Paddock Subforum - Index it or not?

[Ron Earp]

Look at it like this....Would you be happy if your mailman only delivered some of your mail and took what he thought (based on color, style or weight of envelope) you might not want to read...... Same with forum indexing, it's just an informative list for you to pick the most recent posts that you choose to read, don't like the title, then don't open it.

I've heard the argument described to me like this:

GT40s.com is a site about cars, in particular GT40s, but also about cars from that era, i.e. Cam Am cars. The site is fantastic and has one of the best technical contents of any forum on the net related to cars. The paddock detracts from this focus, and thus the overall strength of GT40s.com, by having a large amount of off topic banter and traffic.
​

I can't really find fault with that argument.

Now the one I do find fault with is:

You shouldn't allow posts on XYZ because viewpoints like that are not tolerant of others and is a bunch of (insert political leaning here) drivel.

​

To that argument I say use the ignore button or don't read the thread.

 

[roaldin]

I suspect reluctance to speak out may be because they want to avoid the vitriol that can arise here. Not an unreasonable position IMO.

As for

Look at it like this....Would you be happy if your mailman only delivered some of your mail and took what he thought (based on color, style or weight of envelope) you might not want to read back to the Post Office, where you had to go collect it?

it already happens in this virtual world. It is called spam filtering and thank [insert deity here] for it. I might develop a complex about why I need so much viagra otherwise...

Tim.

 

[Roark_John]

Any person not willing to stand their ground deserves to be trodden underfoot, or swept away with the tide. Don't knee-cap all of us, because some of us lack a backbone.

I appreciate this site AND the Paddock. The technical information available is a veritable treasure-trove. I am one of those adults who chooses what I may read, and IF I take issue with what is said, I address that person's post, without becoming a whining sissy or taddling to Daddy.

Yes, I agree with the part about this being a site dedicated to GT40 replicars, and racing replicars/originals of the same vintage. I also think of the Paddock as the Entertainment/Comics pages of my weekly newspaper...just icing on the cake. I like being able to log in and see on the index what has been been added to the forum recently. My vote is leave the Paddock on the index.

I suspect reluctance to speak out may be because they want to avoid the vitriol that can arise here. Not an unreasonable position IMO.

Tim.

 

[roaldin]

Deleted - 'nuff said.

 

[Roark_John]

I also need a pop-up blocker for the real world...there are far too many ugly and stupid people who manage to interfere in the course of my daily duties. So if you could arrange that, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank the FSM!

it already happens in this virtual world. It is called spam filtering and thank [insert deity here] for it. I might develop a complex about why I need so much viagra otherwise...

Tim.

 

[Ron Earp]

Thank the FSM!

Ramen.

Had my FSM shirt on at the gym today.

 

[Roark_John]

Ahhh...now I know why I was getting such funny looks when I went. I was in full pirate regalia...an FSM shirt would be handy for such occasions, social gaffer that I am.

Ramen.

Had my FSM shirt on at the gym today.

 

[roaldin]

Finally!
A topic everyone will appreciate...

Now to get the sauce out of my hair (simple misunderstanding...).

Tim.

 

[Roark_John]

Red Sauce or White Sauce? I have been told that Red Sauce can cause Male Pattern Baldness.

I must get back to my noodles, my master is calling me...

Finally!
A topic everyone will appreciate...

Now to get the sauce out of my hair (simple misunderstanding...).

Tim.

 

[roaldin]

Red, but I'm hoping the FSM will grant me a nice pattern.

Hey man, I was about to check out an ipod convertor and it disappeared. Thought it must have been moved to the paddock but can't find it. Where'd it go?

Kidding...

Tim.

 

[Russ Noble]

I've heard the argument described to me like this:

GT40s.com is a site about cars, in particular GT40s, but also about cars from that era, i.e. Cam Am cars. The site is fantastic and has one of the best technical contents of any forum on the net related to cars. The paddock detracts from this focus, and thus the overall strength of GT40s.com, by having a large amount of off topic banter and traffic.
​

I can't really find fault with that argument.

Ah, well I can Ron!

I would agree with that statement if Paddock type items were interspersed amongst the technical stuff, but they are not, you created a seperate sub forum for that very reason. The fact that it is indexed with the other stuff in new posts though, as others have said, gives one the opportunity to make a decision about whether to view it or not. The Paddock is not part of any of the technical GT40/CanAm so does not detract from it.

Having The Paddock, and thus the index, acknowledges the fact that GT40s.com is a community that is vibrant and alive and made up of real people with real lives, most of whom do not have pedantic tunnel vision.

I voted to index

 

[David Morton]

Succinctly put Russ.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

I am a moderator on another Internet forum (www.hatterasownersforum.com) and we had to create an area called the Sandbar specifically for misbehavior. I should also say that the owner of that forum (unlike Ron) lacks backbone and would not throw some of the worst-behaved people off the forum. Anyway, now they all hang out on the Sandbar with their preferred company and the tech side of the Hatteras Owners' Forum is reasonably placid. We have occasional squalls but generally the wave height stays below three to four feet. My point is that there seems to be a need for this kind of area for folks to decompress every now and again. I think the Paddock area is quite tame compared to others of its' kind on other forums, which speaks well for the quality of folks hanging out here. I wish the owners of Hatteras yachts were as well-behaved, frankly.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

And to show you how little I actually know about the forum which I moderate, the address is actually Sam's Marine International. I am an idiot.

 

[Kym Haines]

There is of course a technical solution: there could be a section in our profile/settings where the forums are listed with a checkbox next to each where we could individually specify what is indexed for ourselves.

 

[Charlie Farley]

And an American questions whether we should have a Paddock ?
JESUS, while the UK is becoming the residential home of the East German Stasi, for God's sake stand up for us !!!
What i find so enticing about the Paddock is this :
Its a breath of fresh air, for all of us that crawl out from under or over a 40
and wish to make contact with reality. Its soo refreshing to read irreverent, irelevant political diatribes and ask to comment on tits and bums.
I feel both have as much ' weight ' as each other.
Roll on the PADDOCK !

 

[Pete]

This forum is like going to your favorite bar and grill to hangout with your chums from all over. To just talk about cars and nothing else within an international community like this would be boring and not help with gaining a different perspective. I like being able to pop in and out of the Paddock depending on what the topic might be. It's interesting to see what points of view we all have.

Pete

 

[Graham]

I voted yes. For me it's a no brainer.

The paddock is fun, but is also intelectually stimulating, and I for one have both contributed and I'm not too big to admit that I've learnt things about lots of different topics from the pages held within.

I agree with the Charlie Farley. Here in the UK (you know, the place with more CCTV cameras per person than the rest of the world) our civil liberties and rights to free speech are being constantly impinged upon (and don't get me started on the proposed ID card issue)....

If you don't like someones opinion then either deal with it, or resonably discuss the varying points of view. We are all grown ups (i would hope).

Still, if you don't like my priciples, then I do have others

 

[Eric]

I appear to be on the minority side of this discussion. I voted no because nearly everytime I log on, the entire index of new posts is from the Paddock. In essence, that is like putting the Paddock forum on the user's logon page. Since I am always looking for techical information, I have gotten to where I never look at the index and just go straight to the technical forums. Works for me.

It would be nice, as somebody had suggested several days ago, if a user could select what appears, but I understand that is beyond the capabilities of the software.

Just my two cents.

Eric

 

[Doug S.]

Since I am always looking for techical information, I have gotten to where I never look at the index and just go straight to the technical forums. Works for me.
Eric

Here's a common sense approach!! If you don't like what the "New Posts" feature brings up, just use common sense as advocated by Eric and go directly to the forums that interest you......YEE-HAW, cheers to Eric for pointing out the obvious!

I was pleased to see that the Paddock was included in the "New Posts" function when I logged on this morning.....if you'll look at your browser window when you click on "New Posts", you'll see that it's just a search function of the forum, but I'd venture a guess that it is the most used search function on the forum!

Doug