Admin Evaluation of New York Tri-State...

+1 AND an OT sub-forum.

 

Sam is the jam... Rob can go eat it for skipping right to ban mode

 

I don't wander into the NY Tri-State forum as much anymore. Way back in the day, PA was part of this forum, until I asked Rob to move us to Mid-Atlantic. It just seemed to me that we belonged with the DC, Virginia and Maryland guys more than the edgy NY guys.

You NY guys seem to play by a different set of rules, much like the SOCAL guys do. I'm sure most other regional forums (Australia comes to mind) have their own styles too. Some are edgy, some are laid back.

But, you still need to stay within the boundaries of the TOS here, and more often than not, you guys really push the envelope. Is that on purpose? Or is it just a product of your NY style? I don't know. But either way, the way you guys interact in here tends to make for an unfriendly place for newcomers, and for guys over 40, and women, and... well, you get it, right?

Maybe a SLIGHTLY less edgy approach would take care of it. Maybe more conversations, fewer personal attacks, and STOP tying to slip past the language filter system. Also, and this may seem weird, but imagine your mom, GF, wife or sister reading some of your posts in here. I think most of you would blush if I read this stuff to a family member with you in the room.

Also, and this may just about kill you, don't consider this your personal playground. Rob wants new members here, and treating the Tri-State section like your own, instead of a place for all from your region is part of the problem.

OK, I'll climb off my soapbox now. Just try to consider what I'm saying without seeing it as a personal rebuke. It's more of a gentle nudge.

Dave M.

 

Excellent post. Well said...

S

 

While I agree with most of your post dm_n_stuff, and see how newcomers could be put off by the first look at this forum, I was a newcomer too about 3 months ago. I was greeted with respect and in a friendly manner. I can personally vouch for most of the active Tri-State forum members, that they are very friendly and helpful people. Some, I have met in person and to be honest, they are just the way they seem from the forums. I don't think there is a lot of "acting" here.

I am voting for a dedicated OT sub-forum though. It will help with cleaning up the main forum page and keep the most relevant topics on the first page.

 

i Vote add Clyde M as a mod.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but: Not a chance! I don't want to police this crew and you really don't want me as moderator. Sam has a very unenviable position and has my utmost respect for what he does. And I couldn't handle the grief: it takes a Mondi man.

 

Very well said. But people don't change. as i said i usually do not make much noise, i am usually the one that sits back and observes.
I am also always the last one to get to a destination whenever we do a run, and it's not because i have a slow car it's because i chose to drive a certain way. i am my own person, as all on this site are. But this situation has me a little upset/disturbed/uncomfortable call it whatever you wish. I got to know the guys on NYTS and they really are as someone said very much like they appear on this board. Is that good, is that bad? It's just a fact. I haven't been around this section as long as others but i kind of consider it 'my home'. I silver subscribed recently because i felt it was the right thing to do. Very rarely do i venture in other sections. Something you said above really gets to the heart of the situation: 'don't consider this your personal playground.'
You are absolutely right, but as i said i consider this site my home, i'm sure Joey and others that have been here the longest consider it more so. Does this mean that we can do whatever we want? Not as long as we are bound by someone else's rules. Now if i back room-sub would work. fine for me, i'm all for it. If it does not than i think all involved should explore other options.

 

Clyde, Sam doesn't have a Mondi anymore!!

 

DM_N_Stuff

I would like to take your post and copy and paste it as my own thoughts.
But then I might get banned for Plagiarism ! :-}
Dave I agree with your thoughts on this % 100. I never had issues with anyone here but then I don’t make posts that would create an issue. There has been a lot of Soap Opera type BS here and a few threats and personal attacks. This is the stuff you would expect to see on Yahoo Chat or IRC, not in a Ferrari Chat room. It is like bees protecting their hive, an intruder or in this case someone that is not liked is swarmed upon.
Does all this bother me ?? No because I can just chose not to read the thread.
However for the integrity of F Chat I agree that all rules need to enforced.

 

1. I agree. I have yet to see a member of fchat not be inviting. They always welcome new owners to the site.

2. I agree with the 2nd half as well. An OT section would work wonders.

 

I say we Ban Sam

 

And that really is the problem, right?

If I'm a noob, and I waltz into this section thinking, "Here's why all the Tri-State guys hang out", I'm gonna get a pretty, well, unusual image of what you guys are all about. First thing that strikes me is you all seem to be from NYC, and you're a tough crowd to please, with a more than slightly bawdy edge. That's not very inviting for some folks.

If I fight through that hesitation and post, there's a good chance I'll get accepted into the crowd, sooner or later, and it'll all be cool, but we're not trying to have a site where lots of people go running for their lives before they ever step foot into the joint.

That's really what I was saying, that it needs a more genial front, and the OT sub-forum might accomplish that real well.

We'll see where this thread goes, I guess, and let Rob figgur it out.

Dave

 

I disagree. Internet protocol dictates monitoring any site/forum/logs/etc to understand the flavour of the group before jumping in. Would you walk up to any group at a cocktail party & blurt out your opinion or interupt the conversation with your own topic? A savvy person will watch, look, and listen before contributing. If that person doesn't like the conversation or tone or has nothing to contribute they move on.

Just a problem on the tri-state? No. See what happens if you ask about repair centers in the technical group, hose sizes in the 3x8 group, or best-of-breed in the modeling section...you get flamed for not searching the archives or simply reading (which is to be expected).

Please don't take personal responsiblity away and sugar-coat the site. That's not what makes a strong community. And if the tri-state section isn't to one's liking...there are plenty of other sections out there to try.

As to an OT sub-forum? I'm of the mind that it dilutes the product too much. If there was a lot of Ferrari content to be posted in the tri-state, it would already be. I think that the break-out of the technical section was not a plus, but a detraction. I really enjoy reading and sifting through the general posts of the technical section and cringe of what I would miss by just reading the 3x8 section. Now there are threads in all the sections about how to treat and condition leather for example. Not good, IMHO.

 

Please take into account that this section is for the NYTC folks, so chances are, the newcomer is from this area and would fit in to this general "NYC attitude".

I completely agree. The OT sub-forum seems to me like a best-of-both-worlds solution.

 

But a guy from Buffalo, or from South Jersey, or Connecticut may not really be into the "NYC" approach or attitude. Like I said before, this forum isn't the "NYC forum" it's the "NY Tri -State forum." That's a bigger world than NYC. (I know, that's hard to believe but it's true, there is a world outside NYC that still is part of New York. ) If it was just for NYC, it would be called that.

Even if it softens the front page of the TRI-STATE Forum, and it will, it would be a place to hang out that has an edgier feel, without blowing away a noob with its rapier sharp humor. I think it needs to be a welcoming place here in the regional forums. That's probably where a lot of new folks head to find out what benefits being a member could have. You know, where folks meet up, who's the best or worst mechanic in the area, etc.

 

But not if you're from the Tri-State area. This is it. It needs to attract members, not repulse them. And in its current iteration, it doesn't come off as friendly, it comes off as a giant clique. I know you guys are tight, but it needs to be a little kinder appearance here, to invite new users to hang out.

Just look at how contentious it's become over the Joey 3 day ban.

Take a look at some threads in here through a rookie's eyes. They are pretty rough. I'm not saying pretend you're 13 years old, I'm just saying if you don't know the guys in here, it's pretty intimidating, and I think a few of you guys like it that way.

Dave M.

 

I think actually the NYTS section has been doing quite well recently, so I'm somewhat surprised to see Rob's posting. Any bickering that does happen is the standard internet stuff, and we (at least appear) to have finally moved on from the goddawful "ec vs. nyts" war. There's a new generation of fchatters, who have developed their own dynamic and, although it's a bit more Scores and less Ruby Falls (), a nice real-life social scene. All in all it feels a lot more like '04 than it used to.

So allow me to be a contrarian voice here and say that I'm pleased at how things are. Less fighting, less flaming, less warring, more fun, more drives. :thumbsup:

nlh

 

+1

...keeping in mind the need to follow the rules that allow the board to continue.