U2.com

[SkeeK]

I wish everyone would just stop complaining about u2.com. the fact of the matter is, it's a whole lot better than a hell of a lot of official sites. and remember pre2000 when there wasn't even an official site at all?
Have you looked at all the exclusive videos they have? Basically all the music videos from ATYCLB, plus some live performances, all the tv shows u2 has appeared on recently, previews, and other clips... there's no fan site that has that all archived. They obviously don't have it all.. their forum has always sucked, their news is always later.. but also always official. but they do offer more than people give them credit for.

just make sure you always go to www.u2.com/lite because the flash version of their page sucks much more

 

[Blue Room]

I wish everyone would just stop complaining about u2.com. the fact of the matter is, it's a whole lot better than a hell of a lot of official sites. and remember pre2000 when there wasn't even an official site at all?
Have you looked at all the exclusive videos they have? Basically all the music videos from ATYCLB, plus some live performances, all the tv shows u2 has appeared on recently, previews, and other clips... there's no fan site that has that all archived. They obviously don't have it all.. their forum has always sucked, their news is always later.. but also always official. but they do offer more than people give them credit for.

just make sure you always go to www.u2.com/lite because the flash version of their page sucks much more

I agree completely Skeek. The message board is the only thing that is crap about the site IMO. I remember the first week of the Elevation tour I was able to watch the first couple minutes of Elevation from the opening night as well as a few other highlights. They also had a cool video clip showing rehearsals. Alot more than alot of artists do for their webpage. Could the site be better? Discussion board, definately. Otherwise its not bad.

Also, I have heard through the grapevine that Prop "MAY" offer tickets one last time to members that are/were already subscribed but wont be accepting new memberships (obviously). If it is a stadium tour ONLY though it wont be a problem getting tickets anyway. Will probebly be more difficult to get the great seats though. Still some people bitched about Prop when they were doing it, so U2 may not want the hassle anymore and then STILL hear from whiney fans that got tickets 2 sections from the stage instead of right next to the stage. I wouldnt blame them one bit to not do it any longer.

 

[Tabby]

The only bad thing about u2.com is the forum, Zootopia. It would be a dream to run the site and get paid for it, but obviously they don't want to pay for the forum at all, much less pay people to actually run it, that's why they are firing capcave and going with the bidder who offered to run it for free. But we have this place, so who cares.

 

[Liesje]

Also, I have heard through the grapevine that Prop "MAY" offer tickets one last time to members that are/were already subscribed but wont be accepting new memberships (obviously).

This is what I've been afraid of....

 

[Elvis]

The only bad thing about u2.com is the forum, Zootopia. It would be a dream to run the site and get paid for it, but obviously they don't want to pay for the forum at all, much less pay people to actually run it, that's why they are firing capcave and going with the bidder who offered to run it for free. But we have this place, so who cares.

Where did you hear anything about a bidder that offered to run it for free?

Unless someone is planning some SERIOUS advertising on it, there is no afordable way to run it for free.

 

[Tabby]

Where did you hear anything about a bidder that offered to run it for free?

Unless someone is planning some SERIOUS advertising on it, there is no afordable way to run it for free.

This is what was posted by the moderator of the Zootopia Bono folder:


This is what happened:

Tiscali presented an offer to PM to run Zootopia at no cost to U2. Currently, Capcave gets paid for all their hard work (which I think is fair, since U2 gets paid for their hard work, too!).

Now, because this current Zootopia, the Zootopia we have known since the beginning was created by Capcave who owns the rights to webx (the program that keeps this place held together -- in layman's terms), the *new* owners/webmasters cannot run *this* Zootopia. They have to create a new one.

This *new* Zootopia will be, essentially, at the same address, but will not look a thing like the one you're looking at now. It will have less features. (I am not at liberty to say which will stay & which will go, but some of the features you all have expressed an interest in will be gone.)

We presume that there have been some "tech scouts" from the new admin who have checked out this site, but they do not have the technology or resources to mimic this site. Nor are they cooperating with sysop to move archives (good or bad, as they are) -- yet.

Hence, a clean slate that has nothing to do with anything but money.

It is a very corporate decision and has nothing to with us. And I can't even say that it's a bad decision, even though it pisses me off. But, if you think about it, someone offers you services for free that you have had to pay for for two years, well, who wouldn't say no? Yes, it is a very sound corporate decision of U2 to do this. Too bad they don't care how we feel.

-Mel

PS: I sure do hope the scouts at PM read this!

This was posted by sysop (Zootopia admin.) on General Discussion:

"The time has come for me to say goodbye to you all and hand over the sysop job to others. I am not involved in the new version of the Zoo so I can't answer the many questions you have about the transition process. I have no idea what will happen to the personal area's some of you have created, and the wealth of U2 related info the Zoo has accumulated over the years.
It's been an honor for me to help create Zootopia and moderate it. I will miss you all a lot."

and the Bono folder mod's comments on that:

So, hence my worries & concern. No more sysop. No more Capcave. No more personal relationship with administrators we've come to know over the years. Thus, possibly no more "personal" folders, like Scarlet*'s Interviews with Band Folder or the Galleries... (They might still be here, but they might not. Since sysop will no longer be running the site, he cannot answer the question. No one can. All we are left with is speculation, thus, my thought is: better save than sorry!)

-Mel

Of course they are all upset and making petitions and complaining but so far all have gone ignored. It looks like their minds are made up

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

I wish everyone would just stop complaining about u2.com. the fact of the matter is, it's a whole lot better than a hell of a lot of official sites. and remember pre2000 when there wasn't even an official site at all?

yeah, they do have a lot of exclusive videos, and i remember back when there was no official site (or even earlier, i remember the site they had up at msn when they were on the popmart tour.) but they seem to cater to the dsl/etc. type crowd. all they offer is flash or an image-heavy html version. and if you're on dial-up, especially 14.4 or 28.8, videos and such won't really help much (and i do know people who are still on 14.4 dialup).

you can argue that this not the right place to bitch about their site (i only say that because it's highly doubtful that they'll see the complaints here, it'd be better to contact them like elvis suggested), but i definitely think all the complaints have merit though. but that's just my opinion.

oh! about tiscali, before i forget. i know sting's site is (or was?) run by tiscali. so if you'd want to see what kinda sites they put together, that may be a good idea.

 

[The_acrobat]

The message forum is not the only shitty thing about u2.com. In fact, the only good things they have to offer are some videos, a complete lyrics section and Willie's Diary.

Their news section is not up to date at all. If it's an official site, they should be able to do interviews with the band, maybe set up a web cam or get U2 to talk about the new album / tour. Just to give us something. Maybe Edge could have an online diary for us to read. These are not uncommon things to ask for. I think the site has done a poor job at keeping fans interested. More web chats would be good, just so they can communicate with their fans. This should not even be a bother to them....since their fans make them who they are. I doubt U2 is very involved in u2.com, and that's not the way it should be. Management probably runs it entirely, and management does a shitty job. I'm sure it's not Paul McGuinesses responsibility, because he has enough responsibility to the band.

I am also very concerned about the ticket situation. While getting into a show is really not that hard for me, I want to be able to get great seats. I wanna be in the front row once. Just once is all I ask. But now with ticketmaster doing their ticket auctions, I think it'll be harder for most of us who can't afford a $300+ ticket. I hope U2.com helps us this time and really comes through for us, because my subscription ended for propaganda about 2 years ago, and I never bothered renewing it, cause I didn't think there was any reason to.

 

[Tabby]

They might as well use an e-z board

 

[Liesje]

I am also very concerned about the ticket situation. While getting into a show is really not that hard for me, I want to be able to get great seats. I wanna be in the front row once. Just once is all I ask. But now with ticketmaster doing their ticket auctions, I think it'll be harder for most of us who can't afford a $300+ ticket. B]

I agree. I'd hate to have to quit being a U2 fan because I can't afford it