What's wrong with this site?

[JaredPointer]

I've seen several postsers have some input regarding this site "going downhill" or "being on life support." Just curious - what is it that makes you think this way? How long of a time period are you making your comparisons? Simply put, what do you think is wrong with the site?

This has been touched on in a number of threads, but I don't recall seeing a thread geared directly towards this issue. While I am in now way associated with the site, have any authority to make improvements, or anything else, I think if we had a centralized list of "complaints" that maybe Dwayne or someone else could address them.

So.... ?

[JaredPointer]

Just quicky calcs:

As of right now, we have 26 members and 69 guests active/online. Autopia has 50 members and 247 guests online, Autogeek has 90 members and 323 guests, Truth in Detailing has 16 members and 46 guests, Detailing BLiss has 15 members and 28 guests.

Only Autopia and Autogeek have more "new" posts (and by that I mean threads) than this one. Of course, I can only count that by my last visit to each site (quickly).

I know there's other sites out there, many bigger and many smaller, these were just a cross section of sites from my favorites list and I know that several people here are members at one or more of those others.

Looks like DC is at least competitive in numbers of people on the site during the middle of the day and people actively posting something during the same time frame.

[Beemerboy]

JP

I would be interested to see how long the posters that are stating this, have been members here?

I've been here longer than most and its like a revolving door. In the winter this place slows to a crawl, with good reason. Come spring it picks back up as the average person starts looking for advice. I can state for a fact that if you had to register to read these forums it would be a lot busier, there are tons of lurkers just reading the threads for info and have no intentions of joining.

This detail site is no different than any of the others I belong to, they will not allow spamming, or people that want to promote a non-sponsored line.

The issues IMO is the sheep syndrome, one person starts to say "this site is going down hill" and others start looking for reasons to say the same.

[JaredPointer]

Originally Posted by Beemerboy

JP

I would be interested to see how long the posters that are stating this, have been members here?

I've been here longer than most and its like a revolving door. In the winter this place slows to a crawl, with good reason. Come spring it picks back up as the average person starts looking for advice. I can state for a fact that if you had to register to read these forums it would be a lot busier, there are tons of lurkers just reading the threads for info and have no intentions of joining.

This detail site is no different than any of the others I belong to, they will not allow spamming, or people that want to promote a non-sponsored line.

The issues IMO is the sheep syndrome, one person starts to say "this site is going down hill" and others start looking for reasons to say the same.

While I think there are some things that the site can be improved at, I don't think requiring people to register just to read is one of them. That would either make us have more registered users who are inactive or people would do their unregistered reading somewhere else. I'm not going to interject what I think could be improved at this time - I want to see other's opinions of what they think is wrong here as compared to the site at some point in the past or to another detailing site.

[Beemerboy]

Originally Posted by JaredPointer

While I think there are some things that the site can be improved at, I don't think requiring people to register just to read is one of them. That would either make us have more registered users who are inactive or people would do their unregistered reading somewhere else. I'm not going to interject what I think could be improved at this time - I want to see other's opinions of what they think is wrong here as compared to the site at some point in the past or to another detailing site.

I'm only stating that "if" someone had to register to view it would be busier. IMO as FREE sites go its great, I have learned a lot over the years I have read and posted here. If someone comes here looking for advice, I've seen nothing but warm and helpful suggestions by all.

[Mister B]

I have not been here very long to compare and say whether this site is going down hill or not. I personally think the site it fine. My only complaint has nothing to do with the content of the site or the members of this site.

I stated this previously in the Feedback thread that Dwayne started, but I will state it here also because you asked. The only thing that I do not like is how slow the forum loads when I am at work. Like when I switch between threads. Anytime I go to a new page or go back to the previous page I get approximately a 4 – 8 second delay before the page starts to even load. Now when I go home and access this site from my home computer I do not have this delay at all. Everything runs fine and loads quickly.

This is the only forum that I have this problem with. All of the other forums that I belong to load quickly no matter whether I am accessing them from home or at work.

I don’t know what it could be. Maybe this is just an isolated issue that is unique to my work computer, I don’t know. It’s almost like something goes idle and has to start back up and start thinking again when I change pages.

I don’t know if this was what you were looking for, but this is my only complaint and I know it is a small one, more annoying than anything. I enjoy the site otherwise.

[JaredPointer]

Okay, lots of views and no responses.... Lemme get us started.

I could do without post counts or join dates That levels out the playing field to new folks who may be intimidated to post. This could also apply to the reputation meter.

Not so much anything that is wrong with the site, just a suggestion that I think might improve new person interaction.

[black bart]

Well I will put my 2 cent in I think DC is one of the best detailing sites and anytime a newbie has a question JP/ Beamer/ CharlesW / Steve will always jump in and give them expert advice.

I don't know how DC compares to other sites as to number of post per day but I think in the last week it has been slower than normal, not many new threads.

Bigger is not always better I was reading a thread on AG about wet sanding factory paint and I'm NO expert but I have done enough to know when someone is giving advice about something that they have never done and they prove that anyone can be and Internet keyboard commando.
Don't seem to have much of that here at DC.

[Poorboy]

ok here we go .. there is nothing wrong with this site !!

there are only a handful of people who have been here longer than me and I have seen a lot of people come and go just like Dave (beemerboy) ... this board has provided a lot of information for a lot of people over the years.
Yes we have a little drama every once in a while but for the most part this board has been open for anyone who wanted to come and act civilly toward its members without shilling or spamming. These people are fairly easy to spot and do not last long here. If you want to call that closed minded then maybe this is not the place for you. There are Pros , novices, weekend warriors and in betweens here. There are no members looking down at newbees because of their post counts or join date. Actually some newbees are helped by this information and will pm an older member looking for help instead of posting directly. This is a personal choice as some people are not as vocal in public as others and might feel embarassed by what some may think is a stupid question. There are no members here that i am aware of that tell newbees to use the search feature instead of answering the question. There are some very experienced members like CharlesW who can also give links to similar threads to give even more points of view.
Is there anything wrong with this site nope ... just ask a detailing question and you will get an answer

[Beemerboy]

Originally Posted by black bart

Well I will put my 2 cent in I think DC is one of the best detailing sites and anytime a newbie has a question JP/ Beamer/ CharlesW / Steve will always jump in and give them expert advice.

I don't know how DC compares to other sites as to number of post per day but I think in the last week it has been slower than normal, not many new threads.

Bigger is not always better I was reading a thread on AG about wet sanding factory paint and I'm NO expert but I have done enough to know when someone is giving advice about something that they have never done and they prove that anyone can be and Internet keyboard commando.
Don't seem to have much of that here at DC.

Thanks Bart and I agree we all jump in and offer lots of advice. When you say hands on experience and key board commando, that's one of my peeves. I read on a BMW detail section that some guy had followed the advice on how to remove stubborn brake dust with oven cleaner. I need not tell you what the results where

[Blackfire]

Originally Posted by JaredPointer

Okay, lots of views and no responses.... Lemme get us started.

I could do without post counts or join dates That levels out the playing field to new folks who may be intimidated to post. This could also apply to the reputation meter.

Not so much anything that is wrong with the site, just a suggestion that I think might improve new person interaction.

You make an excellent point, Jared.

But that's just my opinion about your post. Others may disagree with you on that matter. I agree with you.

Making a thousand posts doesn't make one a professional or the wisest. Sometimes, let me say that again, sometimes, it simply means they don't have much else to do with their time.
I work 55 hours per week as a self employed man, coupled with family responsibilities, etc. I won't be breaking any posting records soon or detailing 50 cars a week.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Originally Posted by JaredPointer

Okay, lots of views and no responses.... Lemme get us started.

I could do without post counts or join dates That levels out the playing field to new folks who may be intimidated to post. This could also apply to the reputation meter.

Not so much anything that is wrong with the site, just a suggestion that I think might improve new person interaction.

I can see where you are coming from with that idea, however I would have one concern with eliminating all of those quantifiers (join date, post count, reputation) -- we still need some way to identify who here has some idea what they are talking about from guys posting bad advice. I am not saying that high post count or join date automatically equal credibility, but in many cases they are a good starting point for determining these kind of things.

Just a thought.

[Blackfire]

Good point, Shiny,

If a man is a proven professional or their history has proven them to be a trustworthy adviser, then a Pro symbol can be used by their name.

Some of the old timers here that don't detail for a living are worthy of distinction too, along with the professionals.

[JaredPointer]

Possibly a re-vamp of the reputation meter would alleviate any confusion as to who is in the know and who is not.

Two reasons for my dislike of post counts are 1) we had a member who posted nothing but crap in order to "get to 500" and 2) at the Tundra board I visit there is a guy with almost 5000 posts in about 2 years time and I bet 75% of those posts are either telling someone to use the search button or telling the OP that "this topic has already been discussed" and that there is not a need for another post.



Maybe I was misled when I read that this site was "gong downhill." So far, out of all the views I've gotten there's not been one specific instance posted that would lead me to believe that.

[Dwayne]

I just checked the servers and DC appears to be running pretty strong at the present time so essentially there is nothing wrong with the "site". There may be a few members out of whack but that's pretty much true anywhere you go.

I have an open door for feedback, good or bad and started this thread http://www.detailcity.org/forums/dc-...-feedback.html

If someone throws out a typical remark about a site going downhill or on life support just because they get worked up about a particular member or don't like something someone says or they take take something the wrong way, does it really even count? If someone honestly thought this way, why would they be here and why wouldn't they address the issue when given a chance in a thread designated for site feedback?


Guys, don't take things so seriously. If you see someone posting something that you don't like, you don't have to get involved, just report the post and move on. For some, detailing is a career, for others it's a hobby and for some, it's even considered therapy. I provide a place to talk about it. Don't worry about what others think, just enjoy the site.