This is what I see on the page I use to sign in to the forum:
"Welcome to Pennock's Fiero Discussion Forum! We have dedicated space on our server especially for all you Pontiac Fiero lovers out there. This is the place to discuss or ask all your technical questions, or to simply chat with other Fiero owners. There's also a special section called "The Mall" where you can offer anything Fiero related that you may have to trade or sell. You can even link an image if you want!
The only thing we ask of you is not to abuse the forum, do not spam it with links to commercial sites. Also, we don't tolerate foul language, racial remarks, etc. We simply ask you to use your own good judgement of what is appropriate or not. If you stick to these simple rules, you can discuss anything you want. You can discuss how to make your tires burn rubber, how to avoid speed traps, how other cars suck compared to the Fiero - whatever! "
I would like to know what are peoples interpretation of what these rules mean, such as: What would constitute abusing the forum? What else would be included under foul language, racial remarks, etc., would insults to other members fall under this? What other etiquette should be considered? Should the ratings system be made more sensitive to help ban trolls? Should there be temporary banning of people or just permanent banning of people?
Since the members decide who stays and who goes, maybe more of us need to become more proactive to help weed out the bad seeds. By my interpretation of the rules above, we have several people on the forum who need to get the boot. Some of them are very close to accomplishing this on their own. I think it would be in everyones best interest to get rid of these troublemakers. Im sure they will post in this thread to complain and hurl insults, as is their custom. I am counting on the members of the forum to do the right thing. We are the only ones that can keep this forum a nice place to come and discuss our car problems, solutions, and stories. Please take out the trash.
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07:58 PM
PFF
System Bot
DelawareFiero Member
Posts: 1050 From: Tod vor Schmach!! Registered: Apr 2004
You pretty much answered your own complaint. Most ARE on the way out the door.
Look at the red bar brigade. They love the red they have. A few more ratings and they are gone. My problem is that there are some members that accept that behavior and havent pushed the red all the way out.
I understand that some people are just annoying. Thats the way they are. The fact that they have seen complaints and done nothing to curb the "attitude" is my problem. I could say a crapload of stuff Im thinking. I dont, because I know thats not what people want to hear. Or it IS offensive. Period.
If some of the comments were said around me, or in front of me, and not 1000 miles away behind a keyboard. They would get stomped into the ground. At least around here. Maybe the safety and comfort of NO consequences for what they say is why they do it. some of em have already been banned. That doesnt seem to do anything in my opinion. They are playing the system.
My biggest complaint is any idiot can sign up and any idiot can own a fiero.
But thats just my opinion. everyone has one.
and BAN ALL POLITICAL threads.
ENOUGH ALREADY
------------------ Bottles are for babies
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08:14 PM
pokeyfiero Member
Posts: 16189 From: Free America! Registered: Dec 2003
I think the rating work pretty well or at least i don't see anythibg working better. Rating work and somtimes they don't.I got a negative rating for a comment i made last night.Not by the guy i was messing with but by someone else.The guy i was messing with(for fun)hit me right back and it was pretty good too.Now why did i get a neg.Because somebody felt offended,I doubt it.Because i said something mean with the purpouse of being cruel,Nope. They did it just because they could.So what. Lots of people get rated in political threads.Very un cool if you ask me but again so what. As a whole i like it and the dim wits that really don't care will be weeded out.Sooner or later.Maybe they will reregister and chill out maybe they will do the same thing again.Again i have to say ,SO WHAT.
i THINK YOU MAY HAVE SOME SNEEKY ALTERIOR MOTIVE HERE.Damned cap locks!! Maybe draw them out and help them hang themselves?Haha good plan i like it.
Maybe we could have a confessional section.What do you think Cliff you got some extra time to waste reading connfessions? How about instesd of hlmarys dole out NEGCREDITS.Dollar a rating.+1 dollar and you delete one bad rating.Got to confess for the right to pay for a certain amount of rating.For every confession they get to pay 10 bucks to delete 10 ratings.
At xmas we could have an amnesty program.That would be a great money maker.
BTW i don't know Many on here that are not guilty of something or another.I know i'm guilty.
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09:16 PM
Oct 5th, 2004
LZeitgeist Member
Posts: 5662 From: Raleigh, NC, U.S.A. Registered: Dec 2000
My only particular complaint is that Cliff seems to allow most of them right back in after we all go through the trouble of banning them... I'm sure things are more complicated than that, with spoofing/floating IP addresses and such, but regardless, it's his Forum, his home that we have been welcomed into, so I support how he chooses to run it even if I might choose to try to do things differently sometimes.
Why individuals want to come back to someplace they're not wanted is beyond me, though...
------------------ Patrick W. Heinske -- LZeitgeist@aol.com 1988 Red Fiero Formula Convertible
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12:23 AM
2birds Member
Posts: 1685 From: Ottumwa, Iowa USA Registered: Nov 1999
My biggest gripe is people who just have to beat a dead horse, sometimes just so they can seem to have the last word. I'm guilty, too, I'm sure. I've been hanging around here since Nov 1999, and I'm barely over 1000 posts. I don't even have a ratings bar. If I don't have anything useful to say (and I try to look at it from someone else's perspective), I usually (but not quite always) stay out. I don't think I've posted much in the technical board because I usually can't do much more than say "ditto". Why waste the bandwidth? There are a lot of true Fiero experts here, and I'd do an injustice to any I left out if I was to start naming names.
The other thing I try to do is to only post things I wouldn't be afraid to say to someone's face, with my mother or my kids listening in on the conversation. Everyone has an opinion, but insulting someone is not the way to "convert" them to your way of thinking.
When it comes to the ratings bar, I haven't rated anyone yet. I suppose I could give out plusses, but I look at potential negatives as just someone else who has a different opinion from mine, and the person who I may have issue with in the O/T section may do great things in the tech section, and I didnt see it.
Here's a dead horse, I'm sure. I'm not perfect, but please use full sentences and spelling. At least try. It makes it so much easier to understand what you are trying to say. Save the shorthand for the chat rooms, where speed is needed.
The other rules are pretty simple, like the classifieds. Commercial outfits pay sponsorship fees to advertise here, and get special banners. If it's private owner and Fiero-related, it belongs. If not, maybe an off-topic for sale section? I don't have any issues with sharing non-Fiero deals/offers among our family, but not if it takes up too much room.
:::Bangs head on desk repeatedly in solemn and enthusiastic agreement:::
quote
Originally posted by 2birds: Here's a dead horse, I'm sure. I'm not perfect, but please use full sentences and spelling. At least try. It makes it so much easier to understand what you are trying to say. Save the shorthand for the chat rooms, where speed is needed.
Damn... Sorry pokeyfiero but after reading this you are officially placed on double secret probation.
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01:43 AM
donk316 Member
Posts: 1952 From: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada Registered: Mar 2003
I had ask Cliff to explain how the banning process works, he actually does not ban people off the forum, the members do. We do this by handing out negative ratings. Once a person has enough negative ratings they are automatically booted off. I don't understand why some people would purposely try and get themselves banned, especially the ones who seem to like it here and actually have good stuff to contibute to the forum. I know we can all act like asshats once in a while, but some of us seem to be trying to perfect this style of forum responce. It may be funny once in a while, but it gets old real quick. People have to remember also that this forum is open to all ages and that we should set an example of proper behavior. Some of the behaviour on this forum would not be tolerated in public. I guess some people do not think before they act. Maybe if they asked themselves if they would act or say this kind of stuff in front of their Mother, would they still do it here?
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09:12 AM
cccharlie Member
Posts: 2006 From: North Smithfield, RI Registered: Jan 2003
Some of the behaviour on this forum would not be tolerated in public.
Some behavior isn't tolerated in a library. Some behavior isn't tolerated in church. Some behavior isn't tolerated in a courtroom.
Fortunately, this setting is primarily adults, so we can use big words and we can have heated discussions without repeatedly reassuring the children that we aren't homicidal.
Every setting has its own standard of proper conduct. Cliff has established an excellent way for the membership (which is almost universally beyhond adolescence) to decide and uphold that standard. And it is working.
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09:40 AM
86fierose Member
Posts: 4086 From: Livonia, Michigan Registered: Feb 2002
I think the rating work pretty well or at least i don't see anythibg working better. Rating work and somtimes they don't.I got a negative rating for a comment i made last night.Not by the guy i was messing with but by someone else.The guy i was messing with(for fun)hit me right back and it was pretty good too.Now why did i get a neg.Because somebody felt offended,I doubt it.Because i said something mean with the purpouse of being cruel,Nope. They did it just because they could.So what. Lots of people get rated in political threads.Very un cool if you ask me but again so what. As a whole i like it and the dim wits that really don't care will be weeded out.Sooner or later.Maybe they will reregister and chill out maybe they will do the same thing again.Again i have to say ,SO WHAT.
I totally agree with you Pokey......I don't let my bar bother me, I know that I am good guy and so do a lot of people on here...I would bet that I got 95% of my negative ratings in one thread and I know that people will never go back and change it not matter what I do, but I don't care
Avengador, why would you post something like this that will just feed the trolls and stir up argument? This is exactly what THEY do, like Donk's recent post about his sig/picture posting ability. Although I agree wholeheartedly about kicking the jerks/trolls off, why do it by sinking to their level? I don't know where you got the post above, whether you made it up or it is on the site somewhere, but what reason could you possibly have other than to cause trouble? Do you think people will start rating negatives because of what you wrote? Not bloody likely. Things will change very slowly unless Cliff makes a change. You wrote this to cause trouble, plain and simple.
I think the rating system is good, as long as used properly. I think any member who hands out a neg should have to show a reason. A LEGIT REASON.....with proof of the misconduct. Then, once they have hit the 'boot' portion, Cliff would look at the reasons and make the final call. Too many people give NEGs merely because they don't agree with you, or you don't agree with them. Just since my rating bar appeared, I have lost 3 points. I have NEVER argued with anyone on here, have NEVER flamed anyone, do not get involved in the political threads, and certainly do not use bad language on the forum. Yet someone has seen fit to hand out one or two negatives. And this is why the Rating System is good, but should also be monitored. And of course, this is only my opinion.
OH.....and I just noticed....Happy Anniversary to me...2 Years on the Forum. ------------------ Jim www.jkfiero.com
[This message has been edited by JKFIERO (edited 10-05-2004).]
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11:11 AM
avengador1 Member
Posts: 35467 From: Orlando, Florida Registered: Oct 2001
Bigfieroman, here is a link to the page I sign on in with: http://www.pennock.nl/forum.html that is where I am quoting the forum rules from. Some members have gotten negatives for having a really warped and sick sense of humor. I wrote this to remind people that there are rules for being on this forum. What I am doing will not start trouble, it will help get rid of it, and I am not sinking to anybodys level by doing so. Just because it is the internet, does not mean that anything goes. Too many people don't care to follow rules and etiquette because they believe there will be no consecuenses. That isn't how it is in the real world and it shouldn't be any different here. Follow the rules or be booted off. I am just trying to light a fire under some of the members who aren't comfortable with the way some things are going, and haven't decided or know that they can do something about it. Why should we have to put up with trolls, their lack of manners, and their insults? This should be a nice place where one can come and exchange ideas without having to fear being flamed or called a name, just because someone else does not agree with them, or worse yet, they want to have a good time at someone elses expense. That isn't being civil. If this type of behavior is tolerated, we truly are seeing the end of civilization.
[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 10-05-2004).]
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03:07 PM
Gridlock Member
Posts: 2874 From: New Westminster, BC Canada Registered: Apr 2002
Why can't people learn to deal? Seriously. Show me a forum that doesn't have a troll or two. Try going to a bar with a stage and an open mike and tell me that the one thats in every crowd won't take advantage of it.
No...here on PFF we need to make a specatcle of the fact that there is a troll. We need special threads and we need to campaign to get people to vote out the people you don't like.
"Oh look...its been 6 months and dude 16 is back. Quick...lets ban him again before he says something that I disagree with"
"Oh....the punisher didn't put up with my whining and complaining...qucik, lets ban him"
You get the point. If people want a person out, let them get rated. If the person isn't doing enough to piss off the majority, why are people trying to persuade them?
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09:16 PM
Oct 6th, 2004
I'm Back Member
Posts: 3780 From: Phoenix, Az, USA Registered: Oct 2002
Why can't people learn to deal? Seriously. Show me a forum that doesn't have a troll or two. Try going to a bar with a stage and an open mike and tell me that the one thats in every crowd won't take advantage of it.
No...here on PFF we need to make a specatcle of the fact that there is a troll. We need special threads and we need to campaign to get people to vote out the people you don't like.
"Oh look...its been 6 months and dude 16 is back. Quick...lets ban him again before he says something that I disagree with"
"Oh....the punisher didn't put up with my whining and complaining...qucik, lets ban him"
You get the point. If people want a person out, let them get rated. If the person isn't doing enough to piss off the majority, why are people trying to persuade them?
Exactly, this whitchunt mentality is indicitive of the American Right-wing Republican.
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01:52 AM
Songman Member
Posts: 12496 From: Nashville, TN Registered: Aug 2000
Why can't people learn to deal? Seriously. Show me a forum that doesn't have a troll or two. Try going to a bar with a stage and an open mike and tell me that the one thats in every crowd won't take advantage of it.
No...here on PFF we need to make a specatcle of the fact that there is a troll. We need special threads and we need to campaign to get people to vote out the people you don't like.
"Oh look...its been 6 months and dude 16 is back. Quick...lets ban him again before he says something that I disagree with"
"Oh....the punisher didn't put up with my whining and complaining...qucik, lets ban him"
You get the point. If people want a person out, let them get rated. If the person isn't doing enough to piss off the majority, why are people trying to persuade them?
Wholey crap!! I agree. However, I call it the short skirt pom pom pointing hit squad.
Ed calles it "this whitchunt mentality is indicitive of the American Right-wing Republican." but I think there are a few democraps involved.
"
Thanks Aus! 
