Handling "fish"

[DrLove'sKuDang]

**IMO**


there should be a lockout when you first sign up. you should have to do, say 20 searches before you are allowed to post anything. maybe learn a few things before posting dumbass shit thats been answered in 50 other threads.

or some sort of probation period, like at a job... within the first month you do stupid shit(eg. not searching), you're fired. technically you dont even need to give them a reason within the probation period, you can just let them go.



its nice to give everyone the freedom, but some people just shouldnt have it. im not being a dick, just honest. at this rate every thread will be about "double clutching" or "is my accord 4x114?"

[williamsvt]

makes pretty good sense, i think its a pretty good idea

[XLR Azn]

On the Ninja250 forum, you can't become an official member unless a moderator gives you that status. You must apply to become a real member by giving them your email address. They track your posts and see if they're relevant to the board as a whole. Then If they see you really contribute something useful to the forums like useful info or good questions, they give you access to having a profile and stuff like that.

[deevergote]

I hear ya... unfortunately, there's no way to enforce anything like that without making the moderators be total dicks. We all ask stupid questions from time to time... the noobs just need to learn. Honestly, if some ass comes on here and asks a question that's been answered a million times, direct him to the answer... you don't have to be a jerk, but you don't have to spoon-feed him either. Remember, if we treat the noobs like they're crap, they'll grow up to be jerks themselves... once that happens, we're Honda-Tech.

[DrLove'sKuDang]

I hear ya... unfortunately, there's no way to enforce anything like that without making the moderators be total dicks. We all ask stupid questions from time to time... the noobs just need to learn. Honestly, if some ass comes on here and asks a question that's been answered a million times, direct him to the answer... you don't have to be a jerk, but you don't have to spoon-feed him either. Remember, if we treat the noobs like they're crap, they'll grow up to be jerks themselves... once that happens, we're Honda-Tech.

that is true. i guess there is no perfect way to deal with the situation. ive just noticed it alot lately... i also heard a mention of it in another thread... about how there has been a recent flood of noobs. but recently, more than usual, the "link finding king", el, has had time to do nothing but post links for those that choose not to search. it must get tiring.


an example, of myself being a noob. i recently joined a forum dedicated to cell phone modding, etc. to me its just common sense to search before posting. alot of times youll find your answer in less time than it would take to post and wait for someone to respond. especially if its a question thats been done to death, most senor members will just ignore you. which is then lead by the daily bump or "anyone know anything?" ... gets old.

[Shippo]

Posting and you

That flash helps alot if people would watch this and obey these simple rules, even though its for Steam forum.

Sure some noobs may never have searched, but its not helpful to insult them and may just cause even worse problems. (that applies on almost any forum.)

[Dv8]

handling fish:
-make sure you wear gloves
-generally easier to hold with fingers in the gills
-generally easier to manage when dead
-can be held by the tail, but they tend to be like a giant booger, REALLY SLICK
-if all else fails jab a meat hook through the side of their head
-with the meat hook control is easily obtained

you started it.

is my accord 5 or 6 bolt wait maybe an 8...

[deevergote]

Everyone who wants to jump on a noob should sign up on a forum that deals with something they know NOTHING about. Honestly, if you join a forum with one idea in your head, it's hard to find exactly what you want without knowing much to back it up.

For example, I joined a Hyundai forum last year. I wanted to research a 4G63 swap into a Hyundai. That's all I wanted to know, and I knew very little about the cars other than the possibility of that swap. I searched, and found little in the "how to" category... basically, every conversation about the swap in ANY Hyundai ended in "yeah, you can do that". Now, the forum is very well designed, but they don't have the helpful stickies that we have here. Searching got me no answers that were to my liking. I made a thread... I didn't get flamed, but I also didn't get much in the way of answers then either! I'm finally getting somewhere (I just recently went back). Sometimes, you need to ask the questions that have been run into the ground already. If you don't know much about the platform, do you even know what you're searching for?

[deevergote]

If you see a thread that says "will a Prelude engine fit in my car?" you have a choice. Open it and get pissed, or ignore it. That one little line of text isn't hurting you. If someone wants to answer the question, let them. In the future, when someone who DOES have the sense to search comes across it, they may find their answer. I can't tell you how many threads on Honda-Tech I've gone through... 5-6 page threads... where NOTHING worthwhile was said. If I was a noob and I searched and got nothing but 10 threads dealing with my question that were filled with no information (just a bunch of flaming) I would ask the question too!

Ricky is right. People ARE that stupid. There's nothing we can do about it. We could put them on a probationary period, but why? Who's to say the moderators are qualified to decide who's cool enough to be here? I'd rather just have them keep the fighting and offensive material to a minimum... This isn't an exclusive community. We all started somewhere, and believe it or not, people are still starting. Not everyone is a CB7 whiz... or a forum whiz... or even a computer whiz! But all of those people could potentially bring something valuable to this community. I remember a time when excalibur02 was just a kid with a carbon-stained bumper and a sad stock CB7. I remember when cpmike's most impressive work was his LED dashboard conversion. I remember when Hondafan81 said "I just work on my parents' cars to keep them running"... Yeah, people grow. None of those guys started as "idiots"... but who knows?

[deevergote]

i'm a member of venomousreptiles.org and knew nothing from the onset
i'm a member of howardforums.com and knew nothing from the onset
i'm a member of motorolafans.com and knew nothing from the onset
i'm a member of bluelight.nu/ and knew less than i though i did
i'm a member of clublexus.com and knew nothing about LEXUS from the onset
etc.........

it's not common practice for some of us to ask first, search second.......if i'm looking for something, after a few hours, i usually find it.......not everyone wants to put that much effort into something, so no matter how it's spun, we spoonfeed lazy members.......we say it's ok with our actions.......elliot's linking doesn't make them wanna find anything on their own either.......starting a fight with them either makes them wanna comply or leave, and what's wrong with that.......who cares about our member count

I don't care about member count... but when people start fighting for GOOD reasons, other people start fighting for stupid reasons. Like you said, common sense isn't exactly prominent here. Yeah, maybe yelling at someone for asking a stupid question IS justified. But when someone comes on and asks something legit, you KNOW some smartass will unload on him.

For example, the 6 speed H22 thread in the swaps forum right now. Yeah, that's not a new topic, and it's not exactly something we expect to be intelligent... However, the worthwhile posts in that thread bring to light some ideas that not many people have considered. Ideas that didn't surface in any of the other 6 speed threads that I've seen. Would telling that guy he's a total moron for even thinking that make anything better? Now, when someone DOES search for "6 speed H22" they might come across that thread and get some ideas. If they found nothing but fighting, it would be worthless... and you know what? You'd get "I searched, but I didn't find anything... can you put a 6 speed transmission on an H22?"... then it begins again.

I'd rather have the same topic covered 5 times in 5 different ways. Eventually, the information will be conveyed in a fashion that will answer people's quesitons properly.

[deevergote]

You know I always enjoy a good argument Ricky! Plus, regardless of the irritatingness, you often provide good points. I will say that no matter how hard I fight against your views at times, I often check my own ideas against them.

And, going right along with that...

I'm not saying flaming in stupid threads is OK. I'm saying that if it were kept to a uniform level, it could be acceptable...But that's impossible. It's not the occasional flame that I'm so against, but the spread of that mentality. When someone comes into a thread, especially a tech thread, and flames (the experienced, respected people especially) people tend to see that and think it's ok. Next thing you know, there is flaming EVERYWHERE. You remember Mick, right? We allowed his crap because he had asperger's syndrome. We figured we couldn't pick on a socially inept person, so we tried to take it easy. Both you and I tried to take him under our wing at times. What did we get? Not just Mick terrorizing the board, but a general downfall in the overall vibe of the board. Everyone was more prone to flaming. They saw it, saw that it was allowed, and they did it. The warning system I implemented became worthless... and too hard to keep up with. Honestly, your ban now and ask questions later method became the default for moderation (and it still is in many ways). Because of that, flaming is NOT allowed. Some of the ruder comments have to be tolerated simply because of the "nazi" issue... we have to allow SOME things... but direct attacks, especially with no helpful information included, usually result in some sort of action.

If a thread has no relavent info, it's usually deleted. However, if the question is valid, we often leave it simply because SOMEONE could offer some good info. One worthwhile post in the crappiest thread could answer someone's question down the line. If so, it's worth keeping around. It's too much work for the mods to go weeding through the threads taking out worthless posts... as long as the thread isn't totally shot, they can stay. The retaliation factor is also an issue (did you see anything from "extasys wrath" recently? Yeah, warnings and a one day ban resulted in that...) I'd rather not have to mess with people unless they HAVE to be messed with, and even then I like to keep it minimal... or permanent.

The mods DO decide who stays and goes, but based on conduct only. Stupidity is no reason to be denied membership. If you want to address the beaten-to-death issue of scammers as well... I don't care about that. An internet transaction goes two ways. Scammers suck, and should die a horrible death. But someone who willingly sends money to a faceless person on the other side of the country because they drive a similar car is taking a chance. Sure, they don't deserve to get screwed, but if they do, they should understand why.
If I had a herd of stupid sheep to care for, and one of those sheep went too close to the woods and got eaten by a wolf, I would say it sucked for the sheep. But I wouldn't go into the woods hunting the wolf! I'd do my best to protect the remaining sheep so it doesn't happen again.


Knowledge level often DOES mean nothing on the internet. It's all about who can yell the loudest, and talk the most. Again, if I blow up my car because Maple says I can run a 150 shot with a 20 degree timing advance, that's on me. I took that advice.
Those who deserve respect here get it from those who understand what they have to say. Those who don't understand experience go by post count, popularity, or witty remarks. I honestly don't care. I don't care to have followers. I don't care if hukkduphondakkrd blows up his motor because he ignored the advice of some knowledgable member with 200 posts... It's how it is. Nothing to get bent out of shape about.


Plus, people learn differently. Some don't understand things unless they've worked through the concept themselves. Reading someone else's conversation may give 30% of the answers... they may need to ask more questions, even if they're the same questions rephrased.

If someone asks a stupid question, just ignore it if you don't want to help (everybody, not just Ricky... he usually helps anyway). It'll eventually just sink to the bottom, where nobody has to see it ever again.