Separate the 308Gt4 section on its own from 308 and 328. The Gt4 is far superior and rare yup
So sure enough, I've subscribed, and against my better judgement, I wandered into the Politics and Religion subforum. Big mistake. I'm saddened by what's being said there. I tried not to look at user names to avoid bias carried over in other technical sections of the site. Even in the "Silver Subscribed Private Forum" to which I'm now privy, I see anger and strife, resulting in hard feelings, in a discussion of zoos, of all things. People who share a common interest in Ferraris should all be friends, even if just superficial, in this specialized setting. Like I imagine club meetings and group drives would be. Plenty of other venues to blow of steam or pick a fight, no need to mix this in with a shared love of beautiful, exotic sports cars.
Also would be great to have Ferrari parts and Ferrari collectibles separate. Easier to see what is listed
If you don't like the P&R section, just exercise some self control and stay out. That's it, problem solved. Your problem is purely of your own making. There's no need to shut down a whole (very active) section of the website because you cannot control yourself. Mark
On a site with membership numbers decidedly into the 6-figures, you're going to have some folks who rub each other the wrong way from time to time. On issues such as politics or religion, that likelihood is magnified, so it gets contained in an area where people can be warned that it's not for the faint of heart. The plus side of that is that it keeps the rest of the forum a bit cleaner to talk about cars. If you'd like, the P&R subforum can be removed from your account's permissions so that you won't see those threads popping up in the New Posts feed either. Just PM Rob Lay to let him know. All the best, Andrew.
We met some of current best friends here (skiiing with their family next week) and much of that was in p&r. Also avoided some events specifically because of what those people posted in p&r. I don't think we should automatically be friends at all just because we like the same cars if our views on society are diametrically opposed. It's also good to look around the backroom lounge to see how people talk in a locker room versus more public venues. But mostly, it gives a place for it so it doesn't infect the rest of the forum. The bike forum we own is constantly struggling to keep politics out as it's a nonpolitics rule and no subforum for it.
I use the be very active in the F1 section, but it's a long lost waste land now. I pop my head in every now and then, and always more of the same; a small group of people completely dominating nearly every single thread with the same BS over and over again. As the season begins to get rolling, I was thinking that a single dedicated thread in Silver or Rossa would be great. Any thoughts on allowing one thread in one of the subscribed sections for people who have grown sick of the F1 section? Mark
Certainly, Silver and Rossa are open to any topic off topic, Ferrari, F1, or even P&R in Rossa (under Subscribed rules).
The P&R section is a "black eye" to FerrariChat.com...... I've never seen such poisonous hate speech perpetrated under the cover of a car brand enthusiast's site. The intense hostility and lowbrow "comments" made by the daily purveyors of the P & R section should be a warning to all and is exactly the type of thinking that has put your country in the very dangerous position we have today !
Sorry, I didn't read 106 pages of notes but I'd suggest a better way to prevent fraudsters. Not allowing PM for 45 days and 30 posts. Blacklist of usernames, email address, phone numbers that add text (similar to the asterisks for bad words) to the PM or post saying this is a potential frauster. I am having issues with getting emails for threads I subscribe to (I'll do some searches to see if it's something I am doing wrong) but if this doesn't work, take out the option.
keep in mind we often can't be judge or jury, users are great detectives and usually can sniff out frauds quicker than we can anyway. usually there is always 2 sides to the story and that's often how it plays out the first person posting was the biggest problem to begin with.
Personally, I had to do this on another forum and it's a huge PITA. I need to first upload to Photobucket, then add the link and as Rob said, they often get broken. IMO, one of the best features of Fchat is direct image uploads And, while I have used Photobucket (and still have an account), the amount of spam from that site is ridiculous.
Personally I want to choose who hosts my images and I want to be able to continue owning them once they are uploaded. I can't delete or edit images uploaded here and so I'm not going to be uploading any more.
Having read some recent posts on this thread, I just ventured into the politics and religion section for the first time, ever. There are opinions there I agree with and those I don't, but generally it seems like some pretty smart, well informed people, with their own viewpoint, arguing with each other. Confirms my perception that Fchat people are on average, smarter than the average bear. I don't see a reason to shut it down. I probably won't go back, much, but it's good to see somewhere people can throw words, not worse, at each other, many of them backed up by some evidence, however sketchy. Better than the comment sections on many media (I work in the media).
Is the problem of disappearing original locations the major reason for not allowing pictures inside posts? I have seen a vBulltin extension that automatically fetches them, uploads them as attachments and displays them in the desired (by the admin) size.
If you're familiar with the team concept, you'll know that each individual in the team has their strengths and weaknesses. And yet, in spite of all that, the team is cohesive and successful. Undermining other team members is for the self-serving "players" amongst them. And by the way, not everyone here owns a Ferrari. Of those, not all are fans of the Marque.
P&R is great. Love it! Where else can you get highly successful people's opinion on controversial topics? Doctors, lawyers, authors, trust funders, CEOs, military, entrepreneurs etc... I wish there was more diversity in there, but it's usually a fun time nevertheless.
I think Fchat could be better if the real techs with real businesses could be on a longer leash than regular members. Everyone has a bad day and sometimes that can escalate into a series of unfortunate posts where a moderator finally bans the user. In my opinion, despite being a very advanced DIY'er, the "real" techs are an invaluable source. Many come here with no compensation and dole out little pearls of wisdom that are earned by years of bloody knuckles. I think we should cut these real pros some slack. Two examples come to mind the years ago loss of ferrarifixer from Australia and the recent loss of fastradio. Somehow fastradio (david a real pro with a real shop) got banned. I do not know his infraction nor care to know. He is a 1st rate Ferrari tech and has helped many on Fchat myself included. He is a loss to the community and if he was a member would continue to help as he has a written record of doing so. Is there a way to get these people back? I know how to reach both. I'm not sure if either is willing to come back but I would like to try and get them back.