Forum Etiquette

lowkee · May 26, 2010

Is it me or has the hostility on this forum gone up in the recent months? It seems a pattern of attacking those who answer questions is beginning to be more the norm than answering questions themselves.

Sure, I understand if someone answers a question and it may end up making something worse happen, or be dangerous it is important to bring it up, but the pattern I am seeing is far from "What so and so mentioned may cause harm because of..." and more along the lines of "That's just dumb! Do it this way! Period! ..."

Has anyone else seen this pattern?

Thad · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

YES. I "cruise" the site a lot but have not been posting much in quite a few months. Been thinking the same thing you just posted. I used to be on every day, several different times a day even, now I cruise through now and then, if a post catches my intrest, I keep tabs on it, and MIGHT even offer an opinion, as of late.

BWR1953 · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Thad said:
YES. I "cruise" the site a lot but have not been posting much in quite a few months. Been thinking the same thing you just posted. I used to be on every day, several different times a day even, now I cruise through now and then, if a post catches my intrest, I keep tabs on it, and MIGHT even offer an opinion, as of late.

Same here.

Boatenheimer · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Although I recently became a member I have been lurking for quite a while.I attributed the hostilities to "cabin fever" but have since seen the trend continue.

I think a lot of it is someone taking a story of what happened to them as advice when that was not the intention.Of course there have been some posting advice that common sense tells you is just not right.BUT could be rebutted better with a lighter hand.

I myself am far from perfect so I will leave the advice to those that know what is what.

robert graham · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

These forums should be all about folks sharing information and trying to help each other. If anyone is angry, ornery, a jerk, or whatever, it's his problem, not mine. I think most folks here are pretty darn pleasant and very helpful with their ideas and information. There's a lot of things about boats and motors that I know something about, but there's plenty of stuff I'm dumb as a post about(like electronics), and I really appreciate all the help so far.

Bob_VT · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

I not going to vote but I will comment.....

This is the time of the year when our forum population rises dramatically ........ it is evidenced by the records being set for Most Members on line....... Trust me when I say it is just one of the many trends we go through here.

Remember, people come here mainly for help and they are sometimes not happy with the answer they expected..... frustration sets in.

The moderator team is busy moving posts for new members and our spam invasion has also gone up....... we are busy!

The best part of answer's on this forum is the honesty, maturity and occasional jesting

with the delivery.

NelsonQ · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

I've noticed it from time to time.

What I've noticed is two things...

1. Tone (as with emails) can't be conveyed properly, so most is taken out of context.

2. Frustration, as Bob_VT mentioned, sometimes gets the best of people. They have an issue, that unfortunately sometimes the answer is too expensive or difficult to handle, which simply builds and gets a little heated or blunt.

I don't believe folks are intentionally malicious, and as stated, maybe a little blunt. But, hey.... you can't beat the quality or the price you find on this forum.

aspeck · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Bob_VT said:
The best part of answer's on this forum is the honesty, maturity and occasional jesting with the delivery.

Oh, come on, Bob, don't be silly ... no one on here has a sense of humor!!!

Knot Waiting · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Yeah. Definitely noticed an increase in agressive responses. Seems some people would rather ridicule and call someone out for making a mistake rather than help them. If I hadnt been here for the last four years I may feel hesitant to post something. Not saying its the new norm or anything, there is still plenty of great info being posted. It does seem however that 'in your face' adittudes are on the rise. Maybe its stress from the current state of affiairs, frustration from crappy weather that doesnt seem to quit, or as mentioned before just a lil cabin fever. Either way Im gonna try to keep the rage where it belongs..... in a blue streak, yelled at something I cant fix in the shop, lol.

JB · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Personal insults and name calling are both violations of our Forum Rules.

It does take some time for a few of our hundreds of new members to "get it", and they sometimes post in ways that are normal in many other forums and forbidden here until the error is brought to their attention.

Don't complain about it. REPORT it.

JB · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Well, a thread with a lot of very poor manners and personal name calling has just been reported and deleted. I apologise that it wasn't caught earlier. See Bob's post ^^^ for probable reason why.

Why do I suspect that thread for being the trigger for this thread??

It might be useful to review the latest version of our forum rules: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=397820

Tim Frank · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

JB said:
Well, a thread with a lot of very poor manners and personal name calling has just been reported and deleted. I apologise that it wasn't caught earlier. See Bob's post ^^^ for probable reason why.

Why do I suspect that thread for being the trigger for this thread??

It might be useful to review the latest version of our forum rules: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=397820

I sometimes wish I had gotten to see some of the threads that get summarily deleted...such benchmarks can be instructional and informative....there but for the grace of God etc.

Have the Mods ever discussed a "Penalty Box" for posts that cross the line? Rather than get deleted, they are posted (closed) in The Sin Bin where they would serve as an ongoing reminder that you are responsible for what you post.

The Hall of Shame might be a useful deterrent....

skargo · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

And here with me trying to be more positive lately, I thought the hostility went down by a good amount!

JB · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Sounds good at first glance, Tim. In cases of members who know better it might be a good idea.

We have a lot of new members who haven't read the rules (does anyone besides Moderators?) who post in a style that is normal on other fora. . .personal insults and name calling are normal behavior on a couple I could, but won't name.

I don't think it would be hospitable to publicly ridicule these guys. They haven't learned this environment yet. We favor coaching over punishment. They can get the message by PM, warning or infraction without public flogging.

thefairlaneman · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

When strong opinions or comments turn to insults around here the mods always step in and deal with it pretty quick. Its ok to be mad. Im mad as hell about the oil spill and try to not let it carry over into other things....I havent noticed any aggression but I m not here that much....I got the boat and the water on my mnd..

jkust · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

No Politics and no arguing about moderation in the forum.

cheburashka · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Sorry. No politics.

HopeSheFloats · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

I think a lot of it is as mentioned already, lack of understanding...be it the rules, common courtesy or the question at hand. I noticed I posted a tad obnoxious bit just recently, as I was frustrated over some wiring issues, and at the time, thought 8 hrs should of been plenty of time for an answer. I somehow let the situation slip from my grasp and it got the best of me...mad at the world, the manual, the friggin wire problems, everything but myself, and when you get in that state of mind, it's like being caught in the pub during lunch by the boss... nothing you say will come out right or excuse you!

As far as aggressive? No I don't think so. A lot of 'you should know better' sounding replies if you want my opi...but then again, it's a very small percentage and pretty well expected in today's world. That's the great thing about this site, the true helpers far outweigh the wannabees!

jay_merrill · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

Since I participate in some other forums and have a basis for comparison, I would say that this one is about as civil as they get. The reason why is simple - "management" doesn't allow most of the things that start the flame wars.

Trust me folks, this place is positively tame.

???

DayCruiser · May 26, 2010

Re: Forum hostility

Re: Forum hostility

I think somebody just gets their feelings hurt and makes a thread like this instead of doing what they should do. That is report the post(s) to the Moderators. You don't have to fight back or leave. Help them do their job

Forum Etiquette

Forum Etiquette

Yes

No

That's stupid! There is no agression here, PERIOD!

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