There's a link in this thread to what Steve is dealing with .

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...threadid=64672

 

I understand what you guys have to do, but i think it does hurt our lighting community a bit. A lot of us know a lot about each other, and call it what you will really do not want to have to wade through all the general forum posts to find out about our friends.

 

Put yourself in the shoes of a new user to this site...you enter a forum to learn about your new Lightning and you have to wade through posts that have nothing to do with Lightnings...the argument works both ways, doesn't it?

I don't think that asking people to post on-topic on this site is in any way going to hurt the Lightning community.

 

Ashenor,

There are at least as vocal a group who don’t want to wade thru posts about boats, girlfriends, one night stands, Nascar, the Olympics, Dodge Rams, Snow, Crown Vics, Silverado SS's, Garages, GTO's, Dragsters, Used jets, Jeff Gordon, Hyundai Accent, Expeditions, Escorts, Putt Putt, Etc etc, to see info about Lightnings.

That list is just from a QUICK look over the past 2 days. Multiply that times 365 and you see the additional load that is put on the server and the additional pages of stuff that has to be looked thru to find a tech thread you are looking for.

To use similar logic, I also moderate the Supercharger - Turbo Forum, to save me from having to go to the trouble of reading 2 forums maybe we should roll that in here since Lightnings have superchargers and we talk about them a lot.... Heck why not... Should Steve set up a S/C HD forum or just plan on all those posts coming in here as well ?

It is obvious that no one seems to like or appreciate ANY type of moderation. But as you can see by Steve’s reply I was simply trying to do what is asked of me...
Doug

 

I'm sorry if the rest of us (thoes without the SVT badge on our F150's) are cramping your style. I'm sorry that we discuss things that Lightning owners apparently have no interest in. (Although the general discussion section looks quite similar to the Lightning section.)
Leaving the sanctity and security of the Lightning section might show you that there are many like minded people out there. It is possible that you could call some one who dosen't own a Lightning, a friend.
If changes are being made for the betterment of this site than we will all have to adjust our habits. I think it's too bad that for what ever reason you don't want to have anything to do with the rest of this F150 "community". So are you Ford truck enthusiasts? Or just performance truck enthusiasts? If you don't care about the Ford part of your truck then don't fret. It seems possible that the Lightning could lose it's stature. Then you would have to buy the next "big thing". The message board problem would be solved, and thoes of us making under a hundred grang could afford a used Lightning.
Sorry for comming here to the Lightning section. I promise I will never click on it again!

Lighten up!

Tom

 

AMEN

 

It's obvious that something has to be done, and the Mods have the best view of the problem. The only way to solve this is to segment the L forum, either by posting non-L topics elsewhere, or by creating sub-forums. Sub-forums will still segment the L community from the rest of the board, and apparently members have some grief about that. My only concern is the flame content goes up when you mix the 'Lower it, chrome it, wax it' bunch with the 'lift it, toughen it, drive it' bunch. Also, you tend to lose the 'close circle of friends' feeling that you tend to have with people of similar interests.

The bottom line is that we need to support the Webmaster and Moderators in their choice. If things don't work out...we can always blame it on them.....

 

Take a quick look at the list of recent off-topics that Doug referenced above:Does anyone here seriously think that there will be increased flame content if these topics are discussed in forums where there are Lightning, HD, XL, Lariat, Supercrew, etc owners rather than just Lightning owners? I would doubt that very seriously.

There are enough differences between the "L" owners that there have been flame problems. Opening up these conversations to the larger community will only make this community stronger and allow this site to grow even larger IMHO.

While I feel it would be a shame, if it does not wind up being the case, there are Lightning-only communities out there and perhaps those that disagree strongly enough with our request or feel that it will bring down the quality of the L forum, will be more at home and comfortable with a different community.

(note: the above comment was not meant to be construed as "if you don't like it here, get out." Rather it was meant to imply that F150online should be a community of F150 (and its variants) owners, regardless of your chosen model or trim package. What we all have in common is our love of Ford trucks, correct?)

 

Sorry. I can't help myself.

Just so you know. There is a pretty diverse crowd outside the Lightning section. There are many that are like you guys. I have a 4x2. I want it clean and shiny. I want it fast as it can be (as I can afford!). It's not even 50/50. I think there are more performance oriented poeple than ORP's. That's just my observation. Hey we all get along out there.

Tom

 

I've been doing the BBS and mailing list thing since BBS's ran on IBM XT's, TRS-80's Apple ]['s and Commodore 64's. I've seen this discussion over and over again through the years. My obversations:

The most successful way to handle this is for the poster to mention that it's off-topic in the subject line. The people who don't want to see off-topic posts just ignore those.

The ignore it if you don't like it thing works pretty well. If someone starts posting off-topic too much, just ignore them. when no one responds to their posts they will post somehwere else.

If however, people jump in and start bitching about it, then it becomes an area of focus and contention. No one wins.

"sometimes the only way to win is not to play" (the WOPR in war games)

 

LPD,
The way that I see it your "non-lightning related... nothing to see here" post got the ball rolling. Your fellow members were requesting that you post that some where else. Will they follow your lead?

 

LPD's suggestion would in no way alleviate the problems with search (and would actually cause more), which is in part fueling this necessary change. Attempting to search the "on-topic" threads in the Lightning forum means having to search all of the "off-topic" messages, as well.

If you are posting a message and the subject needs to be "off topic" or "o/t" then don't post it in that forum, post it where it is appropriate. I'd be willing to bet there is an "on-topic" forum less than three simple clicks away on this very site.

The nice things about today's forum software is that it makes it easy to put information where it belongs, making it easier to retrieve and archive when it is used properly. There are areas of this site where "off-topic" posts are actually "on-topic."

Just because it has been done a certain way in the past most certainly does not make that the best way of doing things. In fact, if you read over this thread, we are requesting that you DO NOT do it the way that LPD suggests.

In the early BBS days (or even in today's rather antiquated newgroups), it was/is difficult to find specific information, a lot of complex keystrokes, no really advanced searching mechanisms. BBS topic areas were extremely on-topic and to cover another topic sometime meant dialing up to another BBS. At times it made sense to post a message with "O/T' in the subject. Enough O/T subjects and you were often publicly reminded (and perhaps even scolded) of the charter of the BBS and/or newsgroup.

Today, forum software allows you to break up information into dozens of specific topic areas, all on one easily accessible database-driven, point/click/search/graphical website...a lot has changed since character-based Wildcat, dial-up, BBS's.

I think it has been posted in another thread, but for those that are interested and technically inclined, please take a look at what I have been dealing with the past few months and you may understand why this request is being made.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...threadid=37174

Let's agree to take best advantage of these changes for the F150online Community as a whole.

 

Steve and Doug,

Although I tend to be/am a Lightning Forum-aholic, your suggestions are correct, IMHO.

Guess I'll start checking out the rest of the forums.

Your work IS appreciated.

Bob

 

The work done here is much appreciated.......now I think it's time to move this thread to gen. discussion ?

 

Ironically enough, I think the thread needs to remain in this forum for a little while.