My 1000th post, and last post
 

Well, I went over my 1000th post replying to some of the threads I started, but I still wanted to follow suit, and post my thoughts of things for my landmark post as others have in the past.

I have been on this forum since March of 2001, and over that time have met alot of cool people, and have read from others that I think should find another hobby. In any case, I have had a pretty good time for most of it. Over the past year though I have noticed quite a change in tone in alot of peoples posts. Where people would come before and ask any question they wanted to without being flamed, now people are killed for just asking a simple question. Instead of answering their question now, people will waste another 5-10 posts yelling at the guy or girl that might have never used a forum before and doesn't know the car at all. Maybe even just buying it! It just seems to have gotten alot more out of control around here, and I personally don't blame the moderators. There are only a handful of moderators on this section (the only one I go to) and they can't possibly read the thousands of messages that are posted here daily. They don't get paid for it, and they do it out of enjoyment (I guess :D) Anyway, I think that more moderators should be added to try to curtail some of the things are are said here and it would be a better place for all the learn and share their stories.

I started my website in 1999 with the purpose of helping others to learn about their FC and to help them with doing various things to their FC's in form of modifications and installation of parts. I still strive to do the same today as I did then. I spend hours a day answering emails from people who have questions about their cars. I constantly try to make it easier to own an FC without having the headaches we used to have before the internet blew up and places like this were available for other the learn. The way I feel about it is this. When I first got my 86 Sport in 1995, I didn't have a clue. Through help from others, including the email lists and the local clubs, I learned how it worked. Now I want to be the one to help others who are starting where I did, buying a car you know nothing about.

Quite honestly if I had bought my car, and come here to ask questions and everyone jumped down my ass about "why I didn't search" and "If I have to ask, I can't afford it" I would have left and never returned. It really bums me out to see people here that started out somewhere to once just get all over people like they know everything. I have been doing crap with the cars for over 7 years now, and I still learn new things all the time. There are maybe a handful of people (if that) that I know of that I would say know more than just about anyone else regarding FC's. Most of them are not on this forum. Why is that do you think? I know which email lists they reside, and their knowledge is a base platform for others to stand on and learn. With an adjusted atmosphere here, alot of the more senior FC members would probably share that information here as well. The only people that can do that is the visitors here. If you guys just want to flame anyone that comes here new, people won't come, and people will leave. That isn't the way to grow a community. That is the way to destroy it.

Anyway, I have rambled long enough, if you even read this far. I will continue to be a part of the rotary community, and continue to be a part of all of the local clubs and the email lists, but unfortunately I don't feel that I can contribute here anymore with the current tone of things. For those of you that I am friends with and I have become friends with over my time here, you all know where I am and how to call me or email me. For those of you that I have talked to here through PM's or posts, I wish you all the best. I am not going anywhere, I just can't be a part of a place that has become so hostile to others for no reason other than they are new.

Everyone have a great holiday season, and I will see you all around.

(BTW, I will still be here for a few more days to wrap up my other posts that I started to answer more questions and cintribute to those, but then I will be unsubscribing. Thanks)

Well, sorry to hear you will be leaving the forum. Your constant help and advice was invaluable to many users on here, including myself.

Damn man that was deep. It sad to see a member leave because they are tired of other peoples BS. I think we can all learn something from this post, even if it is just to take it down a notch.

yeah, i feel the same, i am a new member and it really bums me that people of the same love and passion try to put the other ones down just so the can feel "superior". i totally agree dave, thanx for haveing the balls to say it...

keegun

Your site was the first one I found back in 99 when I got my first FC! :)

Good luck with everything Dave...you've been a great contributor to the rotary community

I agree with you and I am sorry to see you go. You bring a lot of good and valuable 411 to the rotary community. Rock on bro :cool: and catch you on the flip side.

BTW, i really appreciate everything you have done for this forum, i havent been here long, but i have read alot of your posts, it sad you have to leave, but i understand.

p.s. you will be hearing from me soon b/c i want one of those NICE CF hoods you are selling now, good job!

Hey what does this have to do with FC's ? dam you newbie search for the rules before you post stuff in this section :D

o well I'll see you on the list :), and hopefully next sept. and we'll talk in a few weeks about shiping ;)


So do I need a new hobby :confused: :p:

PS I think your last 200 posts were all trying to sell stuff anyways :D

hey dave dont forget about the euro turn signals, i still want a pair from your friend in germany!

Dave man, I've truely valued the information you've made available to us newbies in the FC world. I visit your website often, especially when I'm not in the mood for the aformentioned BS on this forum. You've really helped me out and I just want to thank you for your contributions.

Sad to see you leave-
Chris

Thanks for the kind words guys. I may at some point return and see what things are like, but time will have to tell. I'm glad to see that my opinions aren't alone either. You guys should do something about it, weather it's writing to the moderators off the forum to voice your opinions, or ideas better yet. You guys are what makes this forum work. Without the members, there is no forum, and there is no advertising, rendering it useless. You guys make this forum run. Don't underestimate yourselves. You can all contribute to making it a better place. The moderators are there to help you, give them ideas how.

Scott, you are still an ass :D

*wondering what that "Delete" button does next to his membership on the email list* :peace:

Well put, I just started browsing this forum and noticed a trend, your words confirm it.

See you on the other side hopefully and good luck with your business ventures.

Re: My 1000th post, and last post
 

2nd gen mods:

dcfc3s Last Post: 11-22-02 04:09 PM (3 weeks ago)

I still don't know who mazdamanda is LOL 312 posts total. last one yesterday but wasn't in this section... dam search is turned off... can't check for last post in here.

ragtop. I think he's posting again LOL haven't seen him in a long time.

hmm there used to be a forth??. maybe they are hiring :D

damn that sucks.... i guess i never talked to you or anything, but i always read your posts and stuff, and they always have some sort of useful information. Sorry to see you go, good luck with all your cf sales :D when i get money, i'll be gettin' some... best wishes to you, and happy holidays to you too :D

Well fc3s.org


Thank you for your contribution i am also a relatively a new memeber and felt quite burned by being flamed by asking simply questions! I know what you mean! IF you don't mind what do you mean by email lists? PM me if you could. As I also have some ideas on manufacturing things for TII's!

I really hate to see another knowledgable person leave! We're losing a lot of knowledge! If this continues the forum will become impotent.

There are two problems:
1. Newbies can't get the info, thus they leave.
2. Experts are sick of the same questions and the fighting, thus they leave.

I believe the solution is to make a ultra comprehensive archieve of problems and solutions. This way the newbies get their basic info and the experts get to spend their time on interesting stuff. What I'm refering to is more in the spirit of what Ted did then the archieve here. Ted's page doesn't go nearly far enough. Problem is no one wants to spend the time to do it.

I think the solution is for anyone and everyone to do write-ups on anything they know. People can then sort through the solutions and determine which one they like to get their info. If/when things get cluttered, a ranking system could eliminate the lesser ones. If you don't like a writeup you can make your own, even cutting and pasting other people's work (giving credit). Everyone can contribute. If you're a newbie and you only know how to change the oil, then that's what you'd contribute. So many write-ups written by people with expertise are lacking in some areas. After a someone has tackled the problem, I believe even a newbie could improve the write-up.

Knowlegde is constantly lost or not given. If we can create something like this then mostly complicated problems or problems with wierd twists will need to be posted. That's not to say the forum will not have lots of posts, but we can make it so people need to post less often. I hate trying to find out how to do stuff that could have been simply explained in writeup.

Dave, I thank you for all the input and advice. I wouldn't be where I am without you. I too get tired of the bickering, but it is annoying to see 5-7 " how do I turbo my NA?" posts when a real technical question gets ignored and due to the volume is lost in traffic.

I'm quite bummed out by this news, but Dave brings up some excellent points. I have noticed that people are more inclined to flame newbies who have somewhat harebrained schemes (airpump as a supercharger, run 13's N/A, etc.). There's also a certain amount of rudeness applied to a newbie when he asks a common question, by being rude and responding "SEARCH!", you only serve to alienate that person. I agree the archives need to be edited, but we could also set up a FAQ sticky that would explain all the myriad 2nd Gen questions. VW Vortex does this and so do many other websites.

Anyways, rock on! Let me know what the main E-mail RX-7 newsgroups are; I'd like to get in on them.

Zach

Well I'm sad to see you go. I don't know you although I know you're the guy selling the CF hoods (nice) because I JUST started looking at the forums this week. I love FC's and am just getting into them and learning a lot. I hope I get to talk to you sometime and explain some stuff to me. Probably a nightmare for you :D .

Anyways, good luck to you.

If a newbie posts on something I know I try to help out. If I remember a thread about it I'll try to post that too.

Anyways it sucks that you're leaving. I remember when your site was in (i think) sport compact car

Again, thanks for the words guys. There were some good points brought up.

On the repeat posts, I have said for years now that if anyone has a write-up (doesn't even have to have pics) and they want to archive it, send it to me and I'll put it on my website. I have a few write-ups on how to do stuff from other members of the community, and I would be more than happy to add anything someone might come up with. I always give credit where credit is due as well.

On the questions about the email lists, one of them which is pretty broad in experience range is website list, which used to be the teamfc3s list. I am the owner of the list, and I have some very experienced moderators on the list as well to keep any fighting down to basically nothing. There are arguments, but they are usually over opinions on something but are still kept within a dull roar and are always done respectfully. Violations will get you removed from the list, and all of the moderators and myself have the authority to do so.

Here is a link to more info on joining that list.

http://www.fc3s.org/email/email_list.html

Sorry to see you leave. Your raise many good points that are factual.

Hope it isn't a downward trend of forum.

Be sure to check back. Maybe things will change.

Have fun with your spare time!

James

A downward trend....thats where this forum is going. I remember when i joined this forum around october of 2000 and it was great people were nice and being a newbie was not that bad. People treated others with respect, now its just the older newbies flaming the newer newbies because they got flamed when they came on. Stupid. Peace out DAVE you are the man without a doubt i hope nothing but the best for you. -Gabe

Re: Re: My 1000th post, and last post
 

Im sure that dale is very busy and cant always be on here.

MazdaManda? Who? yea..........

Well Dave it sucks to see you going. Thanks for all the info and also the fast email responces on products, if all other business replied as fast as you i wouldnt be so pissed off all the time!

I also have notice some changing in the forum, I do not tend to get on here quite as much anymore (Keep the applaus down) But Hopefully it my moral will go back up as people read what you have said and chance a bit,

Yes half the Use search button remarks are probably from me, but to defend my self and many others We say this because people may no know its even there, and also because so many people have asked the same question over and over, The newbie questions are an example as well as what does it take to make my car shoot flames and how to turbo an N/A when there is a sticky holding up at the top showing people the exact info that they may need.. I know that i made some bad posts when i first started on my old name (R.I.P) But im glad that people told me how to search and Im glad on may occasions that i did search. Because people telling me to instead of waiting for someone to put in the right info.

PEACE-

-Chris

Dave,

it is sad to see you leave. I agree that there have been some asses with the wrong attitude, but I would not leave. I enjoy talking to people, learning about RX-7s, and trying to help people. I admit, I have gotten mad when, for the 4000th time, newbies ask a simple question, but I try not to.

Like you, I realize that I was not born knowing lots about RX-7s and FCs. If you would of asked me 5 years ago what an FC was I would be like :ret:.

Its a shame that you are leaving because of this, but I guess you can do whatever you wont and no one will stop you. I tend to overlook the flaws of this forum, but maybe they bother you more. WHen someone is rude, I try to go against them, not the newbie. I see the rude person typically at fault, because how should the newbie know?

i do not feel that this forum really has a rep for assholes (every forum has them) but it really does repel new people. And everyone was a new member at one time (ive been on here for less than a year and a half) so them being rude really hurts the forum.

Best of luck in what you do.

-scott

I spoke to Brad (rx7_ragtop) the other day. Dale is not here for some other reasons, but will be back soon.

Rat

its really not that hard to put your foot down and control all of this nonsence (moderators!?!?)...maybe we dont have to see Dave go...all we need is some authority around to keep the flaming to an all time low....how hard is that? get more mods! ones that have time to search the forum for flamers and noobs...

i said this before and i'll say it again, we need a separate section for all the noob questions/write-ups/how-to's/etc., in a organized list, and we would definitely see some improvements. make another sub-category for noob questions like "which exhaust?", "show or go?", etc... and we can clean this forum up real quick!

what Dave is saying is absolutely true, the forum is a little out of controll...and im begining to realize it...

Dave i hate to see you go, your posts have taught us all a LOT! have a merry christmas and a happy new year.

-chad

Unfortunately, i must agree on the downward trend. When i first started going on this forum, the people were nice and the information was pretty accurate. Now there are just bitter angry people and 95% of the posts are wrong info. This must be very frustrating to new people and i dont blame them for wanting to leave.

Its my personal opinion that alot of trouble stems from the lounge and people of the lounge mentality. 15 year olds with nothing better to do that cause trouble end up annoying vetrans while scaring off newbies, and thus hurt the entire community. I feel that the forum is a long way away from the original rotary community a few years back. Im sorry you have to go, but i also understand why. Thanks for all you have done.

Get rid of everything but the gen specific and classifieds. dont really need the rest, ESPECIALLY the lounge.

We're gonna miss you dave...thankfully www.fc3s.org has it's own forums in case we need some advice or wanna chat. besides, we have to keep tabs on your R&D :)

I'm not really fond of the "use the search button moron" threads...makes it a bit hard for some new FC owners to get the ball rolling. If they are new tuners they dont know certain questions have been beat to death. and even if they have, the exact answers should be a breeze to shoot back to them. I don't blame the moderators, one way or another I've gotten the answers I needed. :)

I likewise, will miss anyone with a wealth of knowledge that replies with a cordial, polite response which has always been Dave's style.
We must understand, that with 25,000 members, various types of personalities will surface. I certainly hope we can all "pull together" and refrain from the rude, sarcastic, viscous posts/replies.
Good luck to you, but don't go too far away...A lot of people need a stand up person like yourself!

This is my take on this issue. I am not really a noob anymore, but there is still a ton of things I can learn about the 7. I love my car to death...and I would really encourage anyone who is interested in their cars to ask as many questions as possible. It is true that if all the gurus leave....some of the advanced knowledge will bw lost - so we must be proactive about this matter. Guys like me, who are not "guru" status, but also know the basics fairly well MUST take charge of this deteriorating condition. We must keep knowledge of the 7 flowing, or else there will be no one left here for us to learn from, as all the guru's would be gone.

I believe I have accumulated enough basic knowledge anout the S5 (what I have) to start some work on a few write-ups. I have taken alot from this community...its time to give some back as well.

Dave, good luck. I regularly visit your site, and will continue to do so.

I respect Dave and will miss his input, as well as hope he keeps in touch.

But as too the Flame or lower mentality or whatever everyone else brings up... it has always been here. It always will be here. It's an Internet message board and like all Internet message boards it goes in cycles. Last year people were saying the same thing and everyone mellowed out for a while. Then it came back.

But it is free speech at its finest. And we make it what it is.

But I completely respect Dave's right "to change the channel" he listens too. (anyone that didn't get that referance should listen to old George Carlin).

I agree with sunshine. What needs to happen is for those of us who have collected a fair amount of general knowledge, or even large amounts of knowledge on the specific problems we've dealt with, to take responsibility for anwsering newbie questions. That way, the experts don't get frusterated and will be availible to anwser questions on the more complex questions we have on the long and perilous journey to guru status.

In a perfect world; everyone would pull over and help the guy with a flat tire ... this aint a perfect world. In your everyday life you have to sort through the bullshit; no different here.

Thanks for hosting the FSM!

I don't think the moderators can or should be held responsible for the childish behavior of the minority around here... People should actually proof read their posts before hitting the "Submit Reply" button and consider if the type of post they are submitting is helpful or a waste of time and space.
Dave, good luck and I will see you plenty on your website.

Dave again im real sorry to hear you go , You are a very knowlegable person that has brought much information to us. I always visit your websight i find it extremly usefull.
Good luck!:D

I'd like to add that RX-7s now have mainstreem exposure. The little "cult of the rotary" is all but defunct now, and many people are resurecting cars out there.

Dave, it's only natural that were attracting some elements of the Y & Z generations. Personally I think the advantages (parts, exposure) outweight the smack talk out there.

I'd say 75% of the posts in this section are being responded to, and with good content.

Don't feel your being jaded too much, we all want to get as much exposure & knowlege going forward. I hope this isn't tied to ROI either, because instant gratification will never happen. However what you don't see is the newbies buying engines or parts from manufactuers (including yourself) in greater numbers = more $$$ for the gurus making our stuff.

Dave you contribute more mechanical & hands on knowlege. I'm contributing more to filtering the RAW AMOUNT of unkown information out there and letting everyone know what they can choose from.

You might follow RETED's example and just respond to the honest posts covering new territory. There still many out there.

We'll try to fend off the newbies with links to writeups, websites, & self help... but at the same time make them feel welcome & comfortable asking questions.

So just be cool and glad mazda & us rotorheads are even busier & happier than ever.

Re: My 1000th post, and last post
 

Indeed. I think the only time I ever tell anyone to search is when the person ISNT a newbie (ie has 500 posts) and asks a question that gets asked atleast 5 times a day. Usually I just go do a search for the material in question or try to help off memory. Usually you can just copy/paste answers from another thread that is on the first 2 pages lol.

shitty deals man. your site and teamsfc3s were the two first websites i found for my car. i have been a fan since the first test drive of a shitted out s4 gx. it's been 5 years since i got my rexxie, reading stuff that people like you posted on this site has been invaluable. thanks man, i appreciated the help.

as for your opinion on this forum, i would have to agree,, i have been a mamber for a while here now, and have seen the same change that you have. i find it is very difficult to get a question answered, the only threads that stay on the front page are wars about drifting or how rice things are, there is lees support for fellow rotorites than their used to be, we got to stick together against all the pistons, were greatly outnumbered

Again, thanks for the kind words. I think allot of you have agreed with some of the things that I have said about the trend, and I think that I may have hopefulyl sparked enough interest from you guys to get down on people who jump all over others for no reason other than they are new, and don't respect others just because they like something that they don't.

I will still be around the web, and you guys all know where to find me.

Take it easy fellas