Quality > Quantity, and other Forum Philosophies...

[TROLL]

I'm happy to say that TST is growing as quickly as ever, and now is a good time to think about making sure the quality of the forum is as much to be proud of as the size of the forum. I just want to touch on a few things which I think can really be a great help to keep the forum going strong and retain our valuable current members while welcoming new ones.

Its great that this is a place that so many people enjoy visiting to have a good time and meet others in the area with similar intersts, so definitely keep that up. Off Topic is a great place for non-automotive discussion, but please make sure to stay on the topic of the thread you are replying to. Also, before starting a new thread please make sure that it truly belongs in Off Topic and not a different forum.

I just want to remind everyone how important it is to be respectful of one another for the good of the community as a whole. Before you click the 'post reply' button, ask yourself if your post is a genuinely worthwhile contribution to the forum. If you think it might not be then please show some restraint and do not post your response. This helps the moderating team a great deal, and just helps to keep a cleaner, better flowing forum.

I'd also love to see more technical content on the forum, so it would be great if members would take the time to photograph and document the work on their cars to share with the community through writeups and tutorials. Another great way to contribute is to write up or gather general automotive info which might be interesting to others, whether its automotive manufacturer news, professional motorsports, local event coverage, general technical info, and so on...

Thanks for your time, and we're looking forward to more great times to come... if you have any other ideas for the forum or are interested in helping out in one way or another, please do not hesitate to get in touch with myself or another moderator about it.

Bryan

[05GT]

Let me start of by making a comment that I also alluded to in my response to your PM.

Just because I was not here from the beginning of this forum, doesn't mean that I don't know how the forum was, at least when I joined.
I think what you have written above is great, and I also think it makes perfect sense.
However, IMHO, it seems that this forum is well on its way to running itself into the ground so to speak, because of all the unneccessary arguing. As I've stated over and over, and I'm sure most people know, that I've had my fair share of arguing, BUT...what most people, including yourself probably doesn't know, is that to most of the people I've had a conflict with, PM's were exchanged and intentions revealed and problems solved.

As much as I agree with your advice to have everyone show some restraint, with a community this big, that sadly, is as arguementative as it is, is not suddenly going to stop. As was brought up in LSHatch's thread...more moderation IMO is something that at least for now...needs to be done.

Edit - I do also believe that we need to personally attempt to make things better. Just as you mentioned Troll, people need to think before the speak. If they just stop and say to themselves, "Is my post just going to start an arguement because its a senseless comment?" then maybe there would be a lot less problems going on.

Like I said, at one point, I was pretty much just being absolutly blunt with people. I don't feel that is wrong, but for the sake of this forum I've tried to cutback on those types of comments, if they aren't needed.

What does everyone else think? Can we start to pick up some of the slack???

[CHAOS]

Why do you think the forum is running itself into the ground? That doesnt make much sense to me... arguments are going to happen... and its a public forum so perhaps they SHOULD happen... for someone reading the thread its better for them to see all sides of the story ya know... now i know alot of arguments spawn off of stupid things... and i see alot of stupid arguing in off-topic... but thats people being childish and having a holier than thou kind of attitude...

also, people that post negative all the time will earn themselves a reputation as an asshole... end of story... i dont think the whole "thinking before you post" mentallity works... because like i said it is a public forum and people are allowed to post their opinions... as long as all parties involved are understanding of that i think we will be fine...

i do agree with you on the moderating... i feel like the current mods dont do a whole lot of modding/cleaning... perhaps its because there may be too much going on for them to keep up with... and some of the moderators dont even post much at all... that can be a problem... because if they are not around to mod.. things become let go... and the forum starts going downhill... i dont think making people moderators specific to their interests is always the best idea... on other forums... people are moderators because they are good at being moderators... not because they are knowledgable on engines or specific car brands or whatever...

the forum grows every day... how many members do we have now? around 2400? ... half of which seemed to have joined in the last month or two... im definitely still a newb in the sense that ive only been around since June but im smart enough to realize whats goin on and i think im capable enough to help with making changes... i just hope others share a collective mentallity about the forums.

[TROLL]

I'm going to ask ahead of time that this thread, and all threads in the news and feedback sections stay serious and on topic. Most of the replies are right on point, but just wanted to say that now, ahead of time.

[S4toSTI]

I have been on this forum for a year and five months now and over that time i have seen alot of changes good and bad. For people who think or want this forum to run into the ground i say to you there are too many people that care about this forum to let it go away.

Back to the real point of this thread, quality over quantity. I think that alot of people myself included have tried to contribute in alot of forms and it is very discouraging when there is minimal response to threads that have real content. For instance i started a thread about f1 a while ago and maybe maybe it was 3 pages, someone starts a thread about them posing on a bed and it is 25337 pages longs and the person posing isn't even a girl.

The point of the matter is alot of Og's if you will won't come on here any more cause there is too much bs. I am happy i don't post as much anymore because it is nice to not get pissed off about dumb people on the forum and their dumb threads. Moral of the story, this forum is not called tristate offtopic. We are all here cause we all love cars and modifying our cars and we should not keep this place from being a place to actually TALK ABOUT CARS.

So from now on i am gonna try my best to talk alittle less in the thread about men posing on beds and alittle more in thread that are actually interesting and informative.

-Barry

[05GT]

I have been on this forum for a year and five months now and over that time i have seen alot of changes good and bad. For people who think or want this forum to run into the ground i say to you there are too many people that care about this forum to let it go away.

So from now on i am gonna try my best to talk alittle less in the thread about men posing on beds and alittle more in thread that are actually interesting and informative.

-Barry


I take it your first part was referring to what I said. Maybe I wasn't clear. I'm not saying that I want the forum to run itself into the ground, nor did I mean that other people want it too, I meant that since so many seem to argue over the most insignifcant matters, things seem to be going downhill. I know that many people care...which is why I asked what others think we can do to help out.

As far as refering to Dimitri about posing on the bed, I honestly believe that is out of context here. There is nothing wrong with having a little fun and keeping the site having a lighter, humorous atmosphere. The key is balance. As you stated, MANY have come on here recently. However, the more that join, I think the more "lack of true car people" starts to increase. IMHO many people who are starting to join are NOT joining because of their love for cars or modding them, but rather just for entertainment, hence why we've been getting so much junk lately.

Like I said, even I must say that I've fallen victim to thinking of this site as more of entertainment then anything actually tech related. I'm a member of SVTSnake, SVTPerformance, EastCoastStang,MustangForums,Disorderly-Conduct, and a few others. On those sites, its constant questions about performance this or performance that...People ask what would be a good mod to do to their car. If someone is having an issue, people will try to help. Even if people disagree on a particular issue, they handle it in a mature way.

That I think is why I said people on here also need to show some restraintAnyone and their grandmom can say something sarcastic, or pointless. But why bother? If people would express their opinions in a more tactful, tasteful way, I guarentee we wouldn't see as many problems as we have been.

As far as moderation, I think I made it clear that I do think there needs to be more. We need people who are on all the time. Like you said, not just people who know about cars, cuz really, you don't need to be an expert on all cars, to be a mod. A mod should be someone who can keep things under control, who is on the boards and active enough to catch the **** before it gets outta hand.
I know awhile back, some might remember, the moderators were quite a bit more srtict, but there was less BS. Thing is, people started complaining about that too. My idea is more moderation, and if people can't handle a few simple rules, then they don't need to be here. Simple as that.

[S4toSTI]

I am not trying to say that thread like that aren't funny but alot of people don't care about the content posts anymore and only come here for ot and i think that is the wrong approach to the forum as a whole.

[Broken5hift]

I am not trying to say that thread like that aren't funny but alot of people don't care about the content posts anymore and only come here for ot and i think that is the wrong approach to the forum as a whole.

so you'd rather just have 1 post a day as long as its car related and on topic vs all the posts we have now per day?

i find that amusing remembering back to someone screaming "take your moms m3 back home" at a recent meet. i found that moment more entertaining than starring at a new intake and asking how they like it.

[S4toSTI]

so you'd rather just have 1 post a day as long as its car related and on topic vs all the posts we have now per day?

i find that amusing remembering back to someone screaming "take your moms m3 back home" at a recent meet. i found that moment more entertaining than starring at a new intake and asking how they like it.

I think we need both... but i don't like how the forum is all offtopic all the time right now. Oh and i don't know anyone on this forum who would do something like that :rofl:

[Broken5hift]

I think we need both... but i don't like how the forum is all offtopic all the time right now. Oh and i don't know anyone on this forum who would do something like that :rofl:

while i can understand that, the simple truth of the matter is car sites can only talk about cars for so long. on every car forum im on the OT section is always the most used mainly because everyone already knows what they want to know, or doesnt wanna answer what intake works best for the 5 millionth time.

when a new car or part comes out, then theres a few threads on it and so forth but eventually questions get answered and your stuck back at "LOL NOOB post pics of yourself!" threads

[05GT]

I well understand what both of you are talking about. I also agree with both of you to a degree, there has to be balance.

However, I think we are getting a little off the point here. The point isn't so much that there is more humorous posts then tech related...its the fact of how people are behaving on this site. Its the aruging that is a problem. Its the constant BS that Troll is talking about setting straight. Nothing wrong with joking, and having a good time.
Its the amount of garbage spewing forth from people's mouth that is causing problems.

[Broken5hift]

well its a site based on various car makes, of course theres gonna be arguments and so forth, just like on any site people have different opinions. just the same since the site is so personnal to some it has grown its own clicks and groups and just the same, its grudges and enemies within itself.

you cant force people to like each other and putting things in place such as filters just seem to handicap the whole thing. if you expect people to act like adults you shouldn't have the baby gates up when it comes to acceptable language.

[05GT]

well its a site based on various car makes, of course theres gonna be arguments and so forth, just like on any site people have different opinions. just the same since the site is so personnal to some it has grown its own clicks and groups and just the same, its grudges and enemies within itself.

you cant force people to like each other and putting things in place such as filters just seem to handicap the whole thing. if you expect people to act like adults you shouldn't have the baby gates up when it comes to acceptable language.


I agree...I think the language filter is pretty irrelevant...BUT I can see why it would be used. Who knows for sure how old some of the people are on this site....I know I know, its a car site so everyone should be old enough to drive, but that doesn't mean that is always the case. Besides, people can view this site who aren't registered. So perhaps these filters are in place so that the general public, (which includes little kids) isn't see the F bomb all over the place and whatnot.

Again, I still don't see that as being the real issue. Who cares if our words are filtered. Maybe if people didn't use them so frequently then they wouldn't need to get filtered. Point is, filter or not, that shouldn't impact the way a person treats another memeber. The whole point is that its fine for people to disagree, because sure, just like you said, different cars, different makes, different opinions...that's all well and good. Question is...Why can't we have our different opinions without screaming and yelling and downing each other every time someone differs from your's or mine opinion?

[Broken5hift]

Question is...Why can't we have our different opinions without screaming and yelling and downing each other every time someone differs from your's or mine opinion?

because the majority of car enthusiasts in the area are assholes. to put it simply.

they do burnouts at the meets, have little or no respect for others cars, and hate any car make but their own. is that everyone on these boards? NO. but there are people like this out there and they are on here. The point is if you wanna control it then you need to get rid of those people otherwise your gonna be stuck slapping hands all day. in all honesty i dont see a way to have both in harmony. on my site we have a forum dedicated to this stuff. the SH!T TALK forum we call it. you got a problem with someone you take it there and all bashing threads and posts get moved there, it works to keep the site cleaner but it doesnt remove the problem and im not gonna ban the members, so thats admin life :partyman:

[D Money]

So from now on i am gonna try my best to talk alittle less in the thread about men posing on beds and alittle more in thread that are actually interesting and informative.

-Barry

I really hope your not serious right now. You totally are a hypocrite!

All of your threads are in OT, all of them! Dude, you post bull**** all the time but don't think that your better than anyone else now just because you got a job during the day that doesn't allow you to post as much. Don't lie, that's the reason. If you need me to find the post and quote you I will!!

Check this for reference:
http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/search.php?searchid=328420


Your arguement is fine but you directed that at me and that's bull**** bro. I can't believe you would say **** like that.

[05GT]

because the majority of car enthusiasts in the area are assholes. to put it simply.

they do burnouts at the meets, have little or no respect for others cars, and hate any car make but their own. is that everyone on these boards? NO. but there are people like this out there and they are on here. The point is if you wanna control it then you need to get rid of those people otherwise your gonna be stuck slapping hands all day. in all honesty i dont see a way to have both in harmony. on my site we have a forum dedicated to this stuff. the SH!T TALK forum we call it. you got a problem with someone you take it there and all bashing threads and posts get moved there, it works to keep the site cleaner but it doesnt remove the problem and im not gonna ban the members, so thats admin life :partyman:


Yep. I agree. Like I said, if people aren't gonna change, then the only way I see it is to take more action. I too am an admin on my forum...and I'll tell you right now if someone comes on there and does more trash talking then anything else. They get 1 warning. If it happens again, they get banned. It really is as simple as that. I'd rather have less members but have quality boards, topics, posts, then have 9,999 members where 85% of them **** talk everyone. I say if people can't straighten out...the hell with em.

[MuddyREX]

The point of the matter is alot of Og's if you will won't come on here any more cause there is too much bs.
-Barry

I would think that I am a so called OG, and I completely agree with Barry.

I know that this forum has helped to form friendships that would not have happened otherwise. I give a huge props to Troll for bringing the idea of an all-make local forum with him from Colorado.

But the forum today is a completely different place than it was a year ago. There is still a good amount of quality automotive conversation here, but the worthless banter seems to find itself into EVERY thread. A good thread turns into a mess almost every time, and I am forced to read through the crap and pick out the quality posts. There are a lot of personal conversations that happen inside of a thread that don't really belong where they are. People need to learn how to PM.

The overall quality of threads has really taken a turn for the worse over the last few months, and I know that it has turned a lot of people away. People who used to contribute regularly no longer even visit the site for that very reason. Notice the lack of recent forum participation from me pretty much for this very reason.

[S4toSTI]

I would think that I am a so called OG, and I completely agree with Barry.

I know that this forum has helped to form friendships that would not have happened otherwise. I give a huge props to Troll for bringing the idea of an all-make local forum with him from Colorado.

But the forum today is a completely different place than it was a year ago. There is still a good amount of quality automotive conversation here, but the worthless banter seems to find itself into EVERY thread. A good thread turns into a mess almost every time, and I am forced to read through the crap and pick out the quality posts. There are a lot of personal conversations that happen inside of a thread that don't really belong where they are. People need to learn how to PM.

The overall quality of threads has really taken a turn for the worse over the last few months, and I know that it has turned a lot of people away. People who used to contribute regularly no longer even visit the site for that very reason. Notice the lack of recent forum participation from me pretty much for this very reason.

Hey muddy i am happy you read this thread cause you were exactly the person i was thinking of when i wrote that.

I think that like muddy alot of the dare i say more mature people have walked away from this forum cause threads that go way off topic give them a headache. I put up with this forum cause i enjoy it more then the other forums i am on. Though this forum may be strict in some ways it is also very fun but losing some of cool people on here sucks. Muddy used to have the best avatars(still does) and post the best videos yet he doesn't come on anymore.

Can we please everyone, absolutely not. I think we take for granted that this forum is not a chat room. I am not lacking fault here i do it too but am i wrong at times, yes.

Before i go off on too much of a rant( HAHA who rememebers the rant room.) I wanna say that lets all try to make this forum alittle better for everyone, if a thread is about cookies lets try not to talk about missiles too much.

Oh and dimitri i wasn't singling you out i was just saying that as a for instance cause threads like that though funny are the only ones that get attention anymore. Oh and new girl threads.

[halfhorsepower]

Some arguments are good, some are bad. The bad ones end with hurt feelings, the good ones end with people knowing more than they did before, and possibly having a newfound friend. If you want to see the forum improve, be the change you want to see happen.

[TROLL]

If you want to see the forum improve, be the change you want to see happen.
i like this guy.

[EvlEgl]

I see everyones point...and agree I havent helped in some aspects of showing "respect" but I give it where its due and if I Feel like I'm being disrespected or something is said that pisses me off I'm gonna say something.

As far as Barry's post about the "Mature" people not posting as much...To me thats an insult for them bitching about the lack of "quality" and as Muddy said Having to sit through reading the Bull**** posts in each thread...If you really cared about this forum and it's success you woudlnt mind reading it or wouldnt stop posting/coming around Just because you dont like what you read..To me thats an insult to the board and a bit childish...There are well over 2k members registered and not everyone is on the same mindset about maturity and whatnot...You gotta deal with it as it happens and like halfhorsepower said...If you want it to change start acting like it.

As far as the meets...I love car meets, I love cruising, I love meeting new people and seeing fast cars...I'm gonna yell at people who act/drive dumb and have loud obnoxiouos slow cars...Its my nature if you dont like it oh well...Burnouts are awesome to watch and I love the sound of a blow off or a 2 step...But manners are needed on occassion and when there needed MOST people on here know when to behave.

I dont think TST will ever go away...But I agree certain things are apprent that need to change.

[wrx_snobordr]

You cant be all things to all people.

A forum that covers the entire automotive spectrum is going to have issues. If you post a pic of a honda on a subaru forum generally speaking the people are gonna flame it. Put a pic of a mustang on a honda forum same thing. This forum brings all those people together so what one person may think is great another may think is trash. This is what causes the abundance of garbage posts in otherwise normal threads.

Also, tech is great, but you need to set up the sub-forums correctly. If i were to go looking for something on say a wrx drivetrain I would have to search through the general drivetrain tech section and if it wasnt there I would then have to go to the subaru tech forum which is just a mass of parts.

I would suggest making the tech part more user friendly. Have a Subaru tech section with sub forums for wheels, engine, drivetrain...ect. and get rid of the general drivetrain, suspension/brake forums. Create some order.

I think that would do a good amount for cleaning up some of the clutter and miss-posts in off topic. I think people are afraid that maybe someone wont look in the general tech sections or may not look in the subaru tech section so they post it in both or in off topic.

[S4toSTI]

You cant be all things to all people.

A forum that covers the entire automotive spectrum is going to have issues. If you post a pic of a honda on a subaru forum generally speaking the people are gonna flame it. Put a pic of a mustang on a honda forum same thing. This forum brings all those people together so what one person may think is great another may think is trash. This is what causes the abundance of garbage posts in otherwise normal threads.

Also, tech is great, but you need to set up the sub-forums correctly. If i were to go looking for something on say a wrx drivetrain I would have to search through the general drivetrain tech section and if it wasnt there I would then have to go to the subaru tech forum which is just a mass of parts.

I would suggest making the tech part more user friendly. Have a Subaru tech section with sub forums for wheels, engine, drivetrain...ect. and get rid of the general drivetrain, suspension/brake forums. Create some order.

I think that would do a good amount for cleaning up some of the clutter and miss-posts in off topic. I think people are afraid that maybe someone wont look in the general tech sections or may not look in the subaru tech section so they post it in both or in off topic.

I think that idea is silly cause then you are going to have so many forums that are never read cause there is barely anything posted in them. For instance if there was a celica wheel forum how often is that gonna get used with the 20 celicas on the site.

[wrx_snobordr]

I think you're silly.

No, what I was suggesting is take the main car makers and have sub forums in them.

Like
Mitsubish
-Mitsu tranny
-Mitsu suspension

instead of having one broad tranny tech thread where you can have stuff from subaru, ford, honda and so on.

because technically, if I have a question about what gear oil to use in my Mitsu tranny currently I can either put it in tranny tech or in mitsu tech. But if you get rid of the general car part tech section and insert them in each of the manufacturer sections it will be much smooter and easier to find what you are lookign for.

Its called user friendly.

[GLHWCU]

Before i joined up with Tristate I knew nothing about cars or performance, just that i had an intrest in wanting to learn more about it. Since i have come here i have been taught by many of the members, met and become friends with others and have had contructive "conversations" with others. I honestly love TST.


Thats my sappy comment of the day :banana:

[Honest_Bob]

Just thought I would chime in here...

If I want to know something about my ultra sexy wrx wagon its off to Nasioc I go. Yes half the posts are burried by usless stuff but the answer is usually there and there are multiple threads about it so I can compare information. The information may be availible here but I'm still gonna go to Nasioc because I know for a fact that the information is going to be there. I use this forum mostly for the upcomming events and for the OT. I beleive the upcomming events alone are worth joining the forum, and in general the people here seem very friendly. Striving to be everyones "technical forum" seems to be stretching it a bit since there can only be so much talent in the tristate area to fullfill those needs.

Just my opinion, but I think its one of the best forums out there and is my most visited of them all. :partyman: :prayer:

[ITSTOCK]

LMAO, you have a bunch of kids on this forum. It's tri state tuners, which means it's going to attract all of the south philly street racers.

Oh well.

Check out some of the biggest forums on the net (the corral comes to mind). Without stupid posts, and a place to post them, it wouldn't be a FUN place to go. Forums, like this, aren't specific enough to lure the HARDCORE techs and enthusiasts, to talk about tech (hardcore 5.0 is the place to go for mustang 5.0's, while modularfords is the hardcore tech site for 4.6's, 99% of the people on those sites don't post in a lounge). While the corral is literally one of the biggest forums on the net, it's not known for the best hardcore advice. It's known as a good point to START learning, nothing more. It's the way it is, and you should have known it would end up like this. I don't see why you think it's a problem. You seem to have a pretty regular sign up rate, and the members appear to be staying. It's a smaller site, confined to a smaller area.

[ITSTOCK]

Just thought I would chime in here...

If I want to know something about my ultra sexy wrx wagon its off to Nasioc I go. Yes half the posts are burried by usless stuff but the answer is usually there and there are multiple threads about it so I can compare information. The information may be availible here but I'm still gonna go to Nasioc because I know for a fact that the information is going to be there. I use this forum mostly for the upcomming events and for the OT. I beleive the upcomming events alone are worth joining the forum, and in general the people here seem very friendly. Striving to be everyones "technical forum" seems to be stretching it a bit since there can only be so much talent in the tristate area to fullfill those needs.

Just my opinion, but I think its one of the best forums out there and is my most visited of them all. :partyman: :prayer:


I should have read your post first. I agree 110% :thumbup:

[S4toSTI]

I think the real allure of this forum is it is totally local.... Minus ash lol. But seriously that is why i like this forum so much, its homie feeling.

[05Accent]

Before i joined up with Tristate I knew nothing about cars or performance, just that i had an intrest in wanting to learn more about it. Since i have come here i have been taught by many of the members, met and become friends with others and have had contructive "conversations" with others. I honestly love TST.


Thats my sappy comment of the day :banana:

im with you on that brotha.. :afro:

[cobra]

Are we looking for a new location since we are no longer welcome at Richboro Shopping Center?
Cobra

[brakeguru]

This forum has grown nicely

[wgknestrick]

What is nice (to me anyways) is that you have a lot of local people with different backgrounds. You can't get that anywhere else. Yes, you can post technical questions up on a car specific site, but you will never learn anything new if most responses are from people that have only owned one type of car.

Here you get all the tricks and solutions from all makes/models (if people post info) so you may get a more creative response. Most forums tend to be flooded by people who think they know everything (call me pot here for this one, its OK) about 1 specific make, but never look outside for help. They just reference older posts from that forum which are easily searched without ever adding anything original.

This site is also good for meets, but I will admit, the average user age/IQ is plummeting.

[S4toSTI]

This site is also good for meets, but I will admit, the average user age/IQ is plummeting.
Hey bill watch the age thing but i couldn't agree more with the iq thing sometimes.

[simpwrx02]

I joined yesterday and this is exactly the type of forum i was looking for, I am glad i found a link to it from nasioc, when i was living in VA there was a similair site called Dragva it started off sort of small mostly with the more hardcore drag racer types. But the site evolved to become the largest VA car forum site with probably close to 50 thousand or more members. However as the site grew there was more carp talking, but it adventually reaches a limit and went to further, then the amount came down and balance was found on the site.

I moved here a few months ago and bearly got my car runing recently so I am not totally up to date with all of the shifts that this forum has seen. So far it seems like your typical local area car forum a decent amount of crap talking some descent info and meets which really help the forum progress. I will stive to do little in the way of downing people as that is not my style. Also some of the best info sites like this have are local shops since you can get a good feel about one from how members speak. Oh well that is just my 2 cents but bravo for making this site and i hope it lasts for a long time.