Moderating this Forum

[Badbob]

I went to post a comment on the thread "Tank Brand motorcycles" and discovered it was locked.

Not that I'm against moderation, you have to do it. The owner of www.advrider.com got to talk to the secret service once because of something that was posted over there. They have lots of moderators and ban people on occasion. He talks about this some in an interview on one of the early "Side Stand Up" shows. You can download it from here if your interested:

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-64458/TS-69478.mp3

For those who may be unfamiliar with www.advrider.com: It's probably the largest motorcycle forum on the internet. If you like motorcycles, advetures, and report reports you could get lost in there for days. There are 331,335 Threads, 8,131,274 Posts, and 93,313 member. At this moment there are 2392 people viewing.

If we are going to moderate or even just lock forums there should be a set of rules and everyone should be made aware of them. This would have been easy to do up front but may be somewhat difficult at present. I for one do not have the time nor the inclination to read everything that is posted here and moderate it. I have already have limited myself to reading a few areas that are of interest by subscribing to them. If the forum is going to grow and be a useful tool for all GZ250 riders something is going to have to be done or it may just degenerate into a big cat fight that no one wants to be in and isn't useful to any one.

I found out all this was going on when I added the forum to my Google Reader to see how the RSS feed worked.

I'm going to be bold enough to add a newbie's perspective to the "tension" developing on this and other threads I've seen. I think it boils down to this: people come to this forum for different reasons (brilliant, I know, but bear with me). One difference I've noticed is that some folks seem to approach the forum as, at least in part, public service. They answer people's questions, even if they have heard it all before (oil, adjusting the chain, saddlebags, etc.). Like the instructors at my MSF course, they see it as giving back to the motorcycle "community", if you will.

Others seem annoyed by that process. I would venture to say they are looking more for "advanced" discussion with other advanced riders. They may very well be good citizens, I hasten to add, but they aren't necessarily looking to play that role here. In fact, it gets in the way of the advanced discussion they seek.

These different motivations are at least partially responsible for the tension that surfaces from time to time. Not sure if there is a solution to this issue as long as this stays a general purpose forum that welcomes newbies. I will say that, as a newbie, this site has been invaluable to me, but I did lurk for a couple of months out of fear of asking something that would look stupid.
Eventually saw some responses to other newbies that convinced me I shouldn't worry about that.

I'll also repeat what someone else said on another thread recently (sorry, I don't remember who); I've never seen a truly "nasty" post here, at least compared to what I've seen other places. Still, maybe it's helpful to remember the great variety of folks who check in here. Personally, I think that's a good thing, but maybe it's worth keeping in mind the next time someone sees yet another post on synthetic vs. regualar oil - don't read any of it if the mere sight of the topic makes you roll your eyes, read it and maybe weigh in if you see it as helping out a newbie and don't mind taking some time to do that.

Just my two cents,

Keith

[Dupo]

All im going to say is, that topic went WAY off topic very quickly. The topic was useless and before it got ugly, it got locked. Theres no reason for the bickering.

If you dont like the topic content, move on to another.
If the music sucks, change the station.
If you dont like porn, dont watch cinemax at night.

Simple.

Oh, and a few members resigned because of it. They are tired of the way people are treated around here when posting.

[CMS]

I look foward to any and all news on the motorcycle topics, that information continuesly provides me with the lastest updates for my passion of motorcycles. I enjoy all of this thru the GZ forum and other forums, but my primary interest is on the subject of my favorite bike [GZ 250]. I also feel that I'm part of a group of people who share a common interest in small cc bikes. I own larger bikes that go faster and furthur,but anyone can achive those goals . The same travels on the smaller bikes makes it an adventure, thats the common bond we hold and admire. The great stories in the ride report section of our forum supports my beliefs. We are a very small group in the world of motorcycles, and our love of the ride,and adventure that our GZ's provide is priceless. I hope we never lose sight of the reason we are drawn to this forum. I for one, start my day right here with a read thru of GZ 250. I would't want it any other way. Just my 2 cents worth. CMS :rawk:

[caroledee1]

Originally Posted by CMS

I look foward to any and all news on the motorcycle topics, that information continuesly provides me with the lastest updates for my passion of motorcycles. I enjoy all of this thru the GZ forum and other forums, but my primary interest is on the subject of my favorite bike [GZ 250]. I also feel that I'm part of a group of people who share a common interest in small cc bikes. I own larger bikes that go faster and furthur,but anyone can achive those goals . The same travels on the smaller bikes makes it an adventure, thats the common bond we hold and admire. The great stories in the ride report section of our forum supports my beliefs. We are a very small group in the world of motorcycles, and our love of the ride,and adventure that our GZ's provide is priceless. I hope we never lose sight of the reason we are drawn to this forum. I for one, start my day right here with a read thru of GZ 250. I would't want it any other way. Just my 2 cents worth. CMS :rawk:

Very nicely said! :2tup:

[Water Warrior 2]

What she said.