ProjectEnd
Superstar
I think some people fail to realize that a private forum is not a democracy. As for UT being pro-development, of course it is! That's the whole point of reading the news articles and searching the databases. As for the "greater good" for the people of Toronto, one must realize that the development industry is a huge part of our economy, it produces well-paying jobs, and has a massive trickle down effect for many other industries. To claim that people on here don't know much about the process is also presumptuous.
Think about where you live right now. At some point in history someone was opposed to your place being built. Nothing stays the same here. We should be happy to live in a place that's growing and has a building boom.
Can you add to the system in a positive way? Of course you can! Get involved, be active. Community Consultations often bring about better developments. Whining on a forum does very little and it's difficult to take those members seriously.
ProjectEnd: The reason why many members like myself didn't contribute to this forum for years, is not because we had nothing to say or are clueless about the industry, it's because we didn't want to get "eaten alive" by members like you who frequently bullied and made dogmatic comments to stifle others. The UT Forums appear to be well managed and moderated very well nowadays and people with other voices maybe feel more confident to share their opinions without fear that the internet is a free-for-all absent from manners.
I did not and do not 'bully.' I simply expect that if one is going to voice one's opinion on this forum (or any other for that matter), it is incumbent that the position be articulated in a manner that continues the high level of discourse that has been one of the defining hallmarks of this platform for more than a decade. To me, a bully is someone who attacks a member for something other than the substance of their post(s). I do not do that, nor do I condone it.
I however, start to lose patience with those who pad post counts with useless fluff (eg. gee wiz, that's a kool building), attack the development system in Ontario with baseless and incorrect statements (eg. the OMB is destroying our city; developers run the city, etc.) or claim that UT is itself an industry mouthpiece. If any of that is 'bullying' or 'dogmatic' then we simply have different definitions of those terms. I have always welcomed new members, especially those who take the time to write longer, more considered posts or take photos, write front-page stories and so forth. Conversely, I have little time for newcomers who, after contributing little, expect the same respect and deference that those of use who have built this site over the last decade have earned.