Inappropriate or Irrelevant Content on Bimmersport

[Antallica 15]

Well now that I know what the Report button actually does I'll use it in future. My standing is if you don't like what you see, report it or don't read it. It's your choice. I employ this every time I sign in.

Common sense will see us through

[Guest Simon*]

There are people on here that pretty much post in every topic. Trolls. 90% of what they have to say has no relavence to the topic. Crack down on these people a little and the problem will settle.

I quite agree Dan. There are people posting just for the sake of it.

I always find it interesting actually at meets that some of the most prolific posters and smartmouths are quiet as mice in person

Common sense will see us through

I really wish I could believe that

Common sense and poking the odd muppet with a stick perhaps

[pjay 8]

[*Glenn* 854]

And unfortunately... they will get used more often... "O" tolerance for crap is now in force

[martyyn 2]

Let me say this from the outset....Im not picking on you Mike, but you do raise several very valid points which I believe are a major factor with the current situation on Bimmersport.

You have also yourself (rightly or wrongly) been in the middle of some of the recent events so I want to address your post (and points) specifically. Im going to openly say what I have to say, its not meant to be personal, although I appreciate that it could be interpreted that way and for that I apologise in advance.

I have no idea what sparked this thread,

I can only assume you have not read the forum rules and have not read all the recent threads. Anyone who has done both will know perfectly well why this thread is necessary. But I highly doubt anyone reads everything !

but it seems like a good place to vent my opinion of this forum.

Thats what this thread is for and good on you for being brave enough to raise your points. I know there are lots of people who want to say their piece but they either cant be bothered or just dont want the hassle that can come from it.

Members of this forum have clearly created their own little in-club which is not at all friendly to new members like myself.

This is what winds me up the most. There is no 'in-club', but there are people on here who have been members for a long time, people who are good friends, both on here and in real life, who respect each other, respect the rules and know how the forum 'works'. They also expect a certain level of behaviour from fellow members and because they have been here for a while they have learnt whats acceptable and what isnt.

They are not necessarily the 'oldies', just as much as those seen to be causing the problems are not necessarily the 'drifters/slabs'. But there are obviously new people coming here, who havent read the rules, are not interested in learning whats acceptable or not and who are more interested in turning a BMW forum into a chat room. You wouldnt walk into a strangers house, sit down, drink their beer, complain about the furnishing, that there is no food on the table, stick up sexist/racist/wife beating posters on the wall and then have the balls to tell them they have no place there any more, would you ?

So what makes people think its acceptable here ?

Bimmersport is an open, public forum and its roots are what people might interpret as 'serious' in that it was started so that friends could get together, talk about cars, get help and parts when they needed them and generally share their experience whilst having a few beers and some laughs on the way. In saying that its run by the Owners and Admin and they have the final say on what is acceptable and what isnt.

Bimmersport has been incredibly succesful with these values and it will continue to be succesful with these values. If people dont respect that then Bimmersport is not for you

****of course when I say 'you', its a generic 'you' and not you directly Mike

Eg I made a post in this thread (where everyone was voicing their disgust about the wheels in the link) where I said that I quite like them, bust mostly because I have a distaste for most of the wheels that are popular amongst the incumbent population here. Why was that deleted? How is my opinion not valid there?

I dont know what happened to that post in particular, but I will admit to having removed one or two of your other posts recently because they have just had nothing to add to the thread whatsoever. I do it for everyone and its been necessary more and more recently, believe me you are not the only one. Thats why we moderate, we filter out the posts considered to be of no value in an attempt to try and keep the thread readable and on topic.

If you have an issue with how your posts are being moderated then you need to talk to the moderator of that forum or contact Admin. Not post the question up on the thread itself. In that particular case I think a couple of long standing members hinted as to why your post had been deleted and to be honest (although they were obviously tongue in check comments) they made it perfectly clear why your post had been removed.

I guess I was expecting (naively) that a BMW forum would have a modicum of intelligence compared with other car forums, but alas most of the members here are the same breed to be found in the Toyota/Honda/etc forums - the same people who get pleasure from loud exhausts, big shiny wheels and thumping ridiculous sound systems.

How can you make this decision after having been here for all of five minutes ? Hang around for a while and you will see that this is not the case with the majority of Bimmersport members.

I think J's (Crockett) post said alot of what I wanted to say aswell. Its about personal responsibility, having respect for other people and respecting the comments of people who have been here for a while. Ive lost count of the abusive emails Ive had simply because Ive asked someone to remove an objectionable picture/comment, an unjustified personal attack, or just a completely worthless post. Why should the owners/admin/moderators put up with that? In other forums Im on around the world you would be banned instantly for questioning a moderators decision. Here we try and talk it through but when someone just responds with an expletive filled PM its not easy.

Bimmersport in comparison is incredibly relaxed for a car forum and I for one hope it will stay that way. But the balance has swung too far recently. Too many people are turning the forum into their own 'plaything', abusing others when opinions differ, writing unreadable posts in text languange, swearing where its completely unnecessary, etc. Bimmersport is not here to be a chat room, or somewhere for you to vent your anger at the world from behind a keyboard, its here for BMW people to talk about BMW's....with the odd Pug owner thrown in

Finally, I said at the beginning that this isnt an attack on Mike, he raised valid points that I think have led us to the current situation. My reply is aimed at everyone on this forum, new/old/young whatever. Lets get back to talking about cars and having some fun doing it.

Cheers

Martyn

[$toffz 0]

I have watched this forum for few years and been a member for close to 5.

I have always enjoyed the content and the people.

I would like to thank the people who keep it up and running.

Thanks guys and good job.

[bravo 35]

Thanks kerry and $toffz for the positive comments. It's equally important to know what works as to know what doesn't.

[1rotty 40]

I wholeheartedly agree with both Graham & Simons comments & support the purpose of this thread.

As said its not about young or old(er) or what we do or dont prefer in terms of modding our cars.

Since joining this forum all the advice I have sought has been readily given & my beemer knowledge base grows daily for which I am hugely grateful.

I regularly enjoy a good laugh at some of the posts & this I think is one of the great things about BS-its not so anal that it gets boring.

To Mike;the BS members I've met to date have proved great company & like minded & not only in matters BMW.

Very well done to all the people who make this such a valuable site & if the odd tosser needs stomping on then so be it.

[QuickSilver 0]

I'll ad to the positives coming in I appreciate all the effort and hard work that always goes into this forum, by admin, moderators, and members alike, the events are great, the people are great, and the cars are fantastic.

Thanks to you all!

Top stuff.

(Obligatory forum slang coming up)

BSFTW!

[KillerX 40]

Ditto with the positives, awesome site. Been lurking about for 18 months now. Have learnt so much on here [eg saved money] A big thank you to everyone who helps with the site- Owners Admins Mods Sponsors and members ps will try to get to a meet soon Whales and Sharks forever lol

[bellicose 9]

I'm all for admin/mods keepin' control of the threads and delete as they see fit but.............can one of you please PM me and explain why my harmless and quite tounge-in-cheek popcorn remark got removed from the "Reset tool" thread. As it wasn't aimed at any one i think it's a bit harsh.......my 5 cents.

[bravo 35]

Hey mate. I removed it as I was cleaning up the thread, and it was just encouraging the poor behaviour. Normally those sorts of things are OK, and part of the light-heartedness that we encourage, but in some cases, when we are moderating several reponses in a thread it is only fair to remove ALL of the off-topic, or superfluous threads so it doesn't appear as if we are playing favourites.

Besides, it was hardly contributing to the discussion now was it?

[wild_weston 0]

Hi,

I used to post on bimemrsport occasionally. I always logged in every day to find out any new nuggets of info on how to fix any problems with (or improve) my car. Bimmersport is great for that with members like Jochen etc on here to help.

Two things happened which made me use this site less.

Firstly I got into motorbikes.

However, secondly, while attempting to take part in a debate of "which bmw to buy next?" thread, I was shouted down by a member [members name removed]. As far as I could tell he is one of the more regular members here.

His issue was that I appeared to being snobby because I posted that "there was quite a dollar difference between an E30 and an E46" and asked the original thread starter (not [members name removed]) whether he had come into some money lately. My original post was a tongue in cheek comment with an element of genuine interest in there (I had recently been made redundant and had had a cash windfall).

Don't get me wrong - this wasn't just a reply to my original post, that i'm talking about, but going back and forth on the thread for about a day. With the aformentioned member, calling me a snobby bastard who is "more suited to the bmw owners club website", getting away with unsociable comments to, relatively, new members.

Anyway long story long (bored myself already) - "In crowd" not earning a warning for being a nob to new members (who are trying to become part of the community). Pissed me off no end and made me not want to be part of the community anymore.

It's not always the boy racers being idiots that ruin a site, it's sometimes an "in crowd" of members that attack new members which put people off websites.

My posting is aimed to give constructive feedback on your site.

Cheers

Edited for spelling

Edit (Bravo): Removed members name. Lets not let this thread get personal. Your point is still clear regardless.

Edited May 12, 2009 by bravo

[martyyn 2]

Yet more pointless posts deleted.

Pjay, if you dont have anything sensible to say keep it shut.

[laadeelaa 0]

It's weird when I think about it, but Bimmersport has taught me a lesson or two.

When I joined, I had every intention on not following the forum rules, and just shh stiring. As soon as I was banned on my old account, it made me realise what I was kind of losing in a way. I know, I sound like a softy, but about 1 month after I was banned shh started breaking on the e36. I felt like I wanted to come on, and get some quality advice, as sometimes the pro's advice isn't the best (in a way), but I couldn't as I was kicked off for being a little madam.

I now have more respect for other members, and have realised over the year that every person has different opinions, and a majority of members share beliefs (of modifying bmw's), which should've been listened to.

I now have to admit, I have fallen in love with e30s. And it's purely due to some of the members cars on here.

I have met some pretty awesome people through Bimmersport eg. friends, and amazingly helpful members who have helped me out with both, my e36 (when it was breaking!) and my e39.

I wouldn't change Bimmersport, or the mods, as they do their jobs, and the ones I have met, are actually half human in real life!

I know I displayed regularily inappropriate content, especially in the lounge. Sorry.

I guess this is a half apoligy, for being an immature, young madam, to the mods especially!

Keep Bimmersport how it is, and for the rules, they are there for a reason!

[M325is 0]

Now thats an entrance.... Lynette to Gabbi on Desperate Housewives last episode, hahaha.

[bravo 35]

I wouldn't change Bimmersport, or the mods, as they do their jobs, and the ones I have met, are actually half human in real life!

Aw shucks, you're making me blush!

Seriously though, that's really big of you to say Em. Good stuff!

[Silver Fox 43]

The other half's Muppet.

[Apex Effects 3]

hey driftit im on the snz form too an agree with there is no need for all the useless comments that get flung around(here an over the fence) but im sure there are still(marty an others)) long standing members with very good advice an helpfull opinions here an over there. I wont leave either form as they both have helped me in big ways an all the picture threads(drool... aspirations for my lil hunks of Japanese an Bavarian metal haha) keep up the work al you modders out there. the clowns will lose interest eventually an fang off. on a kinda off topic note. BIMMERSPORT the movie is hilarious

Shaun

ps

BIMMERSPORT FOR LIFE! haha