Hey guys,
I didn't want this landmark to pass by an not have any input. As a proud MaxJax user for almost 3 years, seeing this chapter finally close has definitely not gone unnoticed by me. Some of you may or may not know me, I was a fairly frequent poster at MaxJax under the handle 'NiallJackson' and I had frequented the board since early 2009.
The mature method in which Greg dealt with the recent termination of Max Jax brought a smile to my face; as little ugliness as possible, contrary to the reaction from a certain individual. I know it must have been hard to finally close that chapter completely for him. After all it was a place he had a lot of input in creating and maintaining and it is where he met his now fiancée, Christina.
I wasn't there from the beginning but in the first year or so that I was there I definitely felt like I became part of a family. This is in no part due to the great work of the founders, so I want to thank them personally for their role in creating the best forum I've ever used. The atmosphere I walked into in early 2009 was both welcoming and entertaining and the friendliness and understanding was what finally made me register in October that year. Finding Max Jax has been a big part of my grieving process since losing 'our Angel' on that fateful day in June 2009 and without it I don't know what I would have done.
So from the early days and the speculation over what was to be The Greatest Show Never Seen to the awesome bonding and comfort after the loss of Michael that we as fans were put through, I thank the members and founders for such a great experience. It truly has made me better person.
However, I'm sure if you've read this far into this thread that by now you know MaxJax became plagued with many, and fatal, problems. I'm not the sort of person to walk into a forum I barely use and start flinging mud so I won't out of respect for the moderation team here and other members. I'm not going to repeat a list of all the problems that have been posted the last 14 pages (Mainly because that would be extremely vapid of me).
The fact of the matter is, where MaxJax is today is not because of Michael's death, it
IS because of how things were dealt with. If you know me, you'll know that I am/was no angel and I'll never claim to be. Was I the sort of person who would make a risqué joke in an attempt to make others laugh but at the risk of being reprimanded? Hell YES! ..but was I the sort of person who would allow rudeness, disrespect and down right tyranny be forced upon fellow Michael Jackson fans without me saying anything? DAMN right I wouldn't!
From what I've said above you'll know that once upon I loved MaxJax even though I didn't even have an account there until October 2009. I've heard people say 'MaxJax went down hill after Michael's death' which is simply not true and frankly, very unfair.
For it was not until late 2010 when an infamous album dropped and a certain turbulent saga in MJ history began. Even members here at MJJC know how ugly things got in the MJ community (and still are in some places) because of this controversy but it seemed at the same time a certain person on MaxJax went through a total personality transplant. Add in a few extremely bizarre additions to the moderation team and the loss of Greg and these changes all happening simultaneously and you have what ultimately led to MaxJax's downfall.
Without going into too much detail. Come the end of of April 2011 I was staring at my computer screen wondering what had happened. Within the space of a week many of my best MJ friends and the site's most committed and intelligent members had been banned from the site. I knew my own place on their was hanging on the string. I couldn't get involved in the more heated discussions on the site without the worry of what might happen. I knew that any opportunity to give me infractions, or worse, ban me would be taken. Lo and behold this came finally in August 2011. I was given an infraction, leading to an at first temporary ban, then MaxJax went down in late August, when the forums came online again mid-September the ban had been made permanent. A few months down the line we sit here today in this situation, sad but true.
RIP Max Jax - the Greatest Michael Jackson forum 2008-2010 (IMO of course ;-D)
Thanks again, to the likes of Greg and Chell (AND ALL the many fantastic members they've had over the year), it's great fans like you that I know Michael would be looking down on with a smile on his face
- Niall
PS. I've seen some names in here I've not read in a while.. Don't be a stranger! Contact me, you guys were really great contributors and I felt like we sparked up some good friendships. COME TALK TO ME!
PSS. L.O.V.E. and all that ish.. x