What happened to Mark? I saw the post by Megan with little explanation, and it was set for no comment. The administration page link led to a page of past post by administration. Anybody have any info on this? Thanks for your time.
You can click on the link and send a private message I noticed . They did post some time ago I believe . I’m sure they should see this post and someone will reply .
Hi all -- Mark's account is basically no longer just Mark, it's a whole team of people who will be helping support the EX Community in lots of different ways! We renamed his account and each person from that team who responds will sign their name so you know who it is 🙂
@EXProductMgr Maybe it's me but I'm confused. The question is, what are we supposed to be finding at this link. It's old posts that the team responded to. Your messages says we'll find the the EX team at the link. I would have expected a list of Ex team members names.
"I want to let you know that the account formerly managed exclusively by Mark will now be run by a team of awesome people on the EX Team. You can find them over at CommunityAdmin. Each of them will sign their name when they post or reply, so you'll know who's talking."
Ok. So yet another change to adapt to. Mark is gone, sort of. I'd like to say thanks Mark for all the work that you have done here. I appreciate your contributions over the years and wish you well.
Yes, Mark is fine, he has moved on to another role and we too will miss him. Thanks for your concern but rest assured EX remains in great hands.
Our whole EX Team is always doing our best to improve the full EX experience, and right now a team is how we are supporting this EX Community we love so much.
We'll update the @CommunityAdmin account profile soon to make things more clear.
Thanks @maryfreecig and everyone that's responded to this post hopefully Mark will see and respond to it! I don't know why we can't @him! His has always been difficult to mention but usually it worked after a few tries but not now!
For me, it's not about what the new account will become, but for now it's about the lack of a goodbye from Mark, and the erasing of Mark's identity as if he never existed. Again, bottom line is about accepting change (especially unwanted change). It's going to take a little time adjust, excuse my mess in the mean time, please and thanks.
@EXProductMgr We really want to know more about what happened to Mark. It's someone I've been interacting with for 5 years and him just "disappearing" doesn't seem right.
@Barbscloud Barb I see that Mark's name has been restored. It appears in support. I know that a little while ago Mark preferred that conversations like this appear in a certain forum but I didn't remember where when I posted a few days ago. I was a bit thrown off balance.
@maryfreecig I just this PM back from the Product Manger.
Hi Barb - thanks for your concern about Mark. He is OK, he's moved on to a new role. We're excited about the team of people we'll be introducing to the EX Community in a support role soon!
@Barbscloud I see that Mark's name was restored but it is run by the team. Although this change has been handled oddly IMO and the new team seems to be glazing over it as if it is nothing has happened or it doesn't matter, I guess we are not going to get a meaningful answer. I'm going to trust my instincts on this one and see this as their failing, not much can be done to change that. As for the new team, newcomers won't know the difference--that's good--for me, I can't give them a warm welcome, they haven't created an opening for that as of yet. No disrespect to "the team" really, it's just best IMO to see weird for weird, kind of a reality check.
@maryfreecig I swear when I looked in Support yesterday it said Community Administrator. I just looked now and it says Mark. Why would they have bothered putting his name back or is he going to continue to hand those activities.
@Barbscloud@maryfreecig@AnnetteMM and others on this thread: I want to re-iterate that Mark is OK. He has moved on from his role in the EX Community and we are wishing him well.
We are in the midst of transition, handling things with technology the best we can, and appreciate all your patience.
We've got a team of amazing people that will be supporting the EX Community going forward. They're excited to be here with all of you!
I was just alerted to this new development. Personally I think this (whatever has happened) could have been handled better. Mark has been an integral part of this site for quite a while. And has been a very hand's on Community Manager. His sudden moving on "from his role in the EX Community" is very jarring to those members who have been here since his hiring. Mark has a big heart and really cares about this community and about the mission of helping to set people free from this addiction. I know because I've met him at an EX reunion, and I've seen his heart. Whatever role he has moved to and in whatever capacity, I know he will give his all.
I am just learning of these events and I am not a happy camper. And I am taking this opportunity to rant.
I hold a high degree of respect for Mark and have been very appreciative of the technical help he has given to me over the past 3 years that I have been a member of the EX family. And I agree whole heartedly with the comments of @Giulia regarding Mark's integrity and work ethic and of @maryfreecig and her description of the "odd handling" of this particular situation. And I hope that Mark will somehow be able to know how much we are in support of him. Wish I could tell him personally but his 'handle" @Mark is no longer available as many in the thread of this post have already alluded to.
Too many changes of late -- and all without pre-notice to our members -- have put me in a defensive mode. First there was the sudden appearance of a team of new writers with all their annoying pop ups who seemed to have somehow been put into a uniquely separate higher echelon within the group. They came on the scene as complete strangers. It's almost like they were snuck up the back stairs in the middle of the night and we had no choice but to accept them and their new way of doing things.
And then there was the recent artificial intelligence (AI) thing. No notice to members that it was also coming onto the scene nor any option for those who wished to shut off its access to them. It was another done deal to just be accepted.
And now this very strange and secretive turn of events concerning Mark.
I will honestly say that I have consequently lost respect for this organization and feel blindsided by these turn of events. I believe we members have been disrespected by these actions.
Thank you for bearing with me as I expressed my opinion.
@SuzyQ411 Hi Suzy thanks for sharing and/or venting. I've accepted that not much more will be revealed, but I learned of this last week. It's all new to you. I hope your feelings are settling Yes, it's unclear why Mark never said goodbye. Isn't that called ghosting? For whatever reason this has happened, I do accept the changes are here to stay. As for the pop-ups, it seems that there is a technical issue on their side yet to be addressed: the option to "Don't show me this again" is not functional. If it worked that would solve the nuisance pop-ups for those of us who are not interested.
I do think the team has much more to consider when working on changes to this site in order to reach newcomers. The community is one thing, but it is only a part of the service that Truth/Mayo provides: many who quit feel more trusting of a professional approach and are not interested in social/community approach. The teams goal, I assume, is much broader than the community.
If Mark had said goodbye, it would be sad but easier to move forward. Yet, I have to follow an old credo from AA: principles over personalities. It will always be about, what can I do today? Otherwise, I have the habit of flailing and being far too uncomfortable, then wandering like the last bird of it's kind calling out! Yep, I get overwhelmed!!!
@maryfreecig I appreciated your rational response to my emotional rampage 😊
You made an excellent point by saying "the community is one thing, but it is only a part of the service that Truth/Mayo provides: many who quit feel more trusting of a professional approach and are not interested in social/community approach."
Also, in re-reading my entry, I wish I had clarified that I was not upset with what 'the professionals" were offering to our members but with the way "those in charge" brought them onto the scene without preamble.
Additionally, because of my irritation with the powers that be, I just assumed "they" were the ones preventing our contact with Mark; I never even thought that it could be by his choice, for whatever reason...
Yes, I agree that what's done is done and it is what it is. Yet I find I am still proceeding very cautiously... But I will let go of it all and step back and give myself time and space to privately process any remaining concerns.
Quitter Version 9.25 Years smober as of January 9, 2023. Age 64. Yeah!
Well I made it through some pretty tough quit-smoking tangles, and now am happily smoke free.
But the start of my cigarette quit was not glorious. It could have been with some other version of me (maybe my younger self--20 something) taking the journey. But, I had to quit with the version that was available back in 2013. I could not wait until I was entirely sure that I would quit, or until I was entirely happy about quitting. I had to grab the willingness that came out of the blue one day in September of that year and run with it. And so I did.
Nicotine addiction is a puzzling addiction. I've heard many say that they just can't stop (some of these folks have serious heart or lung trouble). It isn't the kind of addiction that leaves you plastered as with alcohol or other drugs--so that once you sober up, you realize how overtaken you were by the stuff. Nicotine works different than that. It co-opts your person, while at the same time allowing you to stay conscious and even alert. It's kinda like those science fiction tales in which an alien attaches itself to the spine of an individual...and she has no idea of the danger lurking within.
You really discover how you've been preyed upon once you try to quit. Then the evil nature of the alien comes to the forefront making quitting seem like a horror rather than a rescue from horror.
Some may argue that the smoker understands the danger. I argue the opposite; most smokers begin smoking by the age of 18, and have hardly had enough life experience to understand what addiction really means, and so they are overtaken by a force far greater than they can understand. By the time the smoker really wants to quit, the addiction has blossomed and grown in a most grotesque way.
No one deserves this addiction. Maybe, someday society will finally do the right thing and ban the sale of tobacco, leaving it up to the individual alone to grow, dry and smoke the stuff herself, though never allowed to sell it.
I made it--as of today--but how I wish all smokers would find their way to quitting.
https://quittinthesmokes.blogspot.com/
