News Expose reveals WDC control in online fan community

[LukeS7]

Upthread I posted that I thought Photomatt meant well, but his communication issues were "digging himself into a hole... and then digging the hole deeper by doubling down on defense. He seems to have two modes of writing -- ambiguous and defensive."

Sorry to say, it looks like I'll have to rethink my statement. His modes of writing now appear to have increased to four -- ambiguous, defensive, hyper-defensive, and bullying.

Case in point: his reply to Nesboy43, a mild-mannered MC member for 9 years, whose prior posts on this topic make it clear that he supports Al and in no way supports Snyder's story. Photomatt reacted as if Nesboy was defending Snyder, then proceeded to berate and threaten him... and then locked the thread.

Mind you, this is on a forum where PhotoMatt has posted lengthy rules prohibiting personal attacks, and has made name-calling a bannable offense.

I violated no one's privacy. I did not reveal TP2000's address or any private information found on this site. I did not even reveal public information, unlike others who did in the very same thread.

Honestly, I feel this may end up being a bigger thing that comes out of this than anything else. Using your website's database to not only look up but also release a user's real name is a huge breach of privacy. As a web developer, I can tell you that one of the worst things you can do is compromise a user's information; especially if they never agreed to have that information used in the way that it was (like in this case). Quite frankly, his post could open up him and MiceChat to legal action.

 

[Matthew]

Disney has already lost a lot of their core Star Wars fans. This will lose some of the core of their Marvel fans. Bad bad bad moves. Rise of Skywalker is going to open up a lot of eyes if SWGE already hasn't opened them. They ruined their Space Movie Golden Goose, I can see this same regime ruining their Superhero Movie Golden Goose next.

that's a silly comment since this regime is responsible for the 'Superhero Movie Golden Goose'. A vast majority of people are not going to stop watching marvel movies because of this.

and as for star wars.... I love Star Wars... grown up with is... enjoyed force awakens, enjoyed rogue one, hated last jedi... still went to see solo.. cant wait to visit galaxy edge and cant wait to introduce my little boy to star wars.

 

[jbolen2]

I'm not shocked by any of this, It will be interesting to see what happens from all this next.

 

[tribbleorlfl]

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.

So I've been away a couple days and missed the fireworks to start the week, but after getting caught up on this thread (I'm not even touching the DL thread), this is my biggest takeaway, as well.

I think it's safe to assume all public entities (corporate and political) actively monitor social media activity about themselves and to varying degrees, attempt to influence their public perception. I have no doubt the Disfan community has been manipulated by strategically-timed leaks over the years to gauge reaction and craft a marketing strategy to combat any negative sentiment.

The Snyders, meanwhile (via their Spirit and dreamfinder personas) do the same exact thing. It's clear they have a personal grudge against certain WDC executives, and their connections to a rival media company also cannot be understated.

It's hard to know exactly where the truth lies, and both sides of this debate are counting on that to push their narrative. Regardless of which camp you side with, the undisputed fact is we're being used to advance a specific agenda. That should make everyone who participates in these forums uneasy and desire to take action to preserve the credibility of the site.

That being said, I'm very sensitive to claims of being a "corporate shill," "ideological plant" or "bot." In the past, I've been pretty active on social media combating antivax misinformation. I've been called a "Big Pharma" shill (and worse) more times than I can remember, and had my name circulated on a list of "Provax trolls." I even had someone share a picture of my daughter I posted (getting her annual flu shot) in a particularly vile antivax group where the members preceded to make fun of her, and wish harm on her in the form of a "vaccine injury" so I would "learn my lesson."

Even on here, I've had my fandom of Disney and Star Wars questioned, just because I may like something or have an opinion contrary to certain posters.

I take @TP2000 at his word that he is not a WDC CM ghostwriting for Al. To do otherwise is to transform rumor, gossip, innuendo and coincidence into full-on conspiracy theory. I just don't have room for that level of cynicism in my life.

I've personally always found both TP and Al's writings to be loving of Disney as a brand, yet critical of the current state of the company. I find it much more likely for that attitude to be the result of passionate fandom rather than the product of a Machiavellian plot to oust Eisner (especially 14 years after the fact).

 

[disneyflush]

Honestly, I feel this may end up being a bigger thing that comes out of this than anything else. Using your website's database to not only look up but also release a user's real name is a huge breach of privacy. As a web developer, I can tell you that one of the worst things you can do is compromise a user's information; especially if they never agreed to have that information used in the way that it was (like in this case). Quite frankly, his post could open up him and MiceChat to legal action.

As a web developer, would you react with laughter or with anger if someone in that position breached your privacy like that? I'd be angry but I admire the grace of @TP2000 in how he handled it once the ''or else' deadline given (but not a threat)' was posted. Think my first action would have been calling a lawyer given my innocence. He seems to genuinely not care though so good for him.

 

[DanielBB8]

In any case, this doesn't look good for the currently leader of Miceage/Micechat since their own PhotoMatt moderator went rogue and tried to validate the claim that TP2000 is Troy Porter and ghostwritten Al's columns. Too late to put that to rest. This was an inside job in any case and Dusty Sage's ex was right there. Conspiracy or not. Something is up.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

As a web developer, would you react with laughter or with anger if someone in that position breached your privacy like that? I'd be angry but I admire the grace of @TP2000 in how he handled it once the ''or else' deadline given (but not a threat)' was posted. Think my first action would have been calling a lawyer given my innocence. He seems to genuinely not care though so good for him.

He doesn't care because he knows PhotoMatt and himself are on the same team and once Matt was in the loop, everything for them went back to normal.

 

[LukeS7]

As a web developer, would you react with laughter or with anger if someone in that position breached your privacy like that? I'd be angry but I admire the grace of @TP2000 in how he handled it once the ''or else' deadline given (but not a threat)' was posted. Think my first action would have been calling a lawyer given my innocence. He seems to genuinely not care though so good for him.

I would've been absolutely livid. Also, bare minimum, Micechat needs to remove PhotoMatt from their staff/moderators. Ignoring the legal aspect, it's an absolute misuse of company resources.

 

[Disney Analyst]

There’s an employee search right on The hub that can be accessed by CMs even when they are at home.

Funny story. When I did my ICP at MK in 2013... I found that directory and emailed George directly. he replied.

 

[lazyboy97o]

He doesn't care because he knows PhotoMatt and himself are on the same team and once Matt was in the loop, everything for them went back to normal.

And both now claim some outside, unnamed innocent person is being hurt.

 

[VJ]

What a way to start off the week of D23.

how many times have we said that now?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I take @TP2000 at his word that he is not a WDC CM ghostwriting for Al. To do otherwise is to transform rumor, gossip, innuendo and coincidence into full-on conspiracy theory. I just don't have room for that level of cynicism in my life.

I don't, and you don't have to believe the Save Disney conspiracy to know that MiceChat are lairs looking for clicks. If the Medium article itself wasn't proof, MiceChat's reaction to all of this was.

It really comes down to a bunch of jealous queens (and one Log Cabin Republican) who don't get along. The Snyders were not amused at the recent "Al Lutz" article in part because it was just a regurgitation of posts made on this site (in particular the ones made by TP2000) and not anything particularly note worthy. That MiceChat also lied about Al coming out of retirement and Parkinson disease to write a somewhat unoriginal Disney gossip piece was enough to get them to write the counter-report. Obviously they also haven't liked MiceChat and their crew for some time.

I don't know about the Save Disney stuff, whether you believe that or not comes down to how much you trust the Snyders, which obviously many people don't, but it's not hard to imagine Dusty loving a working relationship with Disney. When you run a gossip column, you don't care where the gossip comes from. And when you get caught? You lash out at those "evil, evil, evil" people (that you know too well).

Now as @lazyboy97o says TP2000 and others are claiming an innocent person is at risk, but again they're not being specific and laughing it all off, which seems kind of insulting if true. Regardless, the MiceChat team very much wants to keep its imagine intact because, as I said in another thread, they don't want to loose clicks or status. And they're willing to lie, ban members and backtrack to keep the status quo.

But nobody here should care about the future of MiceChat IMO. At best, they're no longer the #1 source for Disney info and at worst, they're liars who want to play it both ways with Disney and their fans. This site and its members are better than that.

 

[VJ]

Does it tell how to pronounce Zenia?

if her name isn't pronounced like shania twain i'm rioting

 

[BGibby]

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.

As the great Jack Sparrow once said in rebuttal to Barbosa saying it’s not possible, “it’s not probable”.

Yet possible nonetheless

 

[spacemountaincarlo]

I would've been absolutely livid. Also, bare minimum, Micechat needs to remove PhotoMatt from their staff/moderators. Ignoring the legal aspect, it's an absolute misuse of company resources.

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

 

[VJ]

Funny story. When I did my ICP at MK in 2013... I found that directory and emailed George directly. he replied.

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

 

[andysol]

I don't, and you don't have to believe the Save Disney conspiracy to know that MiceChat are lairs looking for clicks. If the Medium article itself wasn't proof, MiceChat's reaction to all of this was.

It really comes down to a bunch of jealous queens (and one Log Cabin Republican) who don't get along. The Snyders were not amused at the recent "Al Lutz" article in part because it was just a regurgitation of posts made on this site (in particular the ones made by TP2000) and not anything particularly note worthy. That MiceChat also lied about Al coming out of retirement and Parkinson disease to write a somewhat unoriginal Disney gossip piece was enough to get them to write the counter-report. Obviously they also haven't liked MiceChat and their crew for some time.

I don't know about the Save Disney stuff, whether you believe that or not comes down to how much you trust the Snyders, which obviously many people don't, but it's not hard to imagine Dusty loving a working relationship with Disney. When you run a gossip column, you don't care where the gossip comes from. And when you get caught? You lash out at those "evil, evil, evil" people (that you know too well).

Now as @lazyboy97o says TP2000 and others are claiming an innocent person is at risk, but again they're not being specific and laughing it all off, which seems kind of insulting if true. Regardless, the MiceChat team very much wants to keep its imagine intact because, as I said in another thread, they don't want to loose clicks or status. And they're willing to lie, ban members and backtrack to keep the status quo.

But nobody here should care about the future of MiceChat IMO. At best, they're no longer the #1 source for Disney info and at worst, they're liars who want to play it both ways with Disney and their fans. This site and its members are better than that.

Ding ding ding. This guy gets it.

And anyone who believes that it's just a lover's quarrel and that's where it ends, you're wrong. Completely.
Although that's exactly what TP and Micechat want you to think.
But they're totally credible and would never lie, right? I mean, honestly, what evidence do we have of them not telling the truth? So if they say it's just a lover's quarrel, and to move along, we have no reason to doubt them, do we?

 

[MisterPenguin]

if her name isn't pronounced like shania twain i'm rioting

It's actually pronounced "throatwarbler mangrove."

 

[MisterPenguin]

Let's be careful about assigning intentions to actions. The actions are documentable and can be evaluated as good, bad, neutral, mixed. Intentions are unknown unless professed (and believed) or there's overwhelming evidence what those intentions are.

 

[Mr Mindcrime]

Do you really want this to be the dis where you get chastised for making jokes or having an unpopular opinion? Let freedom ring

If I could "like" this a hundred times .... I would