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Yes

33 (53.2%)

No

29 (46.8%)

Total Members Voted: 44

[Lizzie_Zoom]

True - but,they of course reserve the right to amend that,which it would appear they are now considering.

Now that I would accept to be the case.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

At the end of the day the admins have the right to stop the flow or do anything else they want to do.They own the site and can decide what is or isnt allowed.It isnt a democracy.
I feel that the probem is much wider than political threads tbh.Overtly political threads could,if they wished,be put in their own sticky jusy like jokes have.But maybe they know that isnt really the be all and end all of the problems ?
Once upon a time OOF was a brilliant place to come after a day at work and laugh until your stomach muscles hurt,have cruel but very harmless banter etc etc.
Imo that was a fantastically happy coincidence of those particular people meeting each other (online) at that particular time. It would be great if it could have been bottled so to speak and brought back out and sprinkled around like holy water when things got a bit boring.
Life isnt like that unfortunately,and we cant repeat how things once were.That was then,this is now,and OOF is what it is now.
There are various reasons imo,for why things have ended up like they are,and Im sure everyone has a different opinion on the subject.
Imo the question for the admins actually is - should it be allowed to carry on as it now is or is it time to switch of the server. Only they can answer that.If they are really unhappy about the direction OOF is heading in,then they need to decide individually and as a group if they feel its worth their time and effort to keep it going or whether to call it a day before it becomes unbearably tedious.
Personally, I have no strong feelings one way or the other.

I think OOF is fine as it is. It hasn't changed much since 2008 in my view.

[Webby the Bear]

At the end of the day the admins have the right to stop the flow or do anything else they want to do.They own the site and can decide what is or isnt allowed.It isnt a democracy.
I feel that the probem is much wider than political threads tbh.Overtly political threads could,if they wished,be put in their own sticky jusy like jokes have.But maybe they know that isnt really the be all and end all of the problems ?
Once upon a time OOF was a brilliant place to come after a day at work and laugh until your stomach muscles hurt,have cruel but very harmless banter etc etc.
Imo that was a fantastically happy coincidence of those particular people meeting each other (online) at that particular time. It would be great if it could have been bottled so to speak and brought back out and sprinkled around like holy water when things got a bit boring.
Life isnt like that unfortunately,and we cant repeat how things once were.That was then,this is now,and OOF is what it is now.
There are various reasons imo,for why things have ended up like they are,and Im sure everyone has a different opinion on the subject.
Imo the question for the admins actually is - should it be allowed to carry on as it now is or is it time to switch of the server. Only they can answer that.If they are really unhappy about the direction OOF is heading in,then they need to decide individually and as a group if they feel its worth their time and effort to keep it going or whether to call it a day before it becomes unbearably tedious.
Personally, I have no strong feelings one way or the other.

I think OOF is fine as it is. It hasn't changed much since 2008 in my view.

+1. I love it and the input on my blog has been immense 

[albitz]

My impression is that it has changed quite a lot,but perhaps its me thats changed more than OOF has.

[paul.lovejoy]

theres only one thing that will change OFF for those that think there is a problem admins excluded

and thats the people on here

you can leed a horse to water but you cant make it drink

[cem_devecioglu]

I love this. A thread about banning threads that turn nasty threatening to turn nasty.

Bollix

 

[cem_devecioglu]

My impression is that it has changed quite a lot,but perhaps its me thats changed more than OOF has.

changed in my opinion.. 2-3 years ago, debates more heavy than now were tolerated but now seems like admins fingers tend/want to go more quickly on the push button..    or else why they would start a thread like this one

[cem_devecioglu]

must add though, due to the nature of humans, more heavy discussions will attract more audience , and if we think economically OOF could take more ads    honestly why OOF dont take adds is another question why not ?
 
ps: in our local car forums all of them take ads.. and heated debates are highly desired   and mostly end up ona road track

[TheBoy]

(No malicious intent meant to any OOF member, named, implied or otherwise - but exercising might right as a member to present my feelings on this)

Speaking as a long(est) standing member here, I think Kevin Wood has hit the nail on the head.

At the risk of going slightly OT, I don't think its politics per se, but the attitudes and entrenched views of many of the members posting on those threads. We could repeat the same for other passionate threads such as oil, tyre, brake topics - although it would be daft to ban these on a car related forum . That said, we used to half heartedly ban oil threads at the start.


The trouble is, at the moment, the state of gendis IMHO is bloody depressing. Every thread I read is depressing. At the end of it, I feel depressed.

OK, I could choose not to read them - actually I do choose not to most of the time, because invariably its not open debate, but people forcefully presenting their own agendas (but don't tell my fellow Moderators, as this clearly puts extra load on them  ). I wonder how many other members choose not to get involved in gendis for the same reason? I think the answer to that question lies in the fact that its the same old posts, with the same old members posting the same old crap.

However, I think the poison in this is that the moaning/bitching becomes quite contagious. And this is the absolute key. How many new members want to actually join in, when all they see is a clique (to use a term often banded about by those responsible for a lot of the negativity) of people with dubious, entrenched personal viewpoints on subjects, and are scathing to anyone who disagrees. I'm a long standing member, and I don't want to join in. God only knows what the newbies think. The fact that virtually no new genuine newbie has posted speaks volumes.


Look back at the earliest threads. There was an air of positivity across the entire forum. The site was welcoming to all. People arranged fixing sessions at their homes, with loads of members turning up, all in order to genuinely help. Yes, sure, as DLK will say, some members took the piss, which is something I know really goaded him, but lots was achieved, and nothing was impossible. The national meets (Lakes and Newent) were packed (as were York and EA), the day meets busy.

Fast forward to now. There is an air of distrust, negativity, and general depression. Yes, we live in difficult times, and I'm guessing none of us are exactly rich, thats why we drive Omegas. But to spill that depression over into our little online world has killed the community aspect of the site. 

The forum's heart follows that of its active members. Tosh? Take up my suggestion to read the earliest posts on the site, and then deny that you don't feel uplifted by it - its a method I use every time I hover over the Delete Account button.


So, to directly answer the question set by Hotel21, I'm unsure.  I welcome free speech, within the guidelines, but think a lot of the problems that OOF has now stems from the depressing threads about politics (and others).

[TheBoy]

Right, now speaking as a member of the Admin Team, again, not pointed at anyone, named or otherwise. And again, sorry in advance for straying OT at times 
Having been here from the start, I have met and made many friends here. Some have become very good friends - the sort I know I can ring up in an hour of need, and they will come/help/listen/whatever is needed.

Whether these are friends or close friends, they are deemed to be in the clique of the forum, by some factions of the site, and that these "TB's chums" as one forwarded PM who who's sender/grasser wanted to remain anonymous put it, actually had access to priviledged information, or controlled the direction of the forum, or could "get away with anything". This pisses me off, as clearly it goes beyond just questioning my integrity. Nothing could be further from the truth - I'm sure those that fall into that category of close friends will confirm, I probably over compensate, and give them less benefit of the doubt. I have my suspicions thats why Gixer left, because I was always on his case, rather than the 'dangle berries' he spun me when I asked him last week. I believe had I not been an Admin here, he would still be here, for one of two reasons; 1) I wouldn't have been on his case so much; 2) he was concious he could potentially put me in a difficult position.

I genuinely do not believe I, or any other member of the Admin Team (past or present), has ever been unapproachable or unwelcoming of new people, either online, or face-to-face.  But if someone chirps up and says otherwise, thats a lesson I/we need to take onboard.

Back to the factions in OOF, I spent virtually every spare hour I had for about 5 months trawling through logs and backups looking for evidence of "instant ban teritory" abuse due to constant rumours against a very active member here, and one of "TBs chums". Only to find it was all untrue, and all paths led back to a single member. I've got far better things to be doing with my spare time than this, esp when it was just a petty lie (for what reason, I don't know) that gained traction within that faction, then because quite a few people were secretly saying it, many accepted it as truth. This is simply not acceptable, and is bloody childish. FFS.


The images server is paid up for the next 26 months. I know, because I checked last month when a wacky thought went through my head (during that week I was contemplating actually finding out what that Delete Account button did) - what would happen if we just cut OOF loose, to survive on its own, with no moderation, further financing and effort.  I never presented such an idea to the admin team, as I knew that would get universal disapproval, as you would expect. Imagine the smirk on my face when I read a similar suggestion in modchat earlier this evening


There, I've said too much already, but maybe a small insight.

To answer H21's question as an admin, I vote for banning them, as they are a source for nastiness here.

[Terbs]

theres only one thing that will change OFF for those that think there is a problem admins excluded

and thats the people on here

you can leed a horse to water but you cant make it drink

Not unless it belongs to doz.....his horse makes its own way

[TheBoy]

True - but,they of course reserve the right to amend that,which it would appear they are now considering.

And finally....
The Admin Team reserve the right to alter these guidelines at any time.

The decision of the Admin Team is final in all cases.

[Entwood]

I wasn't going to post again having had my say earlier...

but I would just like to say a loud THANK YOU to TB for his openness and honesty in the above two posts.

nail and head come together very succinctly IMHO

[paul.lovejoy]

newbie bit hit home a bit remeber when i was first here was made to feel very welcome and more so at Newent do you know dont think i have never said hi and welcome to many

but always remeber how difficult it was to chat/add to a topic but mind you i was lucky being a previous owner of Bobs and now Ljays car it felt like a foot in the door

[TheBoy]

but mind you i was lucky being a previous owner of Bobs and now Ljays car it felt like a foot in the door

I never knew that