Contentious Posts

I've been on the Forum for about a year now and it seems to me there are a lot more contentious threads and posts lately. There have been suggestions on how to rate members for the undesireable things they do. If its not real hard to do, how about a system to recongnize the members whose posts bring the most value to the forum and whose styles can be held up as good examples.

Maybe define a few parameters like "Informative posts", "Respectful posts", "Good humored posts" (or even "Best spelling and punctuation" or "Most improved") and let members rate each other on those parameters. Maybe a carrot would have more influence than a stick. I'm not on a lot of forums so don't know if there are other ways they recognize their best citizens. What do you think? (Please be informative, respectful and funny.)

 

The economy is in the pooper.. The weather is getting crummy for a fair portion of us.People get bored/crabby and have no money for toys...Soo...Contentious threads pop up. Gotta roll with it sometines I guess...

 

The point was to recognize folks who enhance the forum, not ding anyone. Bad I guess. Maybe I'll go do some more block sanding.

 

Back on topic

It's interesting that this thread showed up, as I have been thinking the exact same thing recently. I too have noticed a general degradation in the quality of the posts and the attitudes of the authors. There is a lot of great info here in the form of tech articles and photos, but the day-to-days posts of late have been a waste of time.

From the perspective of a long time member here (maybe over 10 years now?) it used to be that there was some general respect for a difference of opinion but that has seemed to dissappear. I've noticed more threads started for the express purpose of creating drama, and many posts barely concern Mavericks or Comets! Manners seem to be on the decline as well.

I don't profess to be an expert, but I've been around these cars a while. Recently I responded to a question by a new member, added a couple of photos for reference, and was feeling good for trying to help. What did I get in return? The person who asked for help never even said thank you, and another member basically said I was wrong on a technicality. Gee, you're welcome.

I've also noticed a number of long-time members, who I've always thought were stand-up people, have been absent recently. Their silence if deafening.

These forums have always been the cleanest and most well-managed that I have ever seen, though admittedly I don't visit many others. It is a credit to Stefan that he wants to project a good image for the forums, the hobby, and presumably for himself. Having said that, I don't think that a general rating system is a good idea. It is my opinion that it would only take the back-stabbing to a new level and cause conservative people with good information not to share it. My supporting membership is up for renewal in a few weeks and the outcome of this topic will weigh heavily on my decision to renew or not.

 

I agree with you 100% Sam!

 

Sam I agree 100 percent as well. When you speak I know it is not as some here do with personal gain in mind, nor a chip on your shoulder. You are truly 100 percent honest all the time ,but a 100 percent respectful. You should have been a moderator



Pertaining to people being missing I only add this........

They come and go as they please. Regardless of the reason they are absent it is there choice to come here or not. Hurt feelings or not......
I took time off to clean up some issues in my life and I'm back better than ever!!!!!!!!

 

Just when I thought no one else felt it, you expressed it much better. On the rating, I can see how negative ratings could result in back stabing. Not sure how that would happen if only positive attributes (see examples in the thread start) were voted on. Anyway, I'm not hung up on the idea but would like to see some action to encourage less disrespect in the posts.

Thanks for your comments.

 

And if there are negative ratings then it should be open no hidden votes. If you got the balls to stand up and say I think this is wrong then fine, but if you are wuss boy and can't man up to your own opinion then you should not hit the button.


I have only left one negative seller/buyer feedback. That is because the man never kept his end up. I have had a couple other so so deals but it all worked out well enough so they got a good fed back even if I thought it could have been handled better. I also know there was a few times I dropped the ball and a few of you could of left bad ratings but you gave me the benefit of the doubt to do what was right. I think if those same deals would be hidden from public more negatives would roll in in, deserved or not. Having to answer for yourself keeps it fair on both sides.....

 

Well put Sam. On topic even.

 

I use a karma system on my forum. It leaves a log for the person to explain why they left whatever they left. That's on an SMF forum though, Vbulletin is totally different but I am sure there is a similar mod that can be used.

My members get to opt out of it too if they don't want to participate. It gives tics beside their username denoting their level and when you hover the curser over them it has a snarky entertaining thing to read like "PAINTANK has Spiderman underoos" or something.

Or not, your site. A karma or rating system will almost guaranteed cause a sore rearend for some who tend to be gruff naturally. I am obviously unconcerned because I am so charming and suave but others WILL get pissy, count on it. I tried adding a member store once and it caused an epic Internet battle that spanned several centuries and consumed many worlds before I deleted it.

 

You're welcome.

To clarify my feeling on the ratings, even if only postive attributes were used, consider the following:

You and I are friends. We get to talking one day and say, "Hey, I'll put in good votes for you if you put in good votes for me." The deal is done and it isn't long before everyone else catches on. The good-ol-boy network takes over and pretty soon all those ratings are meaningless.

My point is that ratings can be manipulated. If you hang around here a little while, you can tell the straight-shooters from the BSers. I'd prefer to make those kind of judgements on my own, but let me say that your heart is in the right place for trying to think of a way to make the general experience more amiable. I just don't think these kinds of things can be or should be legislated. The more rules there are, the more complicated things become and that equals less participation. At least it does for me. Continue to be helpful and respectful, and hopefully the jerks will leave on their own.

 

This is why a lot of the real serious Maverick guys have already left, they too are also sick of all the junk.
I know I'm not innocent, but I've also lost interest in trying to help anyone, it's all just a waste of time anymore, someone is always trying to 1-up the other guy.

 

One simple way to fix this, but nobody (well.......at least some people) will like it. Drop the off topic section, make this board 100% Maverick/Comet only. This will remove about 95% of the problems. This is not myspace or facebook....but people treat it like that.

Use the "report this thread" button at the bottom of a thread to report it to a moderator. this seems to help some as well.

 

Butts get hurt quick with a rep system on a serious forum.
I haven't seen anything here I'd give a neg for. Even the misguided Comet jealousy wouldn't get a neg from me.