the new world of internet anonymity, integrity doesn't come into play any more. Corporations and governments (and almost everyone else) are (and have been forever) using direct social media and manipulation of traditional media to spy, to lie, and to further their own particular interests for money and power. If you have half a brain, you KNOW this goes on. Or you surely should. Yes, Toto, you are being manipulated. Everyday. In many ways. Always have been. That's what marketing is all about. Now however, the manipulation and deception goes deep state with anonymity. Plausible deniability comes with anonymity.

If you want integrity (and that certainly seems like a reasonable desire), strip away fake user names and require everyone to speak for themselves. If you're willing to speak it, you should own it. If you have something to hide ..... well, there goes that integrity thing again.

 

[Disney Analyst]

when are you joining the discord?! we don't bite!

If you want to send the link to me I’ll join! I don’t want to hunt it down

 

[SoupBone]

So what's the cliffs version of this thread and attached news articles? Lots of posters associated with or even employed by Disney manipulating public opinion through social media?

 

[KrazyKat]

 

[SteamboatJoe]

Is it just me or weird that a bunch of insides including @TP2000 have returned to normal activity without addressing larger concerns about their intent in other threads leading up to D23?

I was trying to be positive, but the activity feels more like bots than real human behavior. I don’t like being manipulated by either Disney or the Snyders.

It is bizarre and I don't love the idea of being manipulated but....what are we really going to do about it?

The mods and site owner will have to determine appropriate actions (or inaction) going forward. Each poster is just going to have to decide how they feel about everything and do what feels right for them. If you believe TP, keep reading. If you don't, put him on ignore.

Nothing that has supposedly come out so far has drastically changed my opinion about the company, the higher ups, the decisions being made in the parks, or the products they are putting out there. I guess you stockholders have a vested interest in this, if it's true, but the rest of us really don't in the grand scheme of things. I always figured, at the very least, some low level corporate employee was monitoring boards like these anyway.

I'm relatively new to the fandom so I had no prior familiarity with Lutz. Also, I have had no involvement with MC so none of that really means much to me either.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I always figured, at the very least, some low level corporate employee was monitoring boards like these anyway.

See, there's a big difference between "monitoring" and "manipulating the narrative." That's why many posters are still frustrated by it.

I am a marketing consultant who has worked with several Fortune 500 companies, and I speak about social media at conferences. While it is certainly the norm for some brands to engage in this behavior, it is unethical. I personally have not and would never work with a company that engages in unethical behavior. And that's one reason why I'm particularly appalled here.

 

[MaximumEd]

I think my biggest takeaway from all this is the fact that everyone in online Disney fandom except me is gay. Is there an honorary membership, or something? I really like it here. (Just a joke to lighten the mood. No offense intended.)

 

[andysol]

Integrity. That's a nice word.

In the new world of internet anonymity, integrity doesn't come into play any more. Corporations and governments (and almost everyone else) are (and have been forever) using direct social media and manipulation of traditional media to spy, to lie, and to further their own particular interests for money and power. If you have half a brain, you KNOW this goes on. Or you surely should. Yes, Toto, you are being manipulated. Everyday. In many ways. Always have been. That's what marketing is all about. Now however, the manipulation and deception goes deep state with anonymity. Plausible deniability comes with anonymity.

If you want integrity (and that certainly seems like a reasonable desire), strip away fake user names and require everyone to speak for themselves. If you're willing to speak it, you should own it. If you have something to hide ..... well, there goes that integrity thing again.

There are plenty of virtue words that should be used and encouraged more. Some you never even hear in today's day and age. And some are even insanely argued as negatives.

To be fair, even being "real people" doesn't hold water anymore. We've entered a reality where Twitter mob mentality has bled over to the real world.
It used to be, you could be anonymous and say all these ridiculous things and attack people online all for the likes. That's the internet we remember.
Now, they do it in person, record it, upload it and then post it. All for the likes. And it has no political preference: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Chris Cuomo, etc all accosted in public, uploaded to social media, and then shared as if the accoster is doing something virtuous.

It's all much deeper than anonymity; but that's a different topic for a different day.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

See, there's a big difference between "monitoring" and "manipulating the narrative." That's why many posters are still frustrated by it.

I am a marketing consultant who has worked with several Fortune 500 companies, and I speak about social media at conferences. While it is certainly the norm for some brands to engage in this behavior, it is unethical. I personally have not and would never work with a company that engages in unethical behavior. And that's one reason why I'm particularly appalled here.

Isn't all marketing and advertising manipulation anyway to some degree? This was just more subversive. Wrong? Probably but, again, what are we really going to do about it? All this has taught me is to always remember to take anything on the internet with a big grain of salt because you never quite know who is behind a keyboard or what their motivations are.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Compared with the mods here who have really let a lot of discussion happen without becoming a part of it or trying to shape it.

One of the many reasons I appreciate this website and forum. The mods are very open to unpopular opinions, and very tolerant of dissent. At the same time, they run a tight ship. The result is the best site for Disney info and fan discussion. Kudos to WDW Magic!

 

[SteamboatJoe]

One of the many reasons I appreciate this website and forum. The mods are very open to unpopular opinions, and very tolerant of dissent. At the same time, they run a tight ship. The result is the best site for Disney info and fan discussion. Kudos to WDW Magic!

Seriously....I am so glad this was the first online Disney community I engaged with. I honestly don't even remember how I got here. I will need to look at my first posts. I'm sure they weren't stupid, derivative, or annoying at all.

 

[SoupBone]

I didn't see it but did TP2000 deny being who people are connecting him to?

 

[BigThunderMatt]

I think my biggest takeaway from all this is the fact that everyone in online Disney fandom except me is gay. Is there an honorary membership, or something? I really like it here. (Just a joke to lighten the mood. No offense intended.)

I don't think that's quite true, we're just the most vocal apparently. What's the saying? "Whoever said hell hath no fury like a woman scorned has clearly never met a gay man slightly inconvenienced."

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I don’t like being manipulated by either Disney or the Snyders.

Weeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllll...

 

[Mem11]

I didn't see it but did TP2000 deny being who people are connecting him to?

Yes, He issued several denials In the Al Lutz Returns thread in the Disneyland Resort Forum. More recent posts indicate that he knows he's been caught and he is Troy Porter, although I haven't seen him come out and definitively admit it. If you want to read it yourself, start on page 18, that's where all the fun starts.

 

[Phil12]

Here's a hint for your next new identity.... true newbies or lurkers coming out of the shadows don't post 50+ messages in their first 24hrs.

However, even if he follows that advice, stylometry will reveal his identity every time. Even when he attempts to change his syntax, his writing is so distinctive that his identity (and ego) can not be hidden.