Etiquette in Responses?

Well, I am sure we have out moments even on here. But I do think in the main, people here do there best to help others. I know sending people parts and other items is a common think, I have sent people stuff and been on the receiving end as well. Sometimes people might lose their rag a bit on certain things, but with a large group of people tats to be expected at times I guess.

I have tried a few other forums, but none of them have hooked me. I find myself posting for a while, then I get to the point when I forget and then have to force myself to post something. In my years here, I have just found the general atmosphere to be friendly and helpful, and despite the little hiccups now and again, we seem to dust ourselves off and move on.

Glad you have been able to settle in, like many of the newer members who make the effort and join in, its hard to think you have only been here 8 months.

I'm with you, Bish. I am appalled at online behavior in all kinds of other forums.

Just today I was trying to find a real estate agent because we are planning to move. I giggled "Best real Estate agents" and right away found a site with a very intense flame war, like:

"this agent was worthless and stupid".

"Oh yeah, well you try to sell a home"

and so on.

The occasional grump comes along here. But they always find that there aren't any buttons to push, and they move along. I think it really helps that the mods do it for a living- they have the reputation of the magazine at stake.

They also host a group build now and then; see where Bish did H & V. It really helps the sense of family.

A couple of years back there was a very popular and well run Group Build called the FAA (Fleet Air Arm).

It reinvented itself every year with a new subject, and went outside of just the FAA. It's in the server somewhere- you'd enjoy it. Towards the end of its life a number of its members either stopped posting all together or wandered elsewhere.

As a thank you to Darren who was the longtime host, we purchased, took turns building and gave him the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire. That modelstarted in the Southern US, went north, came west. went up to British Columbia, and crossed the ocean to Guam, Australia and finally Britain. I'm sure I missed a few, but along the way someone made a good wooden box for it. We all signed the box top, and we all posted a build log on a website that was created for the purpose.

That was a LOT of fun.

EDIT: Dug the sucker up and bumped it in Group Builds.

Welcome Cody and I'm glad you pointed this out.

Sorry to hear about that, Cody.  I think we've all been there.

We had some darker days here at the FSM forums for a while.  There were a few jerks that were really infecting the forums with their bad attitudes.  Fortunately, the moderators stepped up and did the right thing by banning most of them.  I'm sure it was a tough call to make since alot of these bad apples were big contributors to the forums but in the end it was the best decision.  Since then, these forums have been so much more pleasant to be a part of.

Of course, when you get hundreds of people on one place you're bound to have a few arguments and spats.  But generally these boards are very friendly and cordial.

I'm not a member of any other forums, however, i have stumbled across a few when googling kit reviews etc. I'm amazed at how some are run. If it was a business, you would never let customers be treated that way.

I second what GMorrison said about FSM having their reputation at stake - i think this really helps keep a level head and business-like approach to the forum, which makes it friendlier to everyone who comes along.

I remember a few years ago i posted some completed builds, nothing spectacular, anyhow, for some reason a troll came along and decided to deride my work and attack my reason for posting pics, rather than provide any constructive criticism on the work.

Needless to say, the other members here were quick to step in and the moderators showed Mr/Mrs Troll the door.

It all happened so fast - i actually didn't even see the responses until after they'd been booted.

I think this camaraderie is why i enjoy spending so much time online here - not to mention the the great tips and seeing everyone's builds.

I think the biggest problem is that online life removes a bit of the personal "face to face" part of human interaction.  So a lot of misunderstanding can happen.  But there are always going to be a$$holes no matter where you go.  For example, on the Ghosts of War Facebook page they posted a neat image of some Panzer MK III tanks.  I made a comment about how I thought the Panzer MK III was one of the coolest looking tanks from WW2.  Another guy responded how he still thought the Tigers looked cooler.  Out of the blue a third guy says to both of us "Are you guys SERIOUSLY admiring the enemy!?"  I managed to keep my cool and respond in a polite matter, but I really did want to teach that man some manners.

Brian

CodyJ

I know the other forum you are referring to as I am also a member of that forum and saw your requests on both forums. I did offer some suggestions and you were polite in your response (one saying that they were the single tyres and the other that they looked like what you would need).

I have also seen comments that were not constructive. All I can say is if you do not want to participate in a discussion use the "stop receiving emails on this subject" link. No more emails on that!! Also with  the comments you could be sending it to a 70 year old veteran or a 7 year old beginner or even a 70 year old beginner. We all needed to start somewhere and the more support you can offer the better. Remember the more people we turn off model building, the less that get sold and the less variety we have and eventually the hobby could die out all together. In Australia the number of places that you can buy models and accessories had dropped dramatically (the nearest reasonable model shop for me is 3 hours drive away).

So give encouragement, and if suitable, constructive suggestion (ie did you think about doing this?) and be supportive and remember the old saying "If you cannot say something good do not say anything at all!!!"

I have been on a few other forums. I tried for a while to contribute to all equally. Some were pleasant, others far less so. Those I no longer participate in. FSM will always be my online modeling home. This is where I first began to partake in online hobby activities, and while it took awhile to get established here, the saying that you get out of it what you put in to it, holds very true here.  My participation here led to joining the local IPMS & AMPS chapters. This place has its ups and downs, but overall I can't think of any better. And that is because of the members. I'm not going anywhere...

I don't know guys after all the garbage you deal with in work and having to deal with people as well as the garbage in the world.... a hobby forum is the place you want to wind down.  You cant do that when some people turn fun into a war of words.  For example...  I sometimes play Xbox online with other friends.  We are always in a group chat so we don't have to listen to the other people we play against.  Some dudes get soooo mad when they lose or are not doing well.  When people started telling others to go kill themselves and insulting their mothers, we decided that's enough and we dont chat with others (who we dont know) much anymore.  Just avoids more arguments.

Hey Les.61... I always appreciate any help or suggestions that are given.  People don't have to give their opinion or time to help, so when they do I consider it a very nice gesture.  I posted on those threads that I had found some so people wouldn't be looking without a need to.  Then Mr Yo-yo comes in and gets mad cause I didn't personally thank him.  To tell you the truth I didn't think a thing of it.  Of course I appreciate his suggestion.  Just cause I forgot to personally thank him isn't a good reason to get bent out of shape.  

Probably wasn't the best time to see that cranky message either......  I just got off Jury duty and had to rush to work.

Did he seriously get angry because you were not sufficiently grateful?Wow!methinks you may want to spend more time on this forum!

This is a high quality forum because it is sponsored by a good company, Kalmbach Publishing and its subsidiary, FSM magazine, and we have a great bunch of moderators keeping watch over what goes on here.  A big thanks to the moderators!…As well as the members, all of you, who keep it helpful and civil!

It's our southern charm....

I, too, have had my share of rude folks in different forums. In fact, a few months ago, I was banned from a forum (not related to modeling) by one particular moderator. This forum I have contributed greatly by giving advice regarding saltwater aquaria keeping by helping other beginner aquarists with polite courtesy and respect.

Anyways, this particular mod has a history of issuing infractions against others, including me, for no reasons at all. Even the tiniest thing offends / ticks him off. God forbid if you joined in on a joke against him - you'll get an infraction from him no matter what. Oh yeah, let's not forget he NEVER contributes giving advice to anyone on any subject within the forums. Go figure...

After awhile, it became apparent he's been trying to bait me into getting another infraction for quite some in order to ban me from the forums. Finally, having had enough of his baiting shenanigans and his high and almighty power tripping nonsense; I ripped into him what I thought of his power tripping behavior and his attitude out in the forums for all to see.

When he got wind of me ripping into him and exposing his behavior, he banned me for life thus meaning the ban will never be lifted against me nor I will never be able to re-register to that website's forums. (I actually called his attitude / behavior liken to being a Gestapo.)  I guess the truth hurts.

Am I sorry I reacted this way? No. He got what he wanted - a lifetime ban against me. (Move over Pete Rose. LOL!) So high schoolish I know....

Will I go back and attempt to re-register down the road? No. Not worth dealing with drama and politics within. Plus because the attitude there is if you're not accepted or sophisticated enough in other cliquey mods' eyes, you will never get the respect from them no matter what. Basically, you're a peon.

Before I was formally given the lifetime ban, I was able to sleep well at night then knowing a of couple mods in that site informed me I've always shown respect to them and other members as they to me.

Unfortunately, they could not sway the offending mod to reconsider my lifetime ban.

Sounds like a forum that's circling the drain.

Yeah, I popped smoke on another forum after one of their administrators got another forum that I was on shut down on Proboards because he was offended and had some thin skin regarding comments of his snobbiness and haughtiness. So he torpedoed 100+ modelers work at that site thru pro boards which has a "we can shut you down for anything" clause in their terms of use. Needless to say I dont use any other proboards sites anymore either. I said my piece and left- and was pronounce "banned".  Like telling a guy who has just quit that he is fired... hah!

Sorry to hear about that on that forum BlackSheepTwoOneFour.  Sounds like a Creep.  Why people like that are put in any position of power.....  I will never know.

Power is proved by the wisdom of its user.

A lack of power or maybe judgement is demonstrated in the same way.

geez, that Stik guy sounds like real trouble on forums

I sure hope he is not like that in real life,,,,,,someone might call the cops or something.

(I really hope people reading this know that I am yanking on his chain)

But, back to the OP. I never consider anything I post in someone's thread to be something that I need to insist a thank you is given me for posting it.  If someone posts something that is really helpful, a thanks is cool, and I give those thanks to people, without expecting them myself. A short thank you is sort of expected if you give something to someone, and I can't think of one single time I sent something to someone and he didn't thank me for it.

I used to belong to a lot of forums,,,,but, slowly and surely I am whittling that down to only a few. I have a folder that I call "former sites",,,,,,I hardly ever click that folder open, and links just sit in there and stagnate. Most sites get shoved into there because of the rude members, some because of the mods or owners.  It will amuse some of you that some sites got put into that folder and ignored because of the way some Rivet Counters posted,,,,,,,it must have been some pretty snotty stuff if an Admitted Rivet Counter didn't like it, lol.

I think the secret to being happy on a forum like this one is that here there seems to be a pretty wide variety of models and modelers, no one seems to care whether you build a Monogram Bearcat or a Sword Bearcat,,,,,,,they just care how well it turned out for you and whether you enjoyed it or not,,,,,so, the guy that prefers the Sword will still offer help and advice if the Monogram guy asks for it. Scale is the same way,,,,,1/48 builders give attaboy's to 1/72 and vice versa,,,,,without the sniping that can sometimes come up.

^ long winded way to say I like FSM's forum and online resources

Rex

I have to agree with everyone on this one.  I too have gone to other sites.  I'm not a member of any of them!  I'll lurk and read posts and see what the "atmosphere" is like, and like others have said here, it was appalling!  The degrading of ones work was running abound in all of them.  Here, you don't see many if ANY harsh words on a build someone has done.  As long as you are having fun, who cares if the color is a little off, or you don't have historically accurate decals........or in my case, you put the decals on backwards on one side of the aircraft!    LOL!  Bish PM'd me about it and we had a great laugh!  It was pretty funny!  

No, this is home, this is family.  And like all families, there might be a squabble or two, but in the end, we all laugh and press on.  Life's to short to worry about the small stuff....and everything is small stuff!

Thanks to everyone at FSM for a great forum, and thanks to the forum family for being who you are!

Eagle90

I'll chime in with 3 ideas I've learned over the few years I've been around forums and the internet in general;

1)  What someone says or types to or about you says more about them than you.

2)  Google "psychology internet troll".

3)  Never feed a troll.

I couldn't agree with Cody or anyone else on here more.  FSM was the first modeling forum I ever joined.  Later, I came across and joined a couple of other forums and I quickly observed the petty sniping and bickering which Cody mentioned.  To put it succinctly, I've noticed that the wonderful members here on FSM build you up while members on the other forums tear you down.

Bickering and snide attitudes are all over the internet.  I was reading a series of posts on a cake baking forum (of all places!) that really spiraled down to hurtful name calling.  Martha Stewart would say that is NOT a good thing.

FSM RULES!!!

Eric

LOL @ Tarnship...

I'm going to say this - FSM forums is one of the best forums I'm proud to be a part of. No drama, lots of laughs and definitely no shortages of tips and advice on a wide variety of subjects. FSM should be proud.

I, too, have wittled down on forums as well. As of now, I only have four. Four is a nice number too. LOL!

Like Eric, this was the first modeling forum I have joined. And it looks like I hit a Grand Slam with the first pitch!

This forum is fantastic! Great atmosphere, great bunch of extremely knowledgeable modelers. You could not ask for more.

I have no need to seek any other forums! Very happy here.

CodyJ, its a shame you have to feel that way because some people do not know how to conduct themselves in a more reasonable manner.

I like this site and I joined it as soon as it began in January 2002 (or somewhere around that time). I was already known and established at several other modeling websites at least 5-6 years before joining here.

The thing I really like about FSM is the wide breath of modeling skills. I mainly speak about the armor side of the house because that's where my main interests lie. We'll get new modelers who are gluing their first kit as well as established master modelers who have had models featured in the magazine. There is even a modeler who doesn't build, but just commissions them and then posts photos. Some people are hard on the builds, but I don't see the harm with the kits. There are all types here.

The one thing I don't like about this site is when someone asks for an opinion on a kit, assistance or critique with their build or something regarding accuracy, DO NOT POINT OUT ERRORS!!! If you do, you will be labeled a rivet counter, nitpicker or joy sucker, but not by the person asking, but by a self appointed defender who will inform the original poster to build it and just have fun. There must be a duty roster because it isn't the same person and I guess they just take turns posting the "build OOB defense."

Rob Gronovius

 

The one thing I don't like about this site is when someone asks for an opinion on a kit, assistance or critique with their build or something regarding accuracy, DO NOT POINT OUT ERRORS!!! If you do, you will be labeled a rivet counter, nitpicker or joy sucker, but not by the person asking, but by a self appointed defender who will inform the original poster to build it and just have fun. There must be a duty roster because it isn't the same person and I guess they just take turns posting the "build OOB defense."

This is the one thing that really gets on my nerves. If people want to spend hours doing researche and build as accurately as possible, that up to them.

And if people want to just build it however they feel like and paint it what ever colour they want, again, that's up to them.

There seem to be extremists on both sides, but the anti accuracy crowd are certainly in the majority and certainly more vocal. Their main issue seems to be when people give advice on accuracy. But unless you know the person does not care, how are you to know they don't want the advice. All they have to do is say thank you, no one forces them to use the advice.

But, I bet other sites are just as bad on this issue.

Rob, I personally am one who likes to have my work critiqued. If I, or the model company, makes and error, that is correctable I would like to know about it. Especially on a work in progress thread where I can go back and correct it before the kit is completed without much fuss. Yeah, all the oohs, ahhs and attaboys feel nice, but  the 'you  might want to address this problem' posts help you improve your skills and builds way more than the pats on the back. Yes I much prefer a tactful delivery to a verbal smack on the head, but if the critique is true and delivered with the intent of helping me, please send it. Errors by the manufacturer that require expensive AM replacement are usually not an option for me currently. But if correction is within my skills and or spares box and I have no pressing timelines, I will likely go back and correct the gig mentioned.

I have done it before, a Dragon Sherman Firefly build comes to mind where T26/Roy Chow caught something that Dragon showed incorrectly (big suprise, right?) and advised me of and how to correct.

So for those of you who do have technical knowledge of a subject, please continue to share it with me. And I am sure other folks here will continue to appreciate such input as well.

stikpusher

 

So for those of you who do have technical knowledge of a subject, please continue to share it with me. And I am sure other folks here will continue to appreciate such input as well.

I'll second that. I know Roy, amongst others, helped me out hugely with the 88 I built a few months back. I know that if they had kept quiet and I had found things out later, I would have been kicking myself.

I agree with you all, tempered with a slight sideways move.

We are all made up differently.

I happen to be a really sensitive guy in regards to personal criticism. Professional all day long.

Can't help it just the way I roll.

Knowing that keeps me from saying too much to people I am not too familiar with.

I like it when I see a person new to the hobby post their latest builds.  Yeah I'll see the giant thumb print in the glue or on the canopy.  I'll see the decal upside down or even something glued on backwards.  But what I love about it is that they're trying and they weren't afraid to make mistakes!  Remember when we were all like that with our first kits?

Whenever I see something like that, I like to: 1) praise the person for their great effort and for jumping into the hobby, 2) point out the things I like about their build, 3) mention the "oopsies" that I saw, 4) mention how they can prevent it on their next kit, and 5) reinforce how I think they're doing a great job and how I can't wait to see their next build.  Actually, this is how I like to treat the new person and even the seasoned model building vet.

Again, it all goes back to how I love how the people on this forum lift each other up rather than tearing someone down.

Eric

Advice and criticism is fine...as long as it is being asked for.  It the poster just wants to share a build then critiques and advice really need to be avoided.

Likewise, if advice and criticism are being asked for then the other people reading the replies need to respect that.  For example, there was a thread were a plane builder asked people what they thought of his work.  This plane was flawlessly built.  But the weathering was a bit strange and deliberate looking.  It sort of looked cartoonish.  One of the forum members pointed this out in a very nice and non-hostile way after complimenting the other aspects of the build.  Well, some of the other members attacked him for daring to criticize this build...even though criticism was asked for.

We all have to respect others' comments but we need to be respectful with our comments, as well.