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'High Profile' Enthusiasts: A discussion

Do you think the behaviour of some well known enthusiasts is damaging to the parks and guests?

  • Yes

  • No

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Maybe he is following the Charlotte Church model. Start out as angelic nicey nicey, butter wouldn't melt, then become a more contraversial figure.

Would probably get more hits to his channel. Personally, I think he comes across better a nice guy and enthusiast.

Looking forward to his videos in a years times where his personal is a cross between Oliver Reed and Roy Chubby Brown.

To be fair, AT herself can be a controversial figure based upon the series Pleasure Beach from a few years back. If it comes down to it, my money is on her.
 
ringo said:
Yeah I’m stepping out of this thread now, I suspect this thread won’t last long anyway.

Shame there are people out there digging dirt to try cause issues for him.
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Yeah, it just seems like people are using this whole thing as an excuse to hate on the guy. I think everything that needs to be said has been said. If an admin wouldn't mind locking the thread?
 
I’ve avoided posting in this topic. Enthusiasts bickering among other enthusiasts shouldn’t get this much attention. To put this into perspective a few weeks ago I posted a video of a new model built at Legoland and it didn’t get a single comment! Why compare these two things? Because several members of this forum helped bring that to life!
Yet here we are more interested in a non-event that I highly doubt Alton Towers would have even cared about had a few petty enthusiasts not escalated it into a big deal! To quote John Wardley “Get A Life”

Anyway the reason I am commenting now is because the subject of which rides should allow cameras (or phones) is an interesting one. Personally I think that on any ride that there is an element of danger they should be banned. Rapids are inherently dangerous because the water is fast flowing and unpredictable. Transport, scenic and kids rides (so long as it’s an accompanying adult using the equipment) are all fine.
So I would define the rule as: You cannot use lose articles on any ride where you have to hold on tight for your safety OR releasing the device could cause injury to others.
In reality however I think a blanket ban is better so long as the staff have the freedom to turn a blind eye on certain rides without consequences. The rule would still be there and could be used in a dispute. This way the guests get their pictures and the staff can focus on more important matters of operation.
 
This topic has been surprisingly popular! I also think I might avoid this topic now, as well, because I'm not someone who's particularly into gossiping about the controversies of a popular internet celebrity. The discussion point of this topic is actually a rather interesting one, but it has now just sort of descended into a "what has Sanbrooke done now?" type affair, in my opinion, which I don't particularly want to get involved in. I apologise for offending anyone with this reply, but it's just what I think.
 
Matt N said:
This topic has been surprisingly popular! I also think I might avoid this topic now, as well, because I'm not someone who's particularly into gossiping about the controversies of a popular internet celebrity. The discussion point of this topic is actually a rather interesting one, but it has now just sort of descended into a "what has Sanbrooke done now?" type affair, in my opinion, which I don't particularly want to get involved in. I apologise for offending anyone with this reply, but it's just what I think.
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You’re absolutely right, I feel guilty for creating a platform of discussion that has devolved into an excuse for people to insult a member of our community. It’s a shame that more meaningful discussion couldn’t have lasted longer but such is the way of the internet I suppose.


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TheAverageNerd said:
You’re absolutely right, I feel guilty for creating a platform of discussion that has devolved into an excuse for people to insult a member of our community. It’s a shame that more meaningful discussion couldn’t have lasted longer but such is the way of the internet I suppose.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Don't feel guilty! As I said, the initial discussion point of this topic is actually quite an interesting debate; maybe a new thread in Corner Coffee is needed? I'm not blaming anyone in particular; I partly blame myself for contributing to the discussion, or "feeding the flames" of Shawn-related controversy, if you're into Wicker Man puns.
 
RicketyCricket said:
A bit of mickey taking is fine and Shaun has always seemed to take it quite well... but this situation has started a bit of a witch hunt amongst some on Twitter which is a shame.
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Is it only me who is ever so slightly reminded of when the tabloids circled Alton Towers following the Smiler crash? I suppose they didn't mean to start a witch hunt when they posted the things.
 
I think this whole 'controversy' perfectly demonstrates why many aspects of the enthusiast community are damaging in other ways (not just on here, moreso elsewhere!).

I never really subscribe (wow unintended pun) to the idea of belonging to big group communities based on shared interests. While there are many good things about behaving like a community, much the time it turns into some kind of subculture, with a weird esoteric ideology.

Many fans going to parks to join in the social media rush, get the most likes or learn the most statistics, rather than really just to have fun. Picking sides and bickering about things that really have nothing to do with enjoying theme parks anymore.

I've said it before but I have nothing against Shawn Sanbrooke as a person, because I don't know him, he could be super nice for all I know, or he could be horrible (I don't really care).
But I find 'Shawn Sanbrooke' the myth and legend to be ridiculous because whatever he does he is guaranteed to have 100s of people gossip about him. And why? He gets so over indulged by 'the community' that he may as well be a fictional character.
 
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I like the guy. I had a difficult time in my life last year and stumbled across his vlogs. He, singlehandedly, reignite my interest in theme parks after a gap of twenty years.

I have no doubt he can have his moments, but he seems to be a nice guy on the whole, and usually responds to comments on his youtube videos.
 
He's got his faults like all of us do, just he's a public figure in terms of his reach so we all know. It's fine having opinions on him, I like some of his content, don't like other parts but he needs to be more cautious now he's a bigger channel, as people will find the faults.
 
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