I started using Linux around 1999. There was a very popular Linux board, where Linux users could post questions.
It has a /dev/random thread where anyone could discuss any non-Linux topic he wanted to. Thus, traffic was very high. IT guys would post a problem, and step over to get a cup of coffee. When they came back to their computer, the answer was already there.
The staff decided it was too much work moderating the wild West thread, so they prohibited any off topic discussions.
Traffic dropped to virtually zero, maybe a posting a day. Now, it is a miracle if you can get the simplest answer. But, the staff says it is content. So be it.
Yeah…trying to maximize the “signal:noise ratio” often results in significantly less signal overall. Most boards I’ve dealt with handle this by having an “off topic” forum, or a “member’s lounge,” or…
I noticed the content crackdown happened shortly after the retirement, and subsequent recuitment of “guest posters” on the main page that espoused a certain ideological slant W/R/T cars and the environment. I’m wondering out loud if the content crackdown wasn’t inspired by the facts that many of us here “went against the grain” of the ideological slant; that we “zigged when we should have zagged.”
“NPR as a whole has gone downhill and it breaks my heart. nothing but shallow navel gazing and slanted, extremely slanted, programming.”
Wesw, I have to agree. I have it on a lot but it gets to the point where I just can’t stand the programming anymore and turn it off. Especially the BBC programming. Different culture.
Joe, yeah possible although it seemed like there were as many here that zigged while others zagged.
Rod, I don’t think you’re obtuse but just bring a more European perspective I think.
There are regulars here who may want to keep their post count up to maintain or achieve the rating reward badge provided by the site. That dilutes the quality of the replies. There should be no reward badge for frequent posters. Other sites do that as well such as VWVortex and Cycle World, both of which retain a post count but I believe it is not a good thing to do. A person could very easily mark many of the posts here as off topic. Off Topic posts make it more difficult to search for prior subject matter as a person would have to go through unrelated posts (off topic) to find pertinent information. It’s unfortunate that the “Off Topic” mark is quickly traceable to the originator. An alias or alternate screen name can be set up to mark posts “Off Topic” but who cares enough to go to the trouble? I, for one, have better places to spend my time.
Some here seem to insist on knowing the make, year and model of a vehicle in spite of that not being always applicable. That can be offputting to a new poster, it’s a hoop to jump through before you qualify for an answer. It’s too easy to just walk away.
There are regulars who converse with each other within this site and that gives the site a feeling of being a bit clubby to make an outsider, such as new poster, feel like it is too much to interfere by breaking into the insider’s club. It is easy to imagine that a new poster will explore the site before posting for the first time so as to notice this clubby feeling from the regulars which is likely unintentional but not realized.
I can’t believe many people care about a post count. What for? What difference does it make except that it shows maybe that the person has been around here a while and maybe can be relied on more.
one of the first things I did upon coming here, the first website I ever visited, was to read blackbirds old Credentials sticky thread. once I saw the fascinating people here and their stories and WIDE experience, I was hooked. I wanted to join the club
Off-topic is meaningless in the “General Discussion” sub-forum.
In the MAIN “Car Questions” sub-forum, OT is entirely acceptable AFTER the initial question has been answered. To use the show as precedent for the forum, T+R frequently went off on a tangent on their calls. On their better days, they answered the question first!
Insisting on a downright Teutonic focus and dedication to being “on-topic” would stifle the spirit of the board to no positive end. People don’t pore over the archived posts for answers; they come here, ask a question, get an answer, and occasionally stay to share a laugh. (And remember, while the primary focus of the board is to help newcomers, it does serve a secondary R+R purpose for the regulars.)
Like Rod Knox, I have been here before you had to register to post. I have seen a lot changes and I have seen a lot of regulars come and go. I think the reason why you think the board is going down hill is that after a while, you see the same questions asked over and over.
I’m not criticizing the new members who ask the questions for not doing a search first. Sometimes the questions are spaced far enough apart in time that you simply can’t find and review all the posts on your topic. But enough on the which car/oil/sparkplug etc is best.
I don’t think Carolyn has been to strict on going off topic and its a good thing. Going off topic adds some spice to the board. I do think we should be allowed a little more flexibility in General Discussions to get away from cars. I do miss the Rant and Rave, but maybe that wouldn’t work too well today.
I would like to see a new Car Talk show if NPR could find a couple of wackos that are at least half as good as Tom and Ray were. This Old House has gone through several hosts over the years and it has survived, why not Car Talk?
Could it be that no one at Car Talk is familiar with the old forum? The format was excellant in that it allowed replying to someone elses reply, distinctly seperate from replying to the OP.
And while I sometimes look at my profile page and see how much time I have squandered posting here it doesn’t seem to affect my total indifference to the numbers. But you minions should show me more respect. I’m not even in the top 10% of any catagory being monitored. I’m the Rodney Dangerfield of Car Talk.
I would love to do a show like car talk. I dont know if Younger fits me anymore as I turn 43 in a few days…but I do have a ton of experience, Relate to a lot of people, have a great vocabulary when I want to…and I am told I can be very funny…
We should have tryouts for a new show with the same format…I know many of the guys on this board definitely qualify in experience…
Hey you never know could be Radio Gold all over again… Theres no replacing Tom or Ray and the two of them together were Dynamite for sure…but a new show could come together if they try to put one together.
Post count never crosses my mind. The only time numbers has crossed my mind was some years back when someone left something like 37 Disagrees in one day. Disagree is one thing; trolling to be a PITA is quite another.
As to a new CT, I think Jay Leno would be a great one but I doubt that NPR could meet the salary scale. Whether that would work well with another person to make it a duo is also debateable.
well, I don t know anything about car repair, unless it is a 75 ford, but I would be happy to be a color commentator. heck, I d even get a spray job and be a colored commentator. a nice boehnor orange maybe… or black and blue to match my truck…
funny. on this site my keystrokes go very slow and it even does not register some of the keystrokes , and the little blue circle thingy keeps flashing around my pointer…
Well, in that case, he is watching me also.
When I post on the blog of my local newspaper, I run into the same situation–slow reaction to my keystrokes, and sometimes no effect from my keystrokes.
And then, intermittently over the past few days, the same thing has been happening on this site.
I suspect some kind of software problem, but that is just a layman’s guess.
I agree that this could be ebb and flow. Maybe not in the number of posts, but in our individual interest in any of them. I find myself attracted more to the General Discussion forum now, but I still tune in to some questions in the Repair and Maintenance forum to learn something.
As for responding to the same questions all the time, what’s wrong with that? New people show up with the same problems all the time. I can even answer many of the R&M questions since they have been asked so much. Still, they are newbies and should not be told to search the forum for answers to questions that bother you. Just don’t respond rather than post an off putting response (hmmmm… Should I take my own advice? NAAAAAH!).
We all could take more responsibility for the lack of interesting discussions. I have occasionally done this, but I can do more. @VDCdriver does a good job of this, and we all could be more like him. I’m thinking about my next car, and maybe I’ll start a thread to discuss my crazy ideas about what I want for a new car now that the Very Young Adults have all moved out. I insist that Mrs JT. Is a Young Adult, and she still lives here (see… I am the luckiest guy in town). Maybe I’ll toddle on over to the General Discussion board and tell you about how my house was ground zero for a lightning strike. Nothing automotive, but it might last a day or two.
@Marnet, you come from a different, older era as many of us do. Women were not encouraged or even allowed to work to their potential.if a woman didn’t want to be a teacher or a nurse, the major remaining options were clerical or retail. In a more modern time, you might have been an engineer if your interests ran that way.
I would love to do a show like car talk. I dont know if Younger fits me anymore as I turn 43 in a few days....but I do have a ton of experience
But Tom an d Ray weren’t trained mechanics. They did own a garage and did work on cars…but after a while they just managed it.
Not Typical mechanic material -
. Both top of their class in High-School (CHLS) one of the best schools in Boston
. Both given scholarships to MIT (and Harvard and a few other colleges).
. Both graduated from MIT.
. Later in life Tom went to BU to receive his PHD.
. Tom left the mechanic side of the business to start a business consulting firm.
Those are not typical qualifications of a mechanic…but they do give someone a wide knowledge base in other subjects (which car talk has plenty of subjects on).
And last but not least - their comic side. Everything is ad-lib. There is no script.
“As to a new CT, I think Jay Leno would be a great one but I doubt that NPR could meet the salary scale.”
While Jay Leno is THE consummate car guy, I don’t think he really KNOWS cars, especially modern cars. I think he mostly hires the restoration of most of his cars rather that DIY. He’s got lots of bucks, and spends them freely. Don’t get me wrong. I like Mr Leno. I used to watch his show every night. I just don’t think he be a good fit for Car Talk. (BTW, Jimmy Fallon has three times his talent.)
Besides he’d probably just lie to us about like things like odometer rollback.
I’d do the show for free for a year, then if the ratings held up they could pay me well. Anybody want to join me? ( @ok4450 ?) I don’t think we’d even have to move to their fair city, or even live near each other for that matter.
