My comment about "recent users" was not directed at anyone in particular.
The observation was made to me by more than one longstanding member that some more recent users are posting "noise" in the forum, such that the average quality of posts is declined somewhat. I agree partly, but I would say that some users like Mark Nankivil and Bill S with the McDonnell and Vought stuff have brought large quantities of primary source materials and in many respects, overall the forum is very healthy.
However, for most of its existence the amount of policing required on the forum has been minimal. As more members register, it is probably inevitable that this will increase. However, we can all act in ways that minimise the chances of discussions spiralling out of control.
Some key sections from the forum rules:
- Personal attacks on others are always inappropriate. Disagree all you like with their ideas or opinions, but don't resort to name-calling or flaming.
- Always be polite, especially to new users, even if they ask questions you find irritating. Nobody was born an expert.
- If you feel that a post is in the wrong section, is pointlessly stupid, or otherwise obectionable, report it using the "report to moderator" link found in each post and explain what the
- problem is. Your compaint will be reviewed by a moderator as soon as practicable. "Vigilante" flaming of posts is not good etiquette.
- New users in return should respect that some of the forum's "grumpy old men" do have years of industry experience. Be respectful and appreciative where appropriate.
- If you have nothing to add, but you really appreciated something somebody posted, let them know via a personal message.
So, for example, its probably not necessary for multiple users to all say "thanks" in every topic. I could install a "thanks" option into the forum so everyone can express appreciation for posts without making unnecessary posts, if that would be helpful. Because, unlike most forums, we try to act as not just discussion but a kind of database, this creates a tension between the two purposes - discussion and reference.
By quality control I mean situations like where hesham recently posted drawings from vectorsite. These are crude, low detail, user created images, not a company model or drawing. They probably don't need to be uploaded to the forum. Of course, hesham has posted many good images, and we don't want to stop him posting - but perhaps thinking a bit more about what he is posting, before he posts it, might help at times. Just an example.
Its a fine line to walk to keep things nice without getting all interventionist. I am appealing to users to exercise some restraint to avoid getting like some other forums. In the past, this has worked fine with minimal controls, and I'd like to keep it that way.
There is certainly no excuse for rudeness, though knowing some Americans and Australians from work, I can see how one person's 'straight talking' can be another's 'rudeness'. Cultural differences certainly exist even between English speaking countries, to say nothing of the wider world.