I don't know what is more disturbing, JNKY in a bikini or the fact that cct1 has this url bookmarked.......hello 7th circle of hell, could I make a reservation?
Yeah, well you can use a mark on the doorframe to measure yearly progress, as things change with time, like you do for growing kids, except the marks will be going in the opposite direction....
Does anyone remember what this thread was about:idea: Oh yeah, politics. I say let it stand. Nobody NEEDS to read it. If you do read it, and don't like it, stop reading it. If you read it, and contribute, well you waded in, and if you don't like how it feels, stay on the beach. Mark
My original concern has other facets... I pay to be a vendor here, and I have a concern that the presence of the threads may be counterproductive to why I pay to be here commercially. This isn't about "freedom of speech" as this is a private forum and it's up to the owners and administrators to decide what will be allowed and not allowed on the site. This isn't about censorship, as no one is trying to stifle anyone's voice, as there are zillions of places where one is allowed and encouraged to express whatever political view one wants to express. It is about focus of the site. The site I pay to support. Anyway, despite Jinky's junk and other distractions, I've said my piece and others can agree or disagree, fine by me. Nathan listens and has registered my concern, so I'm a happy camper. I also find that when I block the "politics and other messy stuff" area, the number of active threads drops significantly. So I wonder what IS the mission of the site. MINI stuff or Jerry's junk? Anyway, for a vendor, there are other facets than just "if you don't like it don't read it" as I'm paying to support the site. Matt
I am for loosing the politics --- It is distracting to me. It creates a "clique" type atmosphere that I feel inhibits newcomers from posting on MA. I am a MINIac and like to use this site to get my MINI information "fix". I find it somewhat amusing that is site does not allow games and such, which would qualify as traffic builders much more harmlessly than politics. I believe the MINIacs that enjoy this type of MINI socializing is almost completely missing from MA.
Matt, I think complaining about non Mini related chat is a moot argument. I believe FES also advertises on the sawing site and we all know how much fluff there is there. While you might look at it as you are advertising to people who might not be interested in your wares, the fact is that you are getting an exposure to an audience that you might otherwise not have an exposure to. Let's face it, first and foremost, everyone on this site owns a Mini. Except PGT, but that's a different story. I guess that would be a glass half full view of things on my part. As for my junk and your product, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I do remember buying a few things from you at AMVIV. So there. My junk = sales.
What do you mean by not allowing games? I don't recall where we specifically banned any topics. Except for Lynn vs. Jan. opcorn:
I may be wrong but I believe I was told by the site's owner that games did not have a place on MA. Some forums have a dedicated section for games. Please correct me if I am wrong.
I didn't even realize there was a politics forum.. I have no interest in that, but see no reason to remove it. Crazy people will still go crazy if it is there or not.
If you are a sponsor of the site, then I assume you are trying to sell something to potential customers. So in trying to clear the political air, so to speak, you insult a couple of potential customers by calling their stuff/posts junk? I know enough about selling that you may not always agree with your customer's opinions, politics, religion, or whatever, but insulting them because they want to keep something they view as valuable seems a bit over the top. And really, it IS about free speech, especially since you are facing some opposition to your suggestion. I am not sure what you are offering for sale, but I find it hard to believe that a political thread that is completely blockable has any affect on sales of something MINI related, unless of course you are selling political wares. Now, being new here, I may be missing something that is nothing more than friendly banter, but it didn't exactly seem that way. Just sayin. And also, just because you are a sponsor of a site doesn't mean you get to to play dictator, especially if the portion of the site you want removed was here before you made your choice. I equate that with buying property near an airport, then raising h*ll to get the airport shut down for noise because it is keeping you awake at night. And please do not think I mean any offense to you or anyone else. I just feel you should think before talking about "junk" when the folks you are attempting to sell to may be the "junkers." (There must be a Porsche or Hyundai joke in there somewhere...)
I hope I wasn't that blunt. At the time you had been the only person that has brought it up. Since that time you have been the only person to bring up games. I believe at the time I said they really didn't fit the scope of the site. Some sites have arcades with classic video games, others use word games and the like. This site has different features, these are the things that differentiate sites. I don't like games for a few reasons. First off, I suck at them. I also see them as a cheap ploy to grow post counts. Of course the same thing could be said about the subject at hand that started this thread. However, I do have an open mind and do listen to the voice of the people, so to speak. If there is enough support for Games and you, RonsMinnie, will help to run the area then we'll take a meeting, form a committee, enjoy a few 3 Martini lunches and set something up.
Tell me if I'm wrong but don't we already have Wikipedia, do we need a Minipedia? Is a forum for storing technical knowledge only or a place for people to gather around a common interest? A place to share knowledge, experiences and ideas, a place to meet and enjoy sharing our opinions with other folks and even disagree and debate with same folks at times? Which without those folks meeting in numbers at a common place there would be no reason for advertisers to be. So I would ask, is it the cart or the horse, the members or the advertisers that set the direction and or content of a forum? PS: Call me crazy but guess I might value the opinions of like minded people on a variety of subjects....even if some like to wear bikinis when they wash their Mini...... LOL Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
Matt, Hi, its me, writing from the corner you backed me into. Let me just ask one thing.... If I had purchased an FES product and was not happy with it how would you feel if I did the following. 1. Sent you a note letting you know that I was unhappy about some aspect of the service. 2. Before a reasonable time for you to reply back to me I went on a forum and asked others if they liked a certain aspect of the product in a manner that showed disdain for this feature of the product. 3. After getting a reply from you with an explanation of why this feature is included I take that information and add it to the thread I started, adding my own spin. 4. I don't reply back to you at all to discuss, I just leave it out in the court of public opinion. 5. I test a fix proffered that negates the feature I dislike but only for a very short period of time when there is a normal ebb and flow over time when using the product. 6. I then reiterate my position with a lot more detail demonstrating what is flawed and why I am right in my way of thinking about the feature I dislike in the thread after it goes into all kinds of odd directions. So thats about what happened with some interludes... Did you hear the one about the Porsche and Hyundai?
Like I said... I'm a happy camper. I have concerns, voiced them, and started a debate about the subject. People talked about what they want to have and not have, and I hope we all learned something about the range of views that are present. People have posted both in agreement and disagreement with my position, but it's obvious that more like keeping the section than want it to go bye-bye.... That's OK and fine by me. I also hope that those who just are here as members in the conversation realize that the perspective of those that support the site with actual money via vendor status may (and often do) have a different perspective on site content than those that just come here to be "part of the family". This outcome probably could have been predicted, but it is also possible that there could have been a large (formerly silent) majority that said "I think inclusion of political issues is a dilution of mission, a detraction from the site, and something that not only doesn't add value, but is counter to the site focus." And if this had been the case, it would have been an opportunity to do something about it. Isn't that what the "Site Feedback" area is for? I shared my opinion, the reasons for it and am happy and ready to move on. Matt
Maybe it would help some to think about this in terms of marriage. Men get married for three things: sex, regular home cooked meals and to make babies (not the same as sex). But then once you got that world's smallest handcuff on your finger you need to talk to them, do chores for them, sacrifice TV sports time for cooking shows and fix things around the house. All negatives that are in most cases more than offset by the three things we are looking for.
(A) In some cases all three are available without the need to get married. (B) Third part doesn't work in the Gay community.:frown2:
if you dont like the political section...its simple...ignore it...i personally feel there should be a place to vent frustrations or just talk about the issues...is it because people dont agree with you view on things matt...removing a section like the political one is like trying to control the internet...if it doesnt suit you then get rid of it...just treat the politics section like a tv or radio...just change the channel and dont look at that one again...your trying to get them to shut down what you dont like...
from a vendor perspective seems to be a win/win your paying your dollars for someone who see your stuff when they check out what is going on in the MINI community who may or may not give a crap about talking about politics Those that don't want to talk politics get exposed to your stuff and those that do get exposed to your stuff.