NAMers engage in what Thorstein Veblen called "conspicuous consumption," which is the deliberate purchase of extravagant items to impress others. Veblen argued that “conspicuous consumption" often led to "conspicuous waste." His theory helps explain much of what is wrong with NAM and the Mini aftermarket. Understandably, much of modern advertising is built upon a Veblenian notion of consumption.

 

As others have said, if members or moderators call someone out about a post, my only concern is that the thread gets sidetracked by that. If the offending poster does not agree, or simply doesn't care what others feel, and it turns into a pissing match, how does that help anything.

Mark

 

Mark,

I get the impression you're worried you might be overmoderating, and this is far from the case.

If you 'deputize' the entire community, threads will become rife with forum vigilantes, and things will rapidly get out of hand. I think the 'report post' link is the best way to point out infractions of the rules. Unless this link has been overused I don't see where another method would be an improvement.

James

 

Of all of the many sites that I visit, NAM is one of the nicest communities.

I think that the current guidelines contribute a lot towards the over-all drama-free experience that is NAM.

As was mentioned elsewhere the R56 has, to an extent, divided the community and in many ways this is bad - but I am not sure that I have an easy answer to that one. There are some that love it, some for which it is their first MINI experience and others that have varying degrees of negativity towards it.

As with others, I am an OT lizard, I stray out of there when I see an interesting topic pop up on the side-bar but generally I am ot as active elsewhere. In thinking about that, I realise that there is simply too many topics that interest me to be able to cover them. Conversely there are way too many sub-forums to be able to effectively monitor them, so I am stuck

My possible solution would be to create a view that somehow allows me to monitor some forums and totally ignore the ones that I am not interested in, maybe even go as far as to choose which ones new / updated topics appear in the side bar.

Perhaps NAM is simply a victim of its own success ?

 

Max, did you know you can subscribe to any thread that's of interest to you. Click on 'thread tools' above, or respond to a thread and you are automagically subscribed.

Then just click on CP or Contol Panel, and up pops a list of subscribed threads with recent posts. Click on the title in that list then 'view first unread' to get you to the spot you last left off.

This message brought to you by Cooooooookies

 

Yes - that is at a thread level - I however I am thinking more along the lines of a sub-fora level

ie. Subscribe to General Mini Talk, CooperS mods, Photography and OT

and essentially collapse the other fora in some kind of techno view ability

 

you can subscribe to a forum too, unless that's disabled here which I'd doubt

edit - nope...works fine - /forum tools/subscribe

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...scription&f=13

 

Don't get me mixed up with Mark F. I'm lotsie, my name just happens to be Mark also, and I include it ever thing I post on NAM

Mark

 

I was wondering about that. My apologies. It was the other Mark that I was addressing (or at least his posts).

Jas. Cooper (real name)
Coopersburg, PA (real town)
MINI Cooper S (real car)

 

No problem

Mark

 

OYJEY.



J/K

 

I, and the other mods, are open to some leeway. That said, I've seen you specifically in the past, attempt to drive threads off-topic by interjecting comments that are just posted to "tweak noses" enough that the original discussion point is forgotten. There is a big difference between the the ebb and flow of a conversation and appearing to purposely attempt to drive it off-topic. Again, I'm fine with some leeway but if it appears that this is being abused then don't be surprised when moderation action is taken. Just like free speech, it has to be used with a degree of responsibility.

Mark

 

I like this rule since it protects the site from liability and the members from potential legal ramifications if a member of law-enforcement were to take interest in their actions. On the Autobahn is potentially legally where's on I-95 is definitely not, also I'm sure a few NAMers are state troopers while few, if any, are Polizie. If you were talking about being caught and cited for street-racing (whether you were or not) that's a bit different, in that case you experience can serve as a lesson for others and you can't be found guilty of the same crime twice. I haven't really seen the street-racing threads or excessive speed threads too much on NAM since it doesn't have as many "Kill-stories" as some other message boards do. This rule on NAM is spot on.

And sorry if earlier I scared people with my "big-brother" admin tactics, the background checks and google searches are reserved for members who either threaten other members, or post something that strongly resembles a scam (like the 16 year old selling a Supra for $6000) I don't randomly select a member on this other site to investigate.

 

Mark, I resent that. I have never tried to intentionally drive a thread off-topic. I have seen people take personal shots, or make post that were clearly in conflict with the sites guidelines. When taken in the context of the discussion and the posters "affiliation" on many occasions it seemed like the intent was to lock the thread, or to provoke other members with the same intent of getting the thread locked. Feel free to post examples of my posts that you though were inappropriate. If I was wrong they can serve to educate myself and others as to what it is considered "derailing a thread".

 

one area that could use a bit more moderation is the For Sale posts. We have all see how some people will post in a For Sale thread offering absolutely nothing or even going after the person selling the goods.

I don't have an issue with someone advising the seller they may have priced an item to high so long as they can provide information to back it up. I recently offered some tires for sale and offered a discount off what I had paid. I did not research current pricing. Another person pointed to a site and said they are X less then I was asking at the site. Thats fine, I thanked the person, lowered my price and sold the tires. Those are great, it helps to keep the market in check. I think we all know the posts that disrupt the Marketplace. It's those posts that should be removed and the person responsible should be reprimanded.

 

agreed. the issue is some people feel it's their responsibility to grap on threads. it's even been said here in this very thread... 'a buyer's market', as if that's justification for uninvolved parties to critique the asking price.

 

I've actually purchased some new software that will hopefully address some of the issues we have with the current forum-based marketplace. Right now I'm intending not to allow follow up comments/posts for marketplace postings since I believe its up to the user to decide if they wish to purchase and not their responsibility to educate everyone. That said if they are truly interested in your item then they will private message the seller and let them know about market rate. I doubt that people will be as snotty in that kind of communication versus just posting something nasty as a reply.

 

Sorry...I thought you were open to feedback just like I am Like your perceptions of me, my perceptions have been built on the posts I've seen on the site and elsewhere. They may not be always accurate but its what we both have. Regardless let me look back through some of your posts and I'll provide some examples of what I mean.

Mark

 

I am open to feedback. Otherwise I would not ask you to quote me as an example. I do think there are plenty of others that could also could be quoted, though. However, what happens on other sites should have no baring on what happens here. Different field, different rules, different game.

 

In general it doesn't. However when I see posts elsewhere that indicate an intent to derail things, anger people, etc. it provides an insight into what has gone on within the forums of NAM.

One thing I want to emphasize is that I'd like to get past all of this with you and am trying to speak very frankly with you about the problems I feel have occurred on the site. I often see humor in your posts and I think you are interested in the MINI otherwise you wouldn't waste your time here. My hope is that we can find a way for you to be a part of the larger community (if you want to be) without driving away the fellow enthusiasts that may not be tuned into your type of humor and posting style.

Mark

 

Yeah... I had a marketplace post get crapped and trolled... and when I attempted to kick the troll... I was the one who got slapped. A mod stepping in could have avoided the whole situation... but such was not the case.

 

I am all for letting bygones be bygones. You are absolutely right, I am interested in the Mini community. To an extent. As I've said before, I don't think there is anything wrong in having a spirited discussion. I do always try not to take personal shots, or call people names, etc (at the advice of one of the NAM adimns, I might add). But when the same courtesy is not granted and punishment dolled out by the admins is not even handed, the rules become harder to follow.

As for my humor and posting style, it is not for everyone. Even though I save my best for those other forums. But that is why I like and endorse the ignore button. In my opinion that is a adult way of dealing with opinions and posts one might find objectionable. I feel that the "report a post feature" should be used for the worst of the offenses: threats, harassment, etc. If you simply don't like what another member has to say, just add them to the ignore list. I believe a little education by the mods to the general membership (specifically those who like to complain) about forum features available to them would go a long way.

I came back into this discussion at indigo03's urging. Perhaps he thought I might have something to contribute. If my opinions do not gel with your vision of NAM I completely understand.

 

You really think that turning Marketplace into an ebay 'highest bidder' (via PM) format is the best thing for NAM? Will the moderators then have the job of enforcing the 'post an asking price' guideline? It seems there are plenty of places where people can sell their goods without comment. Will we then be open to the endless 'turbonator' and 'mileage increasing magnets' products?
I guess I just see the helpful:non-helpful ratio as too high to justify changing the format. One NAMmer's opinion.

edit: gnaster's own experience shows that there is value for both buyers and sellers in allowing respectful (as in all forums) comments. The alternative is for his wheels to go unsold, or to ask in the wheels forum what a reasonable asking price might be.

 

Who is manufacturing this 'mileage increasing magnets'? Where is it being made?

couldn't help myself.

 

On nemini.org, each user has a karma rating where you can either 'applaud' or 'smite' another poster, and give your reasons for doing so. It's probably a feature of the software they use, but often provides a good idea of who to pay attention to and who to avoid.

As far as staying on topic, I almost thought I posted on the wrong thread when I read the previous post.