Blackie

I don't know, but to me it seems with the strict moderation it seems to be taking from the fun and humor. RCU needs something of interest. :tired:

About the only fun I've had was the avatar thread and the thread that BB placed but was all in fun. Oh and not to mention the fun I have with Minn.



Blackie

Live Wire

I just had an up date on my windows, Does that count? Think I will check AMA no Mods.

J_R

Your presence over there is missed. I hope everyone gives it a shot.

There are moderators, just a different set of rules.

Please, just don't say it is more boring than a Windows Update

JR

compute_a_nerd

My Feedback: (1)

I am a member of quite a few forums, not all rc related, but I have seen ones that are a lot more strict. It seems like they actually try to suck all the fun out of some forums.
I don't think rcu is all that bad.
just my 2 cents
Chris

Live Wire

I think you worded that one wrong, I thought the rules were for all not one!!

Flyfalcons

Can you provide a suggestion on how to improve things?

Specific examples of over-moderation, etc. would be helpful.

Live Wire

I know it is hard to keep track of every one but some people can get away with any thing. Give the little guy a little leeway to.

Flyfalcons

Please, a specific example would help. We as mods try to do the best we can but sometimes things can slip through the cracks. Please help us out by letting us know when you see something out of line or against the established rules.

Blackie

Flyflacons, If you are directing your questions to me, I can give you this just off the top of my head for the time being.

If everything has to stay on topic then I can't see any change in reguards to my comments. As far as an example yes I have one but I believe its best that it not be mentioned as it would only sour this thread.

Blackie

Flyfalcons

Blackie, my question was not directed specifically at you. However, if you see something in the forums that you feel is out of line, please report it to the mod team or PM a mod directly. We'll be sure to review it and take action if necessary.

Blackie

Flyfalcons, I believe you are missing my point, some of what I was referring to was simple none harmful post of humor that are removed due to fact that it "may" take the thread off topic.

Its not that big of a deal to me, but where's the fun, if we can't speak freely in a reasonable manor?

Blackie

TimC

Some of the boards I belong to have a general forum where any matter can be cussed and discussed. These always seem to be the most popular forums at the site. It's also a place to get to know the other members better.

Flyfalcons

The idea of an off-topic forum has been brought up before, but the general consensus at the time was not to create one for this site. FMI check out the Suggestions forum at the bottom of the main page.

Joe Ortiz

My Feedback: (75)

I totally agree, I wish there was a forum totally RC unrelated topics, but it must be kept clean, my 2 pennies.
Joe

Taildrager-inactive

My Feedback: (11)

As this site becomes more and more commercial, I am sure a off topic forum would not be allowed, the same with a chat room. Just my .02c

jason007

What I find amusing is that when something a bit off topic is posted the mods have to jump in and lock it. It'd be nice to come here and talk somewhat freely with other members without having to have something R/C related in every sentence. It's pretty bad we can't have a post about a full scale plane/heli or something related that members might find interesting every once in awhile.

It's like coming to a club where all you can talk about is R/C stuff, where all you can do is go hide in a corner of the field with your plane or talk about things with a strict set of discussion rules to go by and if the club officers don't like it then they tell you to shutup or in this case lock the topic. So I just don't bother posting much.

I highly agree with the commercial statement...money changes everything

MikeL

My Feedback: (3)

I believe it's more a function of size than whether or not it's a commercial venture. With a smaller, more intimate forum it's much easier to have more general, off-topic discussions. It's roughly analogous to social gatherings. When you know the people in your company well, you can veer into more sensitive subjects that would be taboo in less familiar groups.

Here's the problem as I see it: We've got nearly 50,000 members in this community. While I know a very few pretty well, the vast majority are complete strangers to me. I'm sure that sports, kids, TV shows, the latest gadgets, and other fairly benign topics would abound. I'm also quite certain from my previous experiences that politics, current events, religion, and other hot-button topics would be discussed, debated, argued, contested, and fought over. It's human nature, spurred on by the relative annonimity offered by the Internet. These discussions really do create hard feelings and grudges, which often spill into other forums where they're completely out of place. If you've participated in large forums with a catch-all category you've likely seen what I'm talking about.

Marc made a decision when RCU got started that this site would focus on RC exclusively, with the goal of being the very best RC forum bar none. I think that goal has been accomplished. In order to achieve that, vast numbers of contributing members are needed. The best thing about this site is the depth of experience that's available to help further a person's enjoyment of the hobby, in my opinion. The way I see it, one of the things that had to be sacrificed to successfully reach that goal is off-topic conversation. For the most part we've got a very friendly, amazingly helpful resource here in RCU. I think a large part of that is that we all get along, for the most part. Other than radio brand preference there's not an incredible amount of heated debate.

Lastly, from a business perspective I think it would benefit Marc financially to have an off-topic forum. We're the demographic that RC vendors want to reach, and whether they reach us discussing glow plugs or movies probably doesn't matter to them. An off-topic forum would generate an immense amount of traffic, including banner ad impressions. Say what you will, but I certainly don't think the decision not to have an off-topic forum is commercially motivated.

Papa Tango

I'm with you Blackie. I think RCU should serve hot coffee and donuts while we sit around and think up ways to have someone stroke our egos. I haven't paid my membership dues either. I've always enjoyed free entertainment, but usually walk away when it gets silly and boring.

By the way MikeL......... yawn.

All humor and good natured jibes aside, I really appreciate RCU. I've only been around for a couple of months and have found it to be a positive experience. I'm willing to take the good with the bad when it's free and don't feel I have to read every thread to the bitter end.

With that said, I must admit that the social aspect is icing on the cake. I particularly enjoyed the "all in fun" bashing that BasinBum graciously accepted on his LOL thread. I think the Mods have it about right. Everybody, keep your left up!


Luck to All !!

Cactus.

My Feedback: (1)

even with the biggest membership yet to me things seam to be slowing down a little, not site speed, just questions and topics i want to be in. i know chat room ha been rules out, but when your bored, looking at the screen wishing someone would post something worth reading having a live chat would be fun. the other forum I'm in with one dosn't have enough members to keep the chat room open all the time, it's always empty lol

as for strict moderation... it swings both ways, look on some other threads and you'll see links to vids for full size planes and helis crashing that don't get closed down
personally i like to see the odd full size/off topic/small man trying to sell his idea threads.
as long as it dosn't get out of hand we all like to see these things, who hasn't seen that moron crash that heli and laughed. no need to close that one
i'm sure some days the mods arnt in the mood and just wipe happily away, other days the off topic thread will make them chuckle too and it stays open

RCU is fine as it is, i'm sure every member would like one or two things to change, but with so many members you have to go with the majority

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

What I dont get is that in certain forums (like the clubhouse) a non-RC thread gets shut donw IMMEDIATELY.

In some others, like jets for instance, even the moderators are posting stuff (like birth announcements, wedding announcements, stuff about their kids, etc) that NEVER get shut down. I dont really care, and feel that it is a bit ion the strict side, especially if it is about aircraft and not directly RC.

Why does there exist the many standards depending what forum you are in? Mike L - you seem to jump in and shut down many threads but why not look around in other forums, you will see many non rc related threads that are never shut down....

In my opinion, I kind of agree with the original post here. Sometimes the talk gets a bit boring, old topics rehashed, etc but then some new stuff comes along. I still visit often though, but stay in the 3 or 4 forums I like mainly.

Andrew Coholic

Dago Red

My Feedback: (11)

What i find funny is watching some of the mods chat in the forums that arnt on topic R/C. There was that one about taxes a while back, there were quite a few mods in that one.

I dont see how the Oshkosh forum was threaten to be shut down becasue we were disucussin why and how the hughes racer crashed on its way home after the airshow, but to start off with, the forum had nothing to do with R/C. It was said that if we didnt just talk about meeting other RCU member,ect it would be shut down, but cant the RCU member disccus something that has been going on for like 20 posts continue, its a popular subject.

My .50 cents, I dont have 2 pennies.

troyp

One of the most read posts on this forum of late with over 300 replies was the "What do you do for a living?" post.
What does this have to do with RC?
Absolutely nothing, yet it was kept open.
About the same time another post regarding a video clip of a full scale spitfire flying low over the top of a reporters head was shut down after only 4 or so posts, (No offence to the mod who did this, just using examples).
I know I have brought this up before in another post, but I still cant understand why so many people voted against non rc related chat when Marc posted a poll awhile back.
I for one get excited when I see a post with an interesting subject heading, something different to look forward to for a change whether its RC related or not.
Theres only so much you can talk about thats RC related before it gets boring.

Blackie

Flyfalcon, I'm trying to give this a lot of thought but I just can't see any change with this type of moderation, I guess RCU is destined to be boring.


Blackie

Jim_McIntyre

I blame it on the instant-gratification ARF types.
What's left to discuss, what airplane did you buy today? Or how you made yours unique by applying bullet hole stickers to it.

Taildrager-inactive

My Feedback: (11)

Jim you hit the nail on the head, this site is far from boring, how about the 13Ft Corsair thread, or even the GP40 size Corsair thread, and If I didn't have brain fade this AM I could name a dozen more threads that held my attention for weeks. This hobby-sport is so much more than buy a arf on Monday, crash it on Sat, and buy another on Monday.