Are the GP Threads genuine discussions?
Discussion
As my title really, there are some knowledgable, funny, and opinionated posts.
But everyone I have tried to follow seems to degenerate into a wind up TOM TVR sessions (sorry tom I know there are others but your bites stand out a mile).
Why are the arguments so cyclical? Oh and when will F1 fans start having meets near a pub away from the stadium to settle scores a'la football factory?
But everyone I have tried to follow seems to degenerate into a wind up TOM TVR sessions (sorry tom I know there are others but your bites stand out a mile).
Why are the arguments so cyclical? Oh and when will F1 fans start having meets near a pub away from the stadium to settle scores a'la football factory?
heebeegeetee said:
People like Tom ruin the threads. It's got nothing to do with who you support, but those like Tom are just trolls who have no respect, no interest in the sport and only come here to spoil things. He should be banned. He is just a nutter who has a complete Lewis fixation.
I think you will find that all i want to do is discuss the racing. If you actually paid attention to the discussion you will find i never have a go at anyone until they have a go at me. Infact even today there was a time where a number of people turned up, had a go at me and then left without any mention of the racing. Your problem is that you dont like my POV so i should be banned. Perhaps i should be sent to the gas chamber?
ETA: who the f
k are you to tell me i have no interest in the racing? 
Edited by tomTVR on Monday 13th October 00:25
tomTVR said:
heebeegeetee said:
People like Tom ruin the threads. It's got nothing to do with who you support, but those like Tom are just trolls who have no respect, no interest in the sport and only come here to spoil things. He should be banned. He is just a nutter who has a complete Lewis fixation.
I think you will find that all i want to do is discuss the racing. If you actually paid attention to the discussion you will find i never have a go at anyone until they have a go at me. Infact even today there was a time where a number of people turned up, had a go at me and then left without any mention of the racing. Your problem is that you dont like my POV so i should be banned. Perhaps i should be sent to the gas chamber?
ETA: who the f
k are you to tell me i have no interest in the racing? 
Edited by tomTVR on Monday 13th October 00:25
There are other Ferrari fans around but they don't defend anything and everything about the FIA/Ferrari even in the face of 100% common sense. Lighten up and realise that not everyone is ganging up on you, you're provoking it.

chris_w666 said:
As my title really, there are some knowledgable, funny, and opinionated posts.
But everyone I have tried to follow seems to degenerate into a wind up TOM TVR sessions (sorry tom I know there are others but your bites stand out a mile).
Why are the arguments so cyclical? Oh and when will F1 fans start having meets near a pub away from the stadium to settle scores a'la football factory?
I think they degenerate beacuse they actually reflect the divergence of support for motorsport and support for drivers/teams and tell a story in their own right. I find ITV's pro-Hamilton coverage as unpleasant as I find certain FanBoy's pro-Ferrari short-sightedness highly amusing. Personally I follow no individual driver or team, but I HAVE to pull people up when they are clearly being illogical and ignorant, whoever they support.But everyone I have tried to follow seems to degenerate into a wind up TOM TVR sessions (sorry tom I know there are others but your bites stand out a mile).
Why are the arguments so cyclical? Oh and when will F1 fans start having meets near a pub away from the stadium to settle scores a'la football factory?
However, I agree with your sentiment and will attempt to not prod FanBoys for the fun of it. It just makes them feel important and encourages them, a bit like kids at their own birthday party.
As I heard once, "don't try to argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience"
mikee boy said:
As I heard once, "don't try to argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience"
How true! I get put off reading the threads by the contstant b
hing and bickering between a few people. I find the lack of ability of some people to have any objective thought quite frustrating so I just don't read them once they get to that point. Yesterday was interesting as the discussions in the morning (live race) and I think until after the ITV replay were really good, there were people who disagreed with each other but they managed to debate this in a sensible fashion...then the thread went downhill and I didn't bother to read any more.
I think that Tom has discovered the golden rule of forums: if you are argumentative/controversial you get noticed. If you say 'Hamilton robbed by the FIA' everyone is in agreement. However, a 'Hamilton deserves it' it is guaranteed to get some animated responses.
It's one way to get people to talk to you, though a little sad really.

It's one way to get people to talk to you, though a little sad really.

The internet forum seems to be unique in the respect of the OP's title.
If you go to any motor race you can stand with any group which supports a team/driver different to the ones you do and you'll be welcomed. You'll be able to disagree with them, take the mickey gently and they'll do the same. I've got a group of mates who are keen on F1 and only two support the same driver (Kimi) and two support the same team (McLaren). Yet we get along.
I spent two days at Donington camped opposite the Mercedes hospitality area for a WSC 6-hour race and actually bought a Jaguar flag to fly right outside their entrance. We used to take the mickey out of them and they used to treat us to all sorts of cat calls. But we had breakfast with them and were invited, more demanded, to the the post race celebrations - they won. We were both given Mercedes T-shirts (unworn. Going cheap).
Before the advent of forums all enthusiasts seemed to be enthusiasts for the sport first. I have no idea why it has changed. I'm still like I've always been and have the interests of the sport at heart and not a specific team. But at the circuits it is all different.
Of course, the above does not apply to Ferrari supporters.
If you go to any motor race you can stand with any group which supports a team/driver different to the ones you do and you'll be welcomed. You'll be able to disagree with them, take the mickey gently and they'll do the same. I've got a group of mates who are keen on F1 and only two support the same driver (Kimi) and two support the same team (McLaren). Yet we get along.
I spent two days at Donington camped opposite the Mercedes hospitality area for a WSC 6-hour race and actually bought a Jaguar flag to fly right outside their entrance. We used to take the mickey out of them and they used to treat us to all sorts of cat calls. But we had breakfast with them and were invited, more demanded, to the the post race celebrations - they won. We were both given Mercedes T-shirts (unworn. Going cheap).
Before the advent of forums all enthusiasts seemed to be enthusiasts for the sport first. I have no idea why it has changed. I'm still like I've always been and have the interests of the sport at heart and not a specific team. But at the circuits it is all different.
Of course, the above does not apply to Ferrari supporters.
Derek Smith said:
Of course, the above does not apply to Ferrari supporters.
Derek, I agree but I would extend that to any fervent supporters. There's a lot of frustration involved in trying to make the partial see reason beyond their impartiality, and then it gets personal. I now just regard them the PistonHeads Village idiots who ignore logic. A bit like 'church' vs 'science'. The church used to believe that the universe revolved around the earth. Some idiots believe that the sport relolves around their driver/team.
mikee boy said:
Derek Smith said:
Of course, the above does not apply to Ferrari supporters.
Derek, I agree but I would extend that to any fervent supporters. There's a lot of frustration involved in trying to make the partial see reason beyond their impartiality, and then it gets personal. I now just regard them the PistonHeads Village idiots who ignore logic. A bit like 'church' vs 'science'. The church used to believe that the universe revolved around the earth. Some idiots believe that the sport relolves around their driver/team.
I've got to apologise. My last line was a cheap shot. It's that temptation thingee. The problem is I enjoy taking cheap shots.
But I agree. It's the sport that matters. I'm not a big supporter of any individual driver as they are just passing through. I'm a fan of Frank Williams and Ron Dennis, as well as the others who have stayed for years, doing their best, but I know full well that when FW and RD leave the sport will go on (subject to Mosley's interference) and I'll continue supporting it.
I was never a great fan of Enzo F but loved the cars he produced and what he did for F1. When he died Ferrari was reinvented and I must say the team's tactics irritated me. But their fanbase seemed to change around that time. Whereas before you could always sidele up to their group and get a bit of pasta from them, nowadays it seems they are like catholics in heaven - they make believe there's no one else there.
As you say, it's the fanatics for all teams/drivers that ruin these forums. And the day at the race.
You can forgive, say, Johnny Herbert's parents for their partiality but they were always ready for a chat about other drivers, and very knowledgeable. But if your DNA isn't in one of the cars or in the pits then there's no excuse.
Going off subject slightly, last year I went Lord's for the One Day International between England and the West Indies (that's cricket, by the way). We were sat smack in the middle of a crowd of West Indian fans, and had a fantastic time. They shared their food, we shared ours, and there was plenty of friendly ribbing going on.
The point is, all of us rival fans can get along perfectly well, but the nature of a forum allows some people the freedom to be abusive and argumentative with no form of sanction (i.e. a punch on the nose).
If I were a psychologist, I might liken it to an attitude akin to road rage, where there is little or no threat of physical harm.
Perhaps it would be best to treat the forum as if we were all in a real, and not virtual, room.
Maybe then good manners would prevail.

The point is, all of us rival fans can get along perfectly well, but the nature of a forum allows some people the freedom to be abusive and argumentative with no form of sanction (i.e. a punch on the nose).
If I were a psychologist, I might liken it to an attitude akin to road rage, where there is little or no threat of physical harm.
Perhaps it would be best to treat the forum as if we were all in a real, and not virtual, room.
Maybe then good manners would prevail.

Sheaver1 said:
Going off subject slightly, last year I went Lord's for the One Day International between England and the West Indies (that's cricket, by the way). We were sat smack in the middle of a crowd of West Indian fans, and had a fantastic time. They shared their food, we shared ours, and there was plenty of friendly ribbing going on.
The point is, all of us rival fans can get along perfectly well, but the nature of a forum allows some people the freedom to be abusive and argumentative with no form of sanction (i.e. a punch on the nose).
If I were a psychologist, I might liken it to an attitude akin to road rage, where there is little or no threat of physical harm.
Perhaps it would be best to treat the forum as if we were all in a real, and not virtual, room.
Maybe then good manners would prevail.

I think F1 is going the way of football. The supporters now are different from the past I believe, though I stand to be corrected. We now have incidents where drivers get cheered when they crash if they are racing in the country of a rival. I'm sure it was never like that in the past. Is it the money or is there some other reason, I don't know?The point is, all of us rival fans can get along perfectly well, but the nature of a forum allows some people the freedom to be abusive and argumentative with no form of sanction (i.e. a punch on the nose).
If I were a psychologist, I might liken it to an attitude akin to road rage, where there is little or no threat of physical harm.
Perhaps it would be best to treat the forum as if we were all in a real, and not virtual, room.
Maybe then good manners would prevail.

Sheaver1 admitted being a fan of a girlie sport and then said:
Perhaps it would be best to treat the forum as if we were all in a real, and not virtual, room.
Maybe then good manners would prevail.

I like to think of it as a pub. A nice summer's day, sitting in the garden looking out over the countryside, just stopped off on the way back from a meeting and discussing the day's racing with poeple you see regularly in such situations. If you won't say something or use the same terminology in that situation then you should not use it here. The pub is obviously much better - and not only because you don't have to watch your spelling - but the atmosphere on here could be the same.Maybe then good manners would prevail.

I can't help thinking that if some of the posters used the same language around a pub table they might find their chair occupied when returning from the loo even if it was their round next.
Edited by Derek Smith on Monday 13th October 12:43
I will agree with a lot of the comments in this thread.
I have only been following F1 for a couple of years but have made it to a couple of GP's in that time. I was shocked when I went to my first at the fans that were following a team as I thought it would have been accepted form for me being a brit to wish Hamilton, Button and Coulthard luck. I think that I got away with that because 2 were not competitive.
The way threads seem to degenerate into Ferrari vs McLaren is very odd, especially when its really Lewis vs Ferrari, as I think most posters are like me and pro Brits doing well.
Would there be a huge difference if LH was at Ferrari and challenging for the title in the same way?
PS. Please stop arguing about things over and over again. Even this thread somehow managed to get a couple of strong words passed between posters.
I have only been following F1 for a couple of years but have made it to a couple of GP's in that time. I was shocked when I went to my first at the fans that were following a team as I thought it would have been accepted form for me being a brit to wish Hamilton, Button and Coulthard luck. I think that I got away with that because 2 were not competitive.
The way threads seem to degenerate into Ferrari vs McLaren is very odd, especially when its really Lewis vs Ferrari, as I think most posters are like me and pro Brits doing well.
Would there be a huge difference if LH was at Ferrari and challenging for the title in the same way?
PS. Please stop arguing about things over and over again. Even this thread somehow managed to get a couple of strong words passed between posters.
Piglet said:
mikee boy said:
As I heard once, "don't try to argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience"
How true! I get put off reading the threads by the contstant b
hing and bickering between a few people. I find the lack of ability of some people to have any objective thought quite frustrating so I just don't read them once they get to that point. Yesterday was interesting as the discussions in the morning (live race) and I think until after the ITV replay were really good, there were people who disagreed with each other but they managed to debate this in a sensible fashion...then the thread went downhill and I didn't bother to read any more.
heebeegeetee said:
People like Tom ruin the threads. It's got nothing to do with who you support, but those like Tom are just trolls who have no respect, no interest in the sport and only come here to spoil things. He should be banned. He is just a nutter who has a complete Lewis fixation.
without wanting things to kick off too much, i think your posts stand out in a similar fashion. i never post in gp threads because they've become so frustrating. but there's a few people that stand out in them, and you're one of them. surprisingly, flemke is another person that stands out - surprising in that everywhere else, he seems like a rounded and knowledgeable individual. in gp threads though, those traits seem to go out of the window. durbster said:
Piglet said:
mikee boy said:
As I heard once, "don't try to argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience"
How true! I get put off reading the threads by the contstant b
hing and bickering between a few people. I find the lack of ability of some people to have any objective thought quite frustrating so I just don't read them once they get to that point. Yesterday was interesting as the discussions in the morning (live race) and I think until after the ITV replay were really good, there were people who disagreed with each other but they managed to debate this in a sensible fashion...then the thread went downhill and I didn't bother to read any more.
Edited by sleep envy on Monday 13th October 14:03
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Its what you get when you support the wrong team on here. 
