Saying goodbye

[MJEdelman]

Originally Posted by hellphish

I've had a lot of fun on these boards, I've meet some really great friends through here, but I think it is time for me to move on. This will be my last post.

...

Farewell, SegwayChat. It's been a fun few years.

I think you should reconsider...

[bvelke]

I confess that I too have one foot out the door. Unlike hellphish, I've been here less than a year and nobody will miss me but I have come to understand why I've seen at least four longstanding members leave recently in search of an adult Segway community.

This feedback forum is one thing - but the "Segway Forums" can be friendly, helpful, and informative without devolving into the personal playgrounds of a few individuals. The thread there which is NOT hijacked repeatedly seems to be the exception to the rule. I don't envy the moderators who, however hard they try, seem to be fighting a losing battle. Although they rarely have anything constructive to add to the discussion, some people seem to feel compelled to add some inane chatter to each and every thread! I belong to a lot of forums (and run two myself) and I've never seen anything like the Romper Room atmosphere that often prevails within the on-topic forums of this site.

It is getting harder and harder to find the kernels of good information among the mountains of excrement. I don't think that it will be worth it much longer...

-Bob

[JohnG]

It's a frustration of everyone, moderators included, that some people feel like they need to "chime in" on virtually every thread, whether their comments are on-topic or not. SC probably suffers a little more from this than many communities, and I'm sorry about that... outside of reminding members to try and not take any given thread "off topic," there's not a lot we can do.

John

[bvelke]

Originally Posted by jgrohol

It's a frustration of everyone, moderators included, that some people feel like they need to "chime in" on virtually every thread, whether their comments are on-topic or not. SC probably suffers a little more from this than many communities, and I'm sorry about that... outside of reminding members to try and not take any given thread "off topic," there's not a lot we can do.

With all due respect, there's lots that you can do. You can warn them, moderate them if the behavior continues, and then ban them if they refuse to cooperate. Continually reminding them clearly isn't sufficient and that strategy is leading to a lot of people leaving the board.

The polyurethane tire thread has now been hijacked a THIRD time by people who have nothing to say about polyurethane tires and would rather debate whether a request that posters stay on-topic is "combative."

sigh

-Bob

[BillPaxton]

Originally Posted by bvelke

With all due respect, there's lots that you can do. You can warn them, moderate them if the behavior continues, and then ban them if they refuse to cooperate. Continually reminding them clearly isn't sufficient and that strategy is leading to a lot of people leaving the board.

The polyurethane tire thread has now been hijacked a THIRD time by people who have nothing to say about polyurethane tires and would rather debate whether a request that posters stay on-topic is "combative."

sigh

-Bob

Bob, I dont know you so I dont know where this comes from. May I be so bold as to ask what you would do? I run a vB too, and I have several friends that do as well. I would like to pass your sage wisdom of how you can do it better on to my peers, please.
A thread got derailed? SHUT DOWN THE FORUM
I'm just trying to make a point - honestly, do you think SC is the mods means of income? Do you think it supercedes their families?
This is ridiculous, I refuse to sit silenty anymore. I am calling BS on you

[bvelke]

Originally Posted by BillPaxton

I would like to pass your sage wisdom of how you can do it better on to my peers, please.

I believe I've already answered that.

A thread got derailed? SHUT DOWN THE FORUM

You'll notice that shutting down the forum was not one of the responses that I suggested.

I'm just trying to make a point

...but making mine instead.

Have a nice day.

-Bob

[pam]

Bob,
I guess it's my turn to step in.

These forums are not technical in nature. We have some technical information, but by and large we are about community, not about regimentation. There are advantages and disadvantages in this, as you can probably guess. We tend to be more "technical" when a new model is released and we're finding out about it, and more community when it's been a while since a model has been released, and there's not much new to talk about, although members will answer questions of newbies.

Members tend to be enthusiastic, highly intelligent and somewhat volatile - maybe those are hallmarks of early adopters . Although you wouldn't know it from the series of overly dramatic posts we've had lately over moderation/leaving, we do tend to moderate fairly lightly on these forums.

Friendships form, people tend to do stream of consciousness posting, and for me that's fine. Obviously, we'd like the thread to stay on topic, but as long as members are civil to each other and the thread starts in the right forum, we pretty much let it be. If it goes way off topic and OBVIOUSLY belongs in another forum, after a day or two, the whole thread will get moved. Most questions can be answered in two or three posts. After that, what you often will find is community - people relating to other people.

Since community is such a big part of the group, it may be a different type of forum that you're looking for - as I said earlier - one more technical or regimented in nature. Or, if you want to tease that kind of information out from the various members/posts here, you can probably get it. But, by and large, I doubt that the community will change - Just something to consider.

Pam

[Mr_Laurenzano]

I yie yie. I shouldnt start a poll right now should I.

~the one on the segway. Next to the mouse.

Segway Chat
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Have a nice day
If you can't oh well.
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