THE BIG MESS

It pretty much rests on the users as a community setting up a certain atmosphere and making sure that those that go against the grain intentionally are well aware of the fact that they are not welcome here. If they are the type who enjoys causing problems, then that is an issue for the moderators.

 

No way in hell would I commit to full disclosure. If anything, me paying this $50 a year gives me the right to make up whatever identity I want. I'm one of the few who have a problem with this whole "filling out the profile" mess in the first place. Only out of the kindness of my heart do you get my last initial in my profile. Let's not push it. If Rob got my last name when I paid, ah well my bad. One slip is enough.

I am a fan of zero tolerance though. As long as it applies to noobs who are repost whores also.


5 more posts to the big 1k, I gotta plan something good...

 

now that's not a bad idea.....

 

I have an open question to FerrariGTOFan: Are you the user formerly referred to as Joe Mullet? The guy with the 348 who insulted people here left and right, and then, when the backlash came, complained that folks got down on you mercilessly? And, from what i understand, left here, on terms that~ to my understanding, anyway~ suggested that you wouldn't be back?
If you are that person~ who used a handle like JVJBR~ why are you here in another guise? Isn't that deceitful and contrary to the terms under which you left?

If you are not that person, apologies in advance for suggesting you were- it would not be a good legacy for you.

But if you are, why are you still here under yet another name?

 

The only thing I can of that would prevent this sort of stuff would be to eliminate OTT and focus on corralling users into the regional forums.

I hate that idea, but I'd be less apt to go after someone who I'd have to come face to face with at some point.. when they're on another coast personal accountability goes out the window.

 

People can raid other regional forums...

 

Maybe in the general forums, but my experiences in my regional forum are the reason that I plan on joining both FCA and subscribing here for the new year. If I hadn't interacted and met some of the local Ferrari owners, I don't know that I would have anywhere near the same interest in joining as I do now. Now its how quickly can I pay off the bills and get some spare change together for memberships.

 

Indeed, but you'd now have more of a "group" situation to deal with instead of "every man for himself".

I don't really care for my neighbors but if someone was breaking into their house I'd be the first to call the cops- if I was out of town and saw something similar I probably wouldn't notice a problem or bother to do anything about it. I'm just talking about an internet version of "neighborhood watch".

 

And while we are at it, I recall Matteo listing my name and office address in a thread on here a few months ago. Funny how things are different when it's a friend of yours who is getting the same thing done to him.

 

This is probably the best idea / advice I have seen for FChat. I think Rob should put this action into place by next Monday.

 

HI DR JOEL

HOW ARE THINGS????

 

Hi Bruce...
Things are fine!!
How is your sweet other half doing?

 

When Dave and his gang harassed me for weeks on here, that was considered all in good fun.

When one of the moderators on here gave my office address to another member and asked him to "check me out", my complaints were met with ridicule.

When Matteo later put my name and office address in a thread on here, the post was removed. Not before it was up for several hours.

Now, when Dave's name and address are listed on here, it is suddenly dangerous for him and his family.
When mine was listed, my family and I were considered fair game because I had dared to disagree with his and others political views.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.......

 

Otto:

Wrong. Rivee posted his own picture. I modified it, making him look fat, and it was deleted. He'd gotten upset, because I kept referring to him as "weight challenged" and posted the picture to show that I was wrong. If he hadn't already posted it, it (the modified picture) wouldn't have been done. Any other distortions of fact in your handbag?

Art

 

It wasn't a distortion of fact. It doesn't matter who posted what, when. Your statement was that you never published anyone's photo...which you just admitted to doing.

 

Wow. This place has really gone downhill. Here's how i would solve this:

1) Off topic moved to Subscribed. Don't like that idea? Tough luck. If it was moved to subscribed, i think it would weed out a lot of the people who only contribute in OT. This is ferrarichat. Note the "Ferrari" in ferrarichat. OR only users with 2k or more posts can post in OT. B&I should be the same, except with 1k posts and people less than that cannot view it either. There is a lot of great stuff in there and i think a lot of it is going to waste because anyone can stop in and have a look

2) All NEW users required to "browse" the site for say...a month before they can post. It sounds like a dumb idea but it would deter trolls from signing up in the first place

4) Make people read the rules before they sign up. You could have a page dedicated to each rule. Say a few lines. They read it and click "Continue" to the next rule, and the next etc. There should also be a 10 second "no click" rule, where they can't click continue within 10 seconds of the page loading. This would force people to read the rules. Then there can be no whining when they get banned for something in the rules

3) If personal info is posted, BAN. No explinations needed. Its in the rules, read them



On a sort of side note, I also think this should be a private forum. I.E you have to be logged in to browse ANY of the forums. This added to the fact that people can't post within a month of signing up will help the site greatly. Less trolls and people who come just to stir up stuff.


Just my .02

 

Bill:

The proper term is"re-published". I didn't publish it, he did. The entire issue was that people were invading other's privacy. I didn't. He has. Period.

Art

 

Is this really true for vBulletin? Even with DB access, a well designed password system shouldn't allow an admin to get a user's password. What should happen is that the user's password is one-way hashed or encrypted and the result is saved in the DB. Anyone looking at the DB only sees that result and using that at that site or another site would not result in access. No one but the user should know the password that generates the hashed/encrypted result that is saved. Of course, the password could still be guessed or compromised through key-logging or trojan horses.

 

I know absolutely nothing about the technical aspect of this forum, but as my conservative friends from the politics and religion forum will attest to, my lack of knowledge on a subject does not stop me from throwing out a few suggestions.

It is my understanding from looking at the bottom of our site that this site uses the vBulletin platform. I went to their website at http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/ and saw that as part of this platform we could set up a point system in which users gain a reputation and that we could limit permissions to those with bad reputations. The vBulletin folks state as follows concerning the use of reputations:

1. User Reputation in its simplest form is a ranking of your user's benefit to your forum. Its basis comes from the opinions of all of your forum users that choose take part in it.
2. Users gain and lose reputation based on how their posts are scored by other forum participants.
3. Users with the ability to affect reputation will either give or take away points by approving or disapproving with a post's content.
4. User reputation can be a derisive element of your forum so great care should be taken before a decision is made to enable it.

This would not only allow us to monitor the trolls, but if a post starts getting a lot of bad scores, such as the ones where the person has engaged in a personal attack or posted personal information, then it might help the moderators delete or edit the post in a timely manner. I would also suggest that users who post in the Ferrari related forums earn points and that no points be earned for posting in off topic or politics. Similarly, I would suggest that a minimum number of points be required before one is allowed to post in the off topic or politics forums. I don’t know if this is feasible or even advisable. I also don’t know if it would swamp our already busy moderators. In addition, the note that this might become a derisive issue has significant merit.

I also suggest that Bruce not change a thing. When I see the guys that rag about his use of caps, they have now identified themselves as greenhorns with more opinions than facts. ( Oh, wait a second, that last part starts to make them sound like me) I digress.

Posting anyone’s name and address, etc without their consent should result in a ban with the victim having a significant say in the duration of the ban. Similarly, anyone who demeans the reputation of other members should be banned. For example, I remember a continued reference from one member that another member engaged a prostitute at some Ferrari event. Whether this is true or not should not make a difference. Such comments demean the reputation of our members. Truth should not be a defense to such allegations. We are not a court. We should not be placed in the position of judging the veracity of each side. However, I would allow for an exception to allow discussions concerning the honesty and reputation of those engaged in business dealings such the sale of products, especially Ferrari’s and Ferrari parts. I think business reputation discussions are fair game, but demeaning our brothers on personal matters should not be allowed. However, there should be an exclusion allowing us to smear any country or celebrity that is associated with Paris. This is just common sense.

The key is for all of us to be diligent and report to the moderators when we see a post that is out of line. I myself would like to see a button next to the quote button on each post that says report this post to moderator. When pushed it sends a warning to the mods. This might also speed up our self policing of the trolls.

 

Lloyd:

The conservative individual who published that knew it to be wrong, but kept publishing it. His buddy, who's still on this forum continues to make false statements, and has repeatedly defamed people, to the point where he's been threatened with suit. It's one thing to have a little fun, it's another to make claims that one knows to be untrue, with the intent of causing the other side injury, i.e., calling someone a criminal, etc.

The conservatives seem to think that such behavior is ok, when it's them making the accusations, but scream bloody murder when it comes back at them. If you look at the post that started this thread, the originator of the thread makes vague, unfounded accusations against others on this forum. It's interesting to note, that when he got his chops busted, he hasn't been seen since on this thread.

As for the dearly departed moron from Austin: good riddance. He was obnoxious, nasty, and frequently factually inaccurate. The forum is far better off with him gone. He'll be back though, watch and see, like the proverbal bad penny, we won't be rid of him, he'll be back.

Art

 

Settle down Joel. You had your name, profession and regional location on your profile BEFORE you when nutso on the board.

 

I seem to recall you had some member of ANOTHER board come to your office BEFORE you came to fchat. Pattern? Look in the mirror and you will see both the pot and kettle.

BTW - fix the light on your business sign. It was out a couple of weeks ago on one side.