rginsbtx wrote:
Also, the "joining" of the forum needs to be easier than the current way.
That kept me from joining sooner. Had to have help from another member that I know, just to get the process completed.

That was instituted due to bots and spammers slamming the registration process. Perhaps the new forum software will be more resistant?

txulrich wrote:


That was instituted due to bots and spammers slamming the registration process. Perhaps the new forum software will be more resistant?

In Facebook and other forums you have multiple people that can approve new users.

With this setup all the mods do not have rights to admit new members.
The rights to admit new members comes with a lot of other access, so all new members have to go though one mod,
and an email process that could use some tweaking.

txulrich wrote:
rginsbtx wrote:
Also, the "joining" of the forum needs to be easier than the current way.
That kept me from joining sooner. Had to have help from another member that I know, just to get the process completed.

That was instituted due to bots and spammers slamming the registration process. Perhaps the new forum software will be more resistant?

The new forum (if it's vBullettin) has extensive spam protection built in. It still requires some monitoring but it's far better that handling that than the software we have now.

OK, as far as the 'Elephant':
Regarding those who've left because of some member's attitudes, I was one of them for a while.

I'd vote for the new forum to ban politics & religion discussions from the forum.
That's where 99.9% of all the attitudes originate.
It's not censorship if you invite someone to your home & tell them not to pick on your family for your religious beliefs.
It's not censorship if you invite someone to your home & tell them not to pick on your family for your political beliefs.
That's just called 'Keeping the Peace'.

I'm a moderator on a FB page 'Wisconsin Motorcycle Riders'.
We have a strict rule that there are no politics allowed unless it's ABATE related and directly affects Wisconsin laws in regard to motorcycles.
We have the same rule about religion.

It works very well. We have both conservative & liberal moderators & members.
We all get along unless someone breaks that one cardinal rule - the the attitudes come out - every damn time.
Then we have to lock discussion threads & in extreme cases, boot members.
To get booted takes a lot of violation posts and for them to ignore repeated warnings.

We've currently allowed those 'trigger topics' here and if you go back & read them here, not a single one of them ends without someone being told to F-off or being called an idiot or worse. Of all the things we get along about & share here, why would we want to continue the one thing that is almost guaranteed to drive people away?

We've got mid-term elections coming up in the US.
Is the arguing that is sure to occur over that what we want new members finding first thing in the door?
I sure hope not.

MidwestMike wrote:
txulrich wrote:


That was instituted due to bots and spammers slamming the registration process. Perhaps the new forum software will be more resistant?

In Facebook and other forums you have multiple people that can approve new users.

With this setup all the mods do not have rights to admit new members.
The rights to admit new members comes with a lot of other access, so all new members have to go though one mod,
and an email process that could use some tweaking.

All the registration requests go through me. Registering members requires access to the database and it was felt that it would be more efficient to have only one person access our database. We did have an abbreviated approval system at one time; it was messy at times and resulted in numerous errors.

Except for when I'm away from home, requests have been processed usually within 24 h. Most of the problems with registration requests have arisen from folks not being able to sent emails to our address or their email address was incorrect (it happens more often than you would think) so my response to them has bounced back to me or ends up in their spambot process.

Doc

BubbaKahuna wrote:

We all get along unless someone breaks that one cardinal rule - the the attitudes come out - every damn time.
Then we have to lock discussion threads & in extreme cases, boot members.
To get booted takes a lot of violation posts and for them to ignore repeated warnings.


VBulletin also has a some built-in tools for moderation. You can set up infraction levels that take automatic action based on users reporting posts and users for spam, insulting other users, foul language, etc. All customizable.

Mods get these alerts and can give also extra warnings or take action. They can ban a user and delete all of their threads with one click. Or ban them for a period of time. Like a week to cool down.

You can also put limits on new members. So if someone does make it past the sign up process then there are limits to what they can do for a certain period of time. For example you can have them in a new users group where all of their posts are moderated. Meaning they aren't visible until they are approved. If someone gets past that and then starts posting spam, then one click from a moderator and they are gone.

Tykes_Place wrote:

VBulletin also has a some built-in tools for moderation. You can set up infraction levels that take automatic action based on users reporting posts and users for spam, insulting other users, foul language, etc. All customizable.

Mods get these alerts and can give also extra warnings or take action. They can ban a user and delete all of their threads with one click. Or ban them for a period of time. Like a week to cool down.

You can also put limits on new members. So if someone does make it past the sign up process then there are limits to what they can do for a certain period of time. For example you can have them in a new users group where all of their posts are moderated. Meaning they aren't visible until they are approved. If someone gets past that and then starts posting spam, then one click from a moderator and they are gone.

I've seen those on other forums, all good features and in my mind all good reasons to use that package.

There's something very satisfying about using the 1-click ban and delete on d-bags that post spam.

Only problem banning off topic talk is that things get pretty boring. There are no off topic bans when I sit around and talk with friends or even strangers (for the most part-I don’t usually go asking total strangers about their STD’s for example).

Lots of motorcycle discussion on other motorcycle forums I’m on is related to the new models that come out/are coming out. New features, electronics, engines, transmission changes, etc. We won’t have any of that here. Hell, all of those other forums even have an ‘off topic’ area too. Often times controversial subjects come up in those sections.

Every thread here will eventually be exactly the same, aside from someone doing a radical custom project. Jetting, suspension, bags or not, fairing or not, leave the FI system alone because it can’t be tuned, etc. There just isn’t enough exciting stuff about Roadstars to run an active site anymore. It will be a ghost town without that other stuff also.

I have never felt the need to leave this place because someone with lefty viewpoints is here also. Not sure why some feel that way. I suppose everyone is wired differently. Why not just have an off topic area and if you feel uncomfortable about it, just don’t click on it?

Deerkiller wrote:
Only problem banning off topic talk is that things get pretty boring.

I don't know about boring, but I agree about not banning off topic discussions.

We've had plenty of postings about politics and other subjects without it getting ugly. Plenty of people present plenty of points of view without an issue.

The ugly part does not come from the subject of thread.

And as said in an earlier post, the non-bike stuff is what makes a lot of us closer.

And the non-technical stuff.
There was the excitement and six month planning threads of M&Gs, guys sharing births and deaths, rides and accidents, jobs and retirements.

The people that have come and gone for various reasons. Old age, new bikes, deaths, etc. But you can still go back and read what Greg or Jonas wrote, and see what memories they stir.

MidwestMike wrote:
I'm thinking the past information on here is the key to the site.

The bike came out 19 years ago. A lot of the guys did a lot of work here to find new ideas, and refine them.
(I always use removing the fuel pump as an example. It started by pull the pump and setting the float, and evolved to the solid system of Grizzly valve, venting, etc. RT and RB turned in to RTB mods.)

Roadwings, fairings, bags, 4 gauge cables, warrior starters and relays, gauge lights, HIDs, LEDs, etc., not to mention oil and tires have been covered just a little bit.

I always laugh when someone is asking about jetting on Facebook, just search here instead. Every combination of exhaust and air cleaner has already been covered and refined.
You're not breaking any new ground with what you put on your Roadstar.

And the non-technical stuff.
There was the excitement and six month planning threads of M&Gs, guys sharing births and deaths, rides and accidents, jobs and retirements.

The people that have come and gone for various reasons. Old age, new bikes, deaths, etc. But you can still go back and read what Greg or Jonas wrote, and see what memories they stir.

If you want to start over without the history, hit Facebook and you're done with it.

And there's the thing behind the whole problem. Different ideas and thoughts for different people. Whether it's politics, religion or even what's gonna be allowed or not, everyone has different ideas as to what to do going forward. A new bike comes out and you'll have some that like it, and some that don't. Eventually, an argument can break out about it. What oil to use, what jack to buy, stock or modified, everything has the potential to start arguments. So, that said, there will always be controversy but it should be in it's own space, just like the mentioned "off topic" forum idea.