Which service should we use for scoring?

[Cincinnati Bengals (Chris)]

As was greatly discussed on the Discord previously, we have had many issues in the past with our current and long-term scoring providers, Fantrax (We have now been with Fantrax for 15 seasons). They effectively wiped out our entire COVID season when their system went down, and we had no idea who had won and lost games for a minimum of 5 weeks during the season (And didn't get an idea of who would be in the playoffs/what the matchups would be until days before the last regular season games began/the trade deadline was to be enforced). Even after that time, when the issues were supposedly fixed, we had to bend their arms an extraordinary amount to get them to do anything to fix wide swaths of inaccurate scoring across a single stat category that changed the results of several games. While they did eventually refund our fee, they also subsequently hit us up for a price increase the following year (And in each subsequent year since that time). During this time, they have also let their records of our previous seasons fall into disarray, with players being deleted out of their servers (Even though they recognized that it would be an option to just not delete them) several teams having their scores changed, which impacted several teams' records per year, and even resulted in them declaring a different champion on the league landing page on a few occasions. When they were contacted about this, Fantrax's general responses were as follows:

1. No we didn't do this.
2. Okay, we don't think that we did, but can you show us evidence (To which I provided a singular example, since they asked for one file, though I directed them to go to any of those affected league years)?
3. (Repeat steps 1-2 several times)
4. Okay, well, whatever, but it doesn't matter.
5. (When I asked them to allow us access for us to be able to fix it manually) No, you can't do that. Only we can do that.
6. (When I asked will they fix it for us?) No, we won't. Also, pay us more money this year.

As many of you who have been here for a long time are aware, I spend a great deal of time and effort keeping records for this site. I have spent countless hours making sure that every stat from every year is as accurate as possible, and if I have to go back and check myself, I no longer have an accurate database to do so. All of this is to say, especially after their COVID snafu, when we very seriously considered making a change mid-season and thought that their issues may have ended the league, is that the way they handle customer service on their platform is despicable. I also think that one of the overall benefits of being with Fantrax is having the ability to access those previous league years (Especially considering that we were with ESPN in the years prior to Fantrax, and their records have not been available to us since the moment that we left, it would seem), whether it's for individuals to relive their glory years (Or their more meager campaigns for those more masochistic types), or myself and Jordan using data from previous years to accurately keep records of our league's history. As I see it (And long have seen it), part of what we pay for with Fantrax is that we have always had access to those previous league years, and they were, in effect, still live. This is no longer the case, and they have openly indicated that they will not and have no interest in changing their decision (One that was only implemented last year, so it is new), despite our protestations for them to do the bare minimum to appease their long-time customers. While this may not be an issue for some, I am appalled at the level of customer service, and the brazenness with which their refusal to simply not delete entire portions of data from old seasons. It is particularly galling to me that while they in effect make their product worse for us, they continue to make yearly price increases (And last year, it was a 50% increase to their previous pricing).

Thankfully, through Christian's hard work, we have found another site that would be willing to host us as a scoring service, and that can handle our format. The service in question is MFL. While their site also operates as a full league site as well, we can continue to keep this Proboards site and only handle our scoring on that service. Whichever outcome this vote results in, I will respect and accept it. However, it is my opinion that I cannot confidently say what is accurate and inaccurate in the records section if we continue to use Fantrax's services, so I will no longer be willing to keep our Records section if we stay (As to me, it's a maddening waste of time if we cannot confirm their accuracy).

[Jacksonville Jaguars (Jordan)]

I'll just say for me, as a commissioner and who has to process a high volume of moves throughout the season, I don't really have the bandwidth to learn a whole new site from that perspective.

If MFL is truly the direction that people want to go, then I am going to need a lot more help with those types of things moving forward.

[Cincinnati Bengals (Chris)]

For some context (And Christian can tell you more), he spent many hours making a replica of our league on the MFL platform, so as far as everything that we have in Fantrax now, it should be pretty much operational from day-1 (At least as I understand it).

Also, to be clear, I actually do like Fantrax's product, and I think MFL is less good overall (Though still good). However, Fantrax made it amply clear that they would not do anything to help us when we asked, and confirmed that while it was possible to help us, they just didn't want to/chose not to. To me, any company that conducts business/chooses to treat their customers in that manner, particularly for a long-time customer (Though it shouldn't be happening to anyone) is problematic and untrustworthy. Couple that with the fact that they are worsening their product all the while continually demanding more money. Fantrax cannot make their product worse, charge more for it, and then completely ignore or refuse to assist their customers when we ask them to help with the problems that they created. I think something has to give, either now or later (But the problem with later is that they have shown complete disinterest/indifference to our plight, and openly said this policy would not be changing). We have written several pointed e-mails, asking them to fix our issues, and threatened to withdraw our business in the long-term if these issues were not fixed, and again, they were not persuaded to help or make changes to their policies. So, there really is no avenue or further incentive for them to change, as I see it, if they're perfectly comfortable to lose our business by sticking to their policies.

[New England Patriots (Chris S)]

I don't feel I can vote on this having no experience with MFL

[New York Jets (Travis)]

I see the reasoning for leaving and am on board if that’s the direction we want to go. But I’d prefer to stay with fantrax for convenience (which is admittedly selfish on my part.)