Is this a snooty idea?

I think it is a good thing to have postings from everyone. Although you are correct that there seems to be some posts that don't add a lot of value to the F-car community, I think that those bad apples, as you say, are a minority. This board was a great resource for me before I bought mine. 'sides, I'm pretty sure the Profile isn't particularly reliable for anything. I'm one of those who like to keep a lower profile so I did not add my 3 Enzos in there.

 

Yeah, it's snooty. I'm not a Ferrari owner, but I don't tell people that modifying their car is blasphemous. I do plan to buy one in a couple of years. I'm here mainly to learn. I don't jump into the fray, but I do think it's weird when someone who doesn't own one pretends he does. That's just weird. I don't think owning a certain car will make me more attractive or a better person. I may get flamed for this, but, I think that dealing with poseurs online is part of owning such a sought-after car. Same concept as owners who don't tell people they have one and drive around behind tinted windows. Just part of the deal.

My 2 cents. take it for what it's worth.

 

+1 Owners and former owners.

 

I understand what you are trying to accomplish, and it's a laudable goal, but practically speaking it's just not, um, practical. Any internet bulletin board is going to contain a certain amount of "noise." Fchat is far better than most in this respect.

I am not an owner, and never will be. I got here because I had a question about a car I was charged with taking care of. I found a great community that I have stayed a part of because I like the people. I try to repay the favor by offering good advice where I can.

Comunities like this are self-policing: the veterans spot the troublemakers and see them off in short order. It's rarely even necessary for admins to get involved.

I could point you at a dozen sites where the noise has overwhelmed the information. This ain't one of them.

 

I have thought about this before, but where do you stop?

Only postings for people who own their cars free and clear? Unless you can post a pic of a pink slip, then you can't comment?

This would make sure that you were getting advice from a person with a vested interest.

I think that the current format is curse and a blessing, and we just have to choose who to ignore. There are even some owners who don't know what they are talking about half the time, no doubt.

An example of a non-owner who is an asset to the Fchat community is someone you talk to all the time, the guy with the Mitsubishi. (racerxgto, or is it ricer x ha ha )

Missed you down at The Daily Grind this morning. I screwed up on the date.

The car sure goes like stink when its 38 outside, I bapped the rev limiter in 4th on Scott rd and didnt even expect it.

Jay M

 

I joined this forum because of my life-long passion for Ferraris, at a time when the only Italian toy in my garage was a Ducati. I was a registered user for two years before I acquired my 328, and once I began the search in earnest, I received a wealth of information from other users who were already owners. The cars I looked at and drove in my search were all owner by other F-Chatters, and I wound up purchasing my car from a forum member who was advertising it through FerrariAds with a special discount to other F-Chatters.

For that reason, I can't endorse restricting usage to just current owners, as I'm a perfect example of a wanna-be who transformed into a owner through Ferrarichat connections.

What drives me crazy are opinionated non-owners who rack up four-figure post counts, and then attack new registrants for what they feel are improper usages of initial postings. "You come here and ask THAT as your first post and expect us to help?" "Use the SEARCH function" etc., etc. To my way of thinking, the person with 2 posts has the untested potential of actually becoming an owner, whereas the supercilious 2,000 post attacker has likely proven that they are always going to prioritize other purchases over eventual F-Car ownership, but that won't stop them from critiquing the new guys. These are often the same ones who weigh in on the "never finance a toy" argument, as that conveniently allows them to continue in the non-owner critics circle.

 

I'd say this site is fine, very little background noise compared to other forums. And would you keep out Ferrari techs who don't own one but normally have the most valuable posts here? The other thing is future owners come here and ask questions to do their homework before jumping in.

Not a bad idea, but I vote leave it as is -

 

I wouldnt necessarily say snooty but i think it goes against the Ideology of this site. The site (atleast i though this was the reason) was made for Ferrari enthusiats and for people who enjoy Ferrari and want to learn more. I do agree with you though there are some peolpe who post absolute rubish. But then again by making it your way the site will not have the "help im looking to buy" threads which I think are important because any way to help a fellow car enthusiast is great in my mind. I can see where you are coming from but i dont know if this would be the best way to execute it. Although I might be a little biased as im not an owner.

 

This is a good topic eventhough it does have a fringe concept.

Maybe Rob could have a place next to the avitar for some mark that would evidence ownership so that readers would be able to evaluate the comments and their worth made by a particular member.

In that manner the reader would evaluate the source and the comment value.

It is true that sometimes comments are presented by non-owners that prove to be valuable. So, to exclude non-owners may not be the best way to go.

Having an indicia of ownership may help, however.

 

So how about adding value to the site. Maybe a star or other kind of mark in your avitar or signature indicating that you are a verified owner. The actual list of owners and what cars they are willing to acknowlege will be listed in a subscribed area only. Maybe multiple stars for multiple cars.

 

Great idea - move the "Ferraris Owned" portion of the profile onto the Avatar setting. I'm always flipping back and forth between the screens anyway, in an effort to determine a person's experience with the subject they're discussing.

 

yea really, what's up with that anyway? I mean, she is a gorgeous piece of machinery, but....

 

I think there is some value in further identifying users by category such as owners, techs, dealers etc so that their comments can be evaluated in the proper context. It won't validate what they say - owners can be as asinine as non-owners sometimes - but it will provide context. It may be especially helpful in identifying some of the more enthusiastic teenage users who have 99% passion and 1% real data, but once again a well informed kid is sometimes far more knowledgable than a made-some-or-inherited-money poseur.
The biggest challenge would be verifying a person's category.

 

Agreed! I think it would be easy as well to require a VIN for those reporting ownership. I don't mind non-owners hanging out and posting here at all - in fact it's a great way to learn before diving into ownership. But I'm not a fan of people lying about what cars they own and requiring a VIN might curb some of this.

True, although most of the negative comments from kids, trolls and troll kids get exposed pretty swiftly here.

Not sure that "negative aspects of ownership" and "negative comments" are the same thing, though. If I want to say "the 599 looks like a Mitsubishi" and I don't own a Ferrari, there's not much that we could/should do about it. With regard to negative aspects of ownership, I think if someone gets stuck paying $800 for a targa top latch then it's very useful to have it posted here.

 

Free Speech and its ramifications are not the issue here. I would like to have some context with which to guage the usefullness of information put forth on FChat.

 

I think it's a good idea to make people pony up who claim to own a Ferrari. It wouldn't restrict any part of the posting/etc, but would cut down the noise some. There are quite a few people who get off on claiming to own/know things they don't, and it's really annoying. You have to have a valid e-mail to register, why not provide proof you really own a Ferrari?
Then again, Dr Strange Love would be out of a "job"

 

This is exactly the reason that you should have a gold star next to your name.

 

As a releatively new user, what is the Avatar Setting?

I believe knowing who are owners would be a good idea. Past owners would qulify. You may be between cars, in jail (for speeding), or in fuego.


Thanks,

PNH
2002 F360 F1 Spider color: write me a ticket red

 

I'm new and don't own a Ferrari, but and I think that it's a good idea. It wouldn't be to keep non-owners from posting, it would just add a bit of authority to a poster who isn't a regular. Make sense.

 

Many people on this forum know the cars I own, but I would have no trouble "proving" ownership for all the others. (As long as it could be done securely/confidentially ... I wouldn't be willing to post a picture of my titles on the Internet! ) But having said that, I don't think my being an owner should cause anyone to respect my opinions, etc. to a greater degree. I know a lot of non-owners here who have a lot more knowledge than I, especially with respect to technical/mechanical issues.

And I certainly don't disregard many of the "youngsters" on this forum. A lot have a high level of automotive knowledge. Hell, my 18 year old son, who has worked for a time in a Ferrari shop, knows (and can do) a lot more than I on many issues.

 

So leave this General Discussion area open to all and have the Model Specific a READ ONLY unless you can verify you own an Fcar. That should be easy to do.