Could it be possible the moderating staff is speaking through Prime since he has already paved a path of communication? A lot of moderator's jumping into a thread all at once could give the appearance the staff is presenting an overbearing show of opinion, something they have been accused of in the past.
I don't believe that to be the case since Prime states that no one was telling him to do this, and that he's communicating in this thread because he wants to. That said, I might be wrong...
EDIT: As I think about this, I think this is has a lot of merit as a possible reason, but if that's the case, why not just say so? I see no reason for us to have to speculate on this issue...
And one of the biggest improvements I feel that is needed is more public communication with the members. So, nobody is telling me to do it, but I'm going ahead and being honest and open to the members, because I think that is the right thing to do.
To be honest, I have no life. I can afford to follow the thread, post a lot, etc.
Much of the staff are parents, are tournament organizers, work, and do a million other things.
I don't buy it, this is a dumb excuse.
This thread has been active for a month, and you are the only one (minus some early contributions by losjackal) who has even attempted major conversation.
1.) Of the 7 or so active administrators (since there are a few inactive ones), almost every administrator (minus two) have been posting consistently and actively in other threads over the last month, and you say none of them have had time due to being parents, PTOs, and normal human beings, to come keep up with and respond to this thread which has not grown that terribly fast. This is not to mention that of the 16 or so moderators on this site, most of them have remained absolutely silent, and the few that have posted or thanked in this thread have done so in single post, single sentence responses and have yet to follow up on anything. Either this is done on purpose for the reasons ShadowCard mentioned, which may very well be possible, or perhaps some other reason. If this is true though, why not simply say so?This almost absolute silence for a month is baffling. Not to discredit you Prime, but I was at least somewhat expecting more of a staff response to this thread. I think it would foster more and better discussion too....
2.) Your statement says that the staff is too busy with their lives to interact with the community in a thread designed and directed as member-staff interactions? Are they too busy to moderate too? Too busy to be staff? The staff voluntarily accepted the responsibilities of being a staff member of Pokegym. They are responsible for this site. Part of being a staff member is to interact with the community, especially when the community is legitimately trying to foster helpful discussion to help repair a dying website. I am a senior student. I graduate in May. I am taking 15 hours in 400 level credit course, and besides that am in the process of setting up my life as an independent adult, free of all the "family plans" and dependencies on my parents. I am also setting up my future career. I even have time put aside for my own projects and hobbies. I am a busy adult too, and even I have time to make a post once in a while in this thread, and it's not even my job to do so.
3.) Your explanation for the lack of staff interaction makes no sense. If they have enough time to post in other threads, and to moderate, and enough time to discuss in the Victory Road forum, then I would expect they have enough time to make an appearance in here. This is not to say I am trying to sound entitled to a staff response. I know I am not, and am grateful for your response Prime, but the lack of staff interaction in this thread, a thread designed to interact with the staff, just perpetuates the notion that the staff "doesn't care." PA has contributed more to this thread then the majority of the staff (minus yourself) and it's not even his job. There have been very valid points made by several people and seemingly no response from the staff.
But we chat in Victory Road on important topics, so the other staff are working on the same projects and discussing them. They just don't always post publicly about them.
As I type this, I'm more and more inclined to believe what ShadowCard posted. I would really like to hope that the reason for staff silence if that they are collectively forming a consensus on how to respond. That would be great because I earlier complained about consistency. Yet the thing is, we DON'T KNOW why they are being silence. Prime, you say the staff is discussing in Victory Road "important topics" but you don't specify if this thread is one of them. If there is a real reason for you being the only staff member to contribute, then let us know. There are times and places to keep information from the public. I recognize this as a leader in my own areas, but to leave the group so far in the dark for this long is unprofessional, weakens trust and widens the already mile wide gap between member and staff.