I suppose someone thought the new forum rules were a good idea.

What's with the friggin' point system? If we really look at what's being posted out there and the point system, then a significant percentage of forum users would be immediately banned for anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks - including some vendors. This is ridiculous! (Oh wait, better make a new rule for posting in bold) Why come up with a rule system that you really cannot enforce unilaterally across the board? The way it is written now, it pretty much has to be selectively enforced.

Have you guys forgotten where these forums came from? This is a place to discuss our cars, afterall. So what if a thread goes OT, but still talks about Evos? In the years that I have been on here, there have always been spirited discussions, disagreements, etc. We've got a whole new model out, and there are bound to be a lot of disagreements (just like when the VIII came out). Yes, there will always be those who go overboard, but the new rule set seems just ... a ... bit ... draconian. I guess that instead of using the nominal definition of a forum being a place of open discussion and expression of ideas, you guys would rather morph it into a judicial body.

I have come to have great respect for a couple of the admins on this site (CharlesJ and Speedlimit come to mind, among others), but IMNSHO, this is a definite step in the wrong direction.



l8r)

...do we at least get a demerit counter under our username, or something?

 

The points are only viewable by Administrators. Not even moderators have access to that information.

 

whats funny to me is certain admins hate lancers yet are still a mod that makes perfect sense

 

Honestly, I'd just as soon have the site moderated by a bunch of haters. At least then there would be less of a question of conflict of interest.

l8r)

 

thats a good point but when a noob wants to know good performance upgrades and the first reply is sell your car youll thank me later isnt very inviting

 

I'm not sure where you've been living, but the points system has been in place for almost a year now.

The vast majority of members never run afoul of this system. If you contribute positively and politely, there's almost no circumstance that would get you banned. Maybe a warning, at most. The people who post negatively, angrily, obscenely, or in an otherwise inappropriate manner do run afoul, and the points system enables the staff to track members better. If I see a post that does not fall in line with our site rules (which are fairly typical for car forums) I can quickly check what else the member has been doing. If he has a clean record, I might just warn him. If I see a string of previous infractions for the same thing, then there's no sense in warning him as prior warnings accomplished nothing.

The only selective enforcement is whether a mod sees a given post. We have pretty good coverage, and a lot of members who report things which don't belong.

As for the "going OT" infraction, that is typically used for people who go into a thread about a turbo and post something about a vendor, for example. Threads invariably drift but we don't want people constantly derailing threads.

In conclusion, I'd say this system offers users a lot more leeway. Things which would have in the past resulted in a permanent ban now result in a points infraction, from which the user can hopefully learn after a short timeout.

 

Well, the rules have been here for about a year now.....there's not much 'new' to them at this point. They were put into place because the general tone of this forum had been going steadily downhill for a period of time. The staff tries to enforce the rules as fairly as we can.....I fail to see exactly what the problem is.

Everyone is invited to report posts that are problematic, and you can always contact a staff member for assistance. Without concrete examples, there's not much more I can say on the subject.

J.D.

 

All moderators can view, as well as give, infractions.

The only limit on moderators (and that includes sitemods) is they can't remove an infraction - only Admins can do that.

 

I'm probably the most jaded moderator here when it comes to the Evo, but I would never give that type of a response. To my knowledge, neither would any other moderator on our staff. The people on the staff are chosen because they have a history of being helpful and abiding by site rules.

The harshest response you will ever see from a moderator (outside of OT) is 'do a search'.

 

i disagree with many things that go on here. this site is nothing it used to be. i dont even waste my time anymore. cause if it ant there way its tough crap. deal with it or be gone. MY opinion. if that is still aloud

 

Wow, I wonder who that's aimed at. Just because some mods don't drop to their knees at the site of a lancer doesn't mean they don't have useful information. If you want someone to tell you you're smart, handsome and you have the best car in the world, go talk to your mother, if you want unbiased and experience-based advice, come here. I would be a far happier person if people on here (members and vendors alike) actually told me the facts before I started modding my lancer so I knew what I was getting into and could plan accordingly. Which would you rather have, a doctor that tiptoes around issues because they might hurt your feelings or one that will flat-out tell you what you're doing wrong and what you should do to change it?

 

Conflict of interest with what? Are you suggesting that Moderators should not have opinions in threads? If there is an issue with something or someone, I've previously stated the ways to report/address the issue.

 

So, why are you here? If you'd like, I can disable your account for you.

 

I have a feeling that the people that have a problem with the current system are those that have been affected by it, ie. received points. I vastly prefer the new system to the old system. Now there is a non-arbitrary way to deal out infractions and address problem members. Yes there is some subjectivity in what the mods decide is infraction worthy but for the most part it's fairly clear, ie. someone using racial slurs or posting videos of street racing.

 

I swear some people are under the impression that we get paid by the vendors/manufacturers to patrol the boards and keep everyone in line. If we were, why would I still be living at home and eating mac and cheese for lunch once a week?