Bietz Blog

To the people who are claiming some vast conspiracy on VBD to provide biased information, here is how I see it:

1. Not a single person who believes there is vast VB consipiracy to use VBD as some insidious brainwashing tool has ever ever contacted me with interest in contributing a piece to VBD.

2. Yes, we use Victory Briefs for promotion. This promotion, I believe, is quite minimal. RARELY do we use up posting space to make promotional announcements. We use banner ads. Given what we spend to maintain VBD, I think it is a very modest expectation that we should be able to put up advertisment without criticism.

3. The notion that we offer one sided information is true insofar as we rely almost completely on the community for information from tournaments, pictures etc. And insofar as that information is sent to Jon Cruz and comes from certain correspondents, yest it is true. We make all-calls for people to help send in results and we take what we can get. Simply because the people who happen to volunteer to send results or take pictures happen to be alumni of VBI or friends of VBI is the nature of how friendships work. However, I know, or should know, if we are sent pictures or results from tournaments and they don’t get posted.

4. We have always encouraged community involvement. Yet, I wonder, has a single person ever emailed me directly about posting an article they have written, pictures they have taken? No. Instead we are forced to put up with this public bs when exactly ZERO effort has been put forth to see how they can contribute to the site to maybe make it less biased.

5. I have a question to the people who are throwing out all these accusations - have you ever done anything (like run a tournament or coach a team) that had absolutely ZERO financial gain? I’m asking because I’m curious. I don’t know. I can tell you that the people they throw these accusations out about get paid zero for what they do. For Jon Cruz, there is only financial loss. For Victor Jih, there is only financial loss. For me, there is only financial loss. For the people who send in photos, results, commentary, there is no financial gain.

6. Paradigms have been on the wiki for months. The beauty of wikis is that you can edit the information yourself.

7. We do not edit comments, even those that are critical, and even border on slander.

8. We have VBD Blogs, were we can give people a forum to discuss the debate issues they would like to discuss. Have I been contacted by any of these people? Nope.

9. It is actually easier to find things now than before. We used to have 15 of the most recent posts on the front page. Now we have over 40.

As a more general concern beyond the conspiracy accusations:

If there was any *actual* concern about adult behavior, why is it never brought up in person? Why is it always done in a character assassination on the way on comments on VBD? Those who are claiming to be so brave, why do these “concerns” always come up on comments on VBD when there is the safety of not having to confront someone face-to-face, or via backchannel? There is absolutely NOTHING noble about assassinating someones character in public when it is just as easy to send an email or talk to them in person. None of us are the president of the united states or unreachable. Everyone in this community is one or two steps away from being able to find one anothers contact information. Instead of the venom spewing in a public way, why can’t it be done in person, through email or on the phone? If it is truly a pressing concern, where the wellbeing of children are at risk, isn’t there a responsiblity to talk to the individual who is doing the damage. That is, if this was truly being done for the wellbeing of the kids, why wait till the moment arises on VBD?