Can we end this?

[987654321a]

dood i haz like 6 billion frends ya thats rite

[Barmic Rin]

Maul, seconded.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

No apologies to me are necessary, I'm not the kind of person that demands or thinks he is entitled to respect...I really don't need a fan club....just respect the forums themselves for what they are supposed to be...a knowledge base for people to learn how to use the products Tim sells, and share design, construction, and basically saber-related information. I'm not against having fun on the forums, but we need to remember that these forums are part of another person's business that is his sole lively hood, and it should look at least somewhat professional.

[MaverickJsmith]

In all my time on these forums I've noticed what everyone has mentioned. When I first joined about a year and a half ago, it wasn't too bad. Just usual misc stuff. Now after I've come back it has become a little bad from what I can see. Then again, I don't check the misc forums too often.

But I do agree, if you have something that's not related to saber building, by all means post in the misc forums, but don't use it to self-promote yourself as something you aren't. We'd love to hear about a trip to LA to a comic con with you in cosutme or a big family event, and we'll definately be here for you when a personal or family tragedy happens. But don't post in the forums to make yourself look cool, or start a daily blog of your life.

This is a community of people who all share a hobby, it's not facebook or myspace to post random stuff.

Oh, and another thing I've noticed, people take advice as a reason to start a fight or a flame war. Take advice as that, advice, not as a reason to start argueing and flaming (not aimed at anyone specific). Some of us have flamethrowers that are a bit bigger than everyone elses

That's my 5 cents on this.

Maverick

[cardcollector]

Since I am "Fresh out of the box" new I wasn't going to contribute but after reading some of these posts here's what I think.

One of the reasons I joined this particular forum was because the community was (for lack of a better word) mature, and had a purpose- that was to build sabers.

I lurked a while before I joined so I kinda knew what was expected of new people. Granted, I made some mistakes, not searching as much as I should've, etc. But that's how we learn.

I think one problem is when new people join they don't understand the people on the forum and the way it is supposed to work. Then they get mad because older members tell them to calm down and find answers for themselves.

This forum is a great place to learn, contribute, and "nerd out". I will be here awhile.

[Nightwing]

1. Misc be made a no-post count area
2. Spell check and use proper grammar in every area but misc (if you desire not to)

I like those ideas (even if they'd make my post count go down the toilet :P ), but I think that the real problem isn't with post counts (though that's certainly a factor). It's more that people tend to use the Misc forum as if it's a chat forum.
We'd all love to read a thread about The Clone Wars TV series, but if it gets filled with random posts that don't actually have to do with the subject, it just gets harder for everyone else to read. Maybe we could have a rule about staying on-topic? Or, at the very least, that every post must relate to the thread subject in some way? People can still make jokes and whatnot as long as something in their post still contributes to the overall conversation.

I've got no problem at all with Misc post counts staying, since they still contribute to the overall community.


BTW, Maverick, nice post.

[Revan]

I agree with nightwing. as long as the thread stays on topic there shouldn't be much of a problem...

[Lord Maul]

It's more that people tend to use the Misc forum as if it's a chat forum.
We'd all love to read a thread about The Clone Wars TV series, but if it gets filled with random posts that don't actually have to do with the subject, it just gets harder for everyone else to read. Maybe we could have a rule about staying on-topic? Or, at the very least, that every post must relate to the thread subject in some way? People can still make jokes and whatnot as long as something in their post still contributes to the overall conversation.

I bolded the parts I really like.

So here's a quick run through of my new thoughts...

In Misc, every thread has to in some way relate to Star Wars/Lightsabers. No politics or news articles about some murder story. Also, no gripes about problems in your life, or threads on how your day was. The only exceptions are if you're posting a leave of absence type thread or asking for prayers/well wishes for an injured loved one. Regardless of which board you post in, please make sure that all your posts relate to the thread title, so the forums stay more organized.

[Jagahati]

I can fully support his new and revolutionary thinking. A good way to sum up this philosophy might be:

"If it doesn't bring anything to the conversation then leave it somewhere else."

If anyone wants to be a internet superstar I suggest you try Myspace or Facebook, you can find plenty of people just like you! These boards belong to Tim and they are about light sabers and how to make them.

See and nobody has to insult the intelligence of anyone.

I like this idea, it would also hopefully cut down on things like the dreaded "I like Pie" comments or "Cookies > Pie" or worst of all "O ryl". Anyone who has ever been to some other forums were standards are not as high will of course know what I am talking about.

Everyone has to be a n00b at some point, the least you can do is try to be a polite well spoken one and stay on topic. And just for the record that should also mean that griping at somebody to stay on topic without adding anything to the conversation is not staying on topic.

(Assuming of course that your n00bdom isn't as perfect as some people say mine is )

[Nightwing]

In Misc, every thread has to in some way relate to Star Wars/Lightsabers.

Technically the stuff in the store isn't "lightsaber" stuff anyway.

I think it still might be fun to have Misc be a "general geek" section. After all, we tend to have a pretty high interest in a lot of other geek franchises (like Halo) and the Misc forum tends to be a great place for that when done correctly. Maybe the Star Wars stuff should be in its own category?
The "personal stuff" might work as its own category as well. I've found that geek forums are often a great place to get advice, sympathy, etc. Another forum that I like to surf has its own thread titled "The 'I Need to Vent' Thread." That way the online community can still be built while not messing up every other thread at the same time.