On the other forums I frequent I always guide new riders both to the gs500 as a first bike and to this forum. One new member came here under my suggestion and he had this to say (emphasis mine):

QuoteI'm very aware of your site and the GSTWINS forum, both influenced my decision (as did this forum) and both are extremely helpful... though the folks on that forum can be a bit rude.

Bringing up anything that's been brought up a few times before is apparently verboten, but long discussions of cooking oil and wine in the main section are just fine. Depends on who starts them, apparently.

Still, it is an excellent source. I'd just advise caution before attempting to contribute.

now, I dont want to single anyone person or persons out but as a whole, could we keep the snide remarks to a minimum? Yes, there is a search funtion but lets be a little more tactful about reminding people it exists please. Sure questions will be asked that have been asked a bunch of times...sure, some questions might sound simple to those of us that have been riding for a while (although there are no stupid questions!)...

lets remember, in the spirit of the holidays (christmas hating thread exepted), to be more understanding of new members and their questions. we were all there once.

AMEN TO THAT BROTHER !

It was me, I figured it out. My appologies. No offence intended, and I edited my post and sent a pm appologizing.

Interesting topic.  I agree of course that we should treat everybody respectfully and not act like dicks just 'cause someone asks a question that's been asked before.  I think we're all guilty of asking those types of questions at some point  

I also think the mods should be quicker on the trigger when it comes to moving things to odds and ends and the tard farm.  There are some seriously stupid threads, not necessarily offensive or anything, just dumb.  No "value added" so to speak.  Many members' posts seem to consist entirely of smiley faces.  That and some hand-slapping when people start filling an otherwise good thread with loads of stupid back and forths.  

Even with those minor issues this remains a superb site.

jeff

Quote from: Jeff PI also think the mods should be quicker on the trigger when it comes to moving things to odds and ends and the tard farm.  

Even with those minor issues this remains a superb site.

jeff

I agree and take some responsibility for the state of affairs as well. In my reply to him I said as much. I do my best (and I STILL cant find the cooking oil thread...) and will redouble my efforts-yes, double double...

To all the people who *cough* helpfully point to the 'Search' link...
Think of searches that would take hours of wading through postings to find the correct answer.  Now, although asking again without searching adds another post to the heap, an answer will show up later that day while the guy (or gal) is being productive at work or something.  Sometimes refining the search won't get you the post you're looking for if you haven't chosen the 'right' words.

So be easy on people... We're here to help, not chastise  

pablo, i really have problem with this subject. i totally agree with the general thought of "let's be nice to new comers". but let's not try to push the politically correctness to the edge either.

since when is it wrong to dig up old threads and post them as a response to a question? is that imply that you're not allow to discuss the subject??

you have to remember that he deleted his initial post...so the people posting comments about cooking oil and wine had no idea what the thread was about.

in this particular case, i just don't see the point in whining about it...

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22853

That's the thread about cooking oil, wine, and vodka.

Quote from: TurkinaTo all the people who *cough* helpfully point to the 'Search' link...
Think of searches that would take hours of wading through postings to find the correct answer.  Now, although asking again without searching adds another post to the heap, an answer will show up later that day while the guy (or gal) is being productive at work or something.  Sometimes refining the search won't get you the post you're looking for if you haven't chosen the 'right' words.

So be easy on people... We're here to help, not chastise  

Just last week somebody posted about what they thought was an oil leak, turned out to probably just be the chain gunk issue.  It took me a good 10 minutes to find my own thread about the same problem from months ago.

I think what pablo's getting at is that some people, instead of spending a few minutes to track down those old threads, are instead just saying "use the search", which isn't necessarily very helpful or nice.

jeff

Quote from: Jeff PI think what pablo's getting at is that some people, instead of spending a few minutes to track down those old threads, are instead just saying "use the search", which isn't necessarily very helpful or nice.

i haven't seen anyone do that as of late...most of them at least find old thread that contain answers.

Oi,

Ok, well I dunno I think I have mentioned this before, but there is a lack of a "flame bait / postwhore" section. As well as an "off-topic" section.  These seem to both be combined into one "odds and ends" section. I have seen all kinds of whackness posted here in the main section. One post from two days ago comes to mind rather quick. If it is not "General Motorcycle / General GS500" then it does not belong in this section. Please take any other discussions to the appropriate area. This area is where 99% of the people who are new get directed or end up.

Things such as those show a disrespect for the people who take time out of their day, and their pocket to run this site, not to mention the community as a whole.

just my two cents on this matter.

I still think a wiki would help for documentation.

jomei

I don't think Pablo is saying that it's a bad thing to tell people to search, you just need to be more polite about it.  Some people just reply to a question by saying "search" and very little else, or are otherwise rude.  as Turkina points out, it can be very difficult to find a post you're looking for with the search function.  I know for a fact it's flawed, and will miss posts that contain the word you're searching for.

However, the search is usefull, and there is a helpful way to remind people to search.  Some users give a search strategy (e.g., tell the noob to search fo "tires" with user "gsjack") or post a couple threads they found using the search.  This is helpful, and it can point the user to a wealth of information that really doesn't need to be recreated in every thread.  There's just no reason to haved a hundred threads on which type of oil in the best.

Quote from: JetSwing

Quote from: Jeff PI think what pablo's getting at is that some people, instead of spending a few minutes to track down those old threads, are instead just saying "use the search", which isn't necessarily very helpful or nice.

i haven't seen anyone do that as of late...most of them at least find old thread that contain answers.

You mean an old thread with old answers?

The problem with old threads is that they do not always have the most current information, and a lot of the people that contributed to them are not around now. Digging up a new thread - or starting a new one - allow the CURRENT people to add their CURRENT input  

Might as well dig up old posts or create new threads, since no one is OBVIOUSLY interested in helping me with the FAQ  :nana:

But that is besides the point.

I think:

1) Pablo (and the other moderator's especially) need to stop twiddling their thumbs and actually "MODERATE". The point of a moderator is to keep things going smoothly. Keep the junk out, the good stuff in. Encourage discussions and keep people from killing each other. As it is now, GStwin.com does NOT have strong leadership or organization. It is good to have such a free open forum, but complete chaos is something different

2) This site is awesome and I hope it always stays that way. I always try and be nice to new comers because when I first come here, I lurked for a while because I didn't like the atmosphere - and that was before it got "too bad". If I were a new commer now, I don't think I'd like it here very much at all.

Quote from: jomeiI still think a wiki would help for documentation.
jomei

There is a WIKI:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_GS500E

There is also a GS500 FAQ:

http://gstwin.variders.com

Quote from: Phaedrus1) Pablo (and the other moderator's especially) need to stop twiddling their thumbs and actually "MODERATE". ....  As it is now, GStwin.com does NOT have strong leadership or organization. It is good to have such a free open forum, but complete chaos is something different

It's not complete chaos, not yet.  But I agree that moderation should probably be a bit stronger.  Up until recently (as far as I can tell, I'm a relative new-comer) the forum has been pretty self moderating.  I'd like to see the forum return to being self moderating, but it might be time to lay down just a little smack.

phaedrus, i would have to agree with you on the fact the moderators need to a better job of keeping taps on the forum.

the "engine oil" turned "wine and voka" thread was overlooked by the modoerators after 4 pages of nonsense and it's still in the general forum!

most of the problems faced by the new comers can be defused by the moderators before it escalates.

also it's better to find a information in one place than searching through the forum.

phaedrus, keep up the good work with the faq. at least you're trying.

I said this before, and I'll say it again; I think there need to be more forums rather than just "General" and "O&E" for us to start general threads and such. If we had more division, noobs could find answers a lot easier, and we could reduce the number of obscure topics that are "slightly general" and "slightly o&e". We should have a Motorcycle (Non GS) related forum and a Non-Motorcycle Chat forum. We could even divide up O&E. If we divided up the GS section into Forums like "Tires", "Engine and Carbs", and other more specific forums, each their own seperate forum, the search function could be a lot more use. You could search for a specific thing you wanted to know about in the specific forum about that topic.

For example, if someone wanted some info on Pirelli Sport Demons, they would have to wade through SOOO many posts if they just used the search function in the General Section. If we had a Tires forum, the information would already be concentrated in that area and would be a lot easier to find.

this is not just about telling someone to search. its the tenor of telling them that, as well as how we treat each other-regulars, old timers, new members combined.

I fully take responsibility for having missed the "oil" thread, and apologize on behalf of myself and the other moderators. Its now been moved. The site owner, John, has a policy about moderating and wants the moderators to be nearly invisible. We HAVE been taking care of things, just not as much visible stuff as we maybe should. Its a constant struggle to keep on top of things and keep hands off to a certain extent-we do our best...

Also want to make it clear that it doesnt appear that the author of the [cooking] oil thread is the guy that made that comment to me, but he simply was using that thread as a clear example of how a new member was treated in this case...

Phaedrus-thanks for stepping up and running with updating the existing FAQ forum here. it would be a great help. if you find posts or threads you think belong there let me or another forum member know and we'll move it there.

JetSwing-definitely nothing wrong with bringing up old posts or giving new riders/new members some insight or direction. Its not the "go search" that bothers me its the unwelcoming nature of how we say that and how we treat new riders/members in general. Even I get tired of hearing soemone ask about using a 150/60 rear tire [random example] but I try to be nice about it...ya know...

I can feel the love already. . .

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22994

:kiss:

Phaedrus:

That hardly counts as a place to store gs500 documentation. Reference material relitive to the definition of gs500... ok..