You love it

Must be like an itch that you cant scratch

 

Like you'll never know

 

As someone who didnt frequent the place much before my appointment its hard for me to comment on the way it was Vs now is. I came along and found a forum full of faults, long standing complaints and a somewhat controversial infraction system. I did what I thought was best for teh community as a whole and stand by all my changes as I believe they were the right changes to make.

I would be interested to know the answers to a few questions if you could take the time to answer them;

What would you members complaining like me to do to improve the place?

Have I introduced things that have made it worse?

Did I come along too late to salvage the place?

 

Stu, it's a bit like bars and pubs - they're in vogue and then they're not. Crammed, then empty. Subaru have been your worst enemy in many respects, first with the blobeye and now with the new version. The bubble has burst. Many classics are now either in fields or being cut up. There will always be a need for a Subaru site, and this one does the job, but it will never regain past glories. My own personal gripe is that some of the posters who i'd have loved to still be around have gone, whilst some of those who bored me senseless are still active, very active in some cases. Simon made some monumental errors of judgment along the way, not just with Muppets, but things like post ratings, infractions and God knows what else. It doesn't seem to me as if it's being run badly at all now, the damage has been done by others before you, and by the marque the site represents itself.

 

Perhaps your biggest problen Stu, is that you simply dont have the time?

 

MODS have the time and are doing very well, IMO.

If certain posters annoy/bore/irritate you then it is simplicity itself to ignore their posts.

No post should annoy, as you will have filtered them out .... the inability to carry out this simple task will remain one of the mysteries of the modern age.

 

Focus RS.net?

 

My point, Pete, is that the vibrancy has gone. Your deliberately antagonising threads are one thing, but even that's pretty old hat now. It doesn't compare to people with genuine flair and controversy, and there are precious few of those around now. And what really grates is that it was the people who paid to gain power who were able to decide that, the very people who didn't stand a chance of giving back as good as they got, so the little red button was the only recourse. Well i hope they're pleased with what they've achieved.

 

Stu, i don't know why you keep defending yourself when these threads pop up as it is not needed. You're doing a good job fella!

Unfortunately I believe some members/ex-members believed that they owned the place and as such will never be happy when someone comes in and tries to make things work.

The past 6months on Scoobynet for me, has been the best as its alot better place to post and is alot friendlier in my opinion.

I personally don't rate the whole "subaru is less popular" theory either, its just that most of the regular posters have been here for many years and have moved up the motoring ladder. I wouldn't need to travel far to see a vast amount of well maintained subaru's driven by enthusiasts (i hate that word by the way ) so really Subaru is as popular as ever, NSR is just losing alot of dead weight.

 

Telboy:-

It's true, and rather sad, that certain members paid (actually paid) to infract others ..... talk about care in the community

And I'm sorry you don't find me full of flair and controversy

The beauty is that I see SN as what it is, not the real world, and a playground for those with the intelligence to play in that arena

 

100% agree with this.

 

Its a good job agreeing doesn't do your back in

 

Oooh, nasty

Do me some more....

 

A couple of contradictions in this post.
You have a holier-than-thou closing sentence, then ask have you made things worst.
Secondly, was it too late to salvage the place. I bet that has rung some alarm bells for your advertisers.
Or are you that insecure with your managerial decisions you need the forum to massage your ego...
Just a couple of thoughts.....

 

The infraction system fcuked the forum good and proper.

If you're going to save it you'll need to sort out the speed issue urgently.

It is woeful !

 

Improve the site speed and dump / reduce the adverts, neither of which will ever happen, or they already would, especially the speed

Yes, more adverts, slow site speed, quite a few other annoying things for me, but in your own words 'these will not be changed'

Personally I would have preferred it if you hadnt have come along at all with Internet Brands and the whole way the buy out etc was handled

SN was at its best about 5 years ago, it will never be the same no matter what you do with it, stats are down (by a lot) and its nothing to do with the weather either

The above is all IMHO

 

It's an Internet forum FFS. Clique? Grow up.

 

Spot on .... it was this single issue which destroyed the place - I'm surprised that IB did not notice the disgraceful way it was being run at that time and walk away?

 

It's ok, Flightman. It's just that he can't see how his attention-seeking, self-pitying postings of a few months back might have pissed off numerous people individually to the point where they all piled in and gave him a few home truths when the opportunity presented itself. Oh no, it had to be a clique and a conspiracy.

 

Ofcourse you would say that, Bubba. Method behind your madness

Flightman, there are several members who have stated the same as me... maybe you would like to tell them to grow up, FFS

 

Conspiracy theories are a sign of paranoia, which is a symptom of some forms of madness. FYI, I rarely ventured into NSR for most of my time on here - in fact until Muppets was cleared out - and as a result I have very little connection with any of the regular NSR posters. The members of any "clique" I may or may not have been part of have long since departed these arid shores, too.

You really did annoy a lot of disparate, unconnected people, unfortunately.

 

No, no, no

This can never be true, such things only happen in the 'real' world

 

I never suggested I didn't, and after my sabbatical where I got my thoughts together and realised my situation on here, things brightened up.

One point of note is many of the hecklers so quick to jump on my threads didn't have the decency to turn round and acknowledge my recent fortune. As one member stated "Its a sad fact COB that those who have given you a hard time are often the ones who have not got the strength of character to congratulate you. Means they are not worth the candle anyway."

I've made my point Bubba

 

Shockingly bad. Makes the rest of your post utterly irrelevant. Dear oh dear.

 

oww, you little c**t Tel

You'll be the death of us all in stockings

 

Anything Subaru related aside, This site is only a sign of the times and is no different to proper characters being stifled of a genuine laugh, say down the pub or out and about anywhere for that matter. It is because those with 'special needs' are protected and taking over. Banter and humourous controversy are dead.

This isn't to say you should take the píss out of someone less fortunate than yourself, but jokes or comments about anything slightly controversial are incredibly frowned upon and can often lead to some really pathetic consequences. Sites are changing the internet over for fear of litigation and this place is/has to be no different unfortunately to maintain an easy, quiet, sterile, tedious existence allowing everybody to participate, when really 75% of those people should be surpervised by a grown up when taking a poo, let alone being allowed to post alone.

Some posters on here are so wet and post absolute personal drivel that it is shameful. That doesn't mean to say they aren't 'nice, helpful people but just very bland. All it says is the country has allowed a level playing field and basically lowering all standards. Of course these people can't see it and genuinely think they aren't the very people being mentioned and therein lies the problem.

We are all different, some more than others and that is it.

Clint Eastwood summed it up in a recent interview and was being honest. He said the world had become boring.

 

I wont do one unless I am at Paul's

 

COB, I really am glad things have brightened up for you. I don't post on the site anything like as much as I used to so I haven't followed your fortunes since our little spat. What I have noticed on my visits is your constant references to some mysterious "clique" which you seemed to claim was at the root of all the negativity towards yourself and the site. Snazy got the same treatment from the membership, if you recall, but he never invoked any conspiracy theories.

The honest truth is, most people will put up with an attention seeking whinger for a little while but eventually they want to shake them or tell them to bugger off.

People reacting en masse towards something that bugs them, once someone first articulates that annoyance, is just human nature. It doesn't follow that there is some kind of organised hate campaign going on.

 

I agree.

02-05 was this site's zenith. It had an edge and loads of traffic and was interesting to either lurk, post or get into a bit of an enjoyable tussle.

It had great posters from all walks of life and a lot of knowledge, and a place you could have a good laugh as well as get a bit mad/abusive.

It's all a bit clinical and frankly **** now for me. ditchwater.com

It seems to have died, which is a shame. This used to be the 1st site I came to (was my home site) but I rarely look here now.

I hope it improves.

 

If Paul supervises you then all well and good.