W900 future??

furryforest · 03-31-2009, 07:03 AM

Hey Guys,

As you have probably read, Kevin has decided to leave W900 for a variety of reasons. One of which is the problems that are experienced with new members. A few of the senior members seem to be feeling that way and as they are the guys I learn from, it's sad to see those seniors leave.

This is a problem that isn't going away and if we're not careful it's going to destroy the fabric of W900.

Like a lot of you I find most forums hard to get into. There is usually a " border="0" alt="" />
1. It is the definitive source of knowledge for models past, present and future.
2. The craic is ninety as we say here in Ulster. I have made friends, I have laughed and importantly for me, I have learned.

One of the subtle but important features of W900 is that it generally is unmoderated. We're left to our own devices for the most part and I think until recently it has worked.

In the past year, when I see new guys making bloopers, I have PM'd them. I have tried in as friendly a way as possible to highlight their errors and guide them. Some accept it, some don't. That’s just life.

The guys who run and own W900 provide us, without ask or want, a brilliant site that has brought many things to many people. However like most of us they have family and business lives and I don't think it is fair to expect them to deal with silly quarrels. It's just too time consuming.

I want to use this thread to put forward a couple of suggestions. Like all ideas they probably have flaws that I can't see, but that's why I think we need to discuss it.

My first idea is I think we need a set of rules. Now I know most people don't read the rules on forums, but they do serve a purpose. If we can narrow it down to three of four good solid rules that you have to agree to on joining then hopefully it will explain the way the site works.

My other idea might be more controversial. Is it time the site had active mods who have a limited scope to deal with problems that arrive? Examples being highlighting problems members are causing and importantly guiding them. A bit of guidance goes a long way.

We were all new members at one time or another. We all had mishaps and we were guided by senior members (in their own special way) We have adapted to W900 and fit in now and since I have been here I have watched new members who have grown to fit in and make a good contribution to the site.

As I say guys, these are just some ideas and I hope I haven't singled anyone out for criticism.

To the owners of W900, I hope you don't feel this thread is out of order or a criticism. If you do I apologise and please bin the thread.

PS Please no "I know I’ve made mistakes in the past..." comments. This isn't the confessional, it's a discussion about W900.

Ferihegy · 03-31-2009, 07:52 AM

I saw these decisions on W900, on DAC and on other Forum sites... People are leaving. WHY? IS IT THAT HARD? Or just a lack of patience?
I understand that it hard with this new little jerks, but on the other hand: it's an open forum. What are we and you members expecting?? I rather think that until now, W900 was in an extremely lucky situation that several, let's call them "bad elements" didn't find their way to us. But now, these elements signed in, and their want to show themselves. So we MUST FIND a solution. Running away is very easy. I also could stop my contributions to this forum by saying: "hey, I've got enough of kiddies, so I'm frustrated now".
WE NEED NEW RULES and we "older" members have to react smoothly and cool to the problems we are facing. As the forums main admins/owners don't have time/anything else to show their opinins, WE "normal" members must act, and act soon! Don't give up, LET'S DO SOMETHING!

Chris

PLEASE: Only older forum members here, nothing for youngsters. Thanks.

Blue Angel No.5 · 03-31-2009, 09:37 AM

I appreciate the efforts in restoring the integrity of our forums. I couldn't agree with you more Furryforest and Ferihegy. I find myself commenting to myself... "what a waste of time" and other obscene comments as I open a misleading thread, thinking it was the announcement of new releases, but rather an inquiry of when new releases come out.

To be politically correct, this is an open forum... But I believe that we can "close" out the unnecessary stuff.

At this point, the best remedy for me is to simply ignore the thread or post.

I think we should stress and better utilize the 5 star rating system. Look at Famous threads like Doc's Air Hostesses thread and Captain Wahoo's Quiz time! 5 stars, Great threads, thousands of reads! Seeing the stars from a thread would better indicate whether it would be worth our time to check out... I just wish there was a symbol to denote that the thread was a complete waste of time.. Maybe a half star.

I hope to hear about other remedies to our ailing forums....

I do not want to see the valuable members disappear on us... This is Wings900, not Romper Room....

Peak Airways · 03-31-2009, 10:44 AM

I realize I am still new (not quite a year) but I do see a lot of members spend more time on 400SH, I am not sure why but I think the members really push quality and don't waste time on posts that are totally pointless. For example, I won't post an airport over there because the airports that are displayed are amazing dioramas and that is what is expected. I almost feel intimidated to post my modest airport.

I worked hard on mine and when I displayed it in the W900 forums I received maybe 6 replies, some 15 year old comes on a throws a couple of pieces of wood on a sheet of plywood and hand draws their taxiways (without a ruler) receives 30 responses of "I like your airport" or "Excellent work". That just encourages mediocrity.

This is just one example, but the quality of the work honestly makes me STRIVE to improve my skill so I can present a diorama that is worthy of the others in that section.

I don't know, maybe I haven't been on here long enough to say anything but I do know that I would like to see this place thrive as it is my favourite of the three sites I am a member of.

Captain Wahoo · 03-31-2009, 11:57 AM

Fuzzy and fellas well done. I agree with everyone here. When I signed on back several years ago this was a more "mature" site, mature conversation and mature topics by mature individuals. You can have a normal conversation through a thread and look forward to a response from someone who makes sense. Back when I signed on it was rare that people didn't use good grammar or spell properly. For people whose primary language was not English this was understandable.

We really don't need to lose the interest of good members because of a few punks that happen upon this site. Kevin is a personal friend of mine and we both know each other's families real well. His mother watches our dog when my wife and I have art festivals in Door County. Kevin is a very intelligent person with a great sense of humor, his family is caring, kind and very generous in so many ways. If you have never met Kevin, you truly are missing out. I always look forward to Door County art shows just so I can stop by Kevin's house. He is almost like a little brother to me now.

It hurts me to a certain extent to see good members go. We had 27L (Many of you might not remember) and I am not absolutely sure why he left, Emil (Eherran) another personal friend of mine, the boys from Chicago, Kevin and Doc, and now Kevin (A_Loser). It makes me sick to think that some snot nosed little kids because of their immature rantings have made it where these members even though they love their hobby, don't look forward to coming here anymore and won't be coming here anymore.

Look, this hobby of mine has brought many wonderful people from this website into my life. I have only met a few and have many friends abroad like Fuzzy, Doc, Hamish, Chris, Julian, Paulie, and the list goes on and on. I have made friendships with many right here in the US that share my interest in aviation and this hobby. Since I am not flying anymore who else will I talk to about flying? Certainly not my wife. I enjoy sharing my life experiences with everyone here who is willing to listen. I love teaching everyone here something about flying through my quiz time thread. I am hoping that if I save one pilots life someday I have accomplished something.

Something needs to be done and quick. Maybe a pay only site for members that have been here less than 2 years and any new members need to pay in order to access this site. I would be willing to pay, but the members that have been around the longest are not the problems here. It's the new 14 y/o that wants to BS with his buds like Wings900 is his texting keypad. No no no. No more!!! If a person is serious about this hobby he will be willing to pay to play so to speak. I am sick of losing good friends. I don't want to lose anymore.

This a mature hobby and these models we collect are not play toys like a tonka truck. This site should reserved for mature, serious collectors with a true love for the hobby and aviation. Do something now W900 owners, or you will lose more good members and this site will be nothing more than a chat site for teenagers.

furryforest · 03-31-2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Wahoo

Maybe a pay only site for members that have been here less than 2 years and any new members need to pay in order to access this site. I would be willing to pay,

A good idea in my opinion. I'm sure the owners could put the funds to use or if they would rather, a W900 charity cause each year. I think it would weed out in excess of 95% of the problems. My only concern would be that some younger members do make a good contribution to the site and also accept constructive criticism. I would hope it would not deprive them of the opportunity of continuing on the site.

Ferihegy · 03-31-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by furryforest

A good idea in my opinion. I'm sure the owners could put the funds to use or if they would rather, a W900 charity cause each year. I think it would weed out in excess of 95% of the problems. My only concern would be that some younger members do make a good contribution to the site and also accept constructive criticism. I would hope it would not deprive them of the opportunity of continuing on the site.

Ok the payment option would work, it's perhaps not the best but nevertheless a very quick solution, although I welcome this idea, because it will STOP these kids absolutely right at the moment!
As for further plans, I would really suggest a sort of "test" (I mentioned that a few months before, when the first attack of nOObs took place), which could separate some of the "bad elements" from the good ones, because - as Furry said - there ARE DEFINATELY new members who are interested in this huge forum and also could become "seniors" one time in future.

Ferihegy · 03-31-2009, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rapleylikeba

1.
I suggest that a sticky thread in every forum section should be made, titled "New members, please read this before posting". It would contain forum rules and perhaps a user-licence-agreement styled system that will show new members signing up (old or young) that they may be suspended, temporarily or permanently (with a list saying you may be given chances) if they tresspass the terms and conditions and forum rules.

2.
A new forum section should be made containing reviews or information about model airplane retailers. This would stop people from creating threads that ask whether there are any good model retailers around a certain area. I think that any review or visiting of a shop should be put in this section.

3.
Get rid of the post caption things (I don't know what they're called). New members are probably trying to get as many posts onto Wings900 so they can "upgrade" from RJ Second Officer to RJ Captain or something. Get rid of it now! The post counter can be useful as it can be used as evidence in some way... I guess you'll figure out what I mean.

4.
Bring back the chatroom: there are sometimes times when a member justs wants to tell multiple members something, but "have" to end up making a thread about it.

5.
I think that there should be an increase on the amount of private messages you can have in your inbox. I know that this would mean an increase on the usage on the Wings900 server's hard drive, but there shouldn't be too much hard drive space taken up, and users can always delete their old messages in their inbox.

Those are my suggestions for now.

A few points:

1."New members, please read this before posting" DID you read what I've written? Only senior members here, so you already broke your idea...

2. They always would asking... As you did.

3. If you are serious, you don't give a damn about it.

4. You can chat with your small friends in the park, but not here.

5. Enough space for seniors.

CO777 · 03-31-2009, 02:15 PM

I see a few problems here. First of all there is absolutly no moderation. Maybe some of the "older" members are aible to help the owners keep this forum cleaner. I know Chris is trying it but its very difficult to do this job alone.
Next problem is the post counter. I hope we can turn this toy off. The number of posts says nothing about the quality of the content.

Personally I can't imagine to leave this forum because I met many many interesting people here and don't wanna miss them. I wish I could met some of you guys in real life some day.
What about an annual wings900 meeting somewhere on this planet? I think this will be funny!

kardar757 · 03-31-2009, 02:21 PM

I kind of like the pre-screening option. If a new member wants to join W900, ok fine, but they must first be approved by site admin or a mod. I would have them submit a short essay of sorts as to why they want to join the site and maybe have them answer a few questions. This may weed out a few as it would at the very least give the site admin an opportunity to see if there are any "red flags" that stick out in the registration process.

Just a thought!

kardar757 · 03-31-2009, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CO777/200

I see a few problems here. First of all there is absolutly no moderation. Maybe some of the "older" members are aible to help the owners keep this forum cleaner. I know Chris is trying it but its very difficult to do this job alone.
Next problem is the post counter. I hope we can turn this toy off. The number of posts says nothing about the quality of the content.

Personally I can't imagine to leave this forum because I met many many interesting people here and don't wanna miss them. I wish I could met some of you guys in real life some day.
What about an annual wings900 meeting somewhere on this planet? I think this will be funny!

Sounds good to me... how about Wahoo's place?

I'll bring the beer!

lufthansa340 · 03-31-2009, 02:45 PM

Echoing what has already been said... we need more active mods. If a few of the more established members were give the ability and responsibility of moderating the site continuously, I think that a good portion of the excess "fluff" and bandwidth wasting threads and three word posts could be done away with. I think that a certain degree of patience is in order when dealing with younger members... but enough is enough! Just my two cents.

n777co · 03-31-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CO777/200

What about an annual wings900 meeting somewhere on this planet? I think this will be funny!

Marshal, Kevin, Brian, and myself tried to get a Wings900 table at the Chicago Airline Collectables show a littl while back. We thought it would be cool to see some members new and old. Personally I think we should try to push the idea again because it one, gives us all a meeting place. Two, it is at a airline collectables show. Three, except for our non USA members it is located in a central city that is easaly accessable by both domestic and international because of both O'hare and Midway. I also think it would be funny and exciting to see 25- 30 people spotting at O'hare.

Personally I like a majority of the ideas listed above. I would also like to possibly see my idea go into effect (even if is wasn't in Chicago)

N1786B · 03-31-2009, 04:07 PM

Help us make this a better place? By starting this tread, you are helping us do just that!

Kardar, pre-screening won't do - we could charge admission as well, but that goes against our idea of an open community. Sure the nOObs are a pain (and I have had to hand red cards and spankings myself), but I invite EVERYBODY to become familiar with the ignore feature.

Lufthansa340, we already have more than 8 moderators and helpers. An interesting thing happens, very often, the heavier you moderate, the less interesting forums become. And Julian don't assume that we are not doing anything and we are not working behind the scenes. just because me, waffle, and todd don't join in every conversation, doesn't mean we are not here.

We have gone to shows (haven't seen you at the Paris and DUS show - see you in May?) and Boston/LA shows a while back. But we don't have the time and money to travel around the globe. Every cent made on advertising is spent on expenses....

Captain, please contact me @ jim@wings900.com

Thanks for the interesting thread guys!

- n1786b

Captain Wahoo · 03-31-2009, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n777co

Marshal, Kevin, Brian, and myself tried to get a Wings900 table at the Chicago Airline Collectables show a littl while back. We thought it would be cool to see some members new and old. Personally I think we should try to push the idea again because it one, gives us all a meeting place. Two, it is at a airline collectables show. Three, except for our non USA members it is located in a central city that is easaly accessable by both domestic and international because of both O'hare and Midway. I also think it would be funny and exciting to see 25- 30 people spotting at O'hare.

Personally I like a majority of the ideas listed above. I would also like to possibly see my idea go into effect (even if is wasn't in Chicago)

You forgot Carl. That's ok, he'll forgive you I'm sure!

Quote:

Originally Posted by N1786B

Help us make this a better place? By starting this tread, you are helping us do just that!

Kardar, pre-screening won't do - we could charge admission as well, but that goes against our idea of an open community. Sure the nOObs are a pain (and I have had to hand red cards and spankings myself), but I invite EVERYBODY to become familiar with the ignore feature.

Lufthansa340, we already have more than 8 moderators and helpers. An interesting thing happens, very often, the heavier you moderate, the less interesting forums become. And Julian don't assume that we are not doing anything and we are not working behind the scenes. just because me, waffle, and todd don't join in every conversation, don't assume we are not doing anything.

We have gone to shows (haven't seen you at the Paris and DUS show - see you in May?) and Boston/LA shows a while back. But we don't have the time and money to travel around the globe. Every cent made on advertising is spent on expenses....

Captain, please contact me @ jim@wings900.com

Thanks for the interesting thread guys!

- n1786b

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