Homepage Poll???

    Quote from "chukwagen"

    Call me radical, but can't this club be both? A social gathering/commradre for those who wish to immerse themselves that far, but also have a wealth of info for those looking for it? We don't have to be so dualistic in our defining of ourselves, do we?. I like the idea of a hybrid.



    That is what DeJA was orginaly ment to be a club of jeep owners and friends who got together to wheel and have fun.

    Quote from "fly-n-hi"

    This site seems to have become more of a social gathering then an informational site for jeep lovers. I pretty much stopped posting on this site because of that. I'm not one who is going to spend hours scrolling through the crap to find valid information or to respond to a problem someone is having.


    Wasn't it Joo who suggested a tech/reference page with more easily located issues? He cited problems with using the search function to find information on a specific topic. So why not incorporate his idea into any changes made to the website. It makes our info more readily accessible to the long term members and also makes our site more user friendly to the newcomers. But the general feeling of the posts was that this was not necessary. Now we have members on here stating they don't like sifting through all the crap to find what they're looking for. Obviously we do need a way to access technical information in an organized and categorized manner if we intend to keep the strictly jeep oriented members coming around. We do need to foster that fellowship if we want the club to grow and serve as an informative source for the general membership.


    fly-n-hi, this next part is in no way directed at you.


    Like Chuck said, why can't there be both on here. I never want to discourage anyone from either joining or continue coming around, but at what point to we get so strict and un-fun, that everyone stops coming around? That's why there is an off-topic forum. I ask you all this one question: Why do we all drive Jeeps, talk about Jeeps and, for some of us, eat, sleep and breath Jeeps? Why? Because they're fun. Only the millitary, certain other government agencies and people in need of a specific utility use purchase a Jeep from a practicallity standpoint. For the rest of us: fun, fun, fun. You ever looked at a Jeep brochure? Jeep stopped marketing plow attachments to farmers long ago. My owners manual from my 1978 CJ7 says right on the front cover: "Jeep, the baddest four letter word in offroading." 1978, 28 years, three decades ago Jeep knew damn well why people wanted to own one. Have we forgotten that in the span of a few years? Did Andrew put a lift kit on his Jeep because he cuts brush down along the side of power lines and needed a vehicle that could better access those areas? Did Slimer purchase his CJ because it made a practical vehicle to commute to work in daily? Did I purchase my Jeep because I find it interesting to try to find the source of the mysterious black goo in my driveway? I think not. We bought them because they are a blast to drive, they can take you cool places and people envy you on hot summer days when they see your top down and they daydream about pushing their minivan off a cliff.


    Anytime you bring a bunch of fun-loving, adventure seeking and (mostly) type-A personallities together into a group, you're going to have the goofballs and the jokers. It's in our blood. It's the same defining quality that leads us to purchase Jeeps in the first place. Asking us not to kid around and crack jokes would be like sticking a bunch of cleptomaniacs in charge of Wal-Mart's security. Put a fox in the hen house and you'll have chicken every night.


    So why not police the off-topic (Guam) stuff in the technical forums? Because a good portion of us are guilty of it. Other people mentioned in their posts that we have not had specific regulations, that instead, the forums are sort of self-moderating and when new people start getting out of line, they get a general consensus of how the club feels towards that and they stop coming around. Really? Well, I've seen plenty of Guam posted in modifications and jeep talk posted by people who've been here a lot longer than me and guess what? That was the general consensus I got from what I read; that an occasional funny here and there was harmless as long as it didn't hijack the thread or kill it. In fact, I believe our president stated something to that effect in the March meeting.


    In the poll, I noticed that, as of 8:45 this morning, seven people had voted for "Yes, so I hardly come around anymore." Wow seven people, in under 12 hours, overnight, on a particularly slow night on the boards. Seems like that option would recieve almost no votes if they in fact, 'hardly come around anymore.'


    Are there forums where joking around shouldn't be allowed? Ok, fine with me. Are there certain decency standards that should be kept in order to provide a family-safe atmosphere? Ok, but let's examine where we stand to lose more members, putting some fun and kidding into the regular topics or eliminating the fun altogether with a bunch of rules regulating how we have fun on a site belonging to a club that seems to market itself as a way for jeepers to come together to have fun. If the goofing off doesn't appeal to people looking strictly for technical info on Jeeps, then go with Joo's suggestion to have a well organized tech section and ban any jokes from that. That should solve that problem. Maybe people will drop it after that. Maybe some people will start coming around more often. Maybe people will feel 'safer' browsing while their kids are watching. Or maybe someone will just find something else to whine about and we'll all be back arguing about why we're here and why certain people aren't.


    Very well put. :up:

    Quote from "tedsbumper"

    Or maybe someone will just find something else to whine about and we'll all be back arguing about why we're here and why certain people aren't.



    this sums it up right here and was the point of my post..... try to regulate every little thing and you dont have people posting. and yes you are right some of the off topic posters have been around for awhile andrew posts off topic alot and kieth c used to and now that there are more doing it I guess the bod sees it as bad or to much. I say have your fun and do what you will.


    I also agree that most of the tech on this board could be answered with a fact page how much lift to fit these tires and do I need a sye with this much lift and so on and so forth it is the same answers that are asked every 6 months we tried to do this a year or 2 ago and it was decided not to do in fear that no one would post anything. honestly local jeep clubs are for gettin together with people you can meet and do things with yahoo, jeepsunlimited, 4x4wire.com and if you dare pirate4x4.com along with many many others are for tech


    have fun on the local board, look for hands on help and a group that gives as much as it takes and if you aint getting what you want find another club they are out there

    Quote from "tedsbumper"

    Very well put. :up:


    I agree. I'm not a paying member yet either, but if it were not for this website I wouldn't be any closer to having a jeep. I dont know the first thing about what makes a vehicle move, and I wouldnt have gotten a radiator, transfercase, or had anyone help explain or help replace these parts. I had no problem finding out the info I needed, and I think all the BS is what makes it interesting. I've never laughed my a$$ off on any other website. I've never rushed home to see what new topics are on a website. Everyone taking jabs at each other shows me that everyone likes each other and gets along well, like a family....

    I have a few thoughts on this topic


    1. The offensive comments, childish words and newbie bashing are so few an far between on this web site compared to other large scale forums like Pirate, Jeeps Unlimited and NAXJA.org.


    2. Censorship is bad in all forms! If you don't like something someone has to say or post, don't associate with them, tell them or ignore it.


    3. This is a club site and the club has a social group attached to it. You may have views that are different from others but censoring posts as a method of keeping people away is hypocritical and prejudice in itself and in my opinion speaks very poorly of the club as a whole.


    4. Consider that some people may have joined this club solely for the forum. I personally have decided to pay my dues the past 2 years solely based on the good advice and assistance I have received on this site. I consider my dues a donation for information. I have never been to a club function or meeting and in fact don't really agree with some of the conservative club values as a whole but to me the people, (members) on this forum speak volumes about the knowledge and Jeep spirit this clubs members have.


    5. The more the merrier.... and better! The source of all this concern is in direct relationship to the number of people using a site. When I first started visiting there would only be a couple of members and a couple of guests on when I was, now there are several dozen. When a forum like this expands and gets a bigger audience there is always gonna be few bad apples, don't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch or cause you to make rash changes to web site policy or club bylaws. Remember the Patriot Act is a bad thing lets not create our own on this site. The changes will be more damaging than a few ugly posts here and there. Be happy and proud that word of our club and use of our website has expanded in leaps and bounds.


    I would also like to suggest a solution rather than more opinions.


    Expand the site and numer of forum topics. Maybe the number of members and guests have outgrown the site in the digital sense that there isn't enough room. Maybe a good change would be to add more focused topics, instead of just Modifications, Add Engine mods, Suspension Mods, Street Mods and Performnce Mods to help focus threads to more precise discussion topics. I would also like to see a troubleshooting thread. Check out NAXJA.org or good forum/site design ideas.


    Maybe every post should be accompanied by a statement like this:
    "These ideas and opinions are the sole property of the poster and do not reflect the views and policies of DEJA or its members, please do not be offended by this users comments."

    I have one more point. If the website was cleansed of all the Off Topic stuff and the bickering, would DEJA loose more members then it would gain? If you have five people decide to join because the website cleaned up its act, would it be worth it if ten people decide not to join?

    I don't want to throw gasoline on a fire, but...

    I believe the OT stuff should stay in OT. I really don't care what color your cat is if the question asked is how to align a jeep. That kind of stuff is what brought the poll up. I also don't care if you have a problem with another member, a thread about needing welding help is not the time to call someone out. funny is one thing, it's fine. at the same time, don't be that guy that starts a 3 page OT hijack in a tech thread, which has become almost the norm around here anymore.

    Shew this b/s is really getting out of hand. I don't know who the coporate is but I guess tension has been building up for some time and someone just snapped. Now I read other post and it's just getting ridiculous. As a new member of this year, this is going to weigh in big time on deciding if I want to be a member next year. I thought there was a tight bond here but it looks like I was wrong now. That's the reason I joined. Starting to sound a little cliquey which I have had with baseball teams and things went down hill with our baseball teams. I had to leave, it got so bad b/c things weren't fun and we weren't winning when we had a great ball club. Just my opinion. :peace:

    Quote from "dejeepchick"

    I have one more point. If the website was cleansed of all the Off Topic stuff and the bickering, would DEJA loose more members then it would gain? If you have five people decide to join because the website cleaned up its act, would it be worth it if ten people decide not to join?


    Right on! :up: I kinda tried to make that point in my second post, but that that may not have come across. If we curtail the fun times to placate a few, then what do we do when a larger group finds something better to spend their time doing?


    One last point, I'm not going to attack anyone for how they view the younger/newer membership. I'm not going to respond specifically to anyone calling the off-topic stuff crap or certain antics juvenile. But what I will say is that those of us who goof off on here a lot also help out on here a lot. No I don't have a ton of technical know-how, but I do spend a lot of time on here and I do happen to know where a lot of posts are hidden (hidden meaning dropping down the forum list into obscurity.) I've helped new posters find info in other threads they may not have looked for or known where to look for before they posted a new thread. I helped Chris Harrison sell her Wrangler. I've posted items that I thought were relevant to the topic if I thought I could offer some inside knowledge on the topic. I offer what advice I can as long as it doesn't go beyond what little experience I actually have. Andrew Marino cracks jokes, but he is one of the most helpful and knowledgeable people on the board. I cannot think of any issue on which he was not willing to help out when asked. I don't think its fair to group us into the juvenile antics squad. I'm not saying anyone is; I'm just saying we're not a bunch of rowdy teenagers who come into the forums to raise hell and stick it to the man.


    The point is, yeah, our goofing off may upset a few, but for the most part, the goofballs are on here helping out just as much, if not more than the serious posters. We spend more time on the site than is healthy so we know a lot about what is going on and we try to help out where we can. All in all, I think we have a much more positive impact on the group than we do a negative one. Gosh, it looks like we can have our cake and eat it too!

    Just wanted to throw this in --

    When I joined, almost a year ago I felt very welcomed and was very suprised by my warm welcome. At first I was invited to a an event at the beach and was very happy everyone invited me. Jen, DrJ, Sara, Andrew, Ed, Ian, Kevin, and several other people that were there gave me the warmest welcome.

    At that point of my welcome, on the forums and in person is where I became happy I spent that money in a membership fee. I had a love for jeeps/cars before this and really no-one but a few friends to talk about it. The guys at the firehouse weren't really into talking about things like that and semi-made fun of me for it....


    There was so much information on this website that I spent a great deal of time on it, gaining so much knowledge that now I feel I must pass along.

    Then GWNF came, and I wheeled a bone stock Jeep through some crazy and tight trails. After that I knew there were friendships, and there were SEVERAL people who had a lot of knowledge about Jeeps. It felt great for everyone to have a common interest in on things. JEEPS!

    Today, it still feels good to be a member of this club (drama aside). Since I have researched so much about my Jeep I feel great about it. I can get under it and work on it if I have to, and fix what needs to be done. Before joining here I couldn't have done it. My Jeep will be "done" at some point, but then I will probably get a project Jeep of some sort.

    I'll be very honest, I joined right off the bat of this club when I found it. I found it BEFORE I bought my Jeep, and was looking forward to getting my Jeep and doing some things. I was amazed when it said "Trail Rides" and was happy that I could take a vehicle finally off-road legally!

    I'll take this time now to thank the DeJA guests and members who have helped me over the past year to gain the knowledge and work on jeep to do the modifications I have done. Warm welcomes is what this club is all about, and for some first impressions is not everything.

    Don't get me wrong. The Guest/Lurker status is simply a matter of location. I live quite a ways away from the core membership of this group. Most do not eat/sleep/live Jeep but have other interests. I am not a kid, I retired 5 years ago. I do have 2 Jeep WJs both 4.7 HOs, Overland & Freedom that were bought as longterm DDs but I also have a 93 Cobra and am building a TJ based 41 Willys PU, and a Ford based truck/crawler/farm implement and am about to start a Lotus 7 with a 392. If anything there is a bit of a problem with a we/they (members/guests) and if wider membership is desired it would be worthwhile to loosen that up a bit and possibly loosen up enough to encourage other brand (gasp) wheelers. After all the original the original Jeep was built by a number of companies which didn't include DC/MB, fact if I remember correctly they were the other side.

    This is kinda along the same lines as what Joo said.

    I was a completely idiot about Jeeps when I first went hunting for a TJ. I knew I wanted a newer one, and a soft top but that was about it.

    I spent alot of time on other boards (clubs, forums and company forums) and asked alot of questions. I must say that DEJA forums was one of the few I got real answers from that made sense and everyone's opinion seemed to be at least based on personal experience rather then just rants and ego wars. It is one of the main reasons I joined as a member here rather then in PA or NJ.

    I've asked alot of questions here and always gotten valuable information, which is way more then I can say about most other jeep forums. I don't think it's time to start changing forums or changing the community that is built here. If we did start changing things, even if we think it is for the better we might end up with something worse.

    Quote

    In the poll, I noticed that, as of 8:45 this morning, seven people had voted for "Yes, so I hardly come around anymore." Wow seven people, in under 12 hours, overnight, on a particularly slow night on the boards. Seems like that option would recieve almost no votes if they in fact, 'hardly come around anymore.'


    I don't feel this statement has any merit, because an e-mail was sent out pertaining to this Poll which cought my attention, plus DeJA is still my home page so I see whats going on quite often. I just don't respond or comment all that much anymore.

    As another new comer, guest, and hopeful soon to be member, i would like to voice my opinion. Yes, many times i've seen off topic posts where they shouldn't be, but the thread as a whole did not go off topic. A simple jab was all it was. A few threads have gone off topic, and within days, faded into obscurity, to be replaced by another topic. But one thing that the membership should know is that the off topic content has helped me see what kind of group of people DeJA consists of. The movie posts, post about music, fishing, and what ever else people can think of to find out about other common interests have led me to conclude one thing. This is a group that I want to be a part of, because while a jab may occur here or there, the group as a whole is tight knit, and everyone is willing to help anybody in need in a heartbeat.


    As far as tech help, i haven't need any as of yet, but i still visit these topics just to see who is doing what, and i've seen alot of advice given. These threads, for the most part, remained on topic. Those that strayed from the topic with a jab or funny remark immediatly came back with a suggestion to the problem. One of my first posts was a thread i started to locate a jeep. Within a week, i had found one, put down a deposit, and now the only thing left is for my work schedule to coincide with someone elses schedule, so that i can pick it up. This site was very helpful to me, especially since i'm only a guest. I would have taken months to find one otherwise. The thread never went off topic, and was extremely helpful.


    Summarizing my two cents, I think the tech section and swap meet areas have been extremely helpful to those who needed help. The off topic section has been extremely helpful to me, allowing me to see what kind of people you all are, and i am very enthusiastic about joining because of this website. I think the club in the public eye is exactly what you want it to be.

    Quote from "jeepartie"

    That kind of stuff is what brought the poll up.


    Prove it. DrJ STILL hasn't clarified it despite my numerious requests, the email he sent out doesn't explain it either, nor does the poll itself.


    Take an example, there are four posts made yesterday:
    Post A
    Post B
    Post C
    Post D


    I think Posts A and B are OT. Joo thinks B and C are fine. Slimer thinks C and D are juvenile. BBD thinks A, B, and C are in good humor. SaraTJ thinks Posts A, C, and D are offensive. Jeepchick thinks C and B are. tedbumper thinks all four need to be removed. jeeprubicon thinks all four are perfectly acceptable.


    Who decides which ones get deleted? If everyone does nothing gets posted yesterday.


    As I said the poll is useless - everyone has their own idea what consitutes "juvenille and OT" and no guidelines have been established to determine what makes a J or OT post.

    Quote from "FT4654"

    Summarizing my two cents, I think the tech section and swap meet areas have been extremely helpful to those who needed help. The off topic section has been extremely helpful to me, allowing me to see what kind of people you all are, and i am very enthusiastic about joining because of this website. I think the club in the public eye is exactly what you want it to be.


    That sums it up better than I did. I agree wholeheartedly.

    Well, now for my non-member $0.02 :)


    I believe that censorship *at all* does not have its place in a recreational club's bylaws. I strongly believe that people who do not 'fit in' will simply leave due to the fact that they are not accepted by the majority of the members.


    A perfect example is that I myself chose not to join when Linyee was stomping around claiming that the club had to do this or had to do that or that family members of a paying member get to vote on issues even if they dont themselves have a membership and then whining about it over and over on a thread that the entire world could see because it was posted to Jeeps Unlimited as a 'support Steve Smith' thread. I've come back in hopes that there are less people trying to impose thier family values in annoying and inappropriate ways onto my recreational activities.


    This, of course, does not include random people signing up for accounts with the sole purpose of ruining people's threads or otherwise disrupting the board. Those accounts should be banned immediately without any debate as they would not be paying members anyway.


    I do agree with one of the previous posters that if there is to be enforcement of a given morality or posting policy on the boards, those policies should in-fact be posted in the bylaws as should the methods of enforcement. This is mainly due to the fact that access to the members only section of the forum is something that people ARE in fact receiving as a service for thier payment. In addition, those who are 'banned' or 'kicked' from the forum under the rules in the bylaws ought to be 'banned' or 'kicked' from the club as well.


    Lastly,if a given poster violates the 'bylaws', there should be some warning method (X warnings in a given time period = temporary forum/club suspension, Y warnings in a given time period = 1 year ban from club AND forum... whatever policy you choose). Deleting posts from threads or locking threads in the event of a violation is a very poor way to deal with the situation of a hijacked thread due to the fact that the original poster now has to open a new thread to address the same issue(s) etc....


    Anyway, that's just my humble opinion. I could be and likely am wrong :) That being said, if I see too many threads get locked or posts getting deleted - I'll get the wrong idea about the leadership of the club and perhaps I'll think that it is not majority rule, rather it is random people making random decisions about how things are done. This, above all, would result in my not joining if I were new to the site and were just probing around.


    --Randall

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!

Register Yourself Login