The way I see it is this--when some of us joined this forum, our cars were brand-new. They listed for 29,3xx, and we paid 22,7xx. You could say that the avg. person paid around 20 grand for their car. Today, it's still a forum for 1995-1999, cars for which people pay about 3,800 on avg. Of course the level of intellect will go down. What's the avg. age here? I'd guess around 18to 20. Don't think it has anything to do with being new or not.

 

people from the caribean love maximas mon, that's why they rice 'em out.

queens is chock full of jamaicans and guiannans. let's not talk about the asians in frushing. nissans are the new hondas. lol
back to the topic
best way to make it go away is to ignore it.

 

.

WE NEED A NEWBIE SUB_FORUM!


I'm a computer geek vocationally and avocationally and enjoy spending a lot of time on computer forums (under a different username/handle). The best sites have a newbie sub-forum. Sometimes I'll meander over to them because I'm in the mood to help out some newbies. While other times when I'm really wanting to look into a matter, it's that most of the newbies are in a different forum specially setup for them.

Why post a problem and then offer no solution? Let's setup a newbie forum and in the registration confirmation email particularly welcome them to this subforum. Retitle the FAQs if necessary and pull them out of this newbie subforum -- have a dedicated newbie reading section instead. Yes a reading section does work, or at least compared to the totally ineffective sticky threads.

This can make a huge difference. With such a setup, newbie 1st post go from ignored to "Welcome to Maxima.org! " or whatever the site is.

I think maxima.org can be made a lot better. It has some good history behind it's belt, and I believe it can continue to be the Maxima forum of choice for some time to come. But a big part of that is how it's organized for newbies.

DanMaxima

______________

 

Interesting comparison when Maxima.org is not as organized, nor as tolerant, nor as cohesive as some of the Honda forums.

My brother can jump on Team-Integra.net and, in the space of 3 clicks, be printing out REAMS of paper on ANYTHING he wants to do on his car: extensive writeups with tons of pictures and details down to torque specs on every single fastener. And the resident know-everythings are active and inviting, so even the threads on painfully repetitive topics are answered and set straight quickly and respectfully.

Here, you have to sift through endless threads and posts just to get at some info that might be relevant, and it often seems that the best thing some people have to say is "stfu and search u damn n00b!"

Food for thought.

 

Well put, it all comes with Maturity.

 

I agree with d00df00d and adamis

I've seen on other forums, repedative threads resurface but they were handled much better and more politely than people have on here. It doenst bother me anymore, I try to help in anythread regardless of how many times its surfaced. If its really something they could have found out in literally 2 clicks I'll let them know to search first but still will provide an answer.

 

I'll agree with this. When an individual says the word "Honda", everyone on here thinks "DIERICERFARTCANBLUELIGHTSSLOWVTEC." In actuality, it has nothing to do with the car, make model, etc. It is the environment created by each member, starting with tenored members. Everyone is so used to making smart assss jokes and laughing at the quickest comment remotely related to rice. But we were all there once before and have felt like a flamed noob when we all first started.

 

I agree and disagree with a lot of different things said here, but there really are lots of n00bs out there that ask the dumbest questions (every other thread deals with a y-pipe) and make up stories. While I do agree that there are far too many such posts, you will never get people to stop. Its also wrong when a n00b starts biatch-talking about someone who has been a member for years and has hundreds if not thousands of threads - 99% of the time they will know more than a teenager with 20 posts. I think mods should really keep a close watch on repetative posts and delete them / lock them. Before you post something, search. Not a donating member? Well if you're the smartest kid on the board then figure out how to search using other ways. I guess Im a n00b too, along with being a teenager and not having that many posts but I dont think I've ever asked a retarded question thats been answered on every page before. I try to do some reasearch before posting.

Just my 2c.

 

the differance with that is that a maxima is a sedan that some people decide to hook up. a civic/integra is a car that people join forums to hook up. that's why there are more parts available, as well as the knowledge.

 

That reminds me. This Civic pulled out in front of me today, guess he was not paying attention, but the car was making a lot of noise. He had it all fixed up, body kit, and exhaust. It actually looked nice. I told my daughter pretty loud huh, and she said "yes, but his not really going that fast" . We have a Civic as well, just not as loud....

 

Do you even know what you meant by that?

 

there are some ppl like me also, who are NOT 18-20, but 29 and have been driving for 10+ years. this is my 5th car, and i paid 2400 bux for it. i have owned new cars and old cars. but as a noob, questions will arise. sure, ive dealt w/ many car issues, but we join forums to find out more about our cars....

 

Getting close to covering all opinions...one more day and then its lights out.

 

I think there is deffinitely some truth in what you have said. I am a member of several other forums and 240sxforums.com is one that comes to mind as having a particularly good newbie section. Its the standard deal where you are not allowed to post anything outside of that newbie forum until you have reached 15 legitimate posts, retarted stuff doesnt count, the mods knock your post count back down, and you get made fun of for being an idiot. The newbie forum was full of the things that make up the most common topics on the sight, namely all the info you could want on engine swap possibilities, prices, and specs. By the time I reached 15 legitimate posts I knew 100x as much as I did when I joined the site 2 days before and I didn't **** off a single person. Newbie forums certainly don't eliminate all idiots from making it to the open forums to frustrate the hell out of veteran members, but they really do cut down on them IMO.

Thing is some people are just going to always be lazy, and some people are just always gonna be jackas'ses to people who they should recognize as being held in much higher respect than they are due to the amount of knowledge they wield on the .org. It only took one person saying "dude this has been posted a zillion times, search for it don't post a new thread" for me to sit back, shut up, and read. A little while later I donated for the search function, and its the greatest thing you can do.

 

this is the best idea i have seen on the site to fix some of the Repeat posts..

put orginized FAQ in the newbie area and then let the newbs enjoy.. maybe the respectible older members would help out in that area.. or newbs helping newbs till the can post more informative or serious posts..

i have been on the site for years.. dont have alot of posts to my name but that does not mean i am not here alot.. I haven not donated.. and i have planned to so meny times.. but to see how people get treated for aking for help has always apawled me.. so i put my $20 away for another time..

i have Paid for memberships at other forms and i have to admit.. this is one of the worst for flaming over stupid things...

we talk and complain and post threads like this but it will still not solve anything... this Newbie idea was the first i have seen in 3 pages of posts that actually give some type of solution instead of bashing and rebashing or saying the same thing.... hell this is the first solution i have seen for it in Years...

Great idea DanMaxima...

Maybe if this takes effect i can pull that $20 out again and actually believe in the site again... I know how hard it is to run a forum, i know that it cost money, i remember how it was back int he day with the forum down days and weeks even months at a time, but back then there wasnt any bashing for newbies posting questions that they didnt know... Granted Faqs are there for a reason. i haev told several people to look at the FAQs several times my self.. but never brutaly like some have.....

maybe have all newbies only able to post in the newbie area till 15-20 posts and then graduate to the regulare area... have the moderators pay attention to the newbie area to know who the up comming trouble makers will be... search is overrated as most things ARE int he FAQ other than others opnions.. and that is what the site should be for... bringing the Maxima Owners together... talk about there common interest.. get help when help cant be easily found.. with all the negitive attitudes in the forum.. it is hard to enjoy your car and doing things to it with some one somewere calling them stupid or jerks or worse...

I will always visit the forum but i have to say it isnt my favorite due to the way people are treated... and i agree most of the real inovators are inovating other cars now.. the people that have helped me when i first started are long gone and that was before alot of the younger kids on here even got there licences.. so they dont know how it should be.. or how it was....



sorry for my rant.. but again for the Newbie area

 

I think blackmaxx has a good point, though the way he said it has pissed ppl off. The point he was trying to make, and i agree with him, is that lately every 2 days the exact same threads would come up. My knock sensor. My O2 sensor. Y pipe. The 1 millionth gas mileage thread. He nailed it right on the head. So some of you may have a basic question about your car, maybe even soemthing that was covered in the FAQ, but repeating the same questions, day after day, is prolly what is getting on ppl's nerves. We want to see some new stuff, but its like Jay Leno has his writing staff posting on this forum.

So is there any way to force people to not post the same thread a zillion times? Perhaps you cant stop them, but what you can do is just nuke the CEL and KS threads as they come up, and then make a sticky "Why did my lame *** thread get deleted." Thats my suggestion!

 

Yeah.
I was pretty urked... so it definitely came out wrong.
But the facts are the facts....
I generalized it into "honda" because it's the most common riced out car....
I actually love em. My roomate has an s2000, and i'm a big integra and prelude fan... Plus there are more FAST civics around here than fast maximas... so more power to them.
But some forums are complete rice/retard honda forums..... I pick on em because they're honduhs... nuff said

I really like the idea of the newbie sub-forum.
I think that would help ALOT....

 

i agree 100%

 

Very good point.

But Honda guys all get picked on enough, so they probably feel just to keep it cool and help out their own, while the rest of the car world gives them crap.

Really just grow up and mature. Frank said it best. Avg age, 18 to 20. I'm in that age group as well. But damn I really don't think it has anything to do with being new or not.

I try to be as mature as possible on here and not show my ignorance/age. But damn guys need to let somethings go occasionally. Like this thread...........the end.

 

Apparently some of you are missing some very, very important points.

Half the time, n00bs don't know they're n00bs. Sure there are some questions that seem simple to figure out from the get-go without posting. But how is a n00b to figure that out? Someone who is totally new to Maximas might have no idea why you can't swap a Silvia drivetrain into a Maxima. They might see that as an innovative idea befitting advanced discussion. You know it's a dumb idea because you have been here and heard all about it. To you, it's a basic question and a very tired subject. But without having been here and had the experience of going through the research and participating in the discussion, no one else can be expected to have the same understanding. If you flame them for posting it, you're punishing them for something they don't know they've done. If you shove them into a corner, they won't understand why they can't post in the big-boys section and probably get pissed and find another forum.

Making all newcomers read the same stuff sounds like a good plan, but just how much stuff are you going to make them read? The stickies and FAQs are extensive enough... If you tried to cram more material in, there'd be enough to fill a damn textbook -- and at least half the people coming in here don't even care about most of it. No way in hell are you going to convince EVERYONE who comes through here to read through all that stuff just for the privilege of participating in the forums.

The "newbie area" idea is by FAR the dumbest one. Do you people think before you type? You're talking about sectioning off a piece of the forums so the people you don't like can fend for themselves until you all think they're worthy. Have you thought about what the discussions would be like in there? People who know nothing trying to get info off of people who know nothing isn't exactly a formula for success. And do you really think enough of the more knowledgeable people are actually going to venture in there to make meaningful contributions instead of flaming or messing around?

Here's another news flash: Advertisers keep this site alive, and no one wants to advertise on a site that marginalizes its members.

Pissed at the lack of innovators? Well, if the big innovators have moved on, become one yourself or suck it up and find another way to deal. No one's forcing you to keep your car anyway; Plenty of people are innovating with Hondas and VWs, and those can be had pretty cheap. And if you can't deal with n00bs, call up your ISP and tell them you're cancelling your account because the Internet isn't for you.

Hell, if you're frustrated at the lack of innovators, isn't it kind of counterproductive to marginalize the n00bs? Why risk turning away someone who could possibly end up falling in love with the car and doing great things with it?

I heartily agree that the stickies and FAQs need to be more exhaustive, better organized, and more accessible. But it's lazy and small-minded to force others to jump through hoops just because you can't be bothered to scroll through and scan a page or two here and there to find good content.

 

 

^^^

I guess that says it all.

 

Hahahahaha

 

I have very, very mixed feelings about this subject. Yes, it gets very repetitive to read everything that us Maxima.org members have come to believe as obvious. But at the same time, it's really disappointing to see so much bashing going on. I remember bashing people, not for being "stupid" and asking the same old questions, but specifically for the kid that complained about snowdrifting on a city street corner and screwing up his front suspension. IIRC, I was the first to jump on that flame fest.
However, I came from a family who knows nothing about cars. My dad never changed his own oil, and therefore, I never learned. I picked up extensive bad detailing habits from him as well, that I now have been counteracting with my Porter Cable, etc.
On zdriver.com, I was the worst kind of noob. Before I even had my permit, and before ever having touched a wrench in my life, I was asking how difficult a TT swap would be into an N/A z32, with hardly any tools and NO experience. I remember browsing autotrader, finding a high mileage n/a z32, and posting: "would it be worth it to buy this car and to TT swap it?" Back in the day, the vets of that site gave me all the usefull information in the world, and because of them, I matured a little bit. I went to go sign back on my old s/n to thank them for their patience, but it got deleted in my absence to that site.
When I came to Maxima.org now, before I bought my current Maxima, I still hadn't picked up a wrench, and still hadn't changed any car's oil in my entire life. My first thread(s) were a rant on my failing tranny after only an hour after purchasing my car (don't ask), and how to fix my broken antenna. I was still a noob, but was trying hard to learn. Thanks to the helpful members of this site, I was able to overcome a significant absence of common car knowledge, and was able to diagnose and do small tasks in my engine bay. Specifically, I remember pm'ing mzmtg for help with my IACV, and ****, I remember Dave SZ helping me out with my concerns about my car being Cali-spec (no offense Dave, but you know your rep on here...haha, but thanks for the help back when).
I now pride myself with the fact that anything my car has needed, besides my tranny swap and clutch job later on down the road, I have done myself. My first task was cleaning the TB, and I couldn't be more proud I did it. Since then, my car now sits on new suspension components as the biggest mod I've done myself, as well as STS, axle swap, and so on. I remember my noob-turning point - when JSutter came out with the writeup for the 5G clutch swap. Besides him, and Vlasic (I can't remember your old name), I was to be the only one with this conversion done. After that much research, I was able to start contributing to this site by linking those old threads, and answering questions on this swap as new threads started to appear. I've been meaning to get around to compiling all the info on this swap into one place for a sticky, but am searching for the time.
Basically, without the help of the members when I first joined, and without the several excellent writeups in the stickies, I would never have been able to complete the stuff I've done to my car, and for that I'm grateful. On that note, and getting back to what I said earlier, it's disappointing to see so many people get flamed. It was also seriously aggravating to see noobs themselves flame people, even though their stupidas s thread was still fresh in my mind. I don't know what can be done about this site, if anything, but after reading what doodfood wrote, I figure I'd offer up my experience.

edit: I will admit, however, that I spend a lot of my time outside of the 4G forums for a while now. I've been reading up (not really posting) in the Adv. Perf. forums, racing, etc.

 

hahahahha

 

u know i have been a member of this forum for almost 5 yrs now and I also have seen change in threads back in the day the Y-pipe and Intake threads were common place....now a few yrs later they dont change...now we shoudl be taling about 3.5 swaps...mevi...and 00vi or Boost.....I think the main problem is the search function is not free...everytime someone asks a question all u see is DONATE AND SEARCH....well some people dont want to donate which is fine....but i think the NOOBs especially should be allowed to search...and maybe offer something else for the donaters besides the search function.....i know 20 bux for 20 yrs isnt alot but for a 17 yr old who jsut bought a maxima and doesnt have a ton of money and is looking for some help shouldnt have to pay to search for help...so I propose we let everyone use the search function and i think that will cut down on alot of BS threads

 

The reason that only donating users can search isn't just about offering an incentive to donate. The search function places a really big load on the forums' server, and that load will only get bigger as time passes and the forums expand (since over time there simply is more and more that has to be searched through). If the search function were free, the server would have to be upgraded to keep things from slowing to a crawl. That's why the search function is for donating members only -- if eventually enough people donate that use of the search function strains the server, it can be upgraded with the money from those donations.

The only way to make the search function free would be to attract more sponsors and advertisers.

That's a neat segue into something I've been itching to say, because it means getting more people to sign up and participate so that the sponsors and advertisers have more incentive to pay for ad space.

That means making the forums a better place to be.

And that means helping the n00bs or shutting the f**k up.

 

more and more I think about it, i'm really agreeing with this point of view. I think one of the things that more experienced and donating .orgers can do is take 30 seconds when a person asks a question thats been asked a bagillion times that day already is do a search for threads you remember having answered that question really well and post the links to a couple threads. Everytime I've done this the person has said "thanks!" then most likely proceeds to read the threads and gets helped out. I think it really helps get the idea across to people - in a positive way - that all the information is right out there, and thats what really encouraged me to donate, so I'm sure it'll help some others too.

 

Anyone can search using this typed into google:

n00bs site:http://forums.maxima.org/

replacing n00bs with whatever your looking for. Granted its not near as good as the forum search, but its free. For common topics your bound to get something.

 

But most people dont think to goto google to search for maxima issues when they are a member of a dedicated Maxima board....and as far as trhe server issure that Dood mentioned...maybe we shoudl think abotu eliminting some of the slower sections...or limiting signature sizes a bit and maybe just deleting inactive member accounts

 

if your gay and u know it, repost a post.

if ur gay and u know it, repost a post..


if ur gay and u know it, and u really want to show it,
if ur gay and u know it, repost a post..

 

I don't really care to weigh in either way, but I just think you're a big time hypocrit dude. This whole thread is no different from a noob thread except it's way longer and further from a car related question. At least the noob questions ask some kind of productive question regardless of how nooblike it may be. In my opinion you're worse than the noob, they're trying to learn something about their car, and you're giving them a hard time for it.

I feel that threads like this just discourage people from asking questions to the point where now, as already said, people are starting threads w/ "I'm a noob but..."

If there weren't noobs, you wouldn't have anyone to b*tch at and intimidate

 

Amen

 

For those people who get mad at people on this forum because they feel they are disrespectful or ignorant....I have one thing to say...



GET A F*****ING LIFE

If you are tired of people posting stupid threads(theres no such thing), DONT OPEN THE THREAD...

Its that simple...

For you ladies that are mad that you guys are seing repetitive posts, DONT OPEN THEM...How hard is it to not open a thread? Please tell me...

MAXIMA 4 LIFEEEEEEEEE

 

Ease up, man. There may be a lot of nonsense here, but there is also a serious discussion about how the forums should be. We need everyone to be on the same page about some of this stuff just as much as we need some people to grow up.

 

Ah this is boring, what happened to Optimus Prime?!?!?:attention

 

so who are the decepticons and who are the autobots? this could turn into an all out war b/t blue and red lasers. I guess in the end we're going to need all the underbody kits we can get...how about that for irony

 

^LOL..Im going to get out of here before I get killed and stripped of my medal

 

Um, yes. I recommend this based on other sites. It has nothing to do with "worthiness".

Yup. Newbie related material and partially a welcome center

Yes. And, um, if regulars here venture over there just to be jerks then they should be banned. ...That should be obvious, right?

I've been on both sides of the "newbie sub-forum" myself. Take Linux for example. Most of my posts in Linux forums are by far in the dedicated newbie secions. I often enjoy being the newbie instructor though when it comes to overclocking, watercooling, and silent computing. A newbie sub-forum can indeed work, and does in every instance that I've seen it. But then, those sites are much more, hum, professional in their demeanor. I never see threads of some guy whining about newbie threads...

 

soo true.. every jamaican here has a maxima/ loves or wants one loll

Yes i am guyanese... so i have rice in my blood as well jk.

The asians have there maximas clean...except for the fobby ones