Hello all,
I have been visiting this forum for roughly 5-6 years now, and I feel it neccesary to set the record straight over the state of this section of the ask the bachmann forums, as, over the past year or so, the quality of content being posted on here has plummeted. this is not aimed at anyone in particular, nor is it a series of orders that must be followed. this is a reminder of forum conduct, and some friendly advice on keeping this forum professional, and enjoyable for all involved. firstly, we all need to be reminded on how and when to reply to posts that others put up on any thread. it is not neccesary to include the quote of every person who has posted before you, every time you post. the purpose of the quote function is to adress a specific post or chat. the quote function should be used sparingly, and only when responding to a post that is relatively far back in the thread. secondly, some things are not neccesary to post at all. making a joke relating to the discussion is perfectly fine every once in a while, provided that it is accompanied by some piece of information that positively contributes to the discussion. making posts that are exactly the same as one another member posted is simply unnecessary, especially when it is in a post by itself. it does nothing to contribute to the forum, nor the thread it rests in. as I said, it is simply unnecessary. also relating to posts that people put on threads, excessive use of emoticons, entire posts written in caps, and over use of punctuation, such as exclamation points, are equally unnecessary. expressing excitement, frustration, or any other emotions being conveyed through a post can just as easily be put across using just one piece of puntuation, and emoticons used sparingly. Thirdly, any new threads started must cover a topic that cannot otherwise be discussed in a already existing thread. many threads have been started recently that are simply unnecessary. Finally, I think we need to remember what this forum is about in the first place. this forum exists so that people can discuss the bachmann thomas and friends range, the thomas and friends brand in general, and to share advice and modelling tips. nothing else. all to often threads go far off topic, and the point of the forum is lost. lets all remember why we're here in the first place. As I said, I am not pointing any fingers, and no one person is to blame for the forum going downhill. however, if we all simply try to stick to these guidelines, I think you will all find this forum an enjoyable and fun place to visit on the internet.
Thank you.
I wouldn't say the forum is "going downhill" and we all must remember most of the posters on here are under the age of 18 and don't all have the best typing skills. I will say there is so much random off-topicness and the quoting entire conversations gets very annoying, I was thinking the same thing about 15 minutes ago. It would be nice to see proper grammar on here, but it is the internet and everyone makes mistakes. You've made a few in your original post, you forgot to capitalize the first work in several of your sentences ;)
Fair enough, BillingsRR. The main point that I was trying to convery regarding grammar is the excessive use of punctuation and emoticons. The term "going downhill" could have been left out as well. My main point of my little rant was primarily to remind everyone to keep things proffesional, keeping threads on topc, and adressing some of the issues facing the forum at the moment.
I agree all with you on the emotions and punctuations as well, forgot to mention that.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The stuff above gets very annoying after the first ten times and takes up half of the posts :P
Exactly the point, and you can say that they are under 18 so can't be perfect but when we first joined we were not like this. The reason was for the older members that taught us the ways, now most are gone and the few that remain (including myself) grow tired of the constant stream of foolishness so post much less than we used to and in topic related to a SPECIFIC topic.
When I referred to the under 18 part, I was really referring to the 8-11 year olds who have accounts here. That is where most of the issues stated about come from.
Still the point remains. With no teachers foolishness and immaturity reign supreme.
Quote from: thomasj219 on April 19, 2011, 11:01:34 PM
Still the point remains. With no teachers foolishness and immaturity reign supreme.
. In many ways I agree with this statement. This is the main reason that I started this discussion in the first place; to remind the younger members on here of the fourm conduct and how to productively contribute here. Perhaps we as older members of this forum could assist in teaching this to these certain members and create a happy and productive environment in which information can be shared.
Perhaps, but not in the way of imposing strict rules, more a guiding hand.
Quote from: BillingsRR on April 19, 2011, 10:34:24 PM
When I referred to the under 18 part, I was really referring to the 8-11 year olds who have accounts here. That is where most of the issues stated about come from.
there's only user on the board who's under 11... ::)
Please refrain from pointing out specific forum members. You seem to be missing the whole point of this thread. Please go back and read my original post.
Quote from: fitzythe4p on April 19, 2011, 11:38:16 PM
Please refrain from pointing out specific forum members. You seem to be missing the whole point of this thread. Please go back and read my original post.
I get the point I was only saying there's only one user that age.. :P I'll modify my post
Quote from: AJW & OWS on April 19, 2011, 11:41:13 PM
Quote from: fitzythe4p on April 19, 2011, 11:38:16 PM
Please refrain from pointing out specific forum members. You seem to be missing the whole point of this thread. Please go back and read my original post.
I get the point I was only saying there's only one user that age.. :P I'll modify my post
and thats me!
I totally see the point here. I can't tell you how many times the past week I've yelled something at the screen when I've read some stupid coment or dumb joke. which Is why I'm debating on LEAVING.
The fact that we're in a Bachmann Thomas (toys) forum, I can safely assume that most of the members who will post are still under 18. Can you really expect a lot of the young people to understand a lot of how forums work, or even hold back on emoticons. I know I use one from time to time, but a lot of the younger members will tend you use them more often. They're just having fun. If you want the forum to be "professional", there would only be a group of older members on here.
Although mainly the Bachmann board for Thomas is for the toy range of Bachmann, and others, there is also a "everything Thomas" thread, which allows everyone to discuss anything they like about the Thomas series in general. I agree that all other Thomas topics should be just discussed in there, and not given a brand new thread - but if the moderators see a problem with the forums, I'm sure they would do something. I bet they're just excited to have a forum that is frequently visited every day :)
Like my work policy says "work hard, but have fun doing it" so don't turn this forum into a boring place, coz that will be it for me.
By "professional" I mean keeping threads on topic, and refraining from pointless posts and threads. I don't want to see the forum become a boring place any more than you do. I'm simply pointing out the things that most other members don't want to see. Things like arguements and discussions way off topic inside threads come to mind. As I said, making jokes and using emoticons is fine as long as things stay on topic. I fully understand that most members on here are under 18, myself included, however, there are forum rules of conduct, and the point of this thread is to remind people of them. As I said, these are guidelines, not orders
fitzythe4p is right we get off topic alot.
hey im not between 8-11 im older
Did I say everyone on here was 8-11, no. I said there are some users here who fall, and act like they are in, that age range. I didn't say any specific names etheir.
and lets not forget digging up old topics.
Quote from: BillingsRR on April 20, 2011, 07:44:09 PM
Did I say everyone on here was 8-11, no. I said there are some users here who fall, and act like they are in, that age range. I didn't say any specific names etheir.
ok sorry didn't mean to get over excited
Yeah, I would agree with everyone. We can really try our best to get everything on topic and "professional", but, remember, its the internet, not a press conference, or "publishing a book" type of writing. We do get off topic somewhat too much, but please do remember that we are here to enjoy what we talk about, and be "smart" whilst doing it. I was on here forever (2 years) and always wish that we had more members that would be more helpful, or less spamming, but we shouldnt hold to the past. Just help the future! Just my tidbit of information.
-Sodoradventures
I've had an account on this forum for several years, and honestly I can say we've seen this before. It's not surprising. In my opinion it's the constant regurgitation of spam, redundant threads/messages (widely regarding messages overflowing with emoticons and grammatical symbols), acting absolutely childish, the drama (which needs to be left where it belongs- which isn't here), and just pointless posts that are only good for post-counts. I don't want to say it's the youngsters' faults, but the dome fits. By all means it's not very difficult to uphold some sort of forum etiquette, it would help keep the forums more organized and friendlier. And some users need to be able to accept constructive criticism, not bark back with hostility.
Please, lets not start that again. It would defeat the entire purpose of this thread.
But another purpose of this thread is for people to admit and learn from their mistakes not pretend they never happened. As was the case in the matter a few months back, nothing was admitted to be wrong and that is a very important part of growing up. Again I have no problem with other members giving this kind of advice, I do however have a problem when they cant follow it themselves.
Oh ok, I get where you're coming from, but still, for the sake of peace, lets drop it.
Quote from: thomasj219 on April 21, 2011, 10:04:51 PM
Quote from: SodorAdventures on April 21, 2011, 03:04:35 PM
Yeah, I would agree with everyone. We can really try our best to get everything on topic and "professional", but, remember, its the internet, not a press conference, or "publishing a book" type of writing. We do get off topic somewhat too much, but please do remember that we are here to enjoy what we talk about, and be "smart" whilst doing it. I was on here forever (2 years) and always wish that we had more members that would be more helpful, or less spamming, but we shouldnt hold to the past. Just help the future! Just my tidbit of information.
-Sodoradventures
Although I agree with this statement, I find it extremely hypocritical coming from somebody who acted the way you did a few months ago.
Is it a bad thing for someone to try and learn from their mistakes?
Quote from: Sparks on April 21, 2011, 11:13:00 PM
Quote from: thomasj219 on April 21, 2011, 10:04:51 PM
Quote from: SodorAdventures on April 21, 2011, 03:04:35 PM
Yeah, I would agree with everyone. We can really try our best to get everything on topic and "professional", but, remember, its the internet, not a press conference, or "publishing a book" type of writing. We do get off topic somewhat too much, but please do remember that we are here to enjoy what we talk about, and be "smart" whilst doing it. I was on here forever (2 years) and always wish that we had more members that would be more helpful, or less spamming, but we shouldnt hold to the past. Just help the future! Just my tidbit of information.
-Sodoradventures
Although I agree with this statement, I find it extremely hypocritical coming from somebody who acted the way you did a few months ago.
Is it a bad thing for someone to try and learn from their mistakes?
Well, I havent been acting like that since. And wait? I never get off topic!
Heres my opinion...IF YOU THINK IT WILL BE A WASTE TO POST IT ON THE FORUM OR THINK IT IS STUPID, DO NOT POST IT! MAKE PEACE NOT WAR!
How about we just think before we post.
Believe me, it's much, much easier than it sounds.