Taking a Break

[Scott Calabro]

Tim,

What do you think I am kidding about?

I enjoy visiting Corner-Carvers Forums - Powered by vBulletin

Sorry.

Scott

 

[Scott Calabro]

Tim,

I see you have already edited your post.

?????

S

 

[Martin]

Dutton,
You're right. I've just subscribed.
Martin

 

[Mark Worthington]

No good deed goes unpunished, Ron. I hope you are able to harness your chi during your hiatus. Hang in there.

 

[John W]

Hi Ron,

firstly, given that I believe I may have played a part in one such thread, or at least inadvertently provided the catalyst for an eruption, allow me to apologise. I have already, but if it helps you reconsider, I'll do it some more

Second, this site DOES have a high signal to noise ratio, so your main aim is still a success. I have no idea just how many threads or posts there are on here, or how many are made a month, but to only have a dozen or so that fall foul of this in the last couple of months is insignificant.
So you can be very proud of what you've achieved.
I realise you as owner / moderator must get lots of calls & emails, and maybe the answer is to allocate a number of moderators to take care of different areas of the site.
I know from experience it is difficult to allow the site to be managed for you, but you just need to set the rules and spread the load.
Maybe put Fali in charge

If it is becoming a chore, I believe your taking the right approach, but I sincerely hope you are able to get back to enjoying the banter & technical posts.

As Dutton said, if there is something I can do, please ask. Even if it is just to shut the f_ck up

I've posted here rather than via PM as that would simply add to your problem...

I wish you and your family all the best Ron.

Cheers,
John.
p.s. Scott, you mentioned valid emails, and suggested excluding hotmail accounts. Some of us have this as our main account, so you need to be a bit more selective than that. I would guess Ron and any other admins can very ip addresses if necessary.

 

[Dean Lampe]

Ron, Don't give up on the sight. The information here has been fantastic. It is a conduit to a lot of great minds. I am amazed by the number of posts here on the sight. As for support, I can't believe that everyone doesn't have a spinning trophy or star by thier name. We have all benefitted form the work you have done. I know it isn't about the money but after 500 or 1000 post post, you would think people could step up! I too want to apologize if I have caused you any grief. I have some strong opinions and that offends some people on the forum. Right now I am pissed and frustrated that a few could blow the whole thing for the many.

I would hope that people would respect the business of others and if you have an axe to grind, do it in the paddock.

 

[Ron Earp]

Ron,

I like what I've seen so far.

I can't say ALL the tech is accurate, but I do like the format.

Cheers,
Scott

To be fair, I don't belong to Corner Carvers and am basing my opinion on some threads I read years ago. I'll re-visit the site before I make any comments.

Thanks for all the positive comments. As far the site goes, it isn't about money at all. Maybe for me it is burnout, or simply being involved too much. Maybe the site needs a format change. I know one thing - I'd like to see the site return to the way it was even a couple of years ago. A gathering place for enthusiasts to share a common interest and exchange ideas without the infighting, hidden agendas, and so on.

It is still a great place, for sure, but the purity is lost a bit. It might have started when we opened up a few forums such as the Paddock, Manufacturer Forums, and the non-GT40 car forums. Not sure. But members wanted those sorts of things.

Anyhow, I'll be giving it a lot of thought and will certainly read any ideas posted on this thread. Thanks again,

Ron

 

[Mike Drew]

Ron,

Overall, considering the high number of people participating in this forum, I think they have been exceptionally well-behaved for the most part. There are a few people whose posts have led me to conclude that they are jerks, but that's okay. Interestingly, a few of those people are professionals in the industry, who are (directly or indirectly) trying to sell their products, and themselves, so their behavior and attitude seems counterproductive for them. Odd.

If somebody really crosses a line, perhaps some intervention is called for. If they won't play nice, just kick 'em out. Chances are they won't be missed.

Overall I think you've created a wonderful thing here, and I know there are hundreds/thousands of people all over the world who greatly appreciate it. Please don't let the behavior of a few infants cloud your vision and prevent you from seeing the profound goodness that is pervasive throughout this site that you have created....

 

[Cliff Beer]

Ron, perhaps imposing membership fees in order to pay for an outside website administrator makes sense? In other words, a website administrator that can handle all the drudgery of login/pw issues and such so that you're time isn't burdened with these mundane tasks? I'll be the first to pay a $100/yr. mandatory "membership" fee if it's helpful....

 

[J. Salmon]

Hey Dean, look at me, I got me a little star now too

Ron, take a vacation. Everyone needs a vacation now and then.

I am a car site junky. This is hands down the most mature. I think some of the tension is from the economy, and some from the fact that many of us take this very very seriously, probably too seriously. I know I spend an amazing portion of my waking (and sleeping) thought on this stuff. When something is a passion, it fuels emotion. And if it is not a passion, then what is the point?

And this is not my job. But for some, it is. I cannot imagine the stress that would add.

Best regards to all -J.

 

[Craig White]

Ron, have a great break. You certainly deserve it. You efforts at enforcing rules etc on this forum are really appreciated. Yes it's an endless, thankless task, but you do an extremely good job at it.

It's actually amazing at how many enthusiasts I talk to that have gotten something out of this forum. Most never post or contribute, but certainly have been blessed to have this resource available. It's probably very hard for Ron to grasp how many enthusiasts this site has helped. More than I can imagine I expect, from every corner of the world.

When I've got the time, this is my favourite place to be online.

 

[Dave P]

Ron:
Thanks for your efforts. Enjoy your break! Without this forum my build would have never come this far. Tons of good posts and many great members please don't let a few ruin it for the many.
Regards Dave

 

[Kim Petersen]

Ron:

Yours is the first and last site I visit on the internet each day. GT40s.com is the standard by which I view every other special interest website. It is dispiriting to hear that you are let down by many of us who get so much from your efforts and hard work.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who fears that without your guidance and even-handed administration, GT40s.com will slip in quality and become like so many other mundane scream fests. Hopefully, you will return from your brief respite and recognize that the loud and unmannered 2% of the membership do not represent the vast majority of very appreciative (and relatively well-behaved) forum members. And I, for one, promise to pony up financially to help you defray costs – sorry, I should have done it long ago.

Thanks for all you've done, Ron!

Kim

 

[Derek]

Ron,

As a long time lurker I must say big thumbs up to you for your efforts.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I've been on here for a number of years in two guises (lost my password and didn't want to bother you.)

The forum is always enjoyable and informative.

I ,for one ,think you've done more than enough for the gt40 cause.

I'd be happy to pay for a subscription......:thumbsup:

I don't have a full grown GT40 yet....lots of models but no real one. When i do however I hope the forum is still here to help and support.

Derek

 

[Keith]

Ron:

Yours is the first and last site I visit on the internet each day. GT40s.com is the standard by which I view every other special interest website. It is dispiriting to hear that you are let down by many of us who get so much from your efforts and hard work.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who fears that without your guidance and even-handed administration, GT40s.com will slip in quality and become like so many other mundane scream fests. Hopefully, you will return from your brief respite and recognize that the loud and unmannered 2% of the membership do not represent the vast majority of very appreciative (and relatively well-behaved) forum members. And I, for one, promise to pony up financially to help you defray costs – sorry, I should have done it long ago.

Thanks for all you've done, Ron!

Kim

What he said...

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Ron (and all present as well):
You may recall that a few years ago I emailed you for advice about a member of our Hatteras Yachts Owners Forum who was misbehaving, abusing other members, stirring the pot, etc etc. I am a moderator on that forum and we were having a great deal of difficulty at the time.
What we ended up doing was to create an area of the Forum called the Sandbar, where people were allowed to misbehave (within limits) as they wished. This worked for a while- until the just-past Presidential campaign when some of the rhetoric got hostile and racist and we ended up deleting entire threads, sometimes daily. Things have calmed down now, at least for the moment. Having the Sandbar space did serve, for the most part, to compartmentalize the more rowdy rhetoric so that people had the choice NOT to read it.
My (limited) experience suggests that there will be a few people on any Internet forum that will stir up trouble. I seem to recall that years ago there were some of those kind of people on this forum. Setting aside an area which serves as a designated space for relative misbehavior seems to help a bit. So does a call for an elevation of the overall tone of the discourse on the Forum. Although I have been absent for a while, I joined this Forum in 2001, which goes back a ways. Generally speaking, the tone of exchange has been civil- with occasional flareups of incivility.
Internet forums such as GT40s.com do not come into being on their own. They require financial support from their members, they require care, attention, and feeding by their creators, and most of all they require that all the individuals posting on them observe a code of behavior which most people find reasonable, but a few individuals seem to struggle to observe. All of us are grateful to you, Ron, for your continued efforts on our behalf over a period of nearly ten years, to further an interest we have in common. It's time for us to show our gratitude by supporting this forum financially, and even more significantly to support it by showing how well we can behave, not how stridently we can make our own points. In other words, by playing nice, and not running with scissors.
Thanks,
Jim Rosenthal
Annapolis, MD

 

[Ross Nicol]

Maybe we should have anonymous police who can respond to a noisy poster with a 'tut tut' (for a low level one off ) right up to a rubber bullet ( for loud jerkish behaviour ). I get annoyed when I read the vindictive stuff but there are times when I would issue a tut tut to the odd poster that probably doesn't realize that their attitude stinks.
Ross

 

[John W]

Ross,
one of the bike club forums I belong to & moderate on have exactly that.
There is a single member identity (Mr Moderator funnily enough) that any of the moderators can use to dispell situations.
By doing this, it removes any perceived personalities from the intervening moderator.
Also, any PMs go to this 'member', such that any moderator can deal with them.

The moderators themselves have their own private chat area too, so they have the means to discuss ways to approach threads as they develop.

Cheers,
John.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Ron I agree with all the previous positive comments, you do a terrific job with this forum and IMHO it has a lot lower noise ratio than other car type forums.
I in the past have had the odd stir of the pot [always with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek] and if any of my posts have caused you stress I apologise.
Have a great and restful break and come back soon.

 

[Randy V]

As a long time lurker, I then joined up as a member, then became a supporter..

This site is beyond almost all sites in terms of a well established knowledge base concerning GT40's and other cars of the Lemans Genre..

The S/N ratio is very tolerable here and most of the members are tolerant of each others vantage points.

I value this forum and my association with it's members greatly. I would not want that to change.

In that I have been greatly enriched by so many on this forum - I try to hold up my end of things by spending time researching or documenting approaches I have used or will use on upcoming cars/projects in the hope that they may someday be of use to others. Paying it forward I believe it's called.

Ron - You and the moderators here do a tremendous job and this forum is of invaluable service to myself and many more. If you need to take a break to rest-up, I can certainly understand that.
It's my hope that you return refreshed and to a forum that is back on target..

Thanks for the bandwidth...