Theme Park Review Ownage Post

A guy on TPR totally served Robb in the thread about the Expedition GeForce DeRailing, luckily I copy and pasted it in time (post was deleted). Enjoy!

---

Originally posted by ReillyWitherspoon

In light of all the robb and elissa A$$ kissing which is ridiculously pathetic, who in this thread ever said intamin rides aren't as safe? Sounds like some of those in charge around here have made some pretty off the cuff assumptions based on a couple peoples posts, mainly because you're intamin fanboys? That still doesn't make it right for robb to blast people because they are stating facts.

It's hard to believe that some enthusiasts, especially some of those who claim they're "adults" get all worked up about roller coasters and act like dicks. One claims "I have a life and find this argument so insignificant and it just annoys me that people put so much time and effort into it!!!!" and yet theres one of them (probably the oldest one) spending all day on the internet just to make a point that nobody cares about? And this is her husband!?

If anything, the ones being bashed by the webmaster in those past pages were acting more like adults than anyone. They were being polite and just making a point. Nobody was claiming to be a professional about anything, nobody's here to stroke eachothers ego except for robbs bitches who bow down to him so they won't get banned, flamed or threatened.

Then the guys just saying what they thought get responses from "mr. in charge because its his website" like a little kid with his ball. What a baby! Look at these douchey responses:

"You're wrong. I'm letting you know."

Wow, very mature.

"Theme Park Review has more amusement industry members reading *and* actually posting to this site than ANY OTHER web forum out there. And those members mean a lot more to me than someone who will continue arguing over nonesense."

You mean the ones who agree with everything you say and kiss your butt because they don't want to get banned? Way to run a coaster site that should allow everyone to state their opinions without getting flamed or treated unfairly. It takes 2 to argue robb, you were just as involved as they.

"Again, such great input from someone who actually works in this business. Norman, I cannot thank you enough for coming here, having the patience to read through this thread, and for posting this. I just hope other people will also appreciate it and listen."

This definitely looked staged.

"Dear Norman,

Please write a post on my website kissing my A$$ and making all my points so I won't be the only one standing up for me! There are too many people making good points against what I want to be said on my website and its overwhelming!"

How pathetic. Must be annoying being your friend always asking for bull$#!% favors to feed your power trip.

Sorry Robb, I'm just sick of sitting in the shadows and seeing you treat everyone like poo-poo that doesn't agree with you, and makes a good point of differing opinion. Your degrading tone would most certainly not be had if you were in a conversation with these people in person, the only reason you talk this way to people this way on this site is because you're a pansy. Have some self respect and respect for others, maybe then people will actually like you instead of acting like they do because the don't want to deal with your girlish attitude when they disagree.

A note to anyone: yeah, its nice to be on robbs side, kissing his but or whatever, but what happens when YOU disagree eventually with something robb does? Is he going to turn on you and treat you the same way as we've now seen how he acts to other adults with a conflicting opinion because he has plenty of others that bow down to him? I think this thread is a very good example of how robb acts when he knows he's wrong but is too stubborn to admit it. Which is sad that he still runs the site like a little kid would with his ball. This site isn't about roller coasters, its about kissing robbs A$$ to stroke his ego, and all of you that agree with him are adding fuel to the fire. He alienates people that have a different opinion then bans them to avoid being more popular than him because they're right. This site is a representation of everything that is wrong with the roller coaster enthusiast scene, and as long as robbs in charge its only going to get worse.

All you robb A$$ kissers are tools. Robb you're a pussy, and elissa you're married to a pussy.

I love how pretty much everything of importance in this post is so very true. Generally speaking (aka not attacking everyone, as not all there fall under this category) the site is a cult headed by an incredibly immature jerk.

Win.

Epic victory. Common roller coaster folk that kiss the asses of industry folk drive me nuts.

Robb being the emperor of this practice..

Pff I went over there to check it out. If it's not someone kissing Robb's butthole, it's other random people praising random people for how involved they think they are in the industry or how much they think they know about roller coasters.

Didn't actually realize how good we had it over here

I'm not over there, but it sounds fun. I might join.

Haha, that was an interesting read. I check TPR every once and a while and I do generally think it's a pretty good site as far as news and trip reports and stuff go. Looking at threads like this EGF one though, Robb sometimes does seem to go way too far in trying to control the discussion towards what he wants to see. Obviously any message board has to be moderated, but not to the point of telling people not to look at pictures and speculate what happened in an accident. If someone thinks they're an expert and they aren't then so what? Correct them where they're wrong and if you have anything better to say, say it and let the discussion continue; the facts will all be out eventually and in the long run it shouldn't matter what conclusions people may have jumped to initially.

And this is why I never go to TPR...

[hyyyper]

I also don't agree with robb's method and level of moderating, but his site is the biggest one around and their coaster-trips are simply amazing.

Originally posted by hyyyper

I also don't agree with robb's method and level of moderating, but his site is the biggest one around and their coaster-trips are simply amazing.

Yeah, it's definitely good to see some really cool places and rides you wouldn't normally ever see. But Robb is seriously a brat. I stopped posting and stopped bothering with the forums probably two weeks after I joined.

And his fanboys are worse.

I hope that post softened his ego, but I doubt it did in the slightest. Stubborn guy.

rob got owned simple as

i like TPR for the piccys and the trip reports but i dont go on the forums ever sorry to say.
this is one of only 3 coaster forums im part of and will most likely ever be as 99% of all the forums are way way way over moderated and TPR is one of them.

and i must just say to hyyyper yes the trips on TPR are amazing but way way overpriced. it is possiable to do trips like that for half the cost and i have been on thyem too

[Mikey]

It is my belief that Robb operates his site like Nazi Germany banning anyone simply for their beliefs. He loves to argue even when he is dead wrong and he just doesn't know when to stop. (Just do a Google search for Robb Alvey, its very entertaining.) He states that he has many "industry" folks on his site. While this might be true they are mostly low on the totem pole. Leads, Supervisors and PR Departments (See Twitter), and those few companies who like the FREE publicity of TPR. I have yet to find anyone on his site with a corporate email address of any major company who is active on the forums.

Contrary to popular belief, Robb's power in this industry only goes as far as his camera and the free advertising he provides for the parks. Beyond that he continues to contribute nothing other then problems. (Not sure how many parks have black listed him.) Given the demands Robb allegedly ask for in return of his "special favors". I don't think most parks would hesitate to stab him in the back for something more professional and accountable.

[hyyyper]

^^They are not overpriced. You get what you're (willing to) pay for. Seriously, I don't know where to begin how good those trips are. They are totally worth it.

^I know Joe Draves from GCI occainsally posts on the forum, and usually nothing about coasters that wasn't in the open already. And the special favors are also overesagated. He always asks for ERT and on-ride footage, pays for the ERT and the onride footage is for both the park and robb to use.

^^ and here we have an example of a robb kiss a$$

They really aren't overpriced considering the hotels you get. I've done both, a TPR trip with nice hotels and cheap trips where I'm sleeping on the floor of an Econolodge. After doing both I'd probably stick to cheap trips from now on, but having a comfortable clean bed every night is nice too. ERT and catering is nice as well, but again, for $200 vs $1800.....Waiting in line and eating at Mcdonalds/Taco Bell isn't so bad.

[Mikey]

His trips are overrated. I'd rather spend the money on high class hookers and booze.

[hyyyper]

^Have you ever been on one? Just the fact that we don't agree with his moderating methods, doesn't mean everything else he does also sucks.

Grow up.

Yeah, regardless of how he moderates the forums a TPR trip looks like it would be a lot of fun, even if they are fairly expensive compared to doing a cheap motel coaster trip on your own.

Robb's an idiot. He proved this on his Intimidater 305 pov.

I just stick with watching and buying the videos, thats all. In that expect, I really enjoy his videos. His forum doesn't interest me good or bad.

I read the comments in this thread, seeing how many anti-Robb posts there have been from a percentage standpoint, so I decided to read through the entire topic carefully, and I have captured every single post made by Robb and posts that he responded to which made him seem overly controlling etc. as everyone here has been saying.


And if Robb is registered on these forums and is reading this, please realize that I'm viewing this from a 3rd party mediation view. No personal or external influences have affected this post.

And for those who don't know, (most of you) I've been banned from TPR... twice. The first time, I was 12, and I was actually one of the first members there. I admit, that time I screwed up. But I was only 12.

The second time, I was 15. This time, I do see why he banned me. However, although I see that some of my posts were kind of clueless, I (and others) feel that a ban was not worthy. (Basically, not reading certain posts that by luck had the answer to the question I asked in the thread.) Ok, I was banned before, so I was eyed at more carefully, but still, I don't think that that was worthy of banning. My 12 year old posts, yes, I do agree, though. My 15 year old posts, however, were overall much better and did not warrant something as severe as a ban.

I am currently 17. I have always wanted to go on a TPR trip, but I want to wait after my first year of college is over. I am going to wait until the 2012 trip flyers are online to see by some miracle the guy believes in "third time's the charm."


And despite all that, I really don't have any hard feelings towards him.




Questionable response 1:


Original poster:

KDcoasterMAN (4/28/2010, 2:05 PM PST)
"Yeah, it just looks like the entire wheel assemblies just incenerated. [:O]"



Robb's response: (4/28/2010, 2:29 PM PST)
"I'm sorry, but I'm just kind of getting slightly annoyed with the 'everyone is an expert' when it comes to accidents lately.

How would you even POSSIBLY be able to make that claim based on the very blurry picture that has been released so far???

Stop be so dramatic and making stuff up. Seriously, it's REALLY annoying!!!! [:(!]"

MY VERDICT:
Yeah, Robb went overboard on that one. Obviously KDcoasterMAN's post was a bit exaggerated, but that in no way merited such response from Robb.





Questionable response 2:


Original poster:

MattyD: (4/30/2010, 2:08 AM PST)
"I hope I am not repeating anything that has already been said here, but is it possible it could have been a metal fracture in the wheel assembly somewhere?

Don't want to speculate too much but if I remember my A Level Physics, and please correct me if I am wrong, there are two main types of metal fractures, Brittle and Ductile, and neither are necessarily that obvious to the naked eye, small hairline cracks in the surface etc, so niether intamin, the maintenance guys, or the god Gary Sinise himself could have spotted them.

I am sure I remember being shown how some of these fractures are only visible on XRay before they actually break completely and no park is going to XRay their trains, that's just ridiculous.

I think my point is just that it is possible that no one is to blame in this incident, these things can happen and luckily there are safety systems in place to prevent disasterous results, it is possible no one could have possibly forseen or prevented this. I was just trying to use some physics to back my ideas up! [:p]

Ultimately I hope they can determine the cause soon, get the ride back up and running and that it doesn't reflect too badly on the park or Intamin.

Matt"



Robb's response: (4/28/2010, 8:08 AM PST)
"Actually, it's not ridiculous at all. Sending out the trains for X-Ray or using mobile scanning units to test the track for stress fractures or other issues is actually a common practice. Most parks do this at least once per year for each coaster.

EDIT - sorry this info was already posted on the previous page. I do think it's important to point out though that we should all be VERY careful posting such information as "no park is going to X-Ray their trains" unless you really know for sure...because EVERY PARK actually does X-Ray their trains!"

MY VERDICT: The first part of the post was perfectly fine. The "edit" however is on the fence. Obviously, (according to Robb - I'm not a park manager or mechanic, so I can't say) parks actually do X-ray their cars. But my question is, why did he jump down his throat (in this situation, it is a hyperbolic statement, but I can't think of anything else of the same meaning but of less intensity) but how could MattyD really know about that, anyway? Yearly train X-rays are, in fact, not very well known maintenance practices that we enthusiasts know about, at least in comparison to "walking the track", sandblasting, etc.





Questionable response 3:


Original poster: AnEscapeArtist (4/30/2010, 2:05 PM PST)
"Regardless if maintenance or Intamin is at fault, something must have gone seriously wrong as the wheel assemblies should NEVER come off the track like that. I can understand companies with not much experience, but this is Intamin we're talking about here, imagine if something like this happened on TTD, or i305? You'd probably have a full train of dead people. Intamin and the riders are VERY lucky they were on the upcrest of the hill where they were going slower than full speed, because something like this at the end of the drop would just crunch the cars together and there would probably have been fatality's.

Whether this is Intamin's fault or the parks, you can't ignore the fact that A LOT of recent incidents have had the name INTAMIN associated with them, while B&M's record remains crystal clear. That can't be good for business."



Robb's response: (4/30/2010, 2:12 PM PST)
I really just wanted to delete your post since it's such an obvious Anti-Intamin rant and flame bait. But I decided to leave it and hope other people will also see your lack of any knowledge of the theme park industry, engineering, roller coaster manufacturers or any sort of constructive contribution to this discussion in your post that I do.

--Robb 'Nice try...' Alvey"

MY VERDICT: Robb went way overboard on this one. I can see where he's coming from, though. At a quick glance, AnEscapeArtist's post could be interpreted as inappropriate, however, it is not such upon a thorough reading. It is in fact very objective. In fact, the first paragraph is more like that of many of the "thank God it wasn't a complete mechanical failure" posts that I've seen in the thread.

The second paragraph was simply a statement of recent facts. Intamin coasters HAVE been made up a comparatively large percentage of recent accidents, and B&M have made up virtually none of recent accidents.

Now, trying to see from Robb's point of view: There are likely more factors in play than Robb being a complete jerk. The first things that come to mind are that he has said in other topics that he's trying to keep the site professional, because park and coaster company management DO read the forums, and occasionally DO post. Yeah, most of the posters are just PR people, but they still are pretty freaking high up the food chain, and probably have regular talks with the top brass. I can see that he's trying to weed out the crap posts, but he went overboard, and assuming this was a factor, it backfired, and frankly made him look like the people he was trying to weed out.

And it's pretty obvious he's an Intamin fanboy as well - most of his top coasters are Intamins, so he'd probably feel a little touchy himself about anyone trying to diss Intamin. Frankly, I can't blame him that much, because Intamin makes the best rides IMO (short of the concepts I have in my head right now...)

B&M is a low risk, low reward company. They stick to a conservative approach in designing rides. They like to use what works well, at the expense of a bunch of their recent rides being really exciting. (They are beautiful, however.) Intamin is a high risk, high reward company. They always try out crazy new concepts, have creative layouts, AND have high intensity rides, making most of people's top ten lists, at the expense of maintenance problems and that once in a blue moon high profile epic accident. I like intensity and creativity, so IMO Intamin is better. (A bunch of B&M's early stuff, however, kicks complete butt.)





Questionable response 4:


Original poster: austinlee (4/30/2010, 7:48 PM PST)
"I agree. In my opinion it does seem that Intamin has a very questionable safety record compared to many other manufacturers. I saw a list of all of Intamins accidents around the time that the accident on Xcelerator occurred. I was going to post the link but I searched for it and couldn't find it again. According to the list I saw they have had an average of about one fairly major accident per year for about the last 10 years. [:O]"



Robb's response: (4/30/2010, 8:37 PM PST)
"Great! Thank you austinlee and Steve Nuss! Everyone in the room is now more educated on the number of accidents on Intamin rides!

Thank goodness we're done with that pointless bit of information.

Could you please look up the accident ratio between Boeing and Airbus planes please because I'd really us to focus on other pointless bits of useless information regarding accidents on giant machines.

Thank you!

--Robb"

MY VERDICT: (there were other posts made by austinlee that were similar but not noteworthy IMO.) Again, uncalled for. austinlee is not saying he's the best coaster safety inspector in the world. He's simply saying that he has noticed that Intamin has a comparatively large percentage of accidents. I don't know where he got Steve Nuss from, because I didn't see a post made by that user anywhere in the thread, so that was discounted. However, his comments to this post in particular seemed rather immature, due to the heavy use of blatant sarcasm.





Questionable response 5:

Original poster: gatorchomp83 (4/30/2010, 8:56 PM PST)
"I don't exactly consider that calling you out, sorry if you took it that way. Was merely addressing you, and I like to use people's names when I address them directly. I also feel as though I have at least a minimal friendship with both you and Robb, and am merely having a grown-up debate about an issue that all of us have an opinion on.

On the flip side, I feel at this point that I, as well as others in this thread who are offering a different opinion than yours and Robb's, are being straight-up called out and patronized. Which is cool, your website, your rules. But I think its absurd that this has seemingly turned that corner, and if I'm wrong, please let me know."

Robb's response: (4/30/2010, 9:09 PM PST)
"

gatorchomp83 wrote:if I'm wrong, please let me know.

You're wrong. I'm letting you know." (The rest of the post has not been included for irrelevance towards topic at hand.)

Uncalled for. Robb's post was very immature, primarily because he didn't back up his claims of gatorchomp83 being "wrong." Frankly, I think gatorchomp83 is by far the most mature poster in the thread.





Non questionable response, but still deserves merit:

Original poster: Robb (4/30/2010, 11:31 PM PST)

"I have been in direct contact with Holiday Park since the incident yesterday. They have asked me to post the following information:

'Now it is very important to gather the facts. We are working together with T?????????V-S?????????d and Intamin on finding the cause of the defective axle. One car of the seven-car-train was affected by the axle. That caused the stop. The train itself is on the track, completely. Meaning, the train did not derail.

No one was injured. Eight passengers mentioned dizziness and bruises.

At this point a technical failure caused the stop of the coaster train.

Thanks again for the support. --Rudi '

I would also assume they have been reading this thread because it was mentioned to me that '...it is very dangerous when one gets lost in speculations and assumptions..' and I would take that as a message to some of you that not only do Elissa and I get frustrated with some of the fabricated details some of our members choose to post, but the industry professionals do as well. Before you post, think about who's going to read what you're writing, and how it reflects not only on you personally, but on the website as a whole.

I really just want to point out that while some people in this thread have chosen to make up facts and bicker back and forth to prove points that aren't even directly related to the accident, I am actually the one speaking directly with the parks and ride manufacturers to get you all the ACTUAL STORY ON WHAT IS HAPPENING with the ride.

I would kindly ask that some of you would have a bit more respect towards Elissa and I and know that we working to bring you ACTUAL, REAL INFORMATION about the incident. And if the reason why it would seem that we get a little frustrated and annoyed at time is because maybe...just maybe we actually have a little more in depth information due to our relationships in the amusement business, and not all the time we are able to fully communicate that information.

Guys, give us the credit we deserve for going the extra mile for you all and going to the source for information. I don't think we are asking for too much in this case. While some of you may disagree with us, fine, but we actually DO know what we are talking about.

I really send thanks to Holiday Park for communicating directly with us. I'm sure they have a lot of other things to worry about at the moment, but they are willing to give us as many details as possible. I'm sure this is a very difficult time for them and right now we should be trying to give them our support. I would hope this is something that everyone who reads this website would be able to agree on.

--Robb 'Clearly the parks put trust in us and I'm asking you all to do the same.' Alvey"

MY COMMENTS: At least he's trying to explain himself a bit. I can see how some people are the so-called gurus that he claims plague the site, as I know many people who would fit the category of "know-it-all". However, I haven't seen much of that on this particular thread. Has it happened on other threads? Probably. I don't read TPR that much. BUt IMO that shouldn't have influenced his actions in this thread in the way that they may have done so.




I decided to not mention the other "good posts" that Robb has made in the thread, due to the fact that it is about midnight. However, I decided to take an average of his good and bad posts in the thread.

Good posts: 16
Bad posts: 5
Total posts by Robb in thread: 21
Overall good post rating: Approx. 76.19%
Letter grade: C+ (still passed, but recommended to get a tutor after school for extra help on the subject matter to pass the course with a bit more distinction.)

He's a jerk, and a really fruity one. That simple. No need to waste your time posting that many examples lol, even if they are pretty good ones.

^I decided to go about forming my opinion a little more objectively than most people appear to have formed their own of him on these forums. My overall verdict, to describe him in one word, would be "questionable". Even if he does seem to police the forums way too much, he does have other good merits.

[Mikey]

Who cares why it crashed? That's why we are insured out the ass right?

*rates go higher than the ride itself*

Originally posted by Mikey

Who cares why it crashed? That's why we are insured out the ass right?

We SHOULD care that it crashed. Insured or not, this is news that needs to be reported. That and just because your insured, who said you wouldnt get bad PR? Robb is right that NONE of us are experts on these rides. Some of us have more experience then others do. Robb is being a bit pushy but it is HIS site. Oscar could be just as pushy and it is HIS site. Let the owner run it his or her way and be glad its out at all.

/rant

Hey tetsu...uhhh....Mikey said "who cares WHY it crashed", not "who cares THAT it crashed". There's a bit of a difference. [:)]
I hope everyone cares that it crashed. It's a terrible event whenever anything crashes.