What about a Community Forum to discuss"other topics of the day"? believe it or not my last discussion had a lot to do with auto safety-Kevin
this IS the place to discus those topics, actually:
General Discussion
Your forum to discuss all the topics of the day.
@bscar2 I agree. I have military school training and certification plus OSHA in safety and would love to discuss this subject. A new thread in General Discussion concerning safety and/or lack of would work for me.
Correct me if I’m wrong, long-term board veterans, but I believe many versions of board ago, there was a true rants 'n raves-type section. In practice, the General Discussion area here in this incarnation has been for issues related to cars but aren’t specific problem-solving, repair & maintenance issues. There are some outliers, and we have made judgment calls about what stays open. The General Discussion label is misleading, now that you point it out. I do admit it gets tricky because there is a certain level of familiarity that arises here, and members have offered support to each other as information was disclosed in context of other on-topic discussion.
Yes Rant and Rave was a true bar room brawl. Lots of bottles thrown around and a few broken bones. I prefer a little less hostility but still like open discussions among gentle individuals with differing views. Especially during slow times when there are not many new posts.
@cdaquila is right. While a new discussion forum can be helpful at times…the “General Discussion” area is well suited for just about any topic imaginable. I also agree with @Bing that “Rant and Rave” was hostile and most topics usually went off on a tangent and away from the original thought. We still do that to some degree…and I always welcome it if the topic starts to get a little dry.
Morning, guys.
I talked it over with Doug, my überlackey, because I wanted to clear up what the expectations are for the general discussion section going forward. He says that it’s got to stay car-related, though admittedly that is a very big umbrella. Industry stuff, alternatives to cars, fuel policy - all of these types of subjects are open. I know discussions veer off, and I will be more vigilant going forward, but stick reasonably close to car issues. For the most part, you all do that. I’ll have to think of another label for the General Discussion area that makes it more apparent. Thanks for your understanding.
Carolyn
Perhaps the title is fine, but one might elaborate on the forum description. Right now it’s just a one-line description. Or perhaps, just add the word “Car” or “Automotive” to the forum title and add a sentence or two to the description to clarify.
Of course, I will occasionally enjoy watching the battle over who gets to decide on what the content should be. I always do 
The general discussion catches everything that is not Repair & Maintenance, distracted driving or the show. It is inportant to keep the subject matter broad, for instance the Malaysia Airlines crash is a very important lesson in what signalling equipment to carry on a plane, safety screening for personnel, aircraft cockpit design and monitoring, etc.
With all the best equipment installed and operating this aircraft would have ben found within days. Now, over $200 million dollars later and with an agonized next of kin, we still have nothing. Malaysia Airlines cheapened out and did not install some of the more spophisticated equipement available when they bought the planes.
Back in the day, it wasn’t Rant n Rave for general topics. That’s where the animated discussions occurred. The general topic area as I recall was called ‘All the Rest’.
This forum is frequented by all kinds of educated and informed people from all walks of life, and generally have well informed views and opinions on a very wide range of topics. I just think it is a shame to limit it to automotive related only. Just my two cents worth.
P.S. “General discussion” is not accurate anymore, since it is now automotive discussion.
I hope that means we can still talk about small engines, planes, engineering, and other mechanical topics. I think there is a wealth of expertise here that is very interesting.
I hope that means we can still talk about small engines, planes, engineering, and other mechanical topics. I think there is a wealth of expertise here that is very interesting.
Nope, that’s not automotive related. I will miss the “other” topics part.
You make a fair point. There is a tremendous amount of mechanical knowledge shared in the forum, and it’s clear you are, as a group, very educated, well spoken, and informed about a broad range of topics. I’m regularly impressed. That’s great, and we are not going to close discussions simply because you’re talking about planes, for instance, vs. cars. I’ll keep thinking about the label today, but what I’ve said here today isn’t going to change 95% of what gets talked about. Periodic judgment calls get made, but I try to be reasonable.
Having been one of the people who was here in the All the Rest and Rant & Rave days, I know the subject of cars had little to do with the post subjects back then. It was all about current events, politics, humor etc and brought out a whole lot of personality conflicts.
I have to admit that I enjoyed every minute of it but I could see that it was a moderator’s nightmare. I still communicate with a lot of people from back then that migrated to what is now two websites. My favorite one of them is not moderated. I guess that says a lot about me… : )
This website is useful and informative and serves a very good purpose. It is the first place I ever posted on the internet. That was back when Chat Rooms were popular and I never was a fan of them.
So now, when I want to argue or talk about current news, I go to other websites. I understand that this place needs to have rules that are maintained because we wouldn’t want to ruin the pristine reputation of Click & Clack with our out of control arguments… : )
Thanks, Cyberbabes and keep up the good work.
@cdaquila
Is Doug the “senior web lackey” or the “benevolent overlord” . . . ?
I have this orchid with brown spots on the back of some flowers. I wonder if there is a pest or this is a plant feature. The fuel pressure and spark are good.
http://www.houstonorchidsociety.org/culture/OrchidPestsandDiseasesbySueBottom.pdf
This and other sources point to botrytis.
http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=120
http://staugorchidsociety.org/culturepests-diseases.htm
Edit: Have you checked your accelerator petal?
rattlegas, I thinkyou need to check the muffler bearings…