the more i see and try other boards , the more i realize how well this is ran . i dont always agree with everything , but it is done and ran very well . i think i just assumed all boards were the same . the level of crudity some boards sink to amazes me . some of the language and disrespect that is not tolerated here is rampant on other boards . i really think the mods can make or break a board , well i have to say thanks mods . i have come to realize just how good a job you do . my hat is off to you . tim

yeap!

Although at times, the mods have to step in and perform some downs..

For the most part, this site is self policing.. we give people just enough rope to hang themselves among their own peers.. We are a small collective in the big world out there and its not easy to "hide" so to speak.. Eventually you will run across another GD.COMer and I honestly think that because most people have met and have become friends - life is much easier for our mods and members.

Its the entire village that makes this island worthy..

rob ,i should have also mentioned ,that i think the people here are a big part of that . not to downplay the members because you are right , the caliber of member here is usually mature and family oriented . most of us do a good job of being respectful to others . so , my hat is off to the members also . tim

its really the members that make the board. im a member on about 2 dozen forums and not many of them compare to gd.

gd.com is my all time favorite site!

I have the same thoughts, I tried to use some of the other bords but I cant stand them.

Whaddya mean other boards??

Is there something on this here interweb beside Gd.com and pron sites??


Who knew?

2 reboots a day!

Kum bay ya,Kum bay ya

I am a moderator at Wattflyer.com a forum dedicated to Electric RC flight.
It is freaking amazing how many spam bots log in, and how many folks just dont understand what a forum is for.

Hundreds each week.


Amazing..

Check it out if you like RC aircraft.. www.wattflyer.com I'm NitroBlast.

LOL..i didnt know

and resistance is futile...........

It's all about the Kum-ba-ya here

so basically, you're sayin' it's Chummin's fault?

John

I completely agree with this site versus others, however you do see some strange birds every now and then on this site and its obvious they just don't fit in and they fly on.

We have many that have also taken up permnent residence.........

To an extent, I agree with you, but I also disagree with some of what you posted.

While I agree that this site does have a lot less crudity, and appears more family oriented, that doesn't seem to be a really big issue to that many people, as witnessed by how many other sites it is allowed on based on your own observations. In other words, internet forums are quite often a reflection of society as a whole, and the subset of people who are interested in that particular topic that the website is devoted to. If you see a lot of crudity and rudeness on the web, it's a reflection of the society that the members are from.

What makes this board different, (and makes the mod's jobs much more difficult) is the lack of a unified list of rules that are enforced objectively and equally throughout the board. The fact is, "Don't be a McPenis" has a different definition for everyone on here, and is too vague for anyone to follow, or any mod to enforce with any consistency. The end result is more work for the mods trying to explain their actions, why the exact same behavior was allowed by a different member in another thread, yet resulted in a suspension for that member. Most websites have a list of common sense, specific rules that are enforced equally all the time, regardless of the moderator's mood or the particular subforum they are in.

Another issue is the amount of useless chatter in a lot of threads. I've been on quite a few other forums, and the ones that I've found to be most useful had a much different culture. A few of them actually banned people who did not use the search function, asked stupid/redundant questions, asked questions that were answered in the FAQ, or hijacked other people's threads with their own questions. While this all seems harsh, if a website has 200,000 active members, if you don't cut down on redundant, stupid, hijacked or FAQ posts, you'll soon end up with a useless mess that no one can find any useful info on. Here, they just keep all of the useless crap in cheff's lounge and throw a password on it to keep it behind a curtain.

One positive thing about this site (if you want to look at it that way) is the policy of not banning anyone. A lot of other sites I've been on have been very quick to ban trolls and anyone they deem as not really "up to standards." Especially more academically or scientifically oriented sites. They can tell pretty easily who is not a PhD in bioengineering just by spelling and grammar. Makes it much easier to read the posts, at least.
The drawback to not banning trolls or idiots is... well, it's obvious.

Anyways, that's my objective comparison of some other websites I've been on. I haven't been on too many that attracted the lower lifeforms, probably because my interests are different, so I never joined any bottom feeder sites. Overall, gd.com is fun. I like it a lot. But I don't come on here looking for investment advice, psychological counseling, child rearing tips, etc. There are other forums with certified experts for that kind of stuff.

Steve, you could have just used this instead of that mild diatribe

Oops, my bad!

I agree 100%. This site is great but it also has a little too much of non sand dune issues. If I try to search something dune related I get a ton of chatter non related to my search. I have been on multiple forums also and the is one other which is ran very well www.dumontduneriders.com Pete does an excellent job of keeping it dune releated and not a bunch of chatter.Yiah

^^^^ Ban him..........................................