Why this forum is dissapperaring up its own anus?

Doug S.

The protoplasm may be 72, but the spirit is 32!
Lifetime Supporter
This isn't about who has done well. This is about what is your passion. When you login to GT40s.com, are you passionate about a GT40 topic? Are you here to seek help regarding a technical question you are having? Are you here to provide technical advice to others who also share a passion for GT40s and are in need of help? Are you here to see pictures and videos of other member's GT40s and share in their love for these cars? Are you here to learn about events past and upcoming related to GT40s?

Or... did you wake up this morning and the first thing you did was to login to the politics thread all fired up to come back with some witty retort to a worthless political argument that you are engaged in a heated debate over with someone else who does not share your political view? If this is the answer then I submit you need to check your priorities and stop wasting your life away. Most of you are older than dirt and should already be aware of this.

Paragraph 1---yes, I do and have done all of those things.

Paragraph 2---no, I logged in here at work (for which, BTW, I am thankful to those who have reduced the prevalence of vulgarity because prior to today I could not even log on to GT40s.com at work...blocked by the firewall administrators for inappropriate language. I can now connect with GT40s.com at work, where it was "banned" before). Thanks, folks!

...and as for being older than dirt...well, I use to say I was, but a friend challenged me on that and said that although I could not claim to be older than dirt, he had done the research and said that I am definitely older than aluminum foil. That's the only claim I make now regarding my age.

Doug
 
What I would like to have more control over is what my financial contribution to this site is used to fund. Had I known it would be used to fund political tripe by some who have not contributed at all, I would have chosen not to.

There are 20 different posts on the Paddock. Only one allows anything remotely political. So after a very conscious decision to enter the Paddock which has a lot of informative and trivial stuff in it, you make another conscious decision to enter the political post. Not once, but twice you have done this to arrive here. I think the operative word in your thread is "CONTROL". And for $395.00 you want to control this forum. Seriously?
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
When you send in your $395 then you have standing to ask me that question...
 

Doug S.

The protoplasm may be 72, but the spirit is 32!
Lifetime Supporter
When you send in your $395 then you have standing to ask me that question...

I've sent mine in, Mike...so I'll ask.

What makes you think that just because you've contributed for a lifetime sponsoring membership it gives you the right to try to dictate what others do or say on the forum?

No spin, Mike...no hemming and hawing...but I don't think you can do that, so.....???

Doug
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
If I could dictate, the politics would be gone along with the people who are here to stir that pot. Now that this is cleared up, my position on the nature of this forum is well documented and everyone knows it. The politics serve no purpose other than to divide and create strive and discord among members. My $395 gives me the right to state that position and to stand by it. if Ron sends my $395 back I will then simply avoid the topic and you guys can continue to pollute and ruin what would otherwise be a great site dedicated to a great car minus any feedback from me as a non-contributing member.
 

Doug S.

The protoplasm may be 72, but the spirit is 32!
Lifetime Supporter
so...you're holding Ron's forum hostage hoping for him to return a donation you made?

A gift is just that...a gift. There are terms we use to refer to people who give things to others and then want them back..."Indian givers" comes to mind, although I'm not sure what the origins of that derogatory term are.

[Edit: I searched for the origin of "Indian Giver" and found this: "Indian giver derives from the alleged practise (sic) of American Indians of taking back gifts from white settlers. It is more likely that the settlers wrongly interpreted the Indians' loans to them as gifts."]

I'm not Ron, but if I were I'm pretty sure I would not be giving your $$$ back. Why not just make your exit now? You seem to have a pretty exciting prospect in your future and it's not a 40, or so I've surmised.

Bottom line...you donated to the forum, no reason to ask for a refund, except for the one time I think I remember Ron returning a member's "Silver" membership when he had to ban the party from the forum permanently. I think he did return that $10 to that banned individual, but I'm not certain. Ron hasn't banned you, though...yet. No, really, Mike, that last part was just a joke. I haven't seen you being any more rude than normal and have not seen anything that rises to the level that caused Ron to ban the other member.

Locus of control, Mike...others control many aspects of our lives, and in this case Ron is in control.

Yep...you're entitled to state your position and stand by it, Mike. Let's see how that works out for you.

Cheers and good luck!

Doug
 
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Mike

Lifetime Supporter
I think the author of this thread and his assertions pretty closely nail it. GT40s.com should be rebranded as old-angry-people-arguing-ad-infinitum-over-nothing-to-do-with-gt40s.com
 

Randy V

Moderator-Admin
Staff member
Admin
Lifetime Supporter
It’s an awfully big Internet universe out there...
You could always start your very own GT40 “ONLY” discussion forum....
If it were up to some members here, the other 60’s Lemans era cars and all others would be shunned....
The world does not work that way. You don’t get to force your wills on the masses.
For some reason - many people tend to think that Internet Forums like this are a democracy and that everyone’s opinion carries the same weight.
I’ve got news for you. It is NOT a democracy. In most cases, you could consider forums like this as Benevolent Dictatorships...
The owner of the forum makes the rules. That is his right. If he so chooses to accept input from the masses, then you might have some say in how things are run.

In terms that seem to be in vogue today -
Stop being a Snowflake.

This is NOT Burger King and you don’t get it YOUR way.
 

Terry Oxandale

Skinny Man
I would suppose the owner started this site as an enthusiast, who wanted to share or learn from others. Only an assumption. So wouldn't the litmus test be whether a forum is providing usefulness to the general group of automotive enthusiasts (pointed more toward the GT40, including automotive knowledge that can be applied to GT40s if not directly). Thus far, I've found some benefits, at times, within the Paddock, but absolutely no benefit in the political side. I get it that some people feel compelled to share their opinion with others, and I can avoid looking at this forum, but I guess I'm still baffled as to why the extraordinary importance of this particular aspect on an automotive forum when so many other outlets for these opinions can be easily found elsewhere?
 

Doug S.

The protoplasm may be 72, but the spirit is 32!
Lifetime Supporter
I guess I'm still baffled as to why the extraordinary importance of this particular aspect on an automotive forum when so many other outlets for these opinions can be easily found elsewhere?

Here's a shot at answering that, Terry:

I like to discuss politics in a cordial manner and I agree that is difficult to "choreograph" at times. However, if the individuals I see onscreen are familiar to me I feel more comfortable expressing my true feelings and beliefs. Sure, they may challenge me or call me an "...old fart" because I was already nearly 20 when Ford took LeMans from Enzo, but at least I am acquainted with them and that matters to me. I have no need for a politics-specific forum, I feel quite good expressing myself with the friends and acquaintances I've made here on GT40s.com.

Just MHO, of course.

Cheers!

Doug
 
And, that the paddock is still an echo chamber for a few individuals that basically post nowhere else on this forum. Al, Larry, Lonesomebob, etc. have a couple thousand posts on GT40s.com but they're 99% all in this forum only.

Ron, totally agree, I can't figure it out. Seems like many of the folks above would be happier screaming at a wall. Would be nice to at minimum to require people to actually post some tech or something in the non-paddock threads before posting in paddock.

Aka, one post for tech, then you can post a thread in the paddock... then one post in tech, then paddock. I realize this would require coding and cost but would reduce the amount of noise to signal ratio; just a pipe dream.


Maybe I'm wrong and it is time to shut this section of the forum down. It's Jan 1 2018, maybe time for a new start.

Recognizing my opinion doesn't matter, I think it makes sense.

I miss the old days when the Dilemma thread got all the traffic... Or when Meat and LaundryBoy (aka Oliver) were the worst on the site. Seems like child's play to the crap people in the politics thread throw at each other these days.


@Randy, you are right, totally up to the site owner. Unfortunately as becoming apparent on multiple forums I visit, a small number of people (e.g. <15) can drive out the masses. Seems like this site continues to go that way, I think it is too bad.

Good thing it is snowing so I can go be a snowflake

Kevin
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
It’s an awfully big Internet universe out there...
You could always start your very own GT40 “ONLY” discussion forum....
If it were up to some members here, the other 60’s Lemans era cars and all others would be shunned....
The world does not work that way. You don’t get to force your wills on the masses.
For some reason - many people tend to think that Internet Forums like this are a democracy and that everyone’s opinion carries the same weight.
I’ve got news for you. It is NOT a democracy. In most cases, you could consider forums like this as Benevolent Dictatorships...
The owner of the forum makes the rules. That is his right. If he so chooses to accept input from the masses, then you might have some say in how things are run.

In terms that seem to be in vogue today -
Stop being a Snowflake.

This is NOT Burger King and you don’t get it YOUR way.
Wow. I don't think there is a single person on here who would argue that there should be no discussion on other 60s era Le Mans cars. That is a red herring and you know it.

You're right about one thing. This is Ron's forum and he can and does run it as he sees fit. Have you ever seen Jeff Young contribute anything to a GT40 related discussion?

There is hardly any camaraderie on this site. When is the last time there was a US GT40 gathering? Go look on the Ford GT forum. While I have my issues with Dave and a few of the guys over there, they run a forum by the owners for the owners. To be a member you need to own or share a deep love of the FGT. They have a large owner community gathering every year now for 10+ years. I'm sure there are many political persuasions there as well and over drinks in private they probably discuss. It's a pity that there is not and won't ever be that sort of community with the GT40 owners. Instead it's just a lot of really unhappy people who have nothing better to do than get on a car forum and complain about politics.

Have fun with it when thats all thats left which is where its headed.
 
Ron, totally agree, I can't figure it out. Seems like many of the folks above would be happier screaming at a wall. Would be nice to at minimum to require people to actually post some tech or something in the non-paddock threads before posting in paddock.

Aka, one post for tech, then you can post a thread in the paddock... then one post in tech, then paddock. I realize this would require coding and cost but would reduce the amount of noise to signal ratio; just a pipe dream.




Recognizing my opinion doesn't matter, I think it makes sense.

I miss the old days when the Dilemma thread got all the traffic... Or when Meat and LaundryBoy (aka Oliver) were the worst on the site. Seems like child's play to the crap people in the politics thread throw at each other these days.




Good thing it is snowing so I can go be a snowflake

Kevin

Hell No, I would have to post non-stop in the Paddock for 10 years just to even things up and by then I would likely have forgotten everything else I once knew...
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Except your faulty advice on how to make a GT40 sound like a GT40 zing! Question the gods for they know not everything!
 
Wow. I don't think there is a single person on here who would argue that there should be no discussion on other 60s era Le Mans cars. That is a red herring and you know it.

You're right about one thing. This is Ron's forum and he can and does run it as he sees fit. Have you ever seen Jeff Young contribute anything to a GT40 related discussion?

There is hardly any camaraderie on this site. When is the last time there was a US GT40 gathering? Go look on the Ford GT forum. While I have my issues with Dave and a few of the guys over there, they run a forum by the owners for the owners. To be a member you need to own or share a deep love of the FGT. They have a large owner community gathering every year now for 10+ years. I'm sure there are many political persuasions there as well and over drinks in private they probably discuss. It's a pity that there is not and won't ever be that sort of community with the GT40 owners. Instead it's just a lot of really unhappy people who have nothing better to do than get on a car forum and complain about politics.

Have fun with it when thats all thats left which is where its headed.

There are lots of SPF GT40s on this site, probably more than there are SLCs, yet there are almost twice as many SLC posts. SLC guys do lots of things together, why don't you guys? One thread in the Paddock should not have such an adverse effect on you. Europeans are pissed because Americans talk about American stuff. There's no rule about posting European or rest of the world things. Takes 2 minute to post something. I still can't understand how you can let something bother you that you actively have to search for and then read it. There are plenty of posts that I never open, should we remove those for my sake?
 
Hell No, I would have to post non-stop in the Paddock for 10 years just to even things up and by then I would likely have forgotten everything else I once knew...

If it wasn’t clear, was meaning to post in paddock you would need to post tech.... tech could post as-is. I would never want to post in paddock just to be able to post tech
 

Terry Oxandale

Skinny Man
There is hardly any camraderie on this site.

I'm happy to say that even though I've never met anybody on this forum, I would say I've developed a comradery with several members (Leon, Keith, and especially Frank to name just a few). It would be very special to me to actually meet these folks before passing, but that would be tough to do. I've developed a keen respect for UK humor and wit, and have observed (through posts) some pretty dedicated builders, gathered great ideas from others with similar mechanical builds, and have enjoyed sharing my project. The neat things I've observed in the political portion of the Paddock is....sorry, having a senior moment there.

I still can't understand how you can let something bother you that you actively have to search for and then read it.

My analogy for that is having a neighbor that never mows his back yard, keeps an old refrigerator behind the fence, and has a dog on a 24-hour run-line in the back yard behind the fence. Yeah, I've got to make an effort to see it by walking around the fence, but I don't care for it being a couple of clicks away. I walk by it and ignore it, but it's still there.
 
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Except your faulty advice on how to make a GT40 sound like a GT40 zing! Question the gods for they know not everything!

Ha Ha, Since you have yet to do what I suggested your engine needed and you took the easy/cheap way out you don't know what your missing...yet!
 
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