Just an observation .....

M

minardiforever

Messages
13
Don't want to cause waves here, just wanted to make an observation.

I've only posted a few times before on a couple of points and have been helped by other GT3 users, so thanks for that :)

However, I use some other forums so am not exacly a "forum virgin" and have to say I find this place quite harsh. This is regarding the searching forums before you're allowed to post anything. It makes sense, yes, but for a new user do you think this is at all friendly? GT3 is an oldish game, yes, but there are new users all the time and will want to excitdely talk about it with other like-minded people. For a new user to have the "please search forums or you'll be banned" thrown at you is a major dissuasion from using a forum. Some of you will have been here a long time, and it may be a pain to see the same threads crop up some time, but is that so bad? All people want is to learn something about the game, new users will be put off by becoming regulars by what seems to be a "cliquey club". Are there any new things to even ask anymore?

Feel free to ban me :) , I just wanted to spark off a little thought, thats all.

Peace!

Minardiforever
 
The only thing i'm thinking is this should be moved to RUMBLE STRIP.
This has nothing to do with GT3, and you saying,"For a new user to have the "please search forums or you'll be banned" thrown at you is a major dissuasion from using a forum.". Is what you should've done.
 
We actually do try to run a fairly open and inviting forum. If you'll look around, you'll find more "Welcome to GTPlanet!" messages than you'll find "Shut up, noob!" messages. In general, people are pretty welcoming here. But some new users have demonstrated:
  • that they're not willing to try helping themselves before they expect everyone to else to spoon feed them;
  • that they're not willing to try fitting in with the community;
  • that they're not willing to take direction from the staff; and
  • that they are long on attitude and short on brains.
Those users do tend to get dealt with fairly stiffly, it's true. In point of fact, neither staff nor members want lazy, stupid, and cocky people to feel welcome here. They tend to get invited to leave, and usually they do so under their own power.

But speaking for the mod staff, I will say that we give every questionable member several opportunities to improve themselves before they are disciplined.
 
You've probably seen the recent disput with Mosthaunted1, we don't have a problem if a new user comes here and posts a thread thats already been discussed, we point them in the direction of the search buitton and we never mention banning. If they continue to make 6 or 7 more threads on subjects that have been covered hundereds of times and we have to continually tell them to use the search or to do whateve else they'er doing wrong, then why not tell them to clean up or be banned. Just telling Mosthaunted1 didn't work, he had been using poor grammar and making useless threads for a couple lof days and he was told in each one of them. I think he was told about 6 or 7 times befoee anyone mentioned banning. And even then it was only a threat to kick him up the arse and see if he would listen then.
 
Oh. I didn't releaze he was new.

Welcome to GTP, MinardiForever. Enjoy you stay, have fun, and try not to get banned. :)
 
Thanks for your responses :)

Like I said in my original thread, I only wanted to point out what it looks like from an "outsider looking in" as I guess most people here have been around a long time. I've been registered quite a long time as it happens, I lurk more than post. Its just that even if threats to ban someone were meant as only a threat, it puts off new people getting involved, you know? And these are the people that keep message boards ticking along, the newbies. I just think its a bit over the top, thats all :) .

Anyway, off to do that damn Yaris Professional race :banghead:
 
One thing you have to consider is alot of the users who come here and get banned quickly are people who've been here before and got banned then for disruptive behaivior.
 
Originally posted by live4speed
he had been using poor grammar
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so I suppose all those non-native-English-speaking GT3ers should just go hang themselves?
 
No, because he could type proper english and in some posts he did but most of his posts were lazy, u c what im getin @. If someone doesn't use English as a first language it wouldn't be reasonable to have a go at them. Don't take comments out of context thats how arguments start, I was talking about that single member not all users who dont use correct spelling ect.
 
Normally you can tell when someone is struggling with the language, because they use proper grammar, but occasionly incorrect wording. It isn't to hard to tell teh difference between a lazy person, and a person who uses english as a 2nd language
 
Originally posted by neon_duke
We actually do try to run a fairly open and inviting forum. If you'll look around, you'll find more "Welcome to GTPlanet!" messages than you'll find "Shut up, noob!" messages. In general, people are pretty welcoming here. But some new users have demonstrated:
  • that they're not willing to try helping themselves before they expect everyone to else to spoon feed them;
  • that they're not willing to try fitting in with the community;
  • that they're not willing to take direction from the staff; and
  • that they are long on attitude and short on brains.
Those users do tend to get dealt with fairly stiffly, it's true. In point of fact, neither staff nor members want lazy, stupid, and cocky people to feel welcome here. They tend to get invited to leave, and usually they do so under their own power.

But speaking for the mod staff, I will say that we give every questionable member several opportunities to improve themselves before they are disciplined.
Click to expand...

seriously though.. you cannot expect everyone to be up to these said standards. there will always be jerks, and idiots, etc.... but you cannot be so harsh on them. your expectations can only go so far on the internet. i understand that these forums have soo many members, but losing members hurts them, for you are only taking away their right to be educated over an interest they have. i feel like GTP is a prep school sometimes. honestly, we get told to spell correctly, not to swear, not to flame, to get along, to not be lazy....no offense but the expectations of this site are wayy to high IMO, this is the internet...we have no one to impress here. because only a click away, the 12 yr old surfing this site can see the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to censorship and manners etc..

other forums ive seen run by a slacker code and still stay together just fine.
if GTP keeps on going this way. im going to have to find another gran turismo forum, because there is a place for rules. and an internet forum, being such a widely accesible and veiwable thing, in a sea of profanity and undecency...is definetly not a place where strict rules need be in effect. im not saying i dont like rules. i follow rules very well. thats why im still here. yet, there are places where lots of rules do good...and places where soo many rules really dont matter. this site being one.

ill try to keep enjoying my stay here...but i doubt it shall endure, most of thet people i've dealt with here find themselves to be broadened proffesors that think they can dictate if your opinion is up to their intellectual level or not. point made.... telling people to spell correctly is done in school by teachers, not by moderators and members of a web forum.
i hope someone can get something out of this.




edit: i am aware of the amount of run-on sentences in my posts so dont bother pointing that out.

-zam
 
Originally posted by F.Zamataki
seriously though.. you cannot expect everyone to be up to these said standards. there will always be jerks, and idiots, etc.... but you cannot be so harsh on them. your expectations can only go so far on the internet.
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Why?
:confused:
What's wrong with having decent standards? What's wrong with expecting people to live up to them? We want every member to be a contributing member, in order to make this a stronger community. So what's the point in going too far to accomodate and protect members who don't contribute anything? How does that strengthen the community and improve the site?
i understand that these forums have soo many members, but losing members hurts them, for you are only taking away their right to be educated over an interest they have.
Click to expand...
They have the right to educate themselves. That's where it ends. They don't have the right to require me and the other members here to educate them. I'm not taking anything away from them. And how does losing members like that really hurt this forum?
i feel like GTP is a prep school sometimes. honestly, we get told to spell correctly, not to swear, not to flame, to get along, to not be lazy....no offense but the expectations of this site are wayy to high IMO, this is the internet...we have no one to impress here. because only a click away, the 12 yr old surfing this site can see the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to censorship and manners etc..
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Then by all means, if they're not interested in learning what is available here, they are welcome to go elsewhere. Just because other places exist where it's all lazy, crappy internet trash talk does not mean every forum has to be like that. In fact, I'd say that's the best reason possible to keep high standards here - because it's so rare on the internet. Not everything needs to be brainless and cheap.
other forums ive seen run by a slacker code and still stay together just fine.
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Yeah, like www.clubsi.com . Now, there's a great place filled with intelligent car enthusiasts where you can go to learn. At least it was, for the first few months.
if GTP keeps on going this way. im going to have to find another gran turismo forum, because there is a place for rules. and an internet forum, being such a widely accesible and veiwable thing, in a sea of profanity and undecency...is definetly not a place where strict rules need be in effect. im not saying i dont like rules. i follow rules very well. thats why im still here. yet, there are places where lots of rules do good...and places where soo many rules really dont matter. this site being one.

ill try to keep enjoying my stay here...but i doubt it shall endure, most of thet people i've dealt with here find themselves to be broadened proffesors that think they can dictate if your opinion is up to their intellectual level or not. point made.... telling people to spell correctly is done in school by teachers, not by moderators and members of a web forum.
i hope someone can get something out of this.
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Nobody dictates your opinion. All that people will make you do is back up your opinion with some facts and some logic. If you can't do that, maybe you should reconsider your opinion.

So far all you've done is convince me we're doing the right thing by setting reasonable standards of understandability. You're right - lots of the internet is a sea of mindless, lazy crap. But why does that mean this place should be pulled down to that level? After all, people who are not interested in improving themselves can easily choose from dozens or hundreds of other sites that pander to them and allow them to get away with whatever it is they want to get away with.

So there is no reason at all that those people should be pandered to here.
 
Originally posted by F.Zamataki
[Bseriously though.. you cannot expect everyone to be up to these said standards. there will always be jerks, and idiots, etc.... but you cannot be so harsh on them. your expectations can only go so far on the internet. i understand that these forums have soo many members, but losing members hurts them, for you are only taking away their right to be educated over an interest they have. i feel like GTP is a prep school sometimes. honestly, we get told to spell correctly, not to swear, not to flame, to get along, to not be lazy....no offense but the expectations of this site are wayy to high IMO, this is the internet...we have no one to impress here. because only a click away, the 12 yr old surfing this site can see the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to censorship and manners etc..

other forums ive seen run by a slacker code and still stay together just fine.
if GTP keeps on going this way. im going to have to find another gran turismo forum, because there is a place for rules. and an internet forum, being such a widely accesible and veiwable thing, in a sea of profanity and undecency...is definetly not a place where strict rules need be in effect. im not saying i dont like rules. i follow rules very well. thats why im still here. yet, there are places where lots of rules do good...and places where soo many rules really dont matter. this site being one.

ill try to keep enjoying my stay here...but i doubt it shall endure, most of thet people i've dealt with here find themselves to be broadened proffesors that think they can dictate if your opinion is up to their intellectual level or not. point made.... telling people to spell correctly is done in school by teachers, not by moderators and members of a web forum.
i hope someone can get something out of this.




edit: i am aware of the amount of run-on sentences in my posts so dont bother pointing that out.

-zam[/B]
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1st off, your right, there will always be idiots and jerks, but by having the standards we have here, we are limiting the ammount that get through, I personally don't want to be part of an online community full of these

2nd, losing these idiots and jerks does not harm this site in anyway, it improves it.

3rd, none of these users are havbing their right to learn about GT and other things disscussed here, they are given all that info, entry into one of the best online communities around and the chance to participate in all of this, anmd all they have to do is, type as well as they can, so that means no lazy typing at all, even illiterate people can spell you correct, and not to flame other users although this happens to a degree it is very limited and any out of control threads get locked. Creating topics that have already been disscussed is another thing we don't like, but we just let them know how to se the search function.

4th, saying people can access all the stuff kept out here is only click away is besides the point, if I want to go and surf hardcore porn, I will go to a porn site, if I want to go into a forum and flame the hell out of some nobody, I would go to a site where I can do that, but if I want to enter a respectable online community where there arent many of these jerks that enjoy flaming for no reason I will come here, if GTP was like you average idiot ridden forum, I wouldn't be a member for sure. The rules DO matter.

5th, if you want to go to a site where you can spel like ur a 2 yr old, fine, go to one, but this isn't that site. This site is the mutts nuts, and I'm 110% behind everything Neon just posted. None of the members who get on here find these rules restrictive, people who do imo have mainly been the people who fall into the jerks category, they are probably the people who want to come here just to flame, face it typing you instead of u isn't hard at all.
 
If I have to read any more of that "deeppink", I fear I may go blind.
 
Well now you can re-read all the deeppink, in black.
 
Originally posted by Famine
If I have to read any more of that "deeppink", I fear I may go blind.
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Mike Rotch fixed that glitch last night : )

btw Welcome to GTP : )
 
Famine has found the hoy grail of youth, he will always be a new member, even when he's an old one.
 
I'm just waiting for some new guy, somewhere to post "What do you know - you're as new to this site as I am?" in all their innocence... :D

I'm SUCH a bastard...
 
I don't think you'll have such luck. . . at least with the avatar and your register date. . .
 
I am a newbie but have been treated rather well.

I guess it helps that I am not clueless when it comes to forums. After the years I have spent involved in on-line communities and the thousands and thousands of posts I have made, I guess I am just too experienced to get hammered by the mods when I start to post after lurking for a bit.

It all comes down to accepting the social rules of a forum and working in those guidelines. After all, most people wouldn't walk into a church and start screaming "I LOVE THE DEVIL". There may be an appropriate place for that, but you have to take into account your audience.
 
you make very good points, neon duke.
if there was an award for the most well kept-high standard website on the net...GTP would definetly be up there..
and yes, i see that it is a good thing, having people spell correctly so that outside parties can view the site with ease...and it does make us all look better too. but i still feel like some of the new members get dealt with just a tad too harshly. it never happened to me, but i know if i posted up something then got informed so quickly to use the search function etc... i would not feel very comfortable. by the way i dont see too much harm in posting an old subject up again, since we get soo many new members im sure the next time around there would be lots more to be said about the repeated subject.

well, i guess GTP is a place that only certain people can be able to stick with. im walking right on the thin line of getting banninated and staying here. in the end, id rather stay here, because the people here, even the ones that hate me...teach me soo much everyday. and if i got banned then theyd all celebrate...and i cant let that happen now can i?:p
 
Originally posted by live4speed
You've probably seen the recent disput with Mosthaunted1, we don't have a problem if a new user comes here and posts a thread thats already been discussed, we point them in the direction of the search buitton and we never mention banning. If they continue to make 6 or 7 more threads on subjects that have been covered hundereds of times and we have to continually tell them to use the search or to do whateve else they'er doing wrong, then why not tell them to clean up or be banned. Just telling Mosthaunted1 didn't work, he had been using poor grammar and making useless threads for a couple lof days and he was told in each one of them. I think he was told about 6 or 7 times befoee anyone mentioned banning. And even then it was only a threat to kick him up the arse and see if he would listen then.
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I read all of his posts the other day. I believe he is in England somewhere, but what many of you seem to have missed/forgotten/overlooked (since no-one else mentions this) is that he admitted at the beginning to having some sort of learning/skill problem. (I don't think he mentioned which one.)

Now I am not defending him or his actions, but I just want to point out that sometimes things are not always what they seem.

I know people who are "different" can be a little annoying (I know I am! :lol: ), but it is good for us all to look a bit deeper into ourselves, too. Tolerance and patience can go a long way.

Cheers,

MasterGT
 
My two cents worth...

In the short time I have been here I have been treated with the utmost of respect as a person.

I have had moderators make very worthwhile suggestions that have improved my game and enhanced my experience not only in the game but in the forum as well. I have had other users welcome me openly as a newbie to such things as a couple of OLR experiences that were absolutely a BLAST!!! I have had the pleasure of learning things I had no idea existed in the game under the patient tutiledge of many.

I did a couple write-ups as soon as I got here and got nothing but worthwhile feedback and or positive feedback. I have felt like this little community was more than willing to accept me and more importantly, looked forward to my acceptance of them.

I have seen some harshness with some users. However, in no case have I thought it inappropriate. Once or twice, I thought to myself, "Alright already people, enough is enough." Only to have the person come back with the exact same "bonehead" thing that brought chastisement in the first place... so... obviously, "enough was not enough."

Yes, there are folks out there who have learning disabilities and the like. I believe that more often than not, people here are pretty keen to that and work fairly hard to seek out enough information to be "on key" with their responses.

I think what I am saying is basically this... In the real life outside this "matrix", there are personalities galore as you will find here. Some happy, some sad, some mad (if only for the day), some dorky, some brilliant and some so brilliant they're dorky. This forum is a reflection of that real world. As a result, you deal with the same personalities here as in the real world... The real world is governed by a set of rules as is here... In special interest clubs I am involved with in the real world, it is the same as here...

So what is the difference that we should conduct ourselves differently here? There is no difference... And as in ALL human interaction, it is a two way street.

By the way, in the 48 years I've now been around, I have learned it is this way wherever you go... the grass grows no greener... just different grass. Real world or internet forum, the difference is always whether or not you are just depending on someone else to water it all the time or if you are willing to take part in that process a little yourself...

phattboy
 
:lol: :lol: :lol: One of the greatest things in life!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Things that suck!
























I mean, think about it. How much harder and how much more work was it before the advent of the vacuum cleaner era? All that bending over... sweeping things up... yada yada!:D

You thought different dint ya?;)

phattboy
 
I'm sorry guys, but........

THE PITZ IS THE BEST CAR IN THE GAME, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

*nudges some random guy, and I say, "Back me up on this!"*
 
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