Forum Features: Your Opinion Wanted!

[troehrkasse]

Does “ignore” block the ignored posters from reading threads or reading posts by the person ignoring?

No, if you ignore someone they can still see anything you post publicly.

 

[PatriciaK]

Just want to say thanks for all the work you and Court do to keep the forums user-friendly! The community here is so diverse in so many ways that I imagine management of the site is often like herding cats (riding ebikes!) !

 

[Art Deco]

Just want to say thanks for all the work you and Court do to keep the forums user-friendly! The community here is so diverse in so many ways that I imagine management of the site is often like herding cats (riding ebikes!) !

link

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BXACUfGufEw/UYaY5wt5GBI/AAAAAAAAC6c/v6c6uNMOQvw/s1600/Funny+Animals+On+Bike.jpg

 

[middriveguru]

I'm new here, and from overseas, relocating to the US over a year ago.

It wasn't until I saw this post that I had the courage to possibly come here and weigh in on occasion. I dont have the kind of time that some appear to have and I wonder if they are either retired and have nothing better to do, or if they post during their workaday. It is interesting... there are many brands in the US, we don't see in Europe. I have to say I am glad we don't. The EBR website, and even a forum does in that regard seem to be like a good adjunct. Far from being too positive, from what I can tell from viewing here for about 5 months, the subject matter content and expertise is curiously suspect. An annoyance is the too many comments from the same few posters. Don't really contribute much value to anyone who is seeking information as a new electric bike consumer. Isn't that why consumers would come here ?

My take: Best forums in Europe have some form of the following features:
+ No anonymous posting; either verified real names. I see here in US the use of Facebook to log in. Might be a good way to do that verification ? Its not easy to say this, as part of any first post, but I have to be upfront and say the behaviors here of a few of the more frequent posters, made me reluctant to become a member. Americans apparently have a much greater threshold for rudeness, or ill manners, than what we tolerate in the EU. Would a greater variety of members be more willing to post, with deeper content were it not for the few who dominate the threads ? I'm also afraid those with solid technical expertise, who could be be introverted, would likely feel too uncomfortable to post here in what I have observed as the current environment. It's a rather boorish tone or vibe here, to put it generously. Do any of the US distributors or local bike shops ever post here ? I recall maybe only one or two that were likely a bike shop owner. Does EBR allow shops, or do members not desire that expertise ?
+ Limit too frequent posters to ~ 4 posts per day, and 2 per thread, or come up with some other form of moderation. A frequent poster threshold could be approximately 500 per year. Once that threshold is exceeded, then the aforementioned limits kick in. There also appear to be high number of threads that go deeply off topic, and the same members too anxiously willing to boast their own opinions. That has the adverse affect of suppressing the less frequent or less vocal posters, who actually may be significantly brighter.
+ Thumbs up buttons for post content value , and maybe even thumbs down for content value, but nothing allowed for simply not liking what was posted ?
+ Entirely eliminate emoticons. Not helpful, and are distracting.
+ Clarify and/or reduce number of rules. A well run forum can be self moderating. I read most of the policy several months back, and they come across as vague, even politically oriented, or conflicting. Also, it appears there are a number of high frequency posters who appear to violate policy often, so perhaps the moderation is voluntary and either non-existent, or merely inconsistently applied ?

This might be my last or only post here. Good luck and 'howdy' EBR members !

 

[Stefan Mikes]

No anonymous posting; either verified real names.

Aha. An astonishing post from an anonymous user.
What is the largest European Forum discussing Specialized and Giant e-bikes? Pray tell.

 

[middriveguru]

There are 24 different languages spoken in the EU. Would one large forum exist or be practical that you know of ? You sound as though you might be asking a question that you already know the answer to ? I did not generally frequent ebike forums. Other forums yes. As a bit of background, I have owned 8 ebikes, 6 of which are mid drives, and I designed and built the motors, and developed my own controllers. The few ebike related forums I would occasionally visit are topic specific project forums. A lot of collaboration, and not much time devoted to sarcasmic replies.

Is 'pray tell' an American expression ?

I ran across this forum about 5 months ago, while looking for an ebike for my female friend.

Thank you for the 'welcome.'

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Is 'pray tell' an American expression ?

Shakespearian. English.

Best forums in Europe have some form of the following features:

Which ones? Unlike you, I'm a European.

Thank you for the 'welcome.'

A new Forum user typically makes a self-introductory post in the "Introductions" section.

The essence of my post was "a no name user with a single post preaches how the EBR Forum should be organised".

 

[tomjasz]

This might be my last or only post here. Good luck and 'howdy' EBR members !

Don't let the door slam please...

retired and have nothing better to do

You manage insults quite well.

Imagine for a moment that us old fellas have retired and some come for fun and story trades. Camaraderie!

 

[J.R.]

I'm new here, and from overseas, relocating to the US over a year ago.

It wasn't until I saw this post that I had the courage to possibly come here and weigh in on occasion. I dont have the kind of time that some appear to have and I wonder if they are either retired and have nothing better to do, or if they post during their workaday. It is interesting... there are many brands in the US, we don't see in Europe. I have to say I am glad we don't. The EBR website, and even a forum does in that regard seem to be like a good adjunct. Far from being too positive, from what I can tell from viewing here for about 5 months, the subject matter content and expertise is curiously suspect. An annoyance is the too many comments from the same few posters. Don't really contribute much value to anyone who is seeking information as a new electric bike consumer. Isn't that why consumers would come here ?

My take: Best forums in Europe have some form of the following features:
+ No anonymous posting; either verified real names. I see here in US the use of Facebook to log in. Might be a good way to do that verification ? Its not easy to say this, as part of any first post, but I have to be upfront and say the behaviors here of a few of the more frequent posters, made me reluctant to become a member. Americans apparently have a much greater threshold for rudeness, or ill manners, than what we tolerate in the EU. Would a greater variety of members be more willing to post, with deeper content were it not for the few who dominate the threads ? I'm also afraid those with solid technical expertise, who could be be introverted, would likely feel too uncomfortable to post here in what I have observed as the current environment. It's a rather boorish tone or vibe here, to put it generously. Do any of the US distributors or local bike shops ever post here ? I recall maybe only one or two that were likely a bike shop owner. Does EBR allow shops, or do members not desire that expertise ?
+ Limit too frequent posters to ~ 4 posts per day, and 2 per thread, or come up with some other form of moderation. A frequent poster threshold could be approximately 500 per year. Once that threshold is exceeded, then the aforementioned limits kick in. There also appear to be high number of threads that go deeply off topic, and the same members too anxiously willing to boast their own opinions. That has the adverse affect of suppressing the less frequent or less vocal posters, who actually may be significantly brighter.
+ Thumbs up buttons for post content value , and maybe even thumbs down for content value, but nothing allowed for simply not liking what was posted ?
+ Entirely eliminate emoticons. Not helpful, and are distracting.
+ Clarify and/or reduce number of rules. A well run forum can be self moderating. I read most of the policy several months back, and they come across as vague, even politically oriented, or conflicting. Also, it appears there are a number of high frequency posters who appear to violate policy often, so perhaps the moderation is voluntary and either non-existent, or merely inconsistently applied ?

This might be my last or only post here. Good luck and 'howdy' EBR members !

Yes, boorish behavior frosts my cookies too! Thanks, mine are totally frosted now and ready for the holidays!

Merry Christmas!

 

[troehrkasse]

+ Clarify and/or reduce number of rules.

Would that be before or after adding in the new rules you have proposed?

I jest - thanks for sharing your feedback! We did clean up our rules just recently (about a month ago) to help simplify things. Some of it is a bit more "legalese", but that's the nature of doing business in multiple countries and not getting sued in any of them Some responses to your other points:

• Anonymous accounts - We allow anonymous accounts because it's simpler and there's no need to know the "real identity" of a person posting - we want everyone to feel comfortable sharing their authentic thoughts without fear of being personally targeted. We actually do have some shop owners with anonymous accounts, they want to be able to post their honest thoughts about different brands without ruffling the feathers of their suppliers (for example). We would also LOVE to get more shop owners and brand reps on the forums, but they get nervous about accidentally saying something that might hurt their business... still working on ways to facilitate that
• Posting frequency - New members are limited in posting frequency, but that's to prevent spam accounts from going haywire and flooding the whole forum with it. We just ask that people add good content and value with their posts, and they can post to their heart's content.
• Thumbs up/down system - I really like this idea and it's something Court and I are working on implementing!

Americans apparently have a much greater threshold for rudeness, or ill manners, than what we tolerate in the EU.

I'm not sure if you were just trying to fit in with our rude environment, but just so you know your post did come across rather rude, especially to our most active members. Everyone has their own reasons to be here, and that's exactly the point of EBR - it's a community for Ebike riders from every walk of life to connect, share stories, discover new experiences, and help each other out. If there are members you don't want to see posts from, you are welcome to use the "Ignore" feature to self-curate everything on our forums, and only see the stuff you want to see

 

[PatriciaK]

There are 24 different languages spoken in the EU. Would one large forum exist or be practical that you know of ? You sound as though you might be asking a question that you already know the answer to ? I did not generally frequent ebike forums. Other forums yes. As a bit of background, I have owned 8 ebikes, 6 of which are mid drives, and I designed and built the motors, and developed my own controllers. The few ebike related forums I would occasionally visit are topic specific project forums. A lot of collaboration, and not much time devoted to sarcasmic replies.

Is 'pray tell' an American expression ?

I ran across this forum about 5 months ago, while looking for an ebike for my female friend.

Thank you for the 'welcome.'

I think, when someone's first post is almost (to be charitable) entirely negative and insulting to current members, and hyperbolic in the exaggeration of the supposedly perceived negativity encountered, and one is complaining about the very behavior in which one is engaging, it is not unreasonable to find that the "welcome" is less than warm.

In all honesty, I think this forum is not a good fit for you, and perhaps you might think about taking your valuable expertise and judgment elsewhere.

 

[Art Deco]

I think, when someone's first post is almost (to be charitable) entirely negative and insulting to current members, and hyperbolic in the exaggeration of the supposedly perceived negativity encountered, and one is complaining about the very behavior in which one is engaging, it is not unreasonable to find that the "welcome" is less than warm.

In all honesty, I think this forum is not a good fit for you, and perhaps you might think about taking your valuable expertise and judgment elsewhere.

Nothing to be concerned about really. That poster either wants to find a technician only forum, or wants to start a forum of his own. Not really an EBR issue at all.

 

[BigNerd]

Regarding Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down... it is in my opinion that members should always encourage thus forums should not have a negative reaction function.

I've seen discussions get heated because someone's post gets downranked and we already see quite a bit of disagreements without that.

Just my 2 cents from years of being on several different forums.

 

[tomjasz]

• Thumbs up/down system - I really like this idea and it's something Court and I are working on implementing!

Modernvespa.com has a great rating system for posts.

 

[Art Deco]

Regarding Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down... it is in my opinion that members should always encourage thus forums should not have a negative reaction function.

I've seen discussions get heated because someone's post gets downranked and we already see quite a bit of disagreements without that.

Just my 2 cents from years of being on several different forums.

I am not a fan either. Ignore works well, I can still follow the thread without some people getting all hot and bothered by a down vote. My 4 cents (inflation).

 

[J.R.]

The up/down vote has been activated on at least one sub forum.

Using Bold & Italics on Mobile

My text box has the symbols for using bold and italics but they are always grey and unable to be selected. Is this some kind of pay feature?

electricbikereview.com

 

[troehrkasse]

The up/down vote has been activated on at least one sub forum.

Using Bold & Italics on Mobile

My text box has the symbols for using bold and italics but they are always grey and unable to be selected. Is this some kind of pay feature?

electricbikereview.com

Correct, I'm testing out Q/A style threads with voting on answers there Finally someone asked a question there so I can see it in action!

 

[tomjasz]

The up/down vote has been activated on at least one sub forum.

Using Bold & Italics on Mobile

My text box has the symbols for using bold and italics but they are always grey and unable to be selected. Is this some kind of pay feature?

electricbikereview.com

Jess, owner of modernvespa has done a lot of tweaking on the rating system. Early on it could be easily manipulated. I hope there’s some serious investigation of how it was done. If not we’ll soon see the manipulation.

 

[J.R.]

Jess, owner of modernvespa has done a lot of tweaking on the rating system. Early on it could be easily manipulated. I hope there’s some serious investigation of how it was done. If not we’ll soon see the manipulation.

I don't see the upside in rating up/down. Maybe offer the thread creator the option to label an answer to their question with *Resolved/Answered*
All in all, I guess it's not a big deal. I can't see me sorting a thread by a rating, as most threads the answer evolves over time and posts. Reading posts in order seems really important.

 

[Art Deco]

I don't see the upside in rating up/down. Maybe offer the thread creator the option to label an answer to their question with *Resolved/Answered*
All in all, I guess it's not a big deal. I can't see me sorting a thread by a rating, as most threads the answer evolves over time and posts. Reading posts in order seems really important.

In addition to resolved, the thread creator might have a Lock option afterwards, but not up/down votes.