Fchat= best car blog?

FerrariChat is one the best sites for me because of the quality information. We have members who are authors/historians, owners, enthusiasts. Although sometimes they get bashed they still share their experiences with us.

 

Maybe there are no Benz wannabes on the Benz sites because there are no wannabes for Benz's. Please.

I have no problem with non owners coming here. A few are hypercritical, jealous wannabes but most ask sincere questions and are sometimes entertaining. Besides, I think it is almost incumbent on us owners to demosnatrate that the majority of us are just car enthusiasts with a little more money perhaps and not a bunch of status grabbing snobs.

Also, there is much to learn here and not just about cars. Lot's of very smart, successful people and as a group have seen it all whether talking about cars or anything else.

Dave

PS: This is my only car site. I spend too much time here already, don't want to start another.

 

Alex,

Absolutely not. I just find that non-owners seem to be behind more of the worthless posts/threads. Take a look at the replies in this thread and you will see what I mean. Owners have tended to make constructive replies - even if they disagreed with me, (which is fine) while non-owners have tended to be accusatory and almost beligerent (which is fine too, except they are proving my point).

 

I find this a great site, if you know how to block out the 'noise'. Here's how I spend my on Fchat.

1. Showroom - I love the Garage thread

2. Canada - what's going on locally

3. 308/328/Mondial thread - learning about my model

From there I browse around depending on how much time I have usually starting with the General discussion thread, fully aware that I will run into a lot 'noise'. At the beginning I was a little overwhelmed by the size of the site but, gradually, I settled into this habit and it scratches my itch nicely.

Two more points:
1. I think this site's layout works as I have little trouble finding a specific topic when I look for it. (That being said, I find the 'search' feature weak.)

2. This site enabled me to get in touch with the best Ferrari mechanics both in Toronto (where I live) and Vermont (where I found my car). It enabled me to learn about gatherings, charity car events and, most enjoyably, cruises. It's the 'meeting place' of a small 'brotherhood' of great guys - Ferrari owners that are into getting together for a quick drive on the back roads before the wife and kids wake up.

I'm not sure if it's the 'best car blog' but it's good enough for me.

 

Rob,

If you didn't think it was necessary to do as I suggested, that's okay you could have just said so - not take the low road and accuse me of being condescending. I think your response is a little condescending.

For me to think F-Chat is the best, there would be:
- subscription fees for non-owners; no fee for owners (the opposite of what you seem to have now)
- more photo posting for non-subscribers, than the limits that exist today.
- less wasteful threads and posts. (Look at the recent thread "Where to get Honest Valuations"; its a waste of time for those who honestly thought they would help this guy)

 

Well, the accusatory tone might be a reply to the accusatory tone quite some people here tend to read in your posts, be it intentional or not, at least you leave the impression...

Reading your posts, I have the impression that you don't really understand the concept of a forum like this. FChat is a place for the enthusiast, where owners and non-owners alike meet and share their admiration for Ferraris. It is *not* a place where the haute volée meets, sniffing at the unwashed masses at the gates who are only allowed in after a hefty fee to marvel at the member's magnificence. At least that's the way I experience this forum, if I am completely wrong and it is indeed a gathering of snobs, the FChatters do a great job at hiding exactly that

Your assessment of the payment model here is btw completely wrong, if you want to support the forum and have extra benefits (ie more pictures), you subscribe. If you don't need all that, you don't subscribe. Period.

 

I've been on this site for three years but dont post much. i used to be on Ferrarilist and got tired of the ****** posters who mostly reveled in making others feel as lesser than them. I've had mixed feelings about this site that change here and there. I think the layout and the "mechanics" of what Rob has done is spot on. Dont change a thing you are doing a kickass job dude. I have learned oh so much about my ferrari and the marque in general that I never would have in any other forum or magazine, book, etc.

I have also learned a bunch about people in general. Some good and some bad. I think many people (and me too sometimes) definitely hide behind the anonymity of their computers and say things they normally wouldn't in person. I definitely notice that people wont hesitiate to jump all over someone with a differing opinion and many times its not cordial. Human nature I guess. There is definietly a lot of noise on here and in the beginning I used to get really annoyed and offended by it but now I just find myself laughing sometimes at the "humanity". I've found that many times there's a bunch of grown men/women on here that act like children in the school yard and it cracks me up.

But mostly I really enjoy the diversity which maybe I dont think most people could experience in everyday life.

 

Nathan,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Of the two most recent posts, once again, the one that is most intelligent, and valuable is the one from an owner.

Andy

 

Clearly I am in the minority in terms of wanting to pay for access to certain features of the site. My idea of value is that you get paid for the value you provide. If its not money, its entitlement. I don't go to work and pay my CEO.

 

How do you suggest people prove they are owners?

The guy wanting honest valuations may not think his thread is a waste. Where do you draw the line?

Dave

 

Your persistence in characterizing differences as owner/non-owner is becoming (or confirms that it is) offensive. In reading the same two posts, I found little difference. They both expressed their point of view with reasonable intelligence, but differing color.

 

1)

2)

Excellent posts. Keep up all that fantastic information sharing on Ferrari you spout off about. I love #2's relevance to the discussion.

You are absolutely correct, folks who have been posting here for many years before you joined, have no concept of what this forum is all about. What this site is all about is people who own Ferraris and other exotics speaking to each other intermittent with those who don't. Take out the owners and what do you have? www.imnotaferrariownerchat.com - probably a place you don't care about, right? Because when you ask about 355s, 360s or 308s do you want information from someone with first hand experience or just someone expressing an opinion with little to back it up?

 

If you complain about every post that isn't entirely serious or directly relevant to the matter at hand, maybe the internet as a whole is not the right place for you

Where exactly do you read in my posts that the owners should be banned from FChat or anything like that?! The fact that BOTH owners and non-owners share the passion for Ferraris here is actually my point, and being respected and taken seriously even without a certain car in the garage is what makes FChat so great. With tuttebene's propositions of fees for non-owners only etc, I think the forum would completely turn around the atmosphere, which would be a shame, imho.

 

If you leave out the Canal St knock-offs, roughly 95% and I know a few Italian lawyers that would like to know about the other 5%