An Open Letter to YarisBueller and VitzBoy

[tk-421]

Thanks for all the votes/responses so far!

Originally Posted by 47_MasoN_47

The rep level stuff, as others have mentioned, often is abused or simply turned into a "popularity contest".

I agree about that. There has to be a way to do this without abuse, however. If you have any ideas, I'd sure like to hear them!

Originally Posted by echo_hrs

We delete the spam as we see it, and our job doing this is made easier when the members alert us to it...

I agree that we have more helpful members than spammers. But how long do you think before that ratio completely changes? Spam bots are pieces of software that don't sleep. They post new threads at all times of day. And one bot can do a lot of spamming very quickly before it gets caught.

We may have one or two spam bots right now, but what if that number increases dramatically? Will YW members continue reporting them? Especially when the reporting interface actually limits members on reporting multiple posts in sequence?

Originally Posted by echo_hrs

And yes, there will always be some dummies whom create drama on the board, but I think that is necessary to keep us from getting complacent, and sometimes this board does need some humour injected into it to keep it from getting to eliteist...

There's humor, and then there's just having fun at another member's expense. All I'm saying is that there needs to be a better differentiation between the two.

Originally Posted by cali yaris

the main problem here is (1) lack of Admin presence and (2) lack of clear instructions/guidelines for the members.

Neither of which will change soon, I think. It is what it is.

I'm a bit confused... You agree with at least one of my points, but you voted that you either don't care (which I'm sure its not the case), or that you completely disagree. Care to tell me why? TIA

Originally Posted by mrbond

I think I agree most with #3, since spam is quickly gotten rid of and doesn't affect other threads. Plus, when I need to find something I looked at, say, a month ago, it starts to become a monumental pain in the ass. As for rep levels, I think it's a great idea since it's found on like Civic forums and NASIOC and all that. However, as it's been stated before, it CAN be abused. If there is a way to properly monitor and administer rep levels, then I'm all for it. Thank you, TK.

Thanks, mrbond!

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

-facepalm-

Eloquent as always, Charles...
Care to tell me why I'm so off-track?

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I also believe that some of the hostility towards new members is because they ask questions that have been long answered. I, for one, don't mind this. Yes, sure, they can use the search function, but I'm going to assume that some may not see it. It also refreshes some topics for the new people. hehehe.

Sure, but it also creates more clutter for the next guy looking for the same info, which only adds to the problem. It would me much easier to direct the person to the wiki, where he/she can make a much quicker search and get right to the meat.

[ChinoCharles]

You were right on having mods from different time zones. That would help with the spam thing.

A captcha for signup would also probably eliminate 90% of our spam.

Thomas should have had admin status from the get-go. I understand that there is a concern about giving a member admin status because of the kinds of sweeping changes that allows a person to make, but the level of involvement from our two admins has been problematic at times. Thomas has proven time and time again that if we have a leader here, he is it.

As far as how this forum treats new members, I wholeheartedly disagree and I've grown a little disenchanted from all of the negativity regarding how people are treated on this board. This is the most docile, kind car forum I've ever seen, yet there seems to be some level of striving for a forumtopia among a small contingent of our members. I just don't get it. I really don't. I'm an active member of three car forums and visit another 2 or 3 and I can honestly say this one is a puppy in a lion's cage. Try as you may, you'll never legislate perfection, and to try to do so is overly tiring.

I've been rather happy with the forums lately. I think after Gene left things mellowed out quite a bit and I've only seen one major spam attack in the last month or so. I don't see what the big deal is, but that is just me, and you're CERTAINLY entitled to your opinion, Bernie. I hope you can see where I'm coming from. I always meet YW improvement threads with a good dose of meh.

[ChinoCharles]

And about the wiki... it would serve the forum no proper purpose to set a wiki up because referring people to an off-the-forum wiki detracts from the search engine rankings of the pages of the forum itself. If I don't know these forums exist and I Google something and land on a wiki, theres a good chance I'll never find them. That is all bad.

[AlexNet0]

I personally believe a wiki section will improve the ability of new members (and a good "finite" collaboration area for seasoned members) to find and improve/build/revise upon proven concepts, homemade mods, etc. I personally hate sorting through (as others have said) 5 pages of bullshit to pick out the 10 helpful posts to get something done.
I do, however, believe that this also should be moderated by select members, perhaps a "post and get approval by poll" before being added type system, that way it wont be clogged by useless posts, being the point for such a wiki in the first place.
To address the issue about not being directly linked to the forum, templates can be edited, links and graphics can be added, it can be made very clear that that piece (wiki) is only a very small part of a much larger community effort.

I would be willing to do this, with admin support, of course, since if this never even gets to them its just wasted KB's on their database.

[ChinoCharles]

The political thread adds no fuel to the fire Pavel. I haven't seen one dispute off that thread related to politics at all. You're the only one that carries that thread around, in all honesty.

[ChinoCharles]

I still love you Pavel.

[tomato]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I also believe that some of the hostility towards new members is because they ask questions that have been long answered..

First of all, if members don't want to answer questions, they don't have to. Nobody forces them.

If someone revives an old thread, they say "this is an old thread, what are you doing?" If someone posts a new thread about a topic that has already been discussed, they say "another useless thread about the same topic." so what are you supposed to do?

About the search function: I couldn't work it for weeks. One of my computers reformats the page in such manner that I can't see everything, no matter where I scroll. The other computer hides half the smiles... So keep in mind that just because it's obvious on your screen, doesn't mean it's obvious on someone else's screen

By the way, I'm not jumping down your throat, Kaotic, buddy , I'm just using a piece of your post to say some things that veterans members need to keep in mind, too, that's all.

One more thing about the "search" function. If you don't have exactly the right key word, then you won't find what you're looking for and even when you do, people may be talking about the same thing but that doesn't mean the exact information you're looking for is there...

Peace

[tomato]

Oh, shoot, almost forgot why I came back to this thread in the first place! Here goes:

TK-421 (hehehe, by the way, funny name) you wrote a really nice letter. I don't know about the rep level either but for the initiative, and the letter itself. Well done!

[tomato]

One more thing, BTW, since the purpose of this thread is forum improvement, I believe.

You have to make clear to the new members somehow, whether this is STRICTLY an enthousiast forum, or if this forum is open to everybody who owns a Yaris and just wants to be part of an online community.

I feel, sometimes, that some of the "old" members may resent the presence of the "average user" who don't know very much about the technical end.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

hahaha, I actually forgot about the "this is an old thread, don't bump it up" thing. I agree with you on that. I see it on Fit Freak as well. But yes, if someone doesn't want to answer the questions of the new folks, just don't answer. I, or someone else who would not mind, will answer (if we can, lol).


As for the political, religious, etc threads, I feel that if it can be a civil discussion, as I have asked for opinions about religious stuff, then the thread can stay open, as my threads have. However, once it gets out of hand, then it can be closed. This is why we have an off-topic section of the forum. In all honesty, just talking about the Yaris may get dull without any other things talked about. As for the really "sensitive" topics, there should be a subcategory in the off-topic section. FF has one (I never look at it tho), it's called "The Wastelands". In it's description, it states that anything goes and is not moderated, so if you have a weak stomach, stay out. I can see some ups and downs of having something similar to that here.

[AdeJong 03]

have either of the owners been personally contacted? not pm'd but actually emailed

if they went through the trouble to make a forum i imagine they check their email pretty regularly. why dont they assign limited admin rights to a veteran? ive seen limited admin rights before its not a new concept

[eTiMaGo]

Originally Posted by AdeJong 03

have either of the owners been personally contacted? not pm'd but actually emailed

if they went through the trouble to make a forum i imagine they check their email pretty regularly. why dont they assign limited admin rights to a veteran? ive seen limited admin rights before its not a new concept

They have been PM'ed and emailed countless times by both myself and other members

[1NZYaris1]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

I still love you Pavel.

NOW Thats scary

[Malaya1221]

the owners seem not to care as much as some members for this site...perhaps we should start a new member owned yaris web site that would provide more flexibility for the mods/admins and members!

[KCALB SIRAY]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

But, none of this can happen without the involvement of our founders, they hold the keys, literally. And no amount of pleading or reasoning seems to have an effect, so we're stuck.

who

[ChinoCharles]

Originally Posted by Malaya1221

the owners seem not to care as much as some members for this site...perhaps we should start a new member owned yaris web site that would provide more flexibility for the mods/admins and members!

-whistle whistle whistle VVVVVVVVVV

[balmung_chris]

WIKI FTW

[jekqmb]

Originally Posted by Malaya1221

the owners seem not to care as much as some members for this site...perhaps we should start a new member owned yaris web site that would provide more flexibility for the mods/admins and members!

Ummm ill be working on this very shortly when i get some time, but its going to be a Micro-Tuner forum for Fits, Aveos, Smarts, Yaris, Versa etc...... I already own a local Ecotec Forum for st.louis that is pretty big.
I love YW already....This place is way better then Cobaltss.net and Redlineforums.com
Everyone is nice here and very helpful.