I've noticed the general advice and comments degrading on the board lately. There seems to be a disregard for common sense and motorcycle safety. Apparently posting FAST responses instead of knowledgeable ones is the style of late.

Kudos to the folks that still put up with correcting the children, and still offering up great advice.

Maybe the mods just need some coffee ? This is being said with the utmost respect and thankfulness I  can convey with a keyboard.

i agree there are a few that just want to be difficult to deal with and others that throw out the personal attacks.  not the funny and obviously tongue in cheek like terry but some that are personal and just venomous.   at work and online i encourage people with the GS to join the site.  some have told me they have joined but not posted because of the arrows flung by the peanut gallery.  i don't have a problem if old timers - a year plus on the board- chuck crap at each other but leave the new people alone and cease the personal attacks.

+1

I've been here for awhile, and the forum goes through these "rude" phases. We're in one now, for sure.

I've recommended the forum to others before, and been embarrassed when they logged in. Sorry to have to say, I just don't do that anymore.

The ruder it gets, the more I scale down my participation and spend time elsewhere- I can't control it, but I don't have to participate. There are a lot of other forums I've left altogether.

There are a lot of good people who don't spend time here anymore, including many of those who helped establish this place. I can't help but think this is probably a factor.

Hi Ohgood,
I agree with you entirely.
People here really need to act more like adults.
But I was amazed to see FrankieG as the first person to agree with you.
Frankie, I must say, your ascerbic tone and rudeness are among the worst I see here lately.
You write with no regard on how other people might take it. I offered you a disc lock when you were looking for one and instead of a polite "no, thank you," you sent me back a rude and curt "I can get one cheaper and with free shipping" from a shop. Well, that may well be true, but you could have told me, "hey Todd, would you take less for it because I can get one cheaper elsewhere?"
I'm sure I would have given you a deal you were comfortable with. I'm a nice person, a good person and I go out of my way to help people. Being nice isn't that difficult.
Honestly, I do believe that you and I could be friends. I'm sure we're more alike than we are different.
I'll try to improve my attitude here, too. I do get crazy and sarcastic when people ask the STUPIDEST questions, I'll admit. The recent one from the guy who had about 10 posts and was a nice rider is an example. After just a few posts, he said he wanted to make his GS500 faster and louder. Oy. My response was yes, he certainly showed he was inexperienced. I guess that wasn't very helpful on my part.
We're all on the same side here.
I think it's a great idea that we keep that in mind as we help each other on this site.
Best wishes,
Todd

Wrecent is right, I've been a member (lurking) ever since I got my bike back in late '01 on the really really old board.  There was a reason this forum was regarded as such a valuable resource for GS owners, and many folks came to us with a new GS saying the main reason they picked the GS over the EX was this forum. 

Really quite sad to see it as it is now, with mainly trashy topics and replies to the same low-level, basic questions.  Asking newbie questions is fine, and I used to get fed up with seeing it, so I leave for a couple months.  This time, I don't know if I'll be back...the level of discussion isn't high enough to warrant me checking the board anymore.

the problem with posting and e-mail is it does not show inflection or tone, just letters on a screen.  you(not you personally but people in general) are the only one in control of your own feelings i can not help that.  i assure you that i am not trying to be rude but i don't sugar coat things.  i shoot straight and right to the point.  there is a difference between rudeness and honest.  most people, i think, rather just take the sugar coating but i am not one for that.  have said that if i have offended anyone(excluding religion, politics or firearms) it was not my intent and i apologize

btw the message you refer to was private was it not?  we are talking about public posting here.  private messages, as far as i am concerned, have more latitude

I too am limiting my visits to this forum, I love the bike and learning as much as I can about it, but when things get out of hand and people are degraded I'll head somewhere else. I support the website and the information shared here is invaluable to noobs like me, but I'm  old enough to the value of respect too. Glad someone brought this up. Take care all.

Quote from: frankieG on July 17, 2007, 07:11:49 AM
the problem with posting and e-mail is it does not show inflection or tone, just letters on a screen.

Hi again Frankie,
Yes, you are right. I agree with that, which makes it all the more important for all of us to be careful how we talk with each other. We can't see if the person who wrote the sarcasm is smiling or not.
I think the site is much more useful when it isn't laced with all the nastiness and heavy sarcasm.
Thanks for your note, man.
Best wishes,
Todd

Yeah, I agree there seems to be a drift toward personal comment, abuse perhaps. I suppose this simply reflects today's society.
As a moderator I recon I am very tolerant, generally against deletions bans etc if someone slips an unacceptable word in or extreemist political views come through. Insulting someone because they hold a different view is unacceptable, arguing with them is healthy. It's a fine line sometimes.

I think the whole board would benefit from a little less personal stuff and people thinking before posting hasty replies. The strange thing to me is this board has a "family T.V. type of ethic - standard, call it what you will yet we get to this. On another M/C board I use there is hardly any regulation over language, images etc and yet personal insults and abuse are very rare indeed. 

I think part of the reason for comments "degrading" over time is due to the same questions being asked time and again.  The older, more experienced board members simply toss out the standard "Use the search, noob", instead of taking the time to write out the same eloquent responses they've written before.  Then, you have newer, less experienced people offering advice that are really not qualified to give it.  Case in point; in another thread I was reading about someone that lost control when they locked their rear brakes in emergency braking, and someone else replied that his technique was flawed and that they should use the front brakes for 80% of their braking.    The front brakes supply 70% of your total braking power.  The rear brakes supply the other 30%, and you should use BOTH brakes every time you stop to develop your skill so that you don't lock up either brake in an emergency.  (That is straight from the MSF experienced riders course)  However, I didn't reply to that thread (I should have), because people already had their proverbial dicks out wagging and flaming each other. 
 
That is a big reason why I don't offer a lot of advice, because I know there are people with more knowledge and experience than my self.  However, the irony is that I have more time on this board, and more experience on my GS than many of the people posting...

Over all, though, I believe that the board is still an excellent resource, and I continue to log on nearly daily (as long as I have access to the internet).

I agree also , for a example there was a post about a Yoshi Exhaust , and where to find one , and will it fit etc , which is a good question , i mean had they Searched , they may have found it ,but with yoshi's coming out , and having different bits on it , like Sanjays new TRL slip on , doesnt seem to fit the earlyer headers , which by eye you wouldnt of known or thought , so it was very handy to no , then a certain member posts
* i have a yoshi* , how in any way is that helpful , or even relavent to the text , there talking about if certain ones fit , not who owns one , looking thought the forum daily , i see all sorts of crap , im sure i may have written one or two with out thinking , but certain people seem to think people want to see it everyday ,

This is a Excellent Forum , the Uk GS500e site is open , but im using this one , because theres members on her with Incredable Knowledge about the bike , and im sure they dont want to repeat the same answer 100 times ,

This issue is one of the reasons Phaedrus created the FAQ (which eventually migrated to the wiki).  We were seeing lots of common, repeated questions.  Lots of older members no longer had the patience to answer questions like "what's a good exhaust" because answers had already been posted, but new members didn't have the patience to wade through tens of pages of posts when trying to search.  Since then (it's been a year, I think), we've seen fewer arguments based on those kinds of questions.  And for the most part, the information on there is accurate, because anyone can correct any page.

But there are still lots of common repeated questions that aren't on the wiki.  Many of these are opinion questions (like whether a single or dual headlight is more attractive) or invite opinions ("where can I get a dual headlight?"  "don't bother, it's ugly"), so it's natural to see some lively discussion there.  But you're absolutely right that lots of questions that have a single correct answer still get repeated.  Perhaps these should also be added to the wiki?  I don't want to detract from the discussion on the forum, but eventually these questions will turn into the style of "what kind of exhaust should I get". 

I feel like people posting random opinions and short posts is a separate matter.  The lines between friendly banter and postwhoring and generally being an ass are difficult ones to draw, and depend a lot on who's posting.  The same post from different people can be interpreted in different ways, so policing this sort of thing isn't going to be easy or straightforward.  The best that can be done is to ignore posts that you interpret as rude and just respond as if that post didn't exist. 

Cool, it's not just me.

I'll do my part to stay gs500 centric, and ignore any trolling.

Seems that's likely the best way to make the board better.

Thanks for the comments and constructive criticisms. I know I could use it myself at times.

Tomorrow is ride it to work day. Think I will.

go suzi go 

QuoteI think part of the reason for comments "degrading" over time is due to the same questions being asked time and again.  The older, more experienced board members simply toss out the standard "Use the search, noob", instead of taking the time to write out the same eloquent responses they've written before.  Then, you have newer, less experienced people offering advice that are really not qualified to give it.  Case in point; in another thread I was reading about someone that lost control when they locked their rear brakes in emergency braking, and someone else replied that his technique was flawed and that they should use the front brakes for 80% of their braking.  cookoo  The front brakes supply 70% of your total braking power.  The rear brakes supply the other 30%, and you should use BOTH brakes every time you stop to develop your skill so that you don't lock up either brake in an emergency.  (That is straight from the MSF experienced riders course)  However, I didn't reply to that thread (I should have), because people already had their proverbial dicks out wagging and flaming each other.

That is a big reason why I don't offer a lot of advice, because I know there are people with more knowledge and experience than my self.  However, the irony is that I have more time on this board, and more experience on my GS than many of the people posting...

Over all, though, I believe that the board is still an excellent resource, and I continue to log on nearly daily (as long as I have access to the internet).

FYI..what happens if you grab so much front brake that the rear tire leaves the ground, how much braking does  the rear tire supply? Just let you know the MSF thing on braking is so outdated it should be ignored. There was a video I posted a while back talking showing the breaking distances between front only, rear and front and rear only. The results where that in a panic stop with a newer sport bike that there was less then 2ft between front only and "front and rear" from like 60MPH to 0MPH. So the argument goes that its far better too lose 2ft of braking than having to deal with you back end sliding around which can cost a heck of alot more than 2ft


But case and point, people have differing opinions and thats whats cool about a message board. The people do get personal attacks against them, but in general I associate it with people typing instead of talking, things get lost when there is no body language.

Nothing to see here... move along.

The only thing that's pissing me off is the people who insist on making threads just to insult people.  Some people are crass...abrasive...with their responses but it's their nature.  It's when someone goes out of their way simply to be insulting.

I will say that another thing that's been irritating me, but not on a level that I would actively do anything about it, is the rampant "omg, it's the wiki!" posts.  The noobs shouldn't have to sift through all that to find a simple answer...if you know it, share your knowledge and then maybe say "oh, and here's the link too the wiki for some other useful info"...if you don't want to help then bow out and leave it be.

Quote from: makenzie71 on July 17, 2007, 03:19:37 PM
I will say that another thing that's been irritating me, but not on a level that I would actively do anything about it, is the rampant "omg, it's the wiki!" posts. 

The Wiki is organized quite well and contains a lot of useful information that doesn't need to be "sorted" through. A user has a question about an exhaust? The Wiki has an entire page dedicated to the exhausts available for the GS500. No, it's taking the time to read through information that has been given dozens of times already and has been painstakingly compiled into a single resource in order to prevent the same questions from being asked over and over. A person has a question about tank range? Guess what, it's in the Wiki. You can even search through the Wiki to find the information you need if you don't want to "sift through all of that".

Oh, and I believe the phrase is "Holy crap it's the Wiki!"

Quote from: coll0412 on July 17, 2007, 02:19:09 PM

QuoteI think part of the reason for comments "degrading" over time is due to the same questions being asked time and again.  The older, more experienced board members simply toss out the standard "Use the search, noob", instead of taking the time to write out the same eloquent responses they've written before.  Then, you have newer, less experienced people offering advice that are really not qualified to give it.  Case in point; in another thread I was reading about someone that lost control when they locked their rear brakes in emergency braking, and someone else replied that his technique was flawed and that they should use the front brakes for 80% of their braking.  cookoo  The front brakes supply 70% of your total braking power.  The rear brakes supply the other 30%, and you should use BOTH brakes every time you stop to develop your skill so that you don't lock up either brake in an emergency.  (That is straight from the MSF experienced riders course)  However, I didn't reply to that thread (I should have), because people already had their proverbial dicks out wagging and flaming each other.

That is a big reason why I don't offer a lot of advice, because I know there are people with more knowledge and experience than my self.  However, the irony is that I have more time on this board, and more experience on my GS than many of the people posting...

Over all, though, I believe that the board is still an excellent resource, and I continue to log on nearly daily (as long as I have access to the internet).

FYI..what happens if you grab so much front brake that the rear tire leaves the ground, how much braking does  the rear tire supply? Just let you know the MSF thing on braking is so outdated it should be ignored. There was a video I posted a while back talking showing the breaking distances between front only, rear and front and rear only. The results where that in a panic stop with a newer sport bike that there was less then 2ft between front only and "front and rear" from like 60MPH to 0MPH. So the argument goes that its far better too lose 2ft of braking than having to deal with you back end sliding around which can cost a heck of alot more than 2ft


But case and point, people have differing opinions and thats whats cool about a message board. The people do get personal attacks against them, but in general I associate it with people typing instead of talking, things get lost when there is no body language.

not only no body language but no tone of voice or the sense of sarcasm, which has gotten, im sure, everybody in trouble.

Sure the Wiki isn't bad and there's no reason why anyone should avoid it, it's ridiculous to us "Holy crap it's the Wiki!" as a universal answer to mundane questions.  If you don't want to actually answer the question, then leave it alone.  Posting "Holy crap it's the Wiki!" makes you sound like an ass.

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