California Dreaming

I agree with you when you say charging people would limit many people from learning about RX-7's. On the other hand I really think it would cut down on many of the annoying people on the forums. Take the Viper Club for example, they charge something like $100 annually and their forums are filled with intelligent people (for the most part). I am still quite new, and I saved a ton of money by seraching the forums and learning what to do myself instead of leaving my car in the hands of a mechanic 24/7. I was 100% mechanically challanged before finding this site. I wouldn't think twice about paying $30+ per year for membership. Thats less than the price of an oil change!

sonix7

Good point, I feel the same way!! one for newbies and whoever else and one for the die hards. You could keep it informative and innovative. The small membership fee would weed out the jokers. You choose. I hear what Mahjik is saying and to a certain point I agree with him, however, a very small fee would be well worth it and its still a collection of information that is available. Just an idea, I also want to give the mods a big thanx for their time and effort to maintain this site. I could never repay what I've learned on this site. Thanx guys.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Well, will have to agree to disagree (with regards to a Newbie section).

I hate the thought punishing good people just because of a few bad apples (referring to good new members we might receive in the future). Had something like that been in place when I joined this forum, I would not be here today (although some may think that would have been a good thing ).

mibad

I think you and the other experts are doing an amazing job. I think the site is great as it stands. When I make a stupid thread you guys let me know without being too harsh or too subtle. Sometimes I post things just for humor's sake which I know just takes up space, but what is life without a little levity.
I think there is room for all 3rd gen owners here. As people progress most threads become less useful to them, but there is more than enough advanced material here to keep everyone happy. I say treat everyone with respect whether I deserve it or not

Herblenny

iTrader: (13)

I don't agree with charging to be on the forum..

But I think newbies should go thru some sort of waiting period before posting.. That would give them time to look thru and such.

And I think if they want to skip the waiting period, they should take some sort of test. If they pass, let them post without waiting.

Test should be made up of all the repeated posts we see on this forum...

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Gosh...so negative Mahjik. I dunno what else to say. I'm sure you know how the forum goes, so I don't think there's anything else I can say about this... =-/

FYI, I wasn't basing it solely on post count. I know the "big dawgs" have the lowest post count. It would be the moderator's job to sift between the noobs and the experts. Plus, I disagree with your premise/principle Mahjik. We don't set the rules based on the exceptions or minority; rules are based on the majority. And the vast majority of cases w/ ppl w/ low post counts is that they're noobs.

That's your opinion, and of course you're entitled to it. But for example, DTMPower.net has a "Verification" section, and they have 59,527 members as of 8:31 pm EST. That's a lot for a website that has something that you'd think would **** off a lot of ppl. I think it stands as a testament that if a forum is good enough, ppl will do what's necessary to get on it.

I'd leave that up to them to decide, and they were suggesstions. My point was that I'm sure some ppl would step up to the plate to help make this happen (as you can see from this thread).

Well, honestly, and quite frankly, that's because the vast majority of ppl don't know JACK when it comes to stuff in that forum. Most of us still when we gotta deal w/ offsets and rim sizes lol. Again, apples and oranges (IMO). And I think a noob would be hard-pressed to find a topic that warrants getting enough attention to be posted in the 3rd gen section, even if it doesn't particularly belong there. And in such cases, again, an exception, the mod could move the thread there. But (again), I'm dealing w/ the generality and norm, not the exclusionary and exceptional.

True, but I think every Gen section has this problem. I mess around in the 1st Gen section a bit (cuz of my FB), and they have the SAME issues.

me! Holy smokes lol. The truth comes out!! lol. :runs and hides: lol. Man...I need a moment to recover from that below-the-belt PUMMELING lol. But what can I say...I'm sure a lot of guys really don't like my FD, esp. the ones in my rear view Not that it makes a difference, but I think I have enough very respectable kills to back up my taste. Diff strokes for diff folks, eh?

What is this? You're advocating banning Jimlab?!?! Talk about instigating haha.

I don't think charging is a good idea, and the point isn't to limit our members. It's just to help all our members conform to our rules, #1 of which is READ THE FAQ'S, and #2 is SEARCH BEFORE POSTING. That's all. It's a proactive method of policy enforcement, rather than the usual 3 page noob question, with the first post a question, and all the rest flames lol

Nuff said.

Uhh...that would be pretty bad for the rotary community lol. All of the technical issues end with me saying "uhh...I think you should PM Mahjik or Rynberg on that one..." LOL.

No? Here's a pic (Mahjik, you're gonna have to deal w/ staring at it...sorry LOL) (Counting the seconds until the post is edited and the picture is deleted lol)

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Creating an extra forum (i.e. A/V) to move messages to is completely different than creating a forum for new user, creating new users group that limits post access to that group, and then having admin "grant" higher access to "graduated newbies". It's just not as simple as it sounds.

Normal moderators cannot edit users. Even Super Mods have limited ability when it comes to editting users. I seriously doubt the admins are going to want to babysit "newbies" and I seriously doubt they are going to grant admin access to some to do it.

DTM Power doesn't require you to "display any knowledge" to get validated. They just want to make sure you are going to use the account so they don't end up with 10 million unused bogus accounts:

We're just tired of having to deal with people that register to the site simply to abuse it and harass our legitimate members.

They aren't doing it to see who's smart and who's not.

Sorry, I'll never support the Newbie Section idea.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

REVOLUTION!! j/k. But yea...I dunno what else there is to do if you're a) pretty sure it won't happen, and b) won't support it from the get-go. I'm not a quitter, but I know when things are outta my hands & beyond my reach.

rotorbrain

dont we ALL do this already, anyways?????

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Not the admins (the people with the access to do what you are asking). It's the moderators who do the day to day tedious tasks.

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

I realize this is an old thread, but I'm particularly interested in helping organize information and help novices learn things, so I'd like to throw my 2 cents in.

The Toyota AE86 forums have a 'Beginners Talk' section, which works pretty well. It's a friendly place where people can ask very basic questions without the fear of getting flamed or insulted. It turns out that there are plenty of helpful people out there, so questions were always answered quickly. On Club4AG, if someone asks a 'noob question' in the regular forums, it gets moved to the beginner's forum, so the technical sections aren't cluttered by repeated novice questions. They do not restrict membership or access in any way.
http://forums.club4ag.com/default.asp




Mahjik, I'd still like to see the FAQ's improved upon. The question & answer section that rynberg wrote belongs on the top of the page, and the old post by Johnny should be removed. I've got a few new links that I think should be added, but I noticed that the previous set hasn't been posted yet.

-s-

rotorbrain

YEEEESSSSSSS. . . its still alive!!! i dont see why this is such an enormous deal. . . i would assume that most moderators and admins would LIKE to see their forums move toward a more intelligent spectrum. . .

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

The previous set has been added (if you look for them):

Keep in mind, people can offer links they would "like" to see in the FAQ. That doesn't mean "all" of them will make it. i.e. we still pick the ones "we" (and that's "we" as in moderators) believe are really useful.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I have an edited version of the FAQ on my hard drive, and I was going to re-distribute it for comment before changing the current version.

As well, it would be good to add a few questions to it that weren't there before (i.e. emissions testing)

Dave

riptor

i saw ur post on that and the pix but i couldnt fine the cannon plugs or the part that u sed was resembled by your avatar..may be im just blind and didnt see it..oh well...

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

I stand corrected. It seems I'd been searching for a link I haven't sent you yet.




Did anyone check out the beginners section of the Toyota forums?

-s-

BobfisH

that face2faces site is mine, good to see it's being used

need to add some stuff to it though!