Andrea ;-)
www.coastergal.com
What makes this forum better than others is the depth of the conversation. That's why we don't allow favorite and versus threads, because they're lame and no one cares about the outcome. This is based on years of experience. It works. Quantity of topics and posts has never been important, only quality.
Does that address your concern?
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Call me a snob, but I find it much easier to read. Also, when a member takes the time to do this, I feel they actually care about what they are saying.
We all make mistakes, but you can tell when someone is actually trying to write well. It think it's important and that's my humble opinion.
It's no where near as bad as it was over a the rec.rollercoaster forum. I had to leave!
I wish, though, that you wouldn't have shot down my topic so quickly. I was wanting to hear other people's feelings about the parks. Sure, we get opinions in other threads, but least this one could maybe pull some of those opinions together into one thread, etc.
Jan, I understand what you said, too. I can parse things into paragraphs as well. I'm no idiot when it comes to composing intelligent sentences and such. I even got commended once by someone years ago on the old Coaster-Talk list that I wrote well.
Anyway, it would be nice if people treated each other with more dignity and respect than they sometimes do around here. Jeff, I don't feel we always have "quality" of conversation around here--look how things get off-topic and onto stuff like they did with the "Disaster Zone" thread. I could direct you to a couple of forums where I find the quality of conversation and the treatment of other is noticably better.
And, Corey, you're probably right about RRC--why even bother with that one anymore?
I admitt. Back in 98-2000 before I really started traveling I did the BEAST is the best thing ect. Why? Because at the time it was my view of the coasters I had ridden. However its subjective. Everyone has a different favorite and reasons for them and it turns into a BI^^& fest when everyone is right in their own mind.
Newbies post, post that have been seen sometimes a thousand times on this and other forums. I swear if I hear MF is the best from someone who has never ridden it again, I'll explode. (I watched this coaster show the other night and NOTHING in the world could beat that!)
That being said, It's a discussion forum. Sometimes being a little creative is the way to go.
I've always been open to newbies and this site owner is too. The problem lies with those unwilling or unable to actually get out and sample some of the coasters and parks we talk about here. If your willing to learn and listen some instead of passing the No way Legend can beat Beast attitude.
Learning, while participating. Is the key, I got tons of good advice from people on these and other boards that have directed me too unforgetable times and many great coasters and parks.
Such advice got me and my brother 9 parks in ten days covering 12 states and 2200 miles and I never felt rushed at all in 2001. Parks on that trip included, Lakemont, Delgrossos, Knoebels, Quassy, SFNE, Lake Compaounce, SFGADV, Dorney and Idlewild. Heck, I even had a day to spend at Steamtown. This all costed us each under 450 bucks.
One last thing, Although I am not good at Punctuation and therefore forgive a ton of it. Post made in one long paragraph are very hard to read and often I don't even bother too read em.
Its not so much the kick the newbie game going on. It's more the newbies are speaking from experience to many who actually have the experience. If you have a question about something, A park, ride, places to stay, Check the travel plans thread first then ask.
Chuck, who still learns from those with vast more experience than me, And if your thinking these issues exist out at the parks. They don't. We're all there to have fun! *** Edited 4/25/2006 6:20:38 PM UTC by Charles Nungester***
a) Needs coupons
b) Doesn't know what coaster they're looking at
c) Needs tips on when the best time is to go park X on a Wednesday in July between 3:30pm and 4pm. And oh, can I get all the coasters in during that time?
d) Are there any rides which I should definitely ride at park X?
e) Needs research help on paper due tommorow because the person hasn't yet mastered going to the library or using a search engine
Ambiguous thread titles are bad, pure and simple. You see rablat5, you used the bait and switch method. Most of the members were probably thinking you wanted options a-e, but then you switched it up. Why didn't you just title your thread "Why is the online coaster community so hard to get along with sometimes?" (your second sentence), or you could've made it shorter to "Why is the online coaster community mean?" I think you would've gotten a better discussion out of it that way.
Imagine if you will that when you read the newspaper everyday or read an online news source that every topic had titles like "Baseball team", "Car", "Bad Weather", "Bombings", instead of "Orioles get stomped 15-1 by Indians", "Ford Explorer recalled for faulty tires", Tornado conditions are favorable today", and "15 soldiers killed by roadside bomb in Iraq." People would be utterly uninformed as a result. The same thing happens when people don't put thought into their thread title and then wonder why no one has responded in the last minute.
Anyway, I guess one of the main differences between the forums that I've mentioned and this one is the diversity of ages. A couple of the auto forums that I'm a member of probably include less of the youngsters than does this one. But it still would be nicer if people acted more cordial to others. If someone comes on with a stupid post and is trying to cause trouble, don't lower yourself to their level. Answer their question directly and correctly, then leave it at that. If the threads get all long and drawn out like the "Disaster Zone" thread that I mentioned, how does that make the community look?
A word to the young newbies--don't let people look down on you because of your age, but also don't give them a reason to look down on you. Lurk, observe, collect a knowledgebase, experience, then contribute.
As for what intaminfan has stated, perhaps you are correct that I should have made the topic something else. But have you gotten anything that I'm saying? If I remember correctly, you were knocking me on one of my other posts, which didn't really seem very kind. Perhaps I'm expecting too much of the roller coaster community, but it would be nice if we could talk to each other with a bit more dignity, respect, and cordiality. *** Edited 4/25/2006 6:44:10 PM UTC by rablat5***
All I was stating was that many just jump in here with the Greatest and Vs threads and it's all subjective and against the TOS they agreed too.
Im not the first to say Jeff and his staff can seem like jerks at times. Some maybe, Some may not be but I agree it's their site and their rules to impose as they see fit. The fact is the rules are there and many never bother to read before posting.
There are other open forums, Even a uncensored one in RRC. You'll see instances there of domination or just plain far meaner than this site allows on it.
If there was a perfect forum and perfect rules and everyone followed them to the letter though, Im sure someone would find faults.
Chuck
AV Matt
Long live the Big Bad Wolf
Once you assimilate and accept these simple facts, you’ll get along just fine!
...feel free to individually delete my hijack as I simply cannot help myself sometimes! :-)
Jeffrey R Smith said:
Without beating a dead horse rablat…I think it is most important that you understand that Cedar Point is a much better park than Six Flags Magic Mountain and wooden coasters are indeed superior to all steel coasters! Furthermore, most of these buzzers with leftist political views are wrong, but just too stubborn to admit it! :-)Once you assimilate and accept these simple facts, you’ll get along just fine!
...feel free to individually delete my hijack as I simply cannot help myself sometimes! :-)
C'Mon, Jeff! Everyone knows that SFMM is gonna kill CP this year because of the new management and the superior coaster count record! Oh, and steel is SO much better than wood :P
I can play too :) *** Edited 4/25/2006 7:33:14 PM UTC by rablat5***
I didn't shoot it down... I said where you'll find plenty of the information you were looking for. You were looking for a survey, and a survey is really just another favorite/best/worst/versus topic. There's no meaningful aggregation that you can compile from that, especially when it involves a half-dozen or so parks.
rablat5 said:
I wish, though, that you wouldn't have shot down my topic so quickly.
Don't take it personally. Yours was the first topic I've closed in many months, and it was simple enough to explain why.
There has been a lot of discussion around the Internet lately about the "wisdom of the masses," and what the discussion generally leads to is the point that the bigger the audience, the more the undesirable portion of the bell curve appears in your community. That's why we moderate, to make sure that the expectations of what we like to see around here are clear. I think we've done a good job with it for six years now.
Some people don't like that community style, and that's fine. No one is making them participate here anyway. Besides, do you really want people here who just ***** about it anyway?
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Jeff said:
There has been a lot of discussion around the Internet lately about the "wisdom of the masses," and what the discussion generally leads to is the point that the bigger the audience, the more the undesirable portion of the bell curve appears in your community. That's why we moderate, to make sure that the expectations of what we like to see around here are clear. I think we've done a good job with it for six years now.Some people don't like that community style, and that's fine. No one is making them participate here anyway. Besides, do you really want people here who just ***** about it anyway?
I agree with you here. But I still don't think we always get the "quality" conversation that you talked about. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here. But there are a lot of people who act (I'll go ahead an say it) immature at times. Sure, my topic may not have been the best according to some, but I wanted to see what other people had to say and how they felt.
Actually, another thread prompted me into creating that one. Perhaps next time, I can be less general or something.
I still, though, think that, in general, people could try and be more cordial and friendly and less brutal and harsh. The way some people act, it just seems to show immaturity.
Just a thought. :)
As soon as you start talking about maturity, people are going to call you out and ask how mature it is to be harping on it, calling others out on it, or not just walking away from it. Again, circle of life, I've seen it happen time after time.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
*** Edited 4/25/2006 9:02:52 PM UTC by janfrederick***
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