I'm still here, although I have chosen not to participate in this forum for the last few months for a number of reasons.
Firstly, I have been working away a lot and haven't had the time or inclination to post.
Secondly, I am increasingly saddended by the attitudes and behaviour of many people on here. It seems that in the last 6 months, this place has just sunk into a mire of crap. Hundreds of pointless posts about pointless subjects, and that's the on topic stuff !! OT threads have always been a bone of contention with many people and personally, I have never had a problem with them, so long as they are clearly marked and not just worthless crap. Unfortunately that hasn't been the case of late.
Also, there was a huge raft of "political" rants with people badgering each other with the "opinions" and "beliefs", some of which bordered on (and in some cases breached) the lines of what is deemed offensive and insulting. These threads also involved senior members of this club and that disappointed me.
There are certain individuals who, although in the minority, are spoiling the whole BOO forum experience. They know who they are and I'm not naming names. Many members have contacted me privately over the last few months and the same names keep cropping up.
There is a time and place for all types of posts. What many forget is that this is a car forum, designed to benefit owners of a particular marque. If I was a new owner coming here, I'd not be hanging around for very long based on what I can see here, and this is potentially discouraging new members, whose funding and involvement keep this place going. Eventually, the beligerence shown by many members will result in BOO becoming unsustainable and closing altogether.
I've been here for 5 and a half years now and seen many "users" come and go. We've always had our fair share of numpties, but recently this population has grown. I'll be totally honest and say that I truly believe this to be down to the fact that the Bravo range is now affordable to new, young drivers. Kids who have just passed their test and are pumped full of testosterone, thinking that they can buy a 1.2 and turn it into a 150mph street racer. A lot of these individuals are absolutely fine, but there are more and more people appearing who have no respect or regard for fellow users and this in turn leads to trolling and flame fests. The level of abusive anonymous postings seems to have increased too and there is little we can do about that with the current forum format.
At the end of the day, this place has become somewhere I am a lot less fond of staying around. I have much better things to do and more constructive ways of spending my time than to have to fend off ignorant trolls and posters of constant, unintelligible nonsense. Yes, I am a moderator, but I also have a life outside of BOO, as do all the mods and Wimmy too. A moderators job should be minimal work. Other users should have the decency, integrity and respect for others, not to post crap and to understand what this place is for and, more importantly, what it is not for.
Those are my reasons why I haven't been around and every time I think it might be getting better, certain people very quickly prove me wrong and it all falls down again.
I can't speak for the other people that haven't been around much lately, but I do know that I am not alone in my thoughts and sentiments, not by a long shot.
Anyway, rant over
Ta-ra !
Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX
