What do you want Crew.org.nz to be

[rigger 47]

One complaint I have heard is that newbies feel a bit intimidated, how would you deal with that?

 

Hard one to answer, I observed the place for awhile to see what was happening before getting involved.

 

I can see how when people start arguing on the site it does not help newbies getting involved especially when you see how certain people seem to be very blunt about how they say something and seem to be trolling for reactions. So how to help the trolls with their problem? I would hate to see a limit on the number of posts that members can make as that would result in some very valuable discussions missing out on input - but perhaps for someone that is getting abusive they get limited posting access - or even harsher their posts get moderated by a moderator before being posted - I would hate to see the site needing active censorship but there are some people that cannot help themselves and need a wake up call every so often.

 

 

One idea - Rum completions targeted at those with less than 100posts?

[smithy09 50]

As a recent (ish) Newbie, not at all. Everyone is pretty friendly and welcoming. I haven't seen much slagging of obviously inexperienced posters whether they be inexperienced technically, sailing wise, computer wise or whatever. Actually the opposite. One of the friendliest sites on the web!

[smithy09 50]

One complaint I have heard is that newbies feel a bit intimidated, how would you deal with that?

 

So how to help the trolls with their problem? I would hate to see a limit on the number of posts that members can make as that would result in some very valuable discussions missing out on input - but perhaps for someone that is getting abusive they get limited posting access - or even harsher their posts get moderated by a moderator before being posted - I would hate to see the site needing active censorship but there are some people that cannot help themselves and need a wake up call every so often.

 

Like a yellow card Rigger? 2 x yellows = Red!

[MrWolf 0]

I did see Brucey's most recent post in the thread about the actors growing up and, for the first time, agreed with a number of his points re quality over quantity and perhaps limiting the number of posts per day.

 

It is actually a bit disillusioning to click on Active Topics and find that the same person has tagged six to eight of them. As others have said, I would be as guilty as anyone else and will be voluntarily putting a bit more thought into whether I really have something valuable to add.

 

I've been having a chat with a few fellow Crew.orgers, and I'd suggest there is something in this. Just as a reason some people get put off.

[smithy09 50]

I did see Brucey's most recent post in the thread about the actors growing up and, for the first time, agreed with a number of his points re quality over quantity and perhaps limiting the number of posts per day.

 

It is actually a bit disillusioning to click on Active Topics and find that the same person has tagged six to eight of them. As others have said, I would be as guilty as anyone else and will be voluntarily putting a bit more thought into whether I really have something valuable to add.

 

I've been having a chat with a few fellow Crew.orgers, and I'd suggest there is something in this. Just as a reason some people get put off.

Just about left myself because of this, but used the foe status instead..

[B00B00 310]

Im only really here for the race talk and other sailing/racing related topics. I hardly ever view the small talk and will seldom post there. but I guess thats just because of my interest in yacht racing. But I can see why its popular with many people.

I agree with the coments that I would like to see more people talking about the race, wether it was just a wednesday night race or a simrad- whatever, i just love reading about peoples races and comparing tactics and sail choices ect, its all a learning experence.

I do find there is often too much noise by some posters, one in particular that often adds nothing to the topic but in fact makes me just stop reading it because of the dribble, although the mentioned poster does sometimes add great informative post when hes not in a ranting mood, I guess hes got to do something after his 1000 day ban from Sailing anarchy. I do not know how to stop this type of issue but I think the mentioned idea of having a yellow card warning type thing with 2 within a month and you are out for 10 days or something might have some merit.

I do find these days that I often dont post on a topic untill I have seen how it develops as I just dont really like getting involved in badly toned threads much these days. I have learnt my lesson from online debating, if you are in the industry and people know you you just cant get in heated debate with 'anomymous' posters, there is zero future in that.

Generally it is a great site and I do enjoy reading it, there has been many ocasions where I have been helped out hugely after posting a question and also I do enjoy being able to help other people where I can.

I do know that there is alot of people that think its just the same 10 people posting so they dont bother with the site, this is often the guys who are actually the semi pro yachtys or the guys in key positions in the industry. It would be nice to get more of them involved.

The more 'respected' people we get on the forums the more credibilty it would have, so somehow getting more of them involved I think would raise the level a bit. im not saying that its not a good level now just that it could perhaps be better.

[floatsome 0]

here

 

Also, Squid there are too many launch's on this site as evidenced in your latest photo (far left and right)...

[Guest]

It is actually a bit disillusioning to click on Active Topics and find that the same person has tagged six to eight of them.

 

Isn't that often just a function of timing? If someone pops in and replies to a few posts in a shortish time frame it will appear as if someone's been sitting posting away for hours. Someone only has to respond to one post in each topic section and suddenly you have the one name line up. That can take only a couple of minutes so doesn't always mean someone's been posting away for hours.

 

Doh, I've just worked out what the 'active topic button' everyone's talking about. I suppose that's been there for a long while now

[B00B00 310]

I just found it for the first time too.......

[Murky 1]

It is actually a bit disillusioning to click on Active Topics and find that the same person has tagged six to eight of them.

 

Isn't that often just a function of timing? If someone pops in and replies to a few posts in a shortish time frame it will appear as if someone's been sitting posting away for hours. Someone only has to respond to one post in each topic section and suddenly you have the one name line up. That can take only a couple of minutes so doesn't always mean someone's been posting away for hours.

Like so many things in this thread, it isn't easy to pin it down to a hard-and-fast statement.

 

Everything you say is true and it is completely possible that one individual could be incredibly knowledgeable, or have something brilliantly witty to say, about half a dozen or more of the topics that are active on any given day.

 

And yet the fact remains...more than 3000 people are signed up as members, but clearly quite a sizeable number don't find themselves totally at home here.

 

That's all I intended to say - now you have nearly made me go over my post limit today!

[Atom Ant 0]

The "mood" of the forums has an ebb and flow. It was perhaps a bit more well, intimate isn't the word, perhaps close, but there were fewer people and it was different to now, but it's grown significantly and that's a good thing. The mood at this time of year is no different to the same time last year - it's the winter blues. sh*t happens.

 

I'm a bit of a sporadic rabid poster. Sometimes not here for a while then all of a sudden I'm in boots and all. That's a function of how busy I am at work, whether or not I can be bothered and I guess the overall tone of what's being written. It happens that way for most people.

 

As for the general dislike of a - ahem - particular poster, may I respectfully suggest as I have done in the past that the quickest way to stop an online argument is simply to stop typing. End of story. There are many people who like to have the last word and one in particular who cant help himself and WILL have the last word. So if you don't like his last word, then just stop typing. It will end there. But whether you like him or not, he has alot to offer us forumites, although I guess some of you may disagree with that.

[wheels 543]

And yet the fact remains...more than 3000 people are signed up as members, but clearly quite a sizeable number don't find themselves totally at home here.

That's a fact of any Web Forum. It is not a fact that many are not posting because they feel they are intimidated. It is just a "fact of life" with Forums. It should not be a figure used to judge anything by. Other than the fact that 3000 members pop in once in a while. The vast amjority of that 3000 may have only ever looked in once and never again. On CF, we sometimes had a big sort out of member accounts that simply did not seem to "pop in". The new owner implemented something I didn't like, a reminder would be sent out to members that didn't Log in much reminding them of the board and discussions and inviting them to Log in a have a look. I get annoyed at those things being sent to me.

[markm 30]

Everything you say is true and it is completely possible that one individual could be incredibly knowledgeable, or have something brilliantly witty to say, about half a dozen or more of the topics that are active on any given day.

 

I don't know Murky, I really didn't think I posted that much ??

 

Sorry, someone was always going to run with that one, I'll go back and sit in my corner

[Guest]

Well, I just noticed something else as well. "Med_Fort_Pierce_Bikini_girls.jpg". I suspect someone's been cheating

 

I don't know if many of the non-posting signed up members, for lack of a better term, are 'uncomfortable as such but I'm sure a few would be. I do know there are many who just like to watch and if you are signed up you can use the 'View new posts' to get the ones you missed faster. I know of 3 dudes in Aussie who are signed up but never post but do come in at least once a week, sometimes more just to see what's what and often hoping to pick up some post race reports. All are ex-kiwi boaters and often make comments to me about assorted posts and/or posters. I know a fair few in NZ who are signed up and have never posted or only posted once or twice, again they just like seeing the chatter, enjoying a few giggles and the occasional shite fight.

 

I know a LOT who are signed up with SA only to watch the shite fights, which are pretty spectacular at times. Again like Wheels mentioned CF has 30,000 odd members but only a tiny fraction ever post and that board is very 'friendly' aimed i.e DR would last 2.657 seconds and he wouldn't be alone. Many use CF as a resource or in lieu of a book, a bit like some I'd be pretty sure do with Crew and/or SA. I'm signed up at SA and visit a lot but rarely post.

 

I see Crew somewhere in-between those two forums. Knot the full noise blink and get burned SA yet knot so heavily controlled and semi-regimented as CF. CF has a big team of very active moderators who hack into threads a lot, knot always for the right reasons IMO. I do think Crew has a better balance in that regard. We can get shitty but knot to the SA level yet we can call boats 'pig rooters' and have a laugh but without the world coming to an end.

 

Also I think BooBoo hit on a very good point. Being local I know some are terrified to post here in case it's taken the wrong way. You want to see the emails and calls I get when someone posts 'thieving retailers' for example, it's huge and sometimes within minutes of that post going up. I say jump in and tell them yourself but most think if they do they will lose business or tarnish a brand or whatever. The number of business like people who watch Crew for comments about them, their products and etc is probably a lot larger than many would think. Comments made on Crew have changed or influenced things in the NZ marine industry on occasions, small but changed all the same.

 

You lot can be pretty harsh and a couple are often very blunt in responses which can come across very harshly if you don't actually know the person saying them. I'm thinking of a couple in particular who are hell blunt with many responses but that is just their style even if they are actually damn nice guys if you know them, which I do in this particular example. If they said the same things to your face it'd be fine but on a forum the same comments can look very 'Oh f*ck me that's seriously harsh'. It's a case of small town syndrome unfortunately, knot too sure what can be done about that.

 

As you may have guessed I knot that shy and I'm as equally obnoxious whether I'm on Crew or knot. Whether posting here has cost me business I don't know and to be honest don't really care but that's just me and my often f*cked up mind. But it does worry many they will get a backlash if they say the wrong thing so they just don't post, I have been told exactly that by more than a couple. Personally I think that's silly as Crewers are really a pretty fair bunch at heart so if some issues were explained by the seller, for example, the issue wouldn't actually be as bad as some thread may suggest they are. And at the same time everyone learns, nothing bad in that.

 

And I think it's totally unrealistic to think Crew or any forum will get 100% participation or even close to that. I think if any got 25% they would be doing very bloody well. Comment based on a semi-wild but knot total guess by the way.

 

Can MS lay his hands upon his magic box to do some voodoo to suss how many individual members have actually posted at least once over a time frame? I think that is probably a more telling number and it wants to be going upward.

 

Right times up, off to the Ballet Bugger!

[rigger 47]

 

Like a yellow card Rigger? 2 x yellows = Red!

 

Something like that might work.

though in the past at least one troll has taken no notice of a warning and copped a ban.

[Guest]

I was a reading an inflight magazine this morning on the way to Chch this morning that was about the very issue of businesses diving into facebook/twitter etc.

The Air NZ example of the facebook page set up by a teacher who wanted cheap seats for teachers on holiday was an mentioned. The airline responded positively and gained some happy customers and brownie points.

The article said if a company's online persona behaved in an open and honest way to all criticism, the outcome was generally positive because at least they were perceived as being responsive and approachable.

It also talked about how marketing efforts made in these outlets are directed to the correct audience, rather than the usual scattergun approach of mainstream media.

[SMAK Daddy 0]

I have been on since the early days and I guess with a move to Welly the amount of active posting about great events like G pier parties has gone off the boil.

 

I get Booboo's comment about an impression of a small few going around in circles and sometimes it is hard to get the good stuff if you dont have the time to wade through the 'healthy debate'....the clincher for me is to be engaged in a short amount of time when I check in (usually most days or there about)

 

I also have to say that every time I open the site and see that inanimate flag on offer that I wonder if it is going to be the first thing I see then at least it could revolve around multiple images - all with the flag in it perhaps (a bit like taking the neighbours gnome and then posting piks of it from around the world!)

 

And as good as the links from the rest of the world wide web are on the front page they are no where as engaging as the SA site where there is some intro and often a forum link to get the creative juices flowing for all of those part tiem yoties like myself chained to the office desk while looking across the harbour in the ivory towers.

 

Maybe we need to see some stories from around the country on the front page as there are some great stories to be told!

 

 

engage...engage...engage!!!!

[Scoma 1]

I check in regularly and enjoy the banter even if the conversations wander off topic it is usually an amusing journey.

I have greatly appreciated the response to my questions. I am impressed by the way almost any question can be answered and have learned heaps from following the threds.

[Guest]

One complaint I have heard is that newbies feel a bit intimidated, how would you deal with that?

 

While everyone is friendly and welcoming on crew I think a forum for newbies would be great - I would feel more comfortable posting dumb questions there than in other places where responses can get into detailed technical discussions that assume knowledge I don't have! .

Also when a thread is going with bunter and inside jokes amongst regular posters (while amusing to read) it does feel a bit intimidating to post and I assume that others know more and will answer anyway.

The challenge would be keeping regular/experienced posters interested to respond to questions but without making it a forum they led...perhaps just let people with under 100 posts or something create a new topic?

[Fogg 427]

Its all good

I believe that the atmospheric interference is a seasonal problem, and when there's more happening it will almost disappear.

 

Maybe if you had a user setting where you can set the "View Active Topics" that you wish to include ?

 

Yeah winter is always the silly season on any sailing forum.

 

All good, keep it coming. I'm sure I've got some strong views on how to make things better but right now I can't recall them!