In reference to the so-called "power trips".
 

NOTE: I am speaking on behalf of me, myself, and I only. Do not reflect this post to the other mods. Their opinions may vary.

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Quick refresher: Not all mods have ban priveledges, but all mods can talk to one another. All mods can close, move, reopen, or delete threads. Some people lately have been complaining about mods (including myself) going on "power trips". With that in mind, here's my side of that issue.

Lately I've been closing more threads than usual, but I ALWAYS have a good explanation for it. Most of the time, if you are thorough and read everything related, you will see that if a thread has been closed there is a definite, clear cut reason why. It can be to regulate on "trend whores", or in an effort to keep the forums full of more meaningful content and less garbage. I can't give all the reasons here because there are many, but I assure you that I always have a good reason to back my decision to edit/close/delete a thread.

With the influx of new "trend is life" 240sx owners that have increased in numbers since the whole drifting craze started, most of us who've been around here long enough have seen our fair share of your typical "sub 19 year old, traded their Honda/Acura in for a 240sx, ex-Ontario street racer who wants to automatically become drift master, wants to go s15 front add SR swap the day after their mom bought them their 240" - type characters who have come and gone from the boards. Usually these types feel they know everything about cars, and that they want to be the center of attention here on the boards, and yet when it comes to the real business they're usually clueless. These are the people that can go and cockfight on other 240sx forums. Either way, they're in it for the trend.

Don't get me wrong - there's a lot of former "newbs" to this forum that are the total opposite of the above paragraph. These guys/girls actually make an effort to find information, to learn new things about their cars or how to do certain jobs, and are great people in person (the ones I've met personally). These are the new members that we need to keep the community going.

And then there's the super meaningless threads that pop up every other day. Lately myself and a couple other mods have been locking down on certain threads that are totally pointless. Of course, the starters of those threads take it personal and think it has nothing to do with the forum, but simply a personal attack on the heels of having moderator or super-moderator rights. The truth is, although we have an Off-Topic section, it's not there to cram as much useless junk as possible. The main point of the forums is the sections - general, audio video, etc. where information is the goal. If you basically live in the "Off-Topic" section, expect your threads to be closed or deleted.

Consider the forum like a book. Each section is divided into chapters, just like the forum and its categories. Now then, say that Club240 has 10 chapters of good info, and 1 (11th) chapter of tons and tons of uselessness. Now try a search - even if the relevent stuff is in their own respective "chapters", that search query will STILL look through all the crap in that 11th chapter. Do you see how this can affect the site? There's other, forum-specific explanations for wanting to keep the database as "crap-free" as possible but I'm not going to get into that here.

We had the "Good Times" thread which held that purpose - randomness. And I'm not saying that the "Off-Topic" section is all pointless. What I'm doing as a s-mod is trying my best to keep the forum as it was when I joined. I chose this forum over the other 240sx-related forums as my main place to go because back then it wasn't oversaturated. I had my share of people telling me to "use the search", etc. In fact, on the new year I am going to start a new "Good Times" thread for the latest crop of 240sx forum members. Whores rejoice.

So as far as I'm concerned, I edit/close/delete threads because either:

1) it's a question that has been covered a million times;
2) it's a thread that has been solved by another forum member and completed;
3) it's a for sale thread that doesn't follow the "for sale" guidelines;
4) it's a request by the original poster;
5) it's a thread where the posters might have gotten out of hand;
6) it's a thread that just wastes space and doesn't belong on this forum;
7) it's spam;
8) it's against the user agreement;
9) there have been multiple (valid) complaints about it;

For #6, there's always complainers. However, take into consideration the original thread poster. What's their contribution to the Club240 forums? I'll say this right out in the open, and I'm not afraid to say it either - if you're here not contributing on a positive scale, if you're here to try to be a comedian with every post you make, or if you're here to trash or berate other members, it is my duty as a s-mod to close your threads and possibly ban you from the boards. If there's a problem - contact me through PM or post it civil and I'll have an intelligent conversation with you. If you have to sign up under a fake name just to talk crap, then we know already who's got bigger balls LOL

That's it... unless you have something to ask me, then post it here.

Thanks for reading. Club240sx :thumb:

Yeah man, i agree completely. A lot of people seem to be coming in with the intention that is they have a 240 they think that they are the ****. I, personally am glad that you guys are cracking down on all the pointlessness.

I would also like to say that, even though it can sometimes be annoying, if someone is new and they have a valid question (even if its been asked) you should do your best to help them. If you don't want to help then don't. But i consider it VERY rude to post "Jesus dude! Use the farking search button! Its been covered" ... They don't know that, they are new. Instead try to say "Oh yes! This has been covered before. If you used to search button you should find it under the "general" section."
.... You get the same point across without beind an *******. I was a newbie once too, and in reference to what |2aine said, there are a select few of us that were new and we did our best to learn. Now i'm glad that i can help in at least 50% of the thread around here, and i have learned numerous things.


PS.
Can't you leave me out of this for once dude? Always telling people about my personal business...

With that im going to have to say your wrong. New or not im sure most of you came here from another forum or message board of some type.

Therefore they should have the knowledge that this board wasnt made yesterday and that 95% of any thing they ask should have been covered.

Alot of time the "new" members are just to lazy to find anything on there own. That is annoying spoon feeding them only makes them ask the same question 10 different times.

As long as we can show them the path, to better learning. Then all shall be well.

Levi

well, Levi, you are one of the best here as far as helping the new guys out goes.

When i came here, i was completely new to forums. But with the other guys it can be laziness, but try to think back when you were new. You are anxious and unsure, you don't know exactly what to look for.

I'm just saying, its okay to tell ppl to search, but don't be an ass about it.

I wanna have a power trip but if i can't then I guess Raine would be the best choice.

Also I can agree with being an azzhole when telling someone to search. If it wasn't for the flaming for not searching then I might have made those mistakes. It's a forum with so much info that unless your venturing out into advanced mods it has been covered in depth somewhere on the board.

Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day.
Teach a man how to fish, he'll eat everyday.

this is why we tell people to search..it's a learning process.


OMG finally someone understands this! You get +10 in life.

Levi

I'm new here, so my opinions worth about as much as a pile of poo so far, but I agree with both sides here. You SHOULD tell a person to search, but like cape said, dont make them feel like a retard. Its not that hard to simply say "Please search, the topic has been covered and you will more then likely find your answers if you do." Then after that, if they dont search, and keep posting topic after topic about the same thing, or things that could have easily been found by searching, thennnn you can make them feel like a retard. Because then, its their own fault.:dunno: Anyways, thats just my .02, take it or leave it.:confused:

EDIT on last thoughts: I'm pretty new here, and when I first joined I had gotten the "go search" response, but I'm glad that they were polite about it, it really made me want to stay because it seemed like a nice community to be a part of. Thats another thing, when someone first joins a forum, sure they're the no0b, but sometimes you get the whole "go search you effin moron!" and you dont have much of a desire to stay, cuz it seems like the place is filled with a-holes. But like I said, I'm just glad I got nice responses intead of flaming, and I'm glad I stayed here because I have been learning a lot.:bigok:

*Sigh*


Thank you very much for your contrabution to this thread. I only hope others can grasp the vast intelligence bursting from you post.

Levi

^^^^:nono:

Not trying to make this a popularity contest or anything. But in my experiences on this forum, l2aine has been the most consistently fair, courteous, and helpful mod around. He doesn't flame people unless they are persistent in their ignorance (or unless he's in a bad mood >= P ) Also in my experience though, every mod on here that is active right now has posted replies that were condescending in tone or made assumptions discounting members opinions, views, or knowledge in a less than respectful manner. No, you do not owe it to anybody to pay lip service or be "nice", but acting in a manner otherwise only antagonizes contentions. You can't blame the ignorant for their wrongs~ they don't know any better. Flaming newbs without regard is like picking on the fat kids and special ed kids in a game of dodge-ball.

The search button can be very useful, but if you're not searching the right terms, asking the right questions, it can be a difficult/frustrating experience. Remember, once knowledge/familiarity with the type of information + searching process is attained, it becomes a whole lot easier. I personally don't think the threads that are "stickied" encompass enough of the FAQ that many noobs are flamed for, but that's a matter of the forum's organization itself.

I will in turn disagree with you here. I, like Cape, was new to forums when I came here. If you think about it, coming to a forum is much like entering a room where a big discussion is going on. A lot of people, not being patient enough to listen carefully before speaking, will listen for a few moments and quip in on the first topic that they can relate to. When this discussion has been going on long enough, more often than not, the basics have been covered~ but uninformed newcomers will not have the foresight to recognize this. Flaming is akin to discounting their right contribute or telling them to STFU.

In the case of this, then I agree to berate away all you want.

Just my $.02

niceley put Cowboy. :) :werd:

For that i do see you side of the spectrum. That has to be a few in numbers, but still accounted for.

I dont think any of the mods care for a popularity contest. I believe alot of people do not like the fact that i am now a moderator. Nonetheless i will do my best to keep the peace and let those that thirst for knowledge be quenched.

Levi

What's with all the post editing??

I just really am not into the post editing.

Well, i'm not into the http://www.club240.com/forums/clubimages/sendpm.gif either.

Levi

^ hmmm are you tryin to mock me?

Because i did not enter that into your post.

I edit post to make a point.

I dont edit anything you or anyone say's. I dont want to waste a post if i can just add it to yours.


Dont to that again.