FerrariChat.com: Quality Control

Personally, I get so sick and tired of the petty bickering, name calling and personal attacks, it makes F-Chat not as fun as it used to be anymore (just for that reason alone, all other aspects of the site are great IMO). Whatever steps you see necessary to achieve a more harmonious site is OK by me.

 

Life is too short... as are fuses

 

This is also a good time to offer your feedback with a positive attitude how we can improve FerrariChat.com overall.


Rob, I think your rules are very easy to live with.

I'm very new to the community, so please bear that in mind when I ask - would your problems be lessened if you removed the Politics & Religion section?

I see very little hostility in the boards that are actually related to cars.

Thanks for providing a great resource,

Neil

 

I think PeterS, Darth, Enzo, and Rob all great guys. Its sad to see this come to this point. I think like most things, it is something that has built up over the years through miscommunications and idealogical differences. I think Rob does a great job of running this board because I think he realizes that 'he doesn't run this board, the users do', but sometimes the average user doesn't have the perspective that the proffesional does in order to make the best desicion for the whole group. I think Peters mis-interpreted Rob's tone which was jokingly, but Peters took it as condescending. Peters has to be a great guy to to write a check for $3,000 to a charity and write it from Ferrarichat, whether he raised the money or it came from his own pocketbook. I think that shows a true willingness to want to help Fchat. I think Enzo's posts are usually pretty positive and I think Darth brings a lot to this board to. Though he may be very sarcastic and bust everys balls (probably mine more then anyone!), I think he does care about the good of the board. After he made comment after comment about me, I finally PM'ed him, because I thought the dude hated my guts...but after a couple of PMs I realized thats just his nature, he's a smart ***, but he's a good guy. I fear that banning Peters is going to make the situation worse, not better, between Rob and Peters but I don't what else you could do when the situation escalades like it. I have no idea what the solution is here, but I'm sure some of the problem solvers here like Whart and others will present a couple....Maybe a public apology by both parties? I believe all parties here share a portion of the blame, but I believe they all could forgive each other, if they were so willing...
Just my 2 pennies from 1 out of 18,000.

 

What I wanted to say has already been PM'ed to you weeks ago or said in open chat.

For those who didn't see those comments, violations of the TOS need to be dealt with immediately. You can have a heated debate or a blatant disagreement without throwing insults.

QC means handling issues before threads get to 50 posts. Hang around bimmerforums and if you post a thread in the wrong section, or accidently cuss, you get a temporary time out and the thread is locked. If you have a heated discussion and one person doesn't appear to be calming down, the moderators step in openly and say calm it down or the thread is locked. The community gets along just fine with quick scapel like interferences from the moderators.

Thats what is missing. I have 20 people on my ignore list and the list is slowly growing. Others need to be reminded that the function is there offline.

Forums are nothing more than a collection of opinion columns that you get to respond to. If you respond to someone's insult or don't like what someone says and don't exercise the ignore feature, that is your own fault.

My .02 Turkish Lira,

Sunny

 

True..........

Rob,

Good post......... Though, I think it's a bit funny this is located in "off-topic". I've often thought there should be a section for Fchat related issues / advise / questions / etc...

 

There is one....it's called Off Topic.

 

Rob,

I, too, tire of the bickering, baiting, and backbiting that sometimes goes on. Yes, one can simply ignore it, but it diminishes the value of the forum and needs to be dealt with. I laud the efforts to minimize the negative chatter (sorry - pun semi intended). Since we're all just a bunch of people, a certain level of discontent and less than stellar behavior is bound to exist. Discussion and sharing diverse viewpoints is one thing. Personal attacks are quite another.

A view I have seen expressed a few times really troubles me - "Get over it, it's just the internet". I think that is a very narrow view and one which is used to justify behavior that should have been left in junior high school. This isn't "just the internet". This is simply another means of communicating with other people. People with whom we supposedly share a common interest.

There are many bright, talented, and knowledgable folks on this board. The high value majority shouldn't be run off by the few who can't play well in the sandbox.

Mike
__________________________________________

Watch out, NNO. I'm an up and coming PW!

 

And this is the reason I keep coming back every day!!!

Rob, decisons are never easy to make, and I've yet to see you make a bad one. I know that whatever road you take, it's ALWAYS in the best interest of F-Chat.


Your neighbor to the north,
Bernie

 

I hate to admit this but I have, in a small way, always enjoyed the petty quarrels down here in these "basement" threads. 90% of my time is spent up in the general/tech/regional areas. But I do enjoy the other 10. It's similar to rubbernecking an accident scene. I expect it here but it can become a problem up in the tech dept. where a disagreement on whether you can change belts on a 355 with the engine in can turn personal and hurtful in a hurry and end up having NOTHING to do with the original subject.
I have always viewed the political and off topic threads in much the same way as a boxing ring and the other Ferrari-related threads as the streets. Fighting is permissible in the ring but not on the streets. So if your gonna do it - keep it where it belongs. Maybe this way Rob won't get anymore phone calls like he's some brat's daddy.

By the way, Rob, I am looking foward to finally meeting you in Indy after 4 years (last month) on this site.

 

I like Rob. I really do. But i have to say that, making executive decisions about the board is one thing, and getting into pissing matches with individual users is another. To the extent a user is waging a personal battle with Rob, somehow, i expect that to be handled just as any other "hot" thread would be- by the moderators. Frankly, I don't know, and really have no kinship with Peters- the only time he and I "chatted" on the board was a bad joke turned sour (and probably my fault)- but the impression i had was that Peters was "suspended" because Rob got fed up.
That is not the same as the orderly and fair administration of rules, and I think it behooves Rob to avoid even the appearance of personal animus in connection with anything he does on this board, particularly when it involves the public excoriation of a member, the setting of ultimata or a decision to remove someone, temporarily or permanently, from the board.
We all get pissed off sometimes, but Rob, you are in a public position that requires you to be above the fray, in my estimation. Otherwise, it really begins to look like rules are enforced arbitrarily. I know this same kind of comment has been made about certain moderators- not that i have anybody in particular in mind, but it's hard to be one of the players, going along with a joke or flame, and then suddenly put your cop hat on; it will never look fair.
As to the notion that "it's only the Internet" I think that's a lame refrain. If it is such a complete waste of time, or meaningless, that doesn't say very much for any of us, including the people making such statements. At bottom, we are here because we want to be, and get something-information, humor, a chance to test wits, or simply a sense of community from our participation.
The board has improved, overall, and I roll with the changes, because that's part of life- I don't want to go back to the smaller more insular group we once were- remember, there were just as many flare-ups, insults and trolls, proportionately, back in the "good old days."
The real measure of the value of this place to me is to try to give more than I get, and in the process, i feel like I get alot more.

 

Well said and one hell of a 3,400th post.

 

robs quality control thread, =
PERFECT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! couldnt put it any better !!!!!!!!

 

Well put Whart.

One former site I belonged to (they booted me for supposedly hacking them) used to frivoluosly enforce bans, and filters on anything that possibly shattered the illusion of their happy little world. One more site I belong to (www.genmay.com) has a "KC" for "KiddieCorral" where people are sent and punished for a while. While it may sound childish, it allows people to reflect on their actions, rather than ban them outright.

EVERYONE I have met from Fchat, 007, Jordan, Black355, jptyke, noahlh, woodear, robferreti, nocturne1, kevallino, darth550, mike550 and all the others are all been great folks. I learn alot in the company of these folks, and while some of Rob's rules from Rob's sites may have been broken, shattered or just bent, we can, and should all cool off for a bit. I myself have been prone to getting out of line. I would rather take time to learn from my lapses in judgement that to be banned for life. Give someone the chance for redemption. Sometimes that comes from an action because people don't react well to just words and warnings alone, that just degrades to name calling and smear tactics.

 

Maybe Rob you could publish a list of users that are at risk of suspension? That way, alot of the problems can be fixed before they reach this stage. It will decrease the stress on both parties. Now, im not saying that you dont do that already privatly through PM's, but maybe make it public, just to show other's that yes, there are people here that start ****, and yes, you do get warned, and yes, you can be banned.

Being warned in front of ones peers can be a postive thing, and also a negative thing, but it could do alot of work that you dont have to do. An idea from me

 

i like it !!

 

isnt that what has caused all this strife?

edit: forgot my smiley

 

Show me a list of users on watch, and you have a point.

 

from what i understand its in the mod boards, and im not a mod.

I think this is all silly and we should just move on and post just stupid crap like we used too.

 

Rob-

To be perfectly honest, all the talk of positivity, community, open communication, peace, love & happiness in your post above is pretty much nullified with this undercurrent of "F*ck with me and I'll kick you off". It's like a girl scout saying she'll slit my throat if I don't buy her cookies.

All of us like to stir the pot from time to time (yourself included) however I think your ownership of the board should be separate from your participation in it.

As "Owner Rob" you should be the invisible hand that works through the individual user issues via PM's, email & moderators, not engaging them personally on the board. If we're talking about treating our intarweb interactions as we would any other face-to-face situation, you've been in the electronic equivalent of a few street brawls yourself. The problem is, you're doing the fighting and also making the arrests afterwards. Communities don't really like that sort of thing.

-Chris

 

I was at the point on the board where my fuse was very short. I took a few weeks off and focused on work and other things. It was the best thing I ever did. I stayed out of fights, and I did not get in any.

It's actually refreshing to NOT see my name mentioned by Rob.

This massive board meltdown is the direct result of people taking this way to close to the chest.

I feel that 99% of the issues that Pete and Dave have with Rob can be settled on the phone in about 10 minutes. This whole arguement is one big Ego battle and no one will back down. I consider all those envolved in this thread friends. Rob, Pete, Pat and Dave are all at fault in one way or another.

Rob lite his short fuse, Pete pushed the point and challanged Rob, Pat did the same and so did Dave. When I left DFW I told you all that I was going to talk to Rob and for you two (Dave and Pete) to back off and not post anymore. And guess what, There was a challange post to Rob.

Please, for the sake of everyone, work it out. I see Rob wanting to meet halfway. He did not delete Pete, Pat or Dave yet. He could have and did not.

Pat, in my eyes, is a valued user. He has added many a post in regards to IT issues.

Pete, in my eyes, is a valued user. His fund raising and his light hearted posts help liven the board.

Dave, in my eyes, is a valued user. He was helpful to me with home purchase advice and help other users as well. He was a great mod by helping to clean up posts and bad links.

Work it out, Take sometime off. Rob included.

 

Dude, If you read my post, this wouldnt even be an issue.
I said a public list....

FFS