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I Supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2002
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Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 11:29
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Have any of you guys noticed that the content on the forums especially techs and conversions has gone downhill?
I have been around a while and threads used to be posted by reasonably technical people wanting to discuss a problem or random though but now it seems to have turned into threads started by non technical lazy f'cks who want everything laid out for them on a platter.
Example threads:
Sprinter Handbrake Cable (It's even in the wrong forum)
Looking for a Nitros Kit It's spelt Nitrous... and 5ms on google would have turned up hundreds of hits for nitrous in Australia.
4AGZE Overboost pulleys Buy a Nevo pulley and then copy it or take your original pulley and make it smaller! Damn how hard can it be!
uh oh!! Urgent advice please....
I won't even comment!
Auto meter A/F Gauge any one know where signal wire is? st185GT4
Hmm... Try the one labeled OX
Also try typing "AE86 Sprinter" into google and see which set of forums comes up first.
There is also the people who do things on our forums which could cause problems for our car club.
Examples:
Posting copyrighted material
Cop's fucking with us
99.9% of the BS in War stories & "Track Talk"
Also look at the number of people who have 99% of their posts in xyz for sale... there are so many people who are only here to sell stuff... probably stolen or commercial.
Look at all the wheels and car stereo's that end up posted here by people who never post anywhere other than for sale sections.
I hate to rant and be bitter but to be honest I feel a little ashamed to be associated with these forums as do quite a few other members I have spoken to.
And yes I know the forums are not the club and I probably should just stop reading / posting on the forums like certain other non-posting (board) members have done.
Maybe we should register www. toymodsforumsae86sprintahdribble.com and move the forums over there!
Anyway I've had my rant now... feel free to move this thread to deleted threads or comment... whatever... I'm beyond caring at this point!
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Location:
c'town, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 12:13
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i admit a few times a year i get to the point where i decide not to visit the forums. But i always end up coming back all because of the people i see at the meets. Getting to associate with true toyota enthusiasts always puts the faith back in to me.
and i admit that my bitterness seeps into some of my posts, i get especially annoyed at the anti-police sentiment solely on the fact that im worried those types of posts will be detrimental to the way the police perceive the club.
its easy for tards not to care about the clubs image when they dont plan on becoming financial members or are from other states.
Now i do understand its harder for people from other states as there is no official toymods out side of NSW but dont you think that if there was a toymods in your state you'd be taking more care when you post?
If it keeps up the way it is, im sure the police will paint us with the hoon brush and make it harder for us to exist.
as for the tech section, thats a hard one, because so many topics have been covered there is rarely fresh thought provoking discussion. Most posts end up in "do a search" replies. Which is fine because they should be doing a search. But unfortunately this doesnt keep things stimulating.
Like all things they start well but fizzle out. I have no solution to propose for the tech section, but i do request that posts deemed detrimental to the clubs image be reviewed and shut down.
Best way to keep things fresh is go to the meetings, thats where the true enthusiasts are, you'll find that theres ALWAYS something going on and if your found yourself in a project rut, have a chat to someone then go and help them with a project thats totally different to yours. Learn different things and discover new appreciations for models that youve never known about before.
Thinking about it (seeing some very sweet AE86's over the years) Ive come to a conclusion with the AE86 thing. I say to myself "im not into sprinters, think of how the true AE86 enthusiasts feel about all this wannabe D crap" it must be far worse for them yet all of the true AE86 enthusiasts have gotten over it, and some of them even have fun with it (dont think u can hide your laughter at all of those bad drifting photoshops i do) 
anyways 2 main points to consider, think about other peoples perception of the club before any of you make a post, and secondly, its up to all of us to make the forum sections better. It might be hard to know when to flame and when to have fun but lets do our best.
I use the term "you" referring to anyone or everyone.
Thanks for reading
Rob_RA40 Toymods member 56, forum member since 2000
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 13:08
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OK toobs so they're your complaints.
What are your suggestions then?
Remembering that everyone posts useless crap to the technical section accasionally eg http://forums.toymods.org.au/index.php?t=msg&g oto=105345&rid=218&S=f9f975c07feae3071cbc5 d44716e44bb
A lot of this boils down to people who are new and too lazy to bother trying to learn anything for themselves, and people who just don't care or have any respect for other people.
The fact is I put in a huge amount of time trying to keep the place in line as much as possible without banning every retard that post a stupid thread in the wrong forum or makes useless replies to other peoples threads. I have to admit the majority of the people in the latter group are people who have been around long enough to know better.
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I supported Toymods
Banned User
Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 13:42
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My car used to do 15's and now it duz 10's cause I use BP ultimate!
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I Supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 20:54
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| Joshstix wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 00:08 |
OK toobs so they're your complaints.
What are your suggestions then?
Remembering that everyone posts useless crap to the technical section accasionally eg http://forums.toymods.org.au/index.php?t=msg&g oto=105345&rid=218&S=f9f975c07feae3071cbc5 d44716e44bb
A lot of this boils down to people who are new and too lazy to bother trying to learn anything for themselves, and people who just don't care or have any respect for other people.
The fact is I put in a huge amount of time trying to keep the place in line as much as possible without banning every retard that post a stupid thread in the wrong forum or makes useless replies to other peoples threads. I have to admit the majority of the people in the latter group are people who have been around long enough to know better.
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Amusing that you had to go back to 2003 to find a dribble post from me... I know everyone posts something stupid occasionally and I think half the problem is there are so many posts per day it would be near impossible for the few moderators who are active to see every crap post that goes around.
Why don't we allocate a few more moderators?
I'm sure quite a few of our older members (me included) would be happy to help out sifting through the forums to clean up some of the rubbish.
I was also chatting to Witzl about this and we think the problem has balooned due to the school holidays plus the fact that ed doesn't seem to be as active lately in tech's and conversions as he used to be.
And rob_RA40 I think we need some more photoshops of "teh Sprintaaaaah van!" to lighten things up! 
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Location:
Sydney, Australia
Registered:
October 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 21:10
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im not so much of a older forum member
but im quite an experienced moderator, i have been a moderator and admin'ed my fair share of forums (not car related as such, mainly game and graphics related).
Ill be more than welcome to help around the forum, and im quite active on the forums aswell. I will also be running for IT Co-ordinator for the board and currently in the process of creating a new site for toymods
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Toymods Social Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 21:23
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myself personally, i can handle the forums because i love the Toymods Car Club - and these forums are my way of staying in touch with all the great people out there who keep me wanting to remain a Toyota enthusiast.
Rob has kind of hit the nail here in my opinion. I just overlook all the reposts and repetitively asked questions and the dribble that goes on and find joy in helping those out there who GENUINELY are trying to learn and improve their skills and knowledge - after all that was me not even 3 years ago... and look what i can do now!
Really for me, it boils down to the individual people that keep me visiting toymods every day. Those people rock, and they all know who they are.....
Things go a little bad every now and then, but they always come back around. And yes - going to the meetings and events with all the other Toymodders is what i am really here for!
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Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 21:51
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I have to say that there as been a distinct lack of thourght put into some of the threads lately. Without going in to specifics, I'm making a generalisation that forums on the whole are becoming more popular and there are more cropping up. with that you generally get a small percentage of the technically minded, the general majority that want to learn more (from said technical minded) and the people who's car didn't start this morning and beleive that everyone on the forums will know the solution and cheap (read free) answer to their problem and gain extra power from that answer.
I'm a member on several forums both Toyota and inferior, This site is by far and away the most useful and informative forum I use however it is also one of the oldest.
One thing I have noticed becomming an increasing tread is needing to qualify for posting in all areas of a forum.
Currently Toymods forums has a rather meaningless status system where the number of posts gives you a status rating. Stealing from another forum, they have a status based on where you actually post giving you a qualitiy of posting not just a number.
For example there are 3 different Status types
1. Technical Poster
2. General Poster
3. Salesman.
Everyone who joins the forums firstly needs to be Validated buy a validated member to post in the For Sale and Technical areas.
Once validated the Status appears as "L-Plater" from there ones status changes depending on where the person most regularly posts to gain status like this:
L-Plater (initial status) 0-25 posts cannot post in sales or tech
Non-Technical Poster 25-50 posts access to all areas
From here the status is based on where you most post in levels
Level 1 - Technical Poster
Level 2 - Technical Poster
Level 3 - Technical Poster
Level 4 - Technical Poster
Level 5 - Technical Poster
Top Level Technical Poster
Level 1 - General Poster
Level 2 - General Poster
Level 3 - General Poster
Level 4 - General Poster
Level 5 - General Poster
Top level General Poster
Level 1 - Salesman
Level 2 - Salesman
Level 3 - Salesman
Level 4 - Salesman
Level 5 - Salesman
Top Level Salesman
Once posting you get a status that basically Identifies your (I suppose) Usefullness to the forum and respect from those below. The inability for L-Platers to post in Tech and sales means they are more likly to search to find the answer.
This might help solve the School Holiday "I want NAWS on mums 2003 Corolla" Syndrome and hopefully give respect to those who deserve it.
This Type of setup I realise may not be completely suitable for Toymods, and I realise that initially it would put more work in the hands of the moderators. But there has been suggestion of upgrading the website and some of the things mentioned above might be a useful addition and make the "trouble makers" and sales people stand out a little more making monitoring a little easyier.
This is mearly a suggestion to keep the crap to a minimum as I do miss the quality of the old tech threads
Cheers
Simon.
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Location:
c'town, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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I Supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 22:30
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What if we simply created a new forum "Tech Training Wheels" for all of the threads that aren't really technical... e.g. how do I change my oil, how do i change my brake pads etc.
Also I think you should appoint some extra moderators (*handsup*) to keep the forums in line a little more.
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 19 January 2005 23:37
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I have been looking for a way to limit access to parts of the forum based on number of posts but it's not as easy as it sounds. For the software we are using it involves scripting moving users between different groups etc, it's not just a tick the box thing like people tend to think.
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Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 00:18
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Yes that is a point I realise Josh. I was merely suggesting what I have seen on another forum. I am a newbie on there and basically I was forced to search to find an answer and make a few posts to get to post my question but it is nice when a top level technical poster answers in a to the point fashion (mainly because I was quoting from previous thread I had searched.
When I started on Toymods I had no idea who Norbie (for example)was, thou now I have nothing but respect for his comments. A the time I had no idea of how technically minded the response was I just accepted it. having been on for a few years now I'm starting to see the same questions pop up time and time again from people who's first post is what engines can go in an RA28?
I'm still at the point where I like to help where I can and my area of expertice would be RA28 so I offer my opinions. I can see however that people who have been on longer than I would be getting to the end of their teather on the subject. You have an evolution of users here and that needs to be utilised as well. what I mean by that is users like me can offer there opinons (as often happens) and if my opinion is incorrect the Norbies of the group can correct the mistake. everyone gains (except the all knowing Norbies). In a perfect world that is.
An alternative who be bestowing status that is earned on users at the mods discresion, that is somthing that post whores cannot achieve.
And putting a block on the tech section so that you need say 5-10 posts before you can ask a tech question. that should stop the gun ho newbies from asking repedative questions straight up and hopefully encouraging them to search.
My guess is transfering all the threads to a different forum software is too big a task? or incompatable?
Cheers
Simon.
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 00:46
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| Lambolica wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 11:18 |
When I started on Toymods I had no idea who Norbie (for example)was, thou now I have nothing but respect for his comments. A the time I had no idea of how technically minded the response was I just accepted it. having been on for a few years now I'm starting to see the same questions pop up time and time again from people who's first post is what engines can go in an RA28?
I'm still at the point where I like to help where I can and my area of expertice would be RA28 so I offer my opinions. I can see however that people who have been on longer than I would be getting to the end of their teather on the subject. You have an evolution of users here and that needs to be utilised as well. what I mean by that is users like me can offer there opinons (as often happens) and if my opinion is incorrect the Norbies of the group can correct the mistake. everyone gains (except the all knowing Norbies). In a perfect world that is.
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I agree.
I put to you though, that the people who click on a thread that says "What engine fits in a RA28" knowing full well the answer and posting "Do a search" would most likely be a hell of a lot less frustrated if they moved along to a thread that is interesting for them and left the newbie threads to be answered by the members who are happy to answer them.
Basically what I see is a situation of people being pissed off about the dodgy things rather than enjoying the good things. Sure we could make it so you couldn't post in tech and conversions or for sale for the first XX amount of posts but then we would miss out on a lot of the cool things. Who'd know about the 4WD 1UZ MA-61 if the guy couldn't post about it because he didn't have enough posts? I'm sure there is a hell of a lot of people who have bought things off people with not a lot of posts and got a bargain for themselves as well.
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Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 01:05
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Valid point again, this is one of the things that the board will need to decide on behalf of the forums.
Is it possible to break down the post creating thread so the people that have posted less that xx times need to type in the title of the proposed thread, and before they can write the body of the message the string is searched and displays the results?
Just an off the top of my head possible solution.
As for the people who jump in with the do a search answer are the people who are fed up. encouragement for them to over look the thread and leave it to the newer people who are happy to answer, and monitor the answers? Getting newbies to search seems to be the key here initially, and needs to be concentrated on. I know there has been talk of having sections for regularly asked question but that seems to have lost momentum?!?
Cheers
Simon.
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 01:10
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| Lambolica wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 12:05 |
Is it possible to break down the post creating thread so the people that have posted less that xx times need to type in the title of the proposed thread, and before they can write the body of the message the string is searched and displays the results?
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That would rock. I'll look into weather there is any workable way to do it. It sounds kind of tough but maybe someone has done it before.
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Location:
Sydney, Australia
Registered:
October 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 01:37
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i quick thing josh, you do know that our forums are outdated.
we are running version 2.3.8
and latest version is 2.6.10RC1
i would honestly suggest againest the do a search before they type of body (if its even possible), because it would be a huge stress on the server, it would be a overwealming about of throughput and possibly cause the server to crash.
and i dont care what anyone says, you can crash linux, i even proved my linux teacher wrong 
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Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 01:41
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Sorry, just a sugestion... I regularly come up with the idea and stand back whilst others try it.
I'll go back to my corner now. 
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Location:
Sydney, Australia
Registered:
October 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 01:47
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no Lambolica, it was a good idea theorically.
but you like about 90% of the toymods community are computer illiterate. so i dont blame you for the idea, but logically it would cause alot of drama's than the current situtation.
and hence takes me to my next point, about 90% of the toymods community are computer illiterate, so they have no idea about what search is, the 1st button they see is create thread, it will never recify your problems no matter what you do because you cant control all the people that visit.
All i can suggest is come to grips with the fact that there are going to useless dribble posted, just ignore it unless it sparks your interest
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
February 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 02:05
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I'm lost in all the forum technical stuff you all talkin bout, but just thought I would add something I have observed.
If someone creates a thread that has been covered, they get told to do a search, yet if someone does a search and find somethin close to what they were after, then post another question in it, they sometimes get flamed for dragging up an old thread.
(alot of commas in that sentence)
Altho I dont contribute much in the technical section because I would hate to give bad advice, I did used to read it almost every day, just to learn more, but lately it has just been mostly crap.
These forums are the best and most helpful I have come across, my post is already too long!
Cyas
Dust.
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I Supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 02:09
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| Dust wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 13:05 |
I'm lost in all the forum technical stuff you all talkin bout, but just thought I would add something I have observed.
If someone creates a thread that has been covered, they get told to do a search, yet if someone does a search and find somethin close to what they were after, then post another question in it, they sometimes get flamed for dragging up an old thread.
(alot of commas in that sentence)
Altho I dont contribute much in the technical section because I would hate to give bad advice, I did used to read it almost every day, just to learn more, but lately it has just been mostly crap.
These forums are the best and most helpful I have come across, my post is already too long!
Cyas
Dust.
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Personally I think we should allow old threads to be dug up... so long as the post that digs up the thread is useful to the community.
i.e. if someone posted "Which engines fit in an RA28" and 12 mths later someone posted "good question" or "did you ever do your conversion" then this would be bad... but if they posted another engine up then it would be of benefit to the community.
Obviously for sale threads should not be dragged up except by the seller.
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I Supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 02:35
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| Joshstix wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 11:46 |
I put to you though, that the people who click on a thread that says "What engine fits in a RA28" knowing full well the answer and posting "Do a search" would most likely be a hell of a lot less frustrated if they moved along to a thread that is interesting for them and left the newbie threads to be answered by the members who are happy to answer them.
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Yes ignoring them is one option... hell I even reply properly (i.e. not "do a search") to quite a few, however, its when faced with a whole page of crap that I get the shits.
| Joshstix wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 11:46 |
Basically what I see is a situation of people being pissed off about the dodgy things rather than enjoying the good things. Sure we could make it so you couldn't post in tech and conversions or for sale for the first XX amount of posts but then we would miss out on a lot of the cool things. Who'd know about the 4WD 1UZ MA-61 if the guy couldn't post about it because he didn't have enough posts? I'm sure there is a hell of a lot of people who have bought things off people with not a lot of posts and got a bargain for themselves as well.
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I didn't think this guy posted a tech write up or technical question regarding the car... I thought it was just a "hey check out what I did" type post.
If that was the case it should have been posted in general car talk or members rides anyways.
We are facing the same problem with "techs & conversions" as we did with parts for sale a while back.
Stuff gets posted so quickly that before you know it the thread has dissappeared off the page.
I suggest we split "Techs & Conversions" into at least 3 categories including:
*FAQ - Only moderators or "Technical Posters" (mods with access only to the tech forums like Ed) can post or move threads from elsewhere here.
*General Maintainance - Questions such as "what oil do I stick in XYZ" and "How do I adjust my handbrake cable" etc. go here.
*Modifications - Anything involving conversions or "modifications"... e.g. Does a GZE fuel rail fit onto a 4AGE 100kW
Have a decent description above each of the tech forums to ensure people know what goes where.
Also we should change to Invision Powerboard from Fudgedforums and use features like the "warning" system where you can allocate a warning point to someone when they do something stupid... you give people up to say 5 warning points and if they repetively break the rules they get auto banned.
This will also stop people from wondering why they got banned.
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Toymods Social Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 03:07
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i drag up old threads all the time.
Heck not too long ago i was interested in the options for rear discs on hilux axles... so i searched, and found GT's thread about the MA70 discs and other R31 skyline disc threads... so i dragged them up and asked for final details as the threads died before the information was finalised and posted.
Im happy with the forums... and as a whole i think the rest of the board is too. There is always complaints to be made, as there are about large organised group.... i think we have about the best balance right now.
Toymods. fuck yeah.
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 03:14
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| djcougar wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 12:37 |
i quick thing josh, you do know that our forums are outdated.
we are running version 2.3.8
and latest version is 2.6.10RC1
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Yep I know we're running an older version of the forum software and it has been requested to be updated, just waiting for the IT guys to have the time available for the testing and to be able to fix the problems that will crop up after the upgrade. There's no point doing the upgrade unless we know that we'll have time to fix these issues.
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
February 2003
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 03:56
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just my 2 cents on creating more sub-forums?
i regularly visit performaneforums and probably waste too much time on msefi.com than i should (but i'm a big fan of it).
I think they're both probably starting to suffer from an overubundance of topic areas. Subject areas have become so stratified that it requires too much browsing of sub-forums or fruitless searching to locate interesting topics. I end up only viewing a small section of both sites as other sections have a too much content hat i'm not interested in.
The best feature of msefi.com is the "success stories" section (which neatly lists all the megasquirt installs that are running, sorted by make of car) - it's moderated to prevent post-whoring and relies on mods to post the info, but it lets you quickly collect information and links about cars or installs.
If perhaps the "members rides" could be self moderated but restricted posting - and a similar section created for useful technical threads or singular posts.
So..if the forum or mod thinks an article should have a long life, users don't have to rely on the search tool.
Technically, this might benefit the server performance as locked threads/sections might either be cached by the database (if frequently called) or could live in a different database (or even external flat file) further reducing latency times of other rquests.
i think this is a great site as it allows and encourages a great deal of input and quite thorough (and usually postive) criticism - i'd hate for these pluses to be somehow lost in a site revamp.
btw: i like the modding this site gets, and that at most times a cogent reason is provided for closed off threads defusing further argument ... and you let most of Cool1's more harsher (yet somehow amusing) posts thru.
cheers,
charles
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Toymods Social Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 04:27
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yep, i like it too.
At twincam.org we have the FAQ section for all those sorts of threads.
However, with the forthcoming redesign of the website part of our implementation requirements are that any moderator/board member can upload a tech article to the tech articles section.
Thus whenever one of us sees a thread worthy of immortalisation... we articlise it! Well at least this is the plan.
The main problem with that is actually getting people to VIEW THE WEBSITE.... there are heaps of tech articles there covering sooo many frequently asked retarded questions (FARQ).
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 11:29
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Here is one downside to having numerical limits and posting status(displayed or hidden).
Lets say to post in the tech section you need 25 posts, the type of person you are trying to stop posting useless crap in that section, will simply spam posts somewhere in an effort to get to 25 as quickly as possible. So you get 25 spammed messages plus a useless tech question....
The problem is the internet, it's available, and on the whole it's unmoderated(even if this forum is), people can spout whatever crap they want, be it useful or otherwise.
Another example, if you goto some product training confrence somewhere, you usually find that in the day there is some useful info, some slightly less useful info and lots of sales pitches. You just need to concentrate on the good stuff and ignore the bad stuff.
I do however think there is a problem with the "cops are crap" threads, it doesn't do us any favors at all.
I think the NetNazi user definately has a place, that way these forums can be appropriately modereated. Just let it be known to the general public, that there is a user called NetNazi who moderates the forum, all the board members and moderators have access to this account. That way if a thread gets closed no one person can get alienated for making a controversial decision, if the NetNazi closes a thread then it's "the board" that has made the decision.
I dont think NetNazi in tech & conversions has a place yet, I've no idea how to solve that one. I personally find that a really useful thread and try to help out if I can.
I think NetNazi should definately live in General Car Talk, Outhouse & Track Talk, but it has to be a balance where interested topics can be discussed, but the "cops are crap" stuff get's axed quickly.
Sorry for the novel...
*edit* if a thread is bad enough to be locked, why not in certain circumstances such as "cops f*#king with us" just delete the thread, that way no-one can read it's contents, and it's forgotten sooner.
[Updated on: Thu, 20 January 2005 12:09]
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Perth
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 15:12
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One thing I found particularly annoying on the diyaudio forums was that for my first 10 posts or so, my post wouldn't be displayed until a moderator had checked over the thread. Pissed me off to no end at the time, and if I wasn't deadly serious about wanting the answer I wouldn't have stuck around. In hindsight, it was a damn good idea. Although it was something I would try anyway, it would have been an incentive to search before hand.
Sure it takes some more moderation, but the amount of crappy posts you have to read through and/or remove is drastically cut.
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I supported Toymods
Toymods Club Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 20 January 2005 21:05
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| justcallmefrank wrote on Fri, 21 January 2005 02:12 |
..and if I wasn't deadly serious about wanting the answer I wouldn't have stuck around. In hindsight, it was a damn good idea.
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Damn straight!! 
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 21 January 2005 00:35
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| justcallmefrank wrote on Fri, 21 January 2005 02:12 |
One thing I found particularly annoying on the diyaudio forums was that for my first 10 posts or so, my post wouldn't be displayed until a moderator had checked over the thread. Pissed me off to no end at the time, and if I wasn't deadly serious about wanting the answer I wouldn't have stuck around. In hindsight, it was a damn good idea. Although it was something I would try anyway, it would have been an incentive to search before hand.
Sure it takes some more moderation, but the amount of crappy posts you have to read through and/or remove is drastically cut.
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That is a good idea, I'll look into wheather we can implement it. I can't find a way to set specific users as being moderated in the software as yet but I'll look for options.
One thing I have been thinking about is not taking any registrations during school holiday time. If a school kid finds the forum during the holidays and is genuinely interested then they can register after the holidays rather than registerring when they have nothing better to do that spam the forums.
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I Supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 21 January 2005 06:56
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Thats a good idea Josh... maybe you could just set the memberships up so they must be approved by a moderator... and just don't approve any during the holidays.
This would help stop banned users from re-registering too.
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Location:
Sydney, Australia
Registered:
October 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 21 January 2005 07:05
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now you guys are asking for alot of man power
already the board arent getting paid for all the work they are doing, and now you want them to sit down for 45-60 minutes each day validating users?
i mean today we had 10 people joined
yesterday we had 22 people join
its alot of work for the board to put up with
and about the holidays bit, thinking back to my school years (late schooling years) when i had school holidays I would go crazy on my car, or even friends cars, fixing things, cleaning this and that, painting this, etc.. etc..
why would we want to stop those little car enthusiast from learning while on break? one day they may be our local mechanic, who knows
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 21 January 2005 07:21
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I'll reply to both of the above.
We certainly can set the user signup to be moderated and I have no real problem with that since the avatars are moderated already and I tend to do 5-10 of those per day. The only problem is there won't be a lot of consistency to the amount of time taken to approve, if I'm busy at work I generally won't have a chance to hit the forums more than a couple of times during the day.
The banned user thing though is really hard. I can ban the user and ban their IP address but the internet being the big anonymous thing that it is we can't really prove who people are.
As to not wanting to discourage youngsters from learning over the holidays, I don't think that's a concern. If they find the forum useful they can find the answer to basically any question they'd need. The fact is we're all happy to have people joining to learn but that's not what we're talking about and looking at what has been going on on the forum of late it's also not what has been happening with the new users.
Maybe even have membership as read only for the first month? I have no idea how I'd go about implementing that one it's just a random idea off the top of my head.
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Sat, 22 January 2005 09:13
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DJCougar has a point, the man hours involved in checking through new members/new members first 10 posts would be enormous, I dont think Toymods has the man power to undertake that!
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Perth
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Sat, 22 January 2005 11:19
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If I wasn't so poor at the moment, I'd join the club so I could give the oppurtunity to help with the workload. I'm on here an awful lot
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I Supported Toymods
Location:
south Melbourne/KL
Registered:
June 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Sat, 22 January 2005 20:24
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i dont think needing 25 posts b4 u can post on tech section is a good idea. what if im some dude from europe who just succesfully did the first(?) 4wd sprinter and i wanna post it on tech sec.?? GENERALLY ppl who post on tech section are stuck with something. doing a conversion and got stuck and need quick answers. therefore having a view only, or post requirement is not a good idea in tech section. it should be readily available.
all we need to do now is to PROMOTE the search option. I would suggest making the SEARCH button bigger, bold, more bling, basically very distinct. right now its so small that most ppl would miss it.
i guess we could give it a try with having post count requirement for for sale section.
Ps. i did start i thread about forum junkie!! didnt mean to whore around
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Club President
I supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
October 2004
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Re: Tech section Reality check
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Mon, 24 January 2005 01:47
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| thetoyman75 wrote on Mon, 24 January 2005 12:22 |
How quickly we all forget....
In regards to the Toymods Tech section.
Just a quick reality slap to the face for everyone. Once upon a time I knew this kid who had no idea at about cars as his old man was more of the buy em new kind of guy. Questions like how to change a spark plug or do an oil change were necessary. I was lucky enough that my step father took the time out to explain things for me and so by 13 I had a decent idea what was going on.
We ALL started somewhere !
Last I checked these forums were not just for the mechanical elite ! Sure the forums need a spring clean and some help and we are working on moderating them better. But there will always be fresh/new car enthusiasts who turn to these forums for help and I will be rather disapointed when they are not made feel welcome. If the first person you asked told you to piss off and do a search you'd probably be driving a newish Hyundai !
So rather than typing "Do a search" spending god knows how long bitching about the threads started by Newbies. How about you help them or Ignore them !
End rant
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I think thetoyman75 has a crucial point here. As im a new to modifying cars and that myself, sometimes i do feel its harsh when ppl say "Do a search". I mean they do have a point, but some ppl like myself find it hard to use the search function right. It could be just that im dumb... but ironically i work as a full time IT Support, and i still find the search function somewhat not as easy to use.
as for Google and that, i've yet to find a topic on "3SGE Gen2 Conversion" on a ST162... so i find it hard to actually find out whats going on with my conversion.
i'd never say "use the search function" to anyone, in fact i've never said it to anyone before... in my own opnion, i just think its better to get fresh info from ppl who answers the post rather than to get info on something that maybe out dated or irrelivent.
I always think that nothing ever is the same... therefore any questions that comes up will have a good chance that it wont be the same as some previous ones.... we can benefit from learning all the varients of the problem... or just be ignorant about the only one solution.
Anyways thats my 2 cents... ill still use the search function if nessecary though.
~CK
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Toymods Social Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Mon, 24 January 2005 04:57
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rod = correct.
only 2-3 years ago i remember asking him if i could use a 3sgte in my RA28 because it was so similar to a 3t-gte.... he was nice enough to explain the difference and has helped well beyond that since then, and i have even offered and given help back.
In fact it has been like that with many people here.
Thus im happy to help those who are genuine. The main problem is finding out if they genuinly want to learn, or to be spoonfed.
As for the search function. Yes it sucks, but i have learned a few tricks with it.
it searches by strings. IE if you search for "st162 suspension" it will ONLY find threads where the EXACT phrase st162 suspension is written... it WILL NOT find "suspension in an st162" for example, or even "st162 drift suspension".
Furthermore, i have not yet found any wildcards that the search function recognises.
Thus it takes a little effort to search, but if you cover your bases by simplifying your search strings and trying a variety of strings, limiting the sections you are searching, and searching by title and THEN by whole message...then it WILL work for you.
im not having a dig at anyone, im just trying to help... because there is too much information in these forums to be lost by a poorly used search function.
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I Supported Toymods
Location:
south Melbourne/KL
Registered:
June 2004
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Re: Tech section Reality check
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Mon, 24 January 2005 15:42
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| alliance_22 wrote on Mon, 24 January 2005 12:47 |
| thetoyman75 wrote on Mon, 24 January 2005 12:22 |
How quickly we all forget....
In regards to the Toymods Tech section.
Just a quick reality slap to the face for everyone. Once upon a time I knew this kid who had no idea at about cars as his old man was more of the buy em new kind of guy. Questions like how to change a spark plug or do an oil change were necessary. I was lucky enough that my step father took the time out to explain things for me and so by 13 I had a decent idea what was going on.
We ALL started somewhere !
Last I checked these forums were not just for the mechanical elite ! Sure the forums need a spring clean and some help and we are working on moderating them better. But there will always be fresh/new car enthusiasts who turn to these forums for help and I will be rather disapointed when they are not made feel welcome. If the first person you asked told you to piss off and do a search you'd probably be driving a newish Hyundai !
So rather than typing "Do a search" spending god knows how long bitching about the threads started by Newbies. How about you help them or Ignore them !
End rant
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I think thetoyman75 has a crucial point here. As im a new to modifying cars and that myself, sometimes i do feel its harsh when ppl say "Do a search". I mean they do have a point, but some ppl like myself find it hard to use the search function right. It could be just that im dumb... but ironically i work as a full time IT Support, and i still find the search function somewhat not as easy to use.
as for Google and that, i've yet to find a topic on "3SGE Gen2 Conversion" on a ST162... so i find it hard to actually find out whats going on with my conversion.
i'd never say "use the search function" to anyone, in fact i've never said it to anyone before... in my own opnion, i just think its better to get fresh info from ppl who answers the post rather than to get info on something that maybe out dated or irrelivent.
I always think that nothing ever is the same... therefore any questions that comes up will have a good chance that it wont be the same as some previous ones.... we can benefit from learning all the varients of the problem... or just be ignorant about the only one solution.
Anyways thats my 2 cents... ill still use the search function if nessecary though.
~CK
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well, like said b4, we need to get ppl to use the search button. what i do sometimes is the usual "do a search"(with a cool tone  ), then ill go on to explain what i can to answer their Q. basically i answer what i can and get them to search for more detailed answers
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Location:
Sydney, Australia
Registered:
October 2004
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Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Location:
Sydney, Australia
Registered:
October 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 28 January 2005 05:12
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ahh check that out
well I didnt make a new thread about it tho did I?
and I put it in the most relevant thread I could think of
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Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 28 January 2005 05:48
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Sorry, Couldn't resist...
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Location:
sydney
Registered:
August 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 28 January 2005 06:11
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| Toobs wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 07:54 |
| Joshstix wrote on Thu, 20 January 2005 00:08 |
OK toobs so they're your complaints.
What are your suggestions then?
Remembering that everyone posts useless crap to the technical section accasionally eg http://forums.toymods.org.au/index.php?t=msg&g oto=105345&rid=218&S=f9f975c07feae3071cbc5 d44716e44bb
A lot of this boils down to people who are new and too lazy to bother trying to learn anything for themselves, and people who just don't care or have any respect for other people.
The fact is I put in a huge amount of time trying to keep the place in line as much as possible without banning every retard that post a stupid thread in the wrong forum or makes useless replies to other peoples threads. I have to admit the majority of the people in the latter group are people who have been around long enough to know better.
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Amusing that you had to go back to 2003 to find a dribble post from me... I know everyone posts something stupid occasionally and I think half the problem is there are so many posts per day it would be near impossible for the few moderators who are active to see every crap post that goes around.
Why don't we allocate a few more moderators?
I'm sure quite a few of our older members (me included) would be happy to help out sifting through the forums to clean up some of the rubbish.
I was also chatting to Witzl about this and we think the problem has balooned due to the school holidays plus the fact that ed doesn't seem to be as active lately in tech's and conversions as he used to be.
And rob_RA40 I think we need some more photoshops of "teh Sprintaaaaah van!" to lighten things up!
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2002 
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Location:
Sydney/Wollongong
Registered:
October 2003
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
February 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 28 January 2005 14:10
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I dislike the people that are only here to sell stuff, going into the classifieds section is like skipping to a seperate forum all together, totally different group of users from the rest of the forums.
Just what I see anyway.
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Location:
Melbourne
Registered:
January 2005
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Sat, 29 January 2005 12:24
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If this is a low point, I'd love to have been here during the glory days. Now before I go on (which I tend to do a bit), a little scene setting please:
I'm in my rocking chair on the porch and you whipper snappers are assembled cross-legged around me.....Back in my day:
I was member of the Celica Car Club of Victoria for 10+ years from 1978 to 1987, including a stint as Competition Secretary. I raced Clubman karts with my son from 1997-2000. I've owned KE10 Corolla, AE82 Seca, AE82 Twin Cam hatch, 2 * TA22 Celica, 2 * RA40 Celica (one genuine GT), 1 * GT4 Celica, 2 * Cressida, UZZ31 Soarer, Aristo V300 (still got), RX300 (still got), IS200 (latest acqusition), AE86 SX (son's car), plus unmentionables (Audi A4 turbo quattro, Civic, Verada, Cortina, Honda VT250 etc)
I clocked up 30 years in IT yesterday (still a techno-peasant when it comes to PCs though) but am a newbie to Forums and internet based car clubs. As part of my commitment to remaining immature regardless of chronological achievement, and to maintaining my penchant for Menoporsches, I recently bought the IS200 to get back into building and racing cars. Also a shameless ploy to get my son to stay close while practising his new skills from his soon to commence RMIT engineering degree course.
So how do you put a V8 in an IS200? Google "IS430" and one of the links is to toymods.org. After more than 100 hours (trust me, my wife is keeping score) of reading posts on toymods and other newly discovered clubs/forums (Altezza, Lextreme, Lexus Owners UK, IS300.net etc etc etc), I feel I could just about do the conversion with my eyes closed.
I have learnt more in the past 3 weeks than 25 years of traditional methods ever taught. Along the way I'm sure I've committed dozens of Forum sins but am growing more and more comfortable with the technology and trust I'm sinning less each day.
Please be tolerant with us newbies until we come up to speed. I have no doubt we will prove to be a valuable contributor in time, hopefully as valuable as Norbie, deesonet, KoffeeBlack, Nark, gianttomato, CrUZida and many others.
Oh, and that Search thing, I continue to struggle with it, preferring to scan entire forums looking for info.
Re the "fooly sik" contributions - YYGT*. You are on the Web and open to the world, so you are exposed to all of it. You have to find the balance between maximising exposure to extract the value of openness or minimising exposure to retain control. IMO (took me 3 weeks to figure out what this stood for!) you have the balance pretty right. As a reader I have quickly learnt what to skim past and what to absorb.
The only suggestion I can make is to consider a tiered strategy, where say financial members get access to and can contribute to a wider range of elements than public access members. Just don't make it onerous to administer. (This is the part of IT that large companies pay me money to fix.)
My membership application and joining fee is in the mail to you. I look forward to a long and mutually beneficial membership.
Regards
Wayne
* Yes, You Get That
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
September 2003
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Sun, 30 January 2005 11:46
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I've been thinking something similar to what Lambolica suggested, with the auto search thing. I know the software is prohibitive but..
How about if I click 'New Thread' & get a screen with two mandatory fields: 'Title' and 'Keywords', and a continue button. eg
Thread title: My car idles funny
Technical keywords: 4ac idle
Then when I hit continue I get the tech & conversions search results (1 page of good threads for this example), maybe the thread creation screen would be another click forwards or something?
Possible?
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Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
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Club Member
Location:
sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Tue, 01 February 2005 10:40
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re: rods comments..
to some extent I agree, we all had to learn somewhere, I think for many of the more ... hmm how do i say it without offending everyone as usual .... mechanically able? we learnt in an era when there wasnt an easily accesable media to get the information from, and most of us who do our own work actually tend to read a lot more than the general people that more seasoned forum members are getting the shits with. Not only that we were in an era where hands on was the way to learn.. if you broke it trying to fix it well that was just another part of the education lesson.
Most of us learnt how to fix, modify and tune cars on a hands on basis, sadly today people are looking at there car and going ill find a forum on why my car is making a squealing noise and ask there. hence some frustrating threads.
now the mere fact that they are willing to learn how to do it is a good thing. The question is this.... With all the effort over the last 5 years that has gone into tech articles, sticky threads, frequently asked question sections,tech docs etc etc etc.. what is it about the format of our forums that is discouraging people from using these resources? is it lazyness, no knowledge of the resource, or a lack of clarity and simplicity in the information itself?
I dont know what the answer is but if we could somehow make the option to search for an answer first before bieng able to post a more attractive option i think wed have a little less frustration and flaming "shrugs"
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Location:
Tassie
Registered:
October 2003
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Wed, 02 February 2005 23:33
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It might have already been mentioned and i didn't quite understand it but......
What if the only way you could get to the "new thread" button was after you had done a search ?
as in it would be displayed with the list of results.
This won't be able to guarrante (sp) people won't post usless threads but it might help.
I know i've posted some stupid threads but i always search before i do.
If my idea is usless pleas by all means discard it, But i just couldn't not help.
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Location:
Melbourne
Registered:
January 2005
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 03 February 2005 23:23
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| ozaristov300 wrote on Sat, 29 January 2005 23:24 |
Along the way I'm sure I've committed dozens of Forum sins but am growing more and more comfortable with the technology and trust I'm sinning less each day.
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New thought. I really want to be a valued contributer but I'm still not really aware of all my sins, but wouldn't want them highlighted for all to see.
Some can be addressed via the forum rules but others might need advice in the context of the sin. So rather than write war & peace in Forum Rules or worse still publicly savaging people, how about PMing newbies to gently advise them of sins. If the sinner is an experienced poster who should know better, then hey, flame away....
Example:
Poster - I'm looking at getting new wheels and need suggestions about offsets in an 18" * 8" and experiences members have had with the MX Pilot Sports PS2s. I also have my old 17" inch rims with blah tyres for sale if you are interested.
Newbie Assistance Moderator (helping you be a better member) - Do not post items for sale in Tech forum regardless of apparent link to topic.
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Location:
Melbourne - NthSubs
Registered:
January 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 04 February 2005 08:41
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to much people + to much time = alot crap
i use to do like 1 post aweek, but then when i got the sprinter that when i starting looking here more often (and other 86 related forums)
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Location:
Dubbo NSW
Registered:
June 2004
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Thu, 17 March 2005 08:47
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People need to learn to relax.
Just think - If the forum server exploded and the backups where lost, would the world end?
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Toymods Vice President
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 18 March 2005 03:40
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| beterthenu wrote on Thu, 17 March 2005 19:47 |
People need to learn to relax.
Just think - If the forum server exploded and the backups where lost, would the world end?
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HERE HERE.
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Location:
Campbelltown
Registered:
November 2003
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 18 March 2005 06:16
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there seems to be a glutten of ppl signing up for the forum at the moment and posting annoying shit aka the V8 commodore for sale comments and 2jzgte in ra60, etc. I think ppl are just getting jack of it and snapping, mind you when i first came to the forums while back and asked about suspension I copped a serve from norbie and it helped, you wisen up think before you post and learn quickly how to use the forums, upon searching i found a plenty of info and was very thankful of rob in pointing me in the direction of Whiteline in minto where i bought springs, moral of the story is by being blunt it forces ppl to think for themselves and ultimately learn more and not just reliant on others to spoon feed them.
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Australia
Registered:
November 2003
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 18 March 2005 09:11
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| Corona RT142 wrote on Fri, 18 March 2005 14:16 |
mind you when i first came to the forums while back and asked about suspension I copped a serve from norbie and it helped, you wisen up think before you post and learn quickly how to use the forums.
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I have noticed your posts have become a lot more mature in recent times compared to when you started here.
The problem is lots of the young'uns come from a group of friends where they are the king of knowledge, come on here, and just get shot down with every theory/thought they have.
And it takes them a while to accept that they don't know much in the way of car modding.
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Location:
Campbelltown
Registered:
November 2003
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 18 March 2005 09:27
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yeah it's called leaving school and growing up, now i'm out in the real world working etc i have matured a lot plus I don't have bad influences around me. That and i have realised what is acceptable and whats not, i am seriously contemplating becoming a member once i get a new car, not much point with the rona cos i can't take advantage of the sponsors but i wouldn't mind an oledr soarer as i have expressed in the count for sale post, once i buy one membership will be a must.
Toymods is like my second family honest, when i ain't doing anything i'm on here, at work that quite often.
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Perth, Western Australia
Registered:
December 2002
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Re: Toymods forums at a new low
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Fri, 18 March 2005 16:03
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I can't take advantage of the sponsors easily either - but I'm still a financial member for more than that reason!
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Tech section Reality check
