Improving the sad state of DiscoWeb technical forums

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
DiscoWeb has always been a different kind of enthusiast forum, a place where people are free speak their minds and not hold back just for the sake of being nice or not hurting feelings. We're not like ExPo or D90; we don't have a "mud pit" and we don't censor or edit posts unless they're spam or obviously illegal. I've been running the show here for two years now and I hope that I've shown to everyone that I care about this place, that I'm not going to pimp it out with ads just to make a buck, that I appreciate and enjoy the special thing we have here.

This board was once a great source of knowledge and the kind of place where you could post up a legitimate question and get a legitimate response. Our technical forums have been sliding backwards lately and I don't like it. Specifically, it pisses me off when a brand-new user posts a well-worded, appropriate technical question and the first response is this bullshit:

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Starting today, this dumb shit stops. If your only response to a legitimate technical question* is to post something dumb and unhelpful, you're going to get a visit from Hypnotoad.

* Obviously, this is a touchy matter. I think DWeb should remain a place where you can get called out for stupidity, so I will use critical thinking before calling out the toad. I'm not going to ban you for talking shit about a Detroit in the front axle. My concern is only dumb responses to legitimate questions. Step up your game and we'll have no problems.

Wpsy6cg.png
 

stu454

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2004
5,407
61
Atlanta, GA
I agree, but I do think that Zack was making a joke. Not helpful, of course, but not necessarily maliciously douchey.

Edit: my post in that thread wasn't helpful, either. I will step up my game.
 

brian4d

Well-known member
Dec 3, 2007
6,499
67
High Point, NC
Chris, unless you want to change the dynamic of discoweb it's always been this way since I've been a member. Even great questions are met with flaming and some sort of weird Land Rover owner hazing. You had to earn your wings. I respect the fact you'd like to change this but It's been happening for a very long time.

I don't visit the tech board anymore so I can only assume it's gotten way out of hand. Hope this gets the attention you feel it deserves.
 

DiscoPhoto

Well-known member
Jul 23, 2012
2,581
76
Vermont
If harmless stuff like that gets deleted or becomes against the rules, you're going to lose the beauty of Dweb. Obviously up to you, but clearly Dweb is not just a technical resource. It's also hilarious to read
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
The rules aren't changing and I'm not goin to permaban someone for being dumb. I just want to improve the ratio of dumb-shit-to-useful-advice because it's been sliding. We are the biggest LR forum on the net and we get lots of new users signing up, usually 4-5 a day. We don't do a good job of retaining them. If you ask DWeb old-timers why they don't come around anymore, they say it's because this place is a ghost town. It doesn't have to be, though. Not everyone who signs up is going to stick around but some would, if we could only improve the tech forums.
 

toadermcgee

Well-known member
Sep 26, 2007
689
4
Newburgh, IN
I don't think a little ribbing hurts but you should also include helpful information along with it; or just think the thoughts to yourself.
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Sounds like Dan is pretty much screwed.

Zack, just add the word "technically" before each of your dumb statements to make it Tech relevant. ;)
 

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
562
Seattle
As someone who works a lot with government I've learned the hard way over the years that you can't legislate stupidity. You can change the culture around it, though, but that is hard. Discoweb is the product of its component threads and posts, and the quality of its content is determined by its members. If most of the people using this site recognize its value and are invested in it remaining a source of useful information then they will contribute posts that add to this value. Hell, I still get private messages from people asking me to email them the Word doc I compiled of head gasket repair tips that I compiled...back in 2010.

I haven't been around as long as some, but I've been around long enough to feel confident that heavy-handed administration is not going to achieve the desired result. I appreciate the Darwinian character of this place and have been mildly amused by natural selection as foolish ideas are culled from the herd (bonnet light bars, anyone? Idiots from Utah trying to completely re-engineer Disco suspension design?). Left to its own devices this community is okay at self-regulating, for the most part, with a few notable exceptions (Kennith vs. Chapman battle royale, for one). A friendly (or vulgar) reminder might be more effective at steering behavior than a rap on the knuckles.

This place isn't like other forums and I think Chris is right that applying the approach to moderating that is used elsewhere is not appropriate here. Instead of deleting posts, banning people, etc. it might be more effective to send private messages to members who are out of line reminding them of the implications of bad behavior and encouraging them to be more constructive voices in the discussion. Public shaming wouldn't be inconsistent with the spirit of this place, either. Or just periodic public service reminders asking everyone to be helpful where possible.

If this site is going to be subject to tighter moderation my vote would be for keeping threads relevant to their forums. A lot of crap gets posted in the technical section that should go in other forums. Otherwise, it's incumbent on all the members here to speak up to set the social norms on tone and content.

One of the best improvements to the site I've seen in recent years is the section for projects and technical write-ups. Having something close to a definitive "this is how you replace your _______" thread is way more useful than reading 20 threads asking the same question and not finding a useful answer. Nobody has posted anything new there in 4 months. This is where I see a good opportunity for keeping Discoweb a draw.
 

p m

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 19, 2004
15,617
838
58
La Jolla, CA
www.3rj.org
There could be an automated solution - add member voting to the responses, and let the users set up the filters by the desired number of stars or whatever.
I imagine that tech-editing DW threads can be pretty time-consuming.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
But then this becomes a popularity contest. I think that if we try to help newbs before we treat them like we treat each other it would help. I know I've been a dick at times but I've been trying to be better. We are the best source of Land Rover info out there. Hands down no contest. Defender source guys are my costumer base, I have nothing bad to say about them. They have the money to own really really nice trucks. People like us fix them.
Plus this place is a riot, I hope it stays that way.
 

p m

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 19, 2004
15,617
838
58
La Jolla, CA
www.3rj.org
Yes and no.

This process is very well implemented in software BBSs like stackoverflow.com; the number of questions and answers there outranks DWeb by many orders of magnitude, and most users never know each other or develop any personal preferences. The users can vote an answer up and down, and comment on what they considered right or wrong.

The result is that you can zero in on a good or best solution very quickly. Sometimes the most-popular solution is not what you want/need, but most likely because you've formulated your question not matching well your desire.
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
That's all it comes down to, really. Be a little better to the new guys, especially on the Tech Forums. If you want to haze the new guys because that's the DWeb way, fine, but be useful when you're doing it. Don't be a useless turd.

I don't want to ban anyone. I've only banned one person in two years and that was only temporary.

I'm not going to impose any poster rating systems. I'm just asking the people here who have been around a while--if you care about the site--to step up and help make the Tech forums better.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
What happened to him? I saw a post in the vender section and he was sounding pretty screwed. Somebody said he posts on Facebook. I don't do Facebook. I'm not looking to be found.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
But back to the issue ,we should do what Chris said and help out the tech section. He keeps this thing going and has asked us to do something. He's our fearless leader after all.
 
Jan 25, 2010
3,544
4
your moms bed
If you are going to ask a dumb fucking question after not using the search bar than you deserve what you get. This is not LRO. Discomike is not a mod here. For the most part the members here are hard core wheelers and enthusiast. That is what makes this site unique and different. I got beat up the first time I posted here but I was hungry for real info so I stayed. Dweb has a vetting process and as far as I'm concerned it works well. Zak's comment was in jest and well within the spirit of dweb. It's your sandbox and as someone who often hammers newbs I will continue to do so, but I think setting this precedent starts down v-bulletin path.
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
That guy didn't ask a dumb fucking question. It was legit. I don't care if you bash on noobs but add something to the conversation--teach them something, even if it's a link to the search results. No, this isn't LRO and I'm not DiscoMike but as Axel has said many times before, there are rules and there always have been. The rule here is simple: don't be a useless turd.

Anybody who has served in the military knows what I'm talking about: it's okay to be tough on the new privates but you better be teaching them. If you're just being tough to stroke your own ego, then it is you who is worthless.