Savvy has been axed!

[Greg Houser]

Originally Posted by DBHavens

That is not a forum. It is at best a public help desk -- at worst, a protracted infomercial.

That's what this new form is designed to be now, an infomercial of how great V123 is. God help you if you disagree. Additionally, one can't identify issues with the sites as easily now that they're modifying posts (such as some of the security issues I'd spotted, in addition to some other problems with the board)

What disturbs me is the number of people who are blindly accepting this type of behavior as acceptable.

FWIW: only reason savvy is still up is due to SEO.

Meh, I've always hung my hat somewhere else, so savvy isn't that big of a loss to me. It's just how it was done that shows me the true colors of that company. I'm sure they'll have a good spin for everyone at VOICE 2008 (if they're there).

[Wendy Abbey]

I have to get these next thoughts expressed. Perhaps they sound odd but I take responsibility for them true or not they are my thoughts/opinions. I welcome yours. I am glad for the other independent and critical thinkers. Wendy
P.S. I want to thank Colin, Scott, and all of you regular posters for your efforts and work for Voice123. I have learned so much.

As I said, I have been reading the voice-overs.com forum about Savvy being dropped. There is a real canyon left and I miss having somewhere to post there. Have you, Colin and Scott or the other moderators thought about starting a new one? After what has been happening it sure seems as though there is room for one. Thank you Julie for your openness.

I feel somewhat stranded by Voice123 and I have not invested the time or hard work that many of you have. For several weeks I have had twinges about v123 and couldn’t really pinpoint anything. What has come to me very strongly lately is the book 1984 by George Orwell. Here are some quotes:

"the essential act of the Party is to use conscious deception while retaining firmness of purpose that goes with complete honesty." Part 2, Section 9, pg. 215
Of course the upper level of Voice123 is not the government or Party, but it is the governing power of Voice123. I agree that they have been working hard to set up their system as has been stated often in the blogs. Just read the new ones on the new Forum.
Reality Control 1: "Doublethink" is the major way the Party controls its members. Through "doublethink," people consciously accept anything the Party tells them, even if it contradicts something they already know.

Doublethink goes hand in hand with the Thought Police. There are many paragraphs to this one but I am not going there right now except to say that it started simply enough with the answers I have gotten via email several days/weeks after my message/question to Voice123 customer service. Such as how very much they value comments/feedback/questions but no they do not answer phone calls but call back sometime with the confidence that customer service is their #1 important matter.

the Party creates a fake past according to what it wants to be true; the real past is completely forgotten and unrecorded.

Enough said with - the axed Savvy and the “NEW” Voice123 forums. I’m quivering in my slippers!
What really scares me is that there are new folks posting with trust and some experienced talents voicing opinions and asking questions – in a proper way of course. I never have known what the “proper” way is. I just want to communicate with other voice talents who have more experience and talent than me so I can learn. Hmmmm. I am an adult and do attempt to conduct myself with common sense and manners in a primarily positive manner. This also is scary as I have seen many mentioning that they must watch their words for fear (oops) of being censored (eeeek) –omg (sarcasm)
Surveillance 10: All letters sent by mail are opened and checked by the mail service. There is no such thing as private mail.
I just read a post about how all messages now to be sent by email not P.M. messages. Or the P.M. is not working or? hard to figure
Topic Tracking: Surveillance
Surveillance 1: The Party constantly watches all citizens for any sign of rebellion or thought-crime, but tries to appear kind and concerned rather than ruthless and invasive. It adopts the protective, reassuring persona of 'Big Brother' and the slogan:
"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU"
To simplify grammar and eliminate shades of meaning, prefixes are added to simple adjectives. In Newspeak, "good, excellent, bad, and awful" are changed to "good, plusgood, doubleplus good, or ungood." "Goodful" would mean well. Instead of "very hot," a Newspeaker would use "doubleplusuncold."
All I think of here is the multitudes of messages/instructions from Voice123 about how to submit an audition, when to submit an audition, the number of times to submit an audition, who not to talk to about my audition, the times that I can look at my profile without getting an (impression), the tags which are relatively new but anonymous nonetheless.
Newspeak is designed to make it impossible to express any unorthodox thought.
You could probably write your own novel? about this situation and being edited out and deleted on a public forum old or new. Mostly I feel sad that I have seen this happen. I must repeat to myself I am a paying member, I am a PAYING member.
1984 joins Winston as he sets about another day, where his job is to change history by changing old newspaper records to match with the new truth as decided by the Party.
And on and on-------------

[JoeActor]

Hello Wendy,

I'm glad you found your way here. You're certainly welcome to settle in and make this your new home. No need for yet another VO forum. I'd be happy to have Colin and/or Eric as mods if it would make everyone more comfortable (if they want it, that is ;-)

This forum was started, in part, as a response to v123's poor customer service response in the roll-out of SmartCast and the rating system. The other, more important role it serves is as a place that is not connected to a commercial venture. Julie was very generous to set it up and to continue running it. It's turned into a great place for VO's...

I definitely see the parallels to Orwell. A lot of analogies unfortunately apply to this situation. But none of this is new for V123. They have pulled all of these same moves in the past, and for whatever reason, some still choose to say it's "ok". Blaming users, not paying attention to our requests and posted propaganda, in my opinion, will continue. The best we can do for any newbies is to post our honest thoughts, good and bad, for all to see. The burden of "caveat emptor" will have to fall to them - they'll need to do their homework if they don't want to repeat other's mistakes.

I'll close with a quote that I've used before:

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
-- George Santayana

Huh, this just keeps happening... guess I'll try it again!,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com

[Lee Gordon]

Originally Posted by Wendy Abbey

I have been reading the voice-overs.com forum about Savvy being dropped. There is a real canyon left and I miss having somewhere to post there. Have you, Colin and Scott or the other moderators thought about starting a new one? After what has been happening it sure seems as though there is room for one. Thank you Julie for your openness.

There's really no need. This is it. You're here. If we can just get all the people who used to hang out at Savvy to migrate over to this board (and a great many of us already have), we won't be missing a thing.

[Diane Havens]

I just love literary allusions, Wendy! Great post. Well done.

As Lee said, we're all comfy cozy here, so pull up a cyberchair and warm yourself by the monitor's glow.

[SilverSurfer3001]

Yup.

BTW - In case I haven't expressed this sentiment yet: It is really good to have all you Savvy folks back here. Welcome home, friends.