Is it less civil on BITOG, or is it just me?

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I've been a member for less than a year, and it seems to me there's a disturbing decline in grace and civility on BITOG. Maybe it's just me, but I seem to notice a lot more smart-aleck comments, put downs, and one-upsmanship. Used to be friendly debates and discussions where reasonable people could disagree in a friendly manner. Now, they too often turn into downright insults and name-calling. Heck, I like and use humor as much as the next guy, but some of the things I read here lately go beyond humor and into flaming and vitriol.

What happened? Or am I just being too "sensitive"?

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I'm with you, Lou.

I found BITOG to be one of the few automotive boards that was civil.

Unfortunately, some threads here have degraded in recent weeks and months. I don't know how that happened either.
 
It happens from time to time, people notice it, and it changes.

The long timers get tired of people asking poorly-written simple dumb questions that they could find in a search. The short timers are sometimes rude, etc.

But this type of thing tends to be quite cyclical, it happens.

JMH
 
I think a lot of people are cranky because it's been so cold all across most of North America the last few weeks. I know I've been a lot more cranky since our weather got so much colder! I'll cheer up once our temps finally go above freezing again!
 
I have noticed that for sure!!!! ive been coming to this site for 4 years. i just recently got memebership and everyone has been on my back. Oh you don't have this car blah blah blah. i mean common why would i come lie on the internet does it make sense? how stupid are you to question what cars i own and what i don't own, what do i gain from lying to you? i just joined this site because i have a great interest in lubrication!
 
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I've been a member for less than a year, and it seems to me there's a disturbing decline in grace and civility on BITOG. Maybe it's just me, but I seem to notice a lot more smart-aleck comments, put downs, and one-upsmanship. Used to be friendly debates and discussions where reasonable people could disagree in a friendly manner. Now, they too often turn into downright insults and name-calling. Heck, I like and use humor as much as the next guy, but some of the things I read here lately go beyond humor and into flaming and vitriol.

What happened? Or am I just being too "sensitive"?

dunno.gif





It seems to be more about winning an argument or getting people to think as you do instead of facts and real-world experience.
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I have seen a lot more snide nitpicking responses in the last few months. I have been a member about 3 years and apart from the great info, one of the things I liked was the civility.

It used to be that the only posts that generated any hostility were the ones like
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"I am a total newbie, what is Auto-RX
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, is Mobil1 the best oil in the world for every single application
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, and since my oil is a 5w30 how much thicker will it be at operating temperature than it is in winter?
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"

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Now I see people getting snippy not just because of the weather, but about the weather.
 
Woosies


/scampers away extra quick before cats and hurled rocks can impact tender body
 
I have not been here too long but I have noticed what I think is rude behavior. There are lots of people with various backgrounds and experiences on this site. Even if a person feels or knows that they are right they should respect the opinions of others. It appears that some people just can not resist the urge to lash out or back at others. It sometimes reminds me of kids fighting on the playground.
 
Some is failed attempts at humor, some is just no it all's, some is just rude, some were just poorly chosen words, some is tongue in cheek.

Some in the case of the Mobil1 stuff is people feeling a bit betrayed and angry so the hostility will rise in those threads. I have not noticed to much more lately. Sure it is like other forums I frequent that it ebbs and flows. Some weeks it will ratchet up and up and then people get tired of the #@$%! and we all settle down. Those that don't should be ignored and it will stop.
 
Seriously, a Forum for Noobs that they will be limited to for the first 10-20 posts. They can post their comments and questions there be helped-out by other Noobs until they either figure it out by themselves or get a Sr. Member who feels like commenting.

Wiseazzes who come here with fully-entrenched idiotic notions and must re-learn everything over from scratch after being de-programmed...they seem to stir the pot a lot in the process. The Noobs can graduate to regular status after a Mod sees they come with good intentions and an open mind. Other Members who act-up can be sent back down to Noobville for a while, then after they repay their Karmic debt by helping out the Noobs for a month they are allows back to the big leagues.
 
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Seriously, a Forum for Noobs that they will be limited to for the first 10-20 posts. They can post their comments and questions there be helped-out by other Noobs until they either figure it out by themselves or get a Sr. Member who feels like commenting.

Wiseazzes who come here with fully-entrenched idiotic notions and must re-learn everything over from scratch after being de-programmed...they seem to stir the pot a lot in the process. The Noobs can graduate to regular status after a Mod sees they come with good intentions and an open mind. Other Members who act-up can be sent back down to Noobville for a while, then after they repay their Karmic debt by helping out the Noobs for a month they are allows back to the big leagues.




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Good idea!

But wait, please tell me I have graduated past the noob stage!
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How about a forum just for the real deal oil experts only? Some "mega-posters" and "experts by their own lights" would not qualify and some with only a few posts would. "Credentials" required or something like that.
I always enjoy reading the posts of certain people, gentleman all, who from time to time add their expert knowledge, opinions and thoughts to a thread. It might get some of the old timers to post more if they didn't have to endure goofy questions and comments from guys like me.
 
It helps to not have an opinion. I know which oils a good and which oils are total garbage, but I sure as heck am not going to tell you.
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Agreed.

Looks like mori and buster and I will need to cut back.

Seriously - it depends mostly on the threads you click on. If you don't like to read any "ugly" threads don't click on them. Oh.

As a side note just avoid any threads that have any question of conventional vs. synthetic. Be warned that this thread type takes MANY forms. Posters will do their best to disguise this "discussion" - mostly noobies - but sometimes some asinine deekwad with 200-300 mostly stupid posts will ask this question along the lines of "how often should I pi~~ per day?" . Also avoid any threads with "You ARE a piece of sh~~" in the title.

Have a GREAT and FRIENDLY day!
 
When I joined approximately 2.5 years ago it was because I genuinely was interested in the science of lubrication. I naively assumed that the board consisted primarily of people that worked in the field and had actual working knowledge about oil.Sadly that is not the case. Yes there are some genuine experts that are highly trained and some that are self taught that post.It has become increasingly frustrating to wade through the endless topics about which oil smells best and who makes Super Tech in order to find the ocassional piece of worthwhile information. How many Havoline vs GTX or Pennzoil vs Valvoline topics have to be posted before someone stops asking questions that can't be answered? We have posters that want to be taken seriously when they ask which oil to run in their BMW but they type like a 12 year old girl sending her boyfriend an instant message.I believe way too many people overstep their ability by their attempts to "analyze" or "interpret" every UOA and give their recomendations.Auto Unions suggestion of a NOOB status is one of the best ideas I've seen here recently.With 16,000 members on a board that has been around for 5 years why would a new member think they could possibly say something that hasn't been said before? My .02 cents worth from a cranky, disgruntled member that has seen the quality of what used to be an outstanding board decline.
 
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