Where Have All The Good Posters Gone? Anyone Else Noticed?

[Penelope Stopit]

I now understand why many of the knowledgeable posters no longer give this section the time of day
On the one hand you have people posting more and more garbage on subjects that they obviously don't know much about.
On the other hand those with the knowledge are pissed off with all this crap and have moved on
The idiots are destroying what could be a good forum and there doesn't seem to be any techy moderators to sort the crap out from the good
Another big problem is that the idiots will continue posting crap and keep attempting to piss people off
The reality of it is that the idiots are causing much damage here and the moderators are unable to grasp whats going on
Personally I don't agree with censoreship or the moderating of forums but as this forum is moderated I also don't agree with the fact that idiots are being given a free reign here and those good contributors seem to be moving away
A sad state of affairs

Has anyone else noticed a decline here?

[one eyed mick]

+1 its full of wanabees ok I have 50+ years of experience on the tools ,race ,rally build ,mods, tracked vehicles,lawn mowers to kit cars but the depth of no knowledge amazes me

[chryslerben]

Penelope Stopit said:

I now understand why many of the knowledgeable posters no longer give this section the time of day
On the one hand you have people posting more and more garbage on subjects that they obviously don't know much about.
On the other hand those with the knowledge are pissed off with all this crap and have moved on
The idiots are destroying what could be a good forum and there doesn't seem to be any techy moderators to sort the crap out from the good
Another big problem is that the idiots will continue posting crap and keep attempting to piss people off
The reality of it is that the idiots are causing much damage here and the moderators are unable to grasp whats going on
Personally I don't agree with censoreship or the moderating of forums but as this forum is moderated I also don't agree with the fact that idiots are being given a free reign here and those good contributors seem to be moving away
A sad state of affairs

Has anyone else noticed a decline here?

Agreed I've offered advise in the past to then be continually shut down by people telling me I don't know what I'm talking about. All bar the fact I'm a manufactuer and ATA master tech, have worked in motorsport, dealerships, independants and direct for manufactuers and still work for a (undisclosed) manufacturer in an (undisclosed) role.

It just leaves me thinking why bother?

[Little Pete]

I've browsed the site for years but I decided to join because I was amazed/dismayed at the amount of bad advice being given to posters by people who obviously have no idea. I figured with 35 years in all forms of motor engineering, I could be of some help. B&@&r me though it can be frustrating!
It does become easier to spot the posters who are genuine from the ones who are bored or just trolling but they are in the minority unfortunately.

[paintman]

It's the same across all the forums & not just PH.
Entering any question into Google usually produces a plethora of sites purporting to have the answer & the advice ranges from excellent to drivel.
The posters that do know eventually get fed up being told they are wrong by the know-nothings and just don't bother any more.
There are those that do know but don't tolerate fools at all & aren't afraid to say so which upsets the fool who runs off whinging to the mods/admin & that sometimes results in the wrong person being banned.

[Gojira]

To a large extent, the internet has been like that for all the 20+ years I've been on it....

The good thing about the internet is that everyone has a voice, and the bad thing is -also- that everyone has a voice.

I tend to read a heck of a lot more than I post, and I really appreciate the effort that most of the posters here put into explaining things!

[PaulKemp]

I am one who benefits from the experience of others.
I have noticed the banning of experienced posters and got close myself when I sought freedom of speech.
A plea from me, I appreciate the knowledge and time you give for free, all car forums need the experience of the old & wise the only caveat is that there are also those that are young and wise.
Keep posting please as that could just encourage others to learn and in turn become the wise of the future.
All forums suffer from those who moan winger and proper false wisdom, these are the people we hear, I speak for those you don't hear but who are most greatful

[Penelope Stopit]

Interesting replies here, I have learnt a little
I posted this not long after reading a locked topic about a very experienced engine man being banned from here
The reason I posted this is because I have noticed a decline in good info being posted recently and more idiotic posts appearing, having taken a look at who was not posting as much as usual, I then searched Google for a PH posters name that hadn't appeared here recently and ended up here at the locked topic about the banning of Puma the engine man
I am well and truly cheesed off that knowledgeable posters are leaving or being banned from here when the idiot posters will happily get someone banned or take pleasure in messing about on here day in day out
Such is life hey, lets hope things pick up in the not too distant future
Please all of you, keep posting

[227bhp]

To be fair, there haven't been many juicy posts for the experts to get stuck into lately, I was going to reply to the honing and gasket ones, but just couldn't be arsed, luckily someone did post what I couldn't be bothered to and at least the OP in the honing thread took note. The OP of the long rod topic never even bothered coming back. Personally i'm self employed, if I'm posting on here i'm not earning.

I raised the point a month or two ago in the feedback forum that this section needs separating into amateur and advanced or something similar, but that is difficult as there isn't a moderator with enough technical knowledge to know the difference between the two. There shouldn't be someone asking about how to change the oil on a Micra on the same page as valve angles and port velocity.

[ZaphodBeeblebrox1]

The moderators certainly don't make it easy for those with the requisite knowledge to keep posting on here. However everything is driven by money I suppose, i.e. number of posts and clicks on advertising, and I expect that the number of threads and posts in the technical section is almost immaterial compared to those in the general sections where everyone and his dog can have a say without having to know anything useful at all.

When the moderators disregard the wishes of the vast majority of long standing members about a petty triviality then you have to assume they don't give a damn about technical content, just money.

The problem with that to those whose mission in life has been to educate and inform so that people don't spend their money unwisely is it's hard to watch posters who really need help and good advice suffer because the moderators won't let those with the knowledge help them. I really don't think the people who run this site actually even deserve to have credentialed experts spend their valuable time helping others but it's very difficult to see problems crying out for help and not be able to provide that.

As has been said above, one of the main problems is people not knowing whose opinions to trust. Long standing posters with recognised expertise can be trusted, at least I hope to some extent, but when that long standing is taken away you lose the credibility and then it just boils down to number of opinions one way or the other. A complete lottery.

They may eventually kill the technical section altogether if they carry on like this but it won't affect the total number of clicks too much and therefore their revenue I guess. If there was an alternative site to help people on I'd go there in an instant.

You can probably count the total number of people who really contribute to the technical section on the fingers of both hands. That's a very small pool to draw on but at least there are a few with expertise in electrics, electronics, general engine theory, gas flow, machining etc but every one you lose from that pool is a big slice of the total.

[Penelope Stopit]

Zapho
Good post this one, it makes a lot of sense, I never considered the money side of things and moderators not being too concerned about idiots posting here
Yes, splitting the forum up a little would certainly help, the idiots could be kept at bay
I hope you enjoy your stay here and are able to contribute in solving some techy problems for those that need help
A word of warning, if you are of much knowledge and get pissed off with idiots posting here, be very careful with how you react to those idiots.
For some unknown reason, the idiots have a free reign here and the techies are liable to be warned off if reacting to those idiots in the wrong manner

[ZaphodBeeblebrox1]

Penelope Stopit said:

I hope you enjoy your stay here and are able to contribute in solving some techy problems for those that need help.

Can't see this sign on lasting long - lol.

Penelope Stopit said:

A word of warning, if you are of much knowledge and get pissed off with idiots posting here, be very careful with how you react to those idiots.

The moderators have made their position clear. Newbies coming in and posting nonsense are fine but technically experienced people with 10 plus years of service over thousands of posts are banned in an instant and pursued to the death. C'est la vie.

[Penelope Stopit]

ZaphodBeeblebrox1 said:

Penelope Stopit said:

I hope you enjoy your stay here and are able to contribute in solving some techy problems for those that need help.

Can't see this sign on lasting long - lol.

Penelope Stopit said:

A word of warning, if you are of much knowledge and get pissed off with idiots posting here, be very careful with how you react to those idiots.

The moderators have made their position clear. Newbies coming in and posting nonsense are fine but technically experienced people with 10 plus years of service over thousands of posts are banned in an instant and pursued to the death. C'est la vie.

ZaphodBeeblebrox He is from a planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and is a "semi-half-cousin" of Ford Prefect, with whom he "shares three of the same mothers". Because of "an accident with a contraceptive and a time machine", his direct ancestors from his father are also his direct descendants

Surely being related to a Ford Prefect will give you a good start

[ZaphodBeeblebrox1]

Penelope Stopit said:

Zapho

I hope you enjoy your stay here and are able to contribute in solving some techy problems for those that need help

I am from Barthelona. I know notheeng about engine technical. But I hav a leetle friend who know some theengs. Maybe if he is tempted with nice cheese on interesting questions he come out of his burrow and he try to answer. But he very scared now. Cat always pounce on he when he come out of his leetle burrow so he stay in burrow, safe and warm.

[Boosted LS1]

ZaphodBeeblebrox1 said:

Penelope Stopit said:

Zapho

I hope you enjoy your stay here and are able to contribute in solving some techy problems for those that need help

I am from Barthelona. I know notheeng about engine technical. But I hav a leetle friend who know some theengs. Maybe if he is tempted with nice cheese on interesting questions he come out of his burrow and he try to answer. But he very scared now. Cat always pounce on he when he come out of his leetle burrow so he stay in burrow, safe and warm.