The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Ebay Forum read this please

If you're aware of the discussion between me and Metalman,think about this;
An Ebay forum here on stovebolt for just the thing me and Ray are talking about.A place to post personal Ebay links with truck related items for bid.That would keep all Ebay items,personal or not in one place for easy reference.
If ya think it's a good addition to Stovebolt, speak up here,perhaps the Editor will set up a forum if there's enough interest.But I guarantee nothing,so......

I think it's a great idea. Better yet, establish a buy/sell/trade area. I for one don't care for the swap meet format, it's not as convenient for quick browsing as a conventional forum. Most other forums I frequent have buy/sell/trade areas with great results.

People like the forums and they get alot more attention than the swap meet IMO. Of course John and the mods probably have actual stats that could prove me wrong.

people have been posting email links ever since I have been here,,,just recent ,the hotrod 37 so looks like you already have it????? and with over 5,000 members you might get a lot of action,makes me no difference, cause you already have it but at any rate,, you all have a good Holiday,,,,Fred

I think its a good idee but John and Peg may have thot thru it and have some reservations we haven't considered--obviously stovebolt can't be responsible for the quality or breaches but seems like it ought to work--others seem to be makin it work as observed.

I avoided posting my thoughts in the other thread because it seemed a little confrontational. But I gotta say that discussions like this help guys like me who have not been here very long figure out where the boundaries are. I am guilty of posting the Burma Shave and the '50s-'60s jukebox links. I see that some guys have commented positively and some have cited them as examples of "off topic" stuff. I also have posted when I saw an ad for a stovebolt engine for sale in a local swap sheet. So I have played my part in muddying the waters.

Tony, (TruckedUp), I do not envy your job. You have the rules, and then you try to figure out just how many shades of gray are acceptable.

Metal man, I am glad you allowed this to be turned into a reasonable discussion rather than the p!$$!ng contest it appeared to be at first. For a minute there I was afraid you were going to take your ball and go home. I for one plan on needing you when I get to that point in my project and the Stovebolt page is my only link to you.

I don't like everything I see here, but I am willing to do what it takes to get along with each and every one of you. The off topic stuff I have posted was in the spirit of sharing it with my friends, and as long as I don't hear from Tony, I figure they must be acceptable.

So in the spirit of the day, might I suggest we all contemplate our blessings, one of which is this forum, and consider what we each can do to improve it.

I like the idea. There are so many key word options when listing on eBay, that good Stovebolt items are hard to find without spending hours looking. An eBay thread in this forum would give us 5000 eye's scouring eBay for good Stovebolt items. It might be good? But then, the fighting may start, when one Stovebolter snipes another Stovebolter's item Maybe it's better the way it is if you see something cool, post it in a thread here?

The Swap Meet section isn't exactly user-friendly, anyway, and I hardly ever venture there. An ebay-type posting area (not just for ebay stuff!) would be a lot better, IMO. Keep the Swap Meet section available for those who like that format.

By the way, I personally like the idea of a place where true stovebolters like Metal Man can feature the fruit of their labors. The problems that would go along with that, like figuring out who is really trying to help his fellow stovebolters and who is a rank opportunist, coming up with enough server space and bandwidth, and of course the time to review it every day and make sure it is continuing to be what it is supposed to be would all be drawbacks.

Whatever we do, I hope we continue allowing interesting Ebay links to be made. It really helps guys like me get a handle on what's available and what things cost.

Keep in mind that the forum rules on ads were in effect before any of us here ever started posting on Stovebolt.Supposedly you all read the posting agreement when you signed on.
So a person violates the rules,a moderator speaks up about. Almost always results in a discussion saying how the rules are unfair and should be changed for the benefit of a few.
Like I said, I loosened the rules on off topic posts to satisfy some guys here. Perhaps I was wrong for doing that, maybe opened up Pandora's box by being a nice guy.
It's far easier to deal with issues if the rules are black and white, right?

Just leave it the way it was. Ebay links are alright as long as the poster is not benefitting from the auction. If someone sneaks something by a few times it will become obvious quick enough.

You can't keep everyone happy all the time.

an ebay link or "look what i found on ebay for us stovebolter's would be great.how about a stovebolt or part alert' how many times have we missed "a good deal" or 'why didn't you tell me".

Ya'll have a happy Thanksgiving,cause i'm fixen to have some good ol'sweet taters and blackeyed peas with turkey and ham

tony'n (drying out)weatherford

What's the big deal?
Truck related eBay
Postin you own eBay sale??? Sure who cares??
If a member of this forum has something good to sell we should all know about it
This whole 'Stressin over Ads thing" has gotten really old and turned some here into "Thought Police" no offence but it has
'Hey Joker' proves that the rules can be bent

I rarely visit the Swap Meet for a reason. Its because I don't often feel I want to sort through everything on the chance I'll find something I'm looking for.

I have some keyword searches running on eBay looking for some of the things I want. But I am aware that my searches are not getting everything I might be interested in. For that reason I find it helpful to see what others have found on eBay. I'm currently bidding on something someone else pointed me to.

Another board I often visit does have an eBay forum and I find I don't often poke my nose in to see what's available.

Why? Because I'm more interested in the dialogs about trucks and truck issues than I am in seeing what parts someone is selling.

I checked Ray's eBay link and gave some thought to bidding. Then decided I'm not ready to advance my '52 GMC to the parts gathering stage (parts storage is a problem) yet, so let it go. If it had been posted in an eBay forum I'd have missed it entirely. I was not offended to find that link in a general forum.

But if the general forum were full of items for sale it could become difficult to find the threads I'm interested in reading and having a part it. Yes I am interested in some of the items offered, but like the swap meet much of the items are not ones I have any interest in at all.

So for whatever its worth, I'd prefer keeping the 'no ads' policy for the general forum. If an eBay forum were added, I'd read it from time to time, and might even use it. But I'd have the freedom to choose when I wanted to sort through that stuff, and not need to sort it out to find those things I do want to see.

Something that seemed to be forgotten here is that this board has a sponsor. If it turned into a board for selling all our goods on Ebay, you would probably not have a sponsor, or a site at all !

I would appreciate a good for Swap meet discussion area.
I often look at the Swap meet and look at the name of the person and then wonder what their stovebolt handle is so I can think if it is someone i know.

I would be nice if you could just look in the ad or in a forum and see that In2Deep is selling some of his old parts. Perhaps then someone could look and my webshots or possibly remembers me and why i have extra parts or some silly thing about my project and then they have a higher comfort level when approaching me to buy or just to buy.

Rapor baby, you cant beat it for sales. The problem is though when we get a bunch of random crap/spam type post from people who have no real tie to the bolt.

I love the idea of 'bolters buying from 'bolters. If I wanted to deal with a shady junk seller I would go to the Pomona swap meet.

I'm pretty much the newbie here, so my opinion probably doesn't count for much, but I know I'd like to see a forum devoted to eBay and possibly other links to for-sale stuff. NOT a forum for posting personal FS ads but rather a "Hey, I stumbled across this on the XXXXX site and thought someone might benefit." If there's something out there for sale that I could use, I don't care who's profiting from it -- if the price is right and I need it, I'll buy it. I'd rather know about something and pass on it than not know about something I desperately need.

Just MHO, of course. Happy Thanksgiving!

Brent

I think this would be a great idea, the seperate swap meet section is harder to post in and not as easy to browse. I found this on a site that I manage, so I created a seperate catagory for Buy/Sell/Trade stuff in the forum, that way people can just post easily. Since then I'm seeing lots more interest in that area.

The only recommendation is to post the rules clearly (Not a problem here). Here's what I used.
MONGO

Ah a good discussion!! All points are reasonable. I am pretty fortunate I have a couple 3 guys that will e-mail me and say hey pop check out such and such. That is nice we all can use the extra help and if a good deal comes buy great.

I for one gets excited when I treasure hunt for parts. Many of you know that our old Mom & Pop junk yards are not to be had so a little guidence is alway apreciated. I have most part books in my office so I can compare that give's me a bidding leverage.

I would like a E-bay forum but I let John and Peg call the shots. They have a great place and a good set of Mods. Not blowing smoke but i feel Tony has been very obliging to help us. The Hey Joker! is a relief were we can still BS. Its defiantly nice not to see the scwabling that was going on not so long ago.

popcorn The Truth is Out There (At work now everybody have a great day)

Points noted -- we will think about an e-Bay forum. Your next discussion will need to be one wherein you develop a very short list of moderator nominees (people who are already moderators are ineligible).

One item that is NOT up for discussion is having a forum to augment or replace the Swap Meet. Most of you weren't around yet for our first attempt at a Bulletin Board. Those of you who do remember it will recall the utter chaos that ensued when every cheap furniture maker in Mombasa, Kenya and Madras, India flooded it with posts about their ottomans and roll-top desks. We are NOT going through that again. It truly got so bad Barry Weeks and I had to pull the plug on the whole thing and I deleted all the software from the server.

Also, we are just below the threshold on the Swap Meet of where dealing with people who are less than honorable in their dealings are causing us to wonder if we want to offer ANY buying and selling services here. A less controlled environment, such as the forums, would exacerbate that situation.

I'm sorry if the Swap Meet isn't convenient or user friendly for a couple of you. We have had quite a few emails over the years we've had it from folks who are quite satisfied and happy with it. I've tried making it easier and more organized, but I need your useful input to make it better. And Joy has put a lot of effort into making work smoothly, too. So don't just tell me it sucks and that you hate it. That isn't helping anyone. Tell me HOW you think it sucks and how I might be able to make it suck less. Give me useful input and I will try my best to improve the service. Rant at me and I will ignore you.

Deal?

But buy/sell/trade forum? No. End of discussion on that issue.

e-Bay forum? We'll see. You'll have to do a better sales job, though.

Happy Sunday
Sheriff John

Morning John!
You need a better sales job?ok, try this: I'm the Nazi Moderator here,jumping on off topic and out of order posts.As we all know, it does create some friction with the guys here.I personally feel a forum for Ebay stuff even linked to personal Stovebolter sites is a worthwhile addition.This place is been made great by the assortment of eccentric personalities, some of whom are quite stubborn,lol.It would make my job a lot easier by having this Ebay truck related forum, put it here or not at all,easy..As for a Moderator,let the guys speak up if they want the job,they can suggest names to me,and the Stovebolt Staff can choose a person.
Secondly,while we're on this topic of forums, how about taking the Rust Forum,put that stuff in the Body Shop Forum and then relabel the Foum for off topic posts, ya know, small talk,a trip to Wallyworld, that sort of thing.Maybe even politics, geez those political discussion where a blast to read,I used to laugh out loud. And I know that you John like to voice opinions on hot topics in the news.There should be no complaints from the truck only crowd, as the off topic will be in a forum by itself, don't like it, don't go there.So then the General Forum will be off topic truck related items as you intended it to be, no small talk there.This will be a worthwhile additon for comic relief and make controlling the whole board far easier as the guys will have a place for nonesense.I have quickly learned the place runs better if the rules for posting are black and white,no gray area to argue about.I gave in a little on the truck only items in the General Forum,but the gray area lets some guys sneak in unwanted stuff, so where do I draw the line? Completely 100 percent truck only talk does get boring and as mentioned by some here, the small talk let's the guys blow off and get to know each other.
An off topic Moderator choice is only one,Tony M is the man for the job.I know you and Tony M butt heads at times, but I appreciate his sharp wit and he is a fair player when called upon as I have learned through correspondence with him.
Just my opinions.

For my 1cent,, I like everything like it is,, General means general,,,you guys will go crazy trying to label all this stuff,, ebay I dont like,, people post ebay stuff now so why a big change,, I would agree that Tonym would make a good one and others but I wont list them,, and I can live with just truck stuff too,, although I am one of the non-truck-off topic,guys also..Metalman post are no longer there and he started the topic, has he changed his mind, he would be a good mod for ebay,should you have it, I will be for you no matter what you decide,, I know it is hard to please all,,sort of like pleasing the wife, you all do a good job here,,,got to go and start my truck,, been a week and buddy that is a way to long regards,,Fred

Fred, you like to shoot the breeze,wouldn't a forum just for off topic shootin the crap be a good idea?Leave the rest of the board for stictly truck related items, no arguements.Moderating the General forum is tricky,what I consider off toic may not be off topic to another guy.When I get together with my gearhead friends, we talk gears, but we also touch on everything else,especially women,lol.I'm not saying that heated political discussions are necessary,but just check out the Christmas Post in the General Forum,it's got political and religious overtones, not inline with the posting rules.But If I say something,the bickering starts.These same guys do have stuff to say about trucks,so.........give them a place to do both,but totally separate.

See I don't agree there. That Christmas thread is an excellent example of a group expression of opinion. Sure it mentions Walmart and Jezus but just because the whole Walmart phenomena touches everybody's lives and the whole Jezus thing is all over Christmas. It is hard to have a discussion without either one of them.
But what I liked is how the general opinion of the group seemed to change from a general complaint about the commercialism of Christmas to a very nice message of Christmas means to your family what you make it to mean.

Let's consider what it means to create more forums and let's say there is a truck only discussion going on and I think of a really good joke. If I add that to that thread it should get deleted. What am I going to do? Go to the joke forum and refer to the other thread and then make my funny? Often, around here, the thread after serving it's useful life spins off into another direction. Especially late at night etc. Are these posters going to have to say, meet you in the joke forum? (Or should we call it "the Lounge"?)

Leave it like it is. Too much deleting really makes people a bit peeved as well. Kind of like we are not being treated as adults etc. Too many rules and deletions will drive people away. Let's relax and just kick out the obvious furniture/fender salesmen and troublemakers.

Though I am honored and dream of the possibilities.

Truckedup,, I am confused, I thougt that in the general we could talk about anything except politics, religion,,but if we need something to spell out OFF topic except politics and religion then so be it,, You have been much to fair for me not to do and appreciate it,, it was my mis-understanding,, we see ebay ads in the general from those of us that see something of interest and we post it so I dont understand, a few want to go off on a tangent when I post off topic stuff but yet the rules say it is ok,,, I thought that I was on board,,,maybe we need one that says TRUCK stuff only and the general or called in the lounge again with what you expect to see in it,, if you dont like what is posted, let the person go,,if he/she gives you a bad time, kick them off,, we all know who likes truck stuff and nothing else,,at least they act like it and even at times they will come up with something that is not truck related but they soon forget....what ever you do will be fine with me,,,and if I dont like it I can tear a.. and will still be a better person by being able to meet good folks here,,I have probably met more of our members in person then most have, I would not trade that exp. for anything,,and they are many more that I hope to meet.. good luck with what ever you decide,,,I see nothing wrong with the way it is......I dont always agree with folks but I try to at least respect their opinions,,,..we all take this way to serious..Fred

Tony M and Joker,when John set up the new General forum after the great holocast of the Lounge, it was truck only posts,as in vintage trucks only.After a time ,it was me who felt loosening the rules some would add some "character" and some guys agreed,some didn't,but I did anyways.The problem is, what are a few off topic posts? 2 a day? suppose the General Forum gets more than several Christmas posts,is that too much off topic stuff,taking away from the "all truck nature of this place" And where do I draw the line?Too much gray area,too much subjective decisions by my self and others when they post.
By setting up an off topic Forum, the rules can be black and white, no flamming, no profanity no selling, that's it.Any topic is fair game.If the discussion gets nasty and that will probably happen, you hit the delete button, the guys will get the message!! Like raising kids, they do better with firm rules and quick sure fair punishment for breaking those rules.
So the "all trucks" guys won't have a problem,since there is nothing they need to see in the off topic forum,they won't need to wade through the BS looking for truck articles.Just reading through the Christmas post, I can see a few Stovebolters just chomping at the bit to hash out God and politics.So in my opinion,it's better or easier for the moderator(s) if guys have a forum to beat each other over the head.With the exception of a very few,everyone here contributes to truck stuff besides having a need to post off topic stuff.
The recent squabbles were at least partially my fault,by allowing some off topic posts despite the rules,I opened the door to other rule breakers like the selling in the forums.However I did mention several times some off topic is fine,just no politics or selling,but not everyone reads it or perhaps it's too complex for them to understand
It's my opinion the rules must have nothing subjective, to run smoothy without problems,the board must have a place for off topic discussions or be 100 percent truck only.With 5000 plus members,it's just too many members to leave the rules up for personal judgement.
Tony M,if the decision to have an off topic only forum is decreed by Emperor Milliman,you're the moderator as far as I'm concerned.

I imagine myself standing in front of an empty room...

"Yeah, I don't get no respect. I told my wife men are like fine wine and get better with age, so she locked me in the basement..."

"No respect, My wife likes to talk during sex, the other day she called me on the phone..."

I see no problem with a "lounge" type forum, especially since the elections are over. I think it'll be another 3 years before that kind of ranting would dominate again. I've seen little flaming recently now that everyone knows the majority is fed up and the majority expects adults to be mature when posting. My vote is to try it one more time with the understanding it's a "trial" forum. Any personnal attacks and name calling is strictly prohibitted and will be deleted, type of thing. As for the e-bay postings, I like them. I don't have time to scoure the web looking at the trucks for sale but like to see what is available in my trucks' era and what they are going for. Although, I don't think a seller should list his own ad, it should stay a "look what I found" type of post. This is the only site I visit daily and am glad it's improving all the time.
There's my 2 cents (so far),
Scott

A few years ago,the old Lounge was a place for intense but respectful debates on politics and occasionally religion.Slowly the attitude changed just as the country became more divided over political issues.
The division is still there and certainly will be reflected in any posts on current politics.Another problem was a few Stovebolt staff members were noted for "stirring the pot" and some felt one staff guy was doing his share of flamming.
An off topic forum will work only if the guys posting know the rules will be enforced consitantly and fairly.Otherwords, a guy states his opinion,the next guy his opinion or rebuttal,no need to call a guy names because his opinion differs from yours.
Oh boy does that last statement sound familiar, I said it 100 times on the old Lounge

One of my first posts,was warning about what politcal discussions would lead to.I was told if I didnt like the political stuff then I should avoid the lounge.Well I didnt avoid the lounge,and when a few bolters started throwing stuff around against my beliefs,I got my 2 cents worth in.I dont know how many others were called on it,but I know I was.You see if someone is going to slam my beliefs then I am going to start slamming right back.I agree that politics should not be allowed on this forum.But just plain BS and joking around should be OK.If someone wants to refer to an EBay ad,so what,as long as it is not their ad.Some of them are quite amusing.I think the thread about Christmas is a good one,I havent heard anyone slamming someone elses point of view.I say leave thigs as they are and lighten up a bit.

The lounge reflects the attitudes and ethics of the moderator. You want good behavior in the lounge? you must have good behavior on the part of the moderator.

A separate ebay or sales forum seems to work well on the other sites I frequent. But it does require diligence on the part of the moderator to keep the unrelated crap out.

I enjoy the Stovebolt pages, I am constanly learning from the many stovebolters that post. Sometimes a question will be asked and I have found a possible answer on ebay and I post it. I hope that that is helpful, because that is my intent. I try not to post an auction that someone might be bidding on, but who knows, people bid on everything! Why not post a topic "Ebay finds" Just like the "Hey Joker" thread? That way if someone does not want to be bothered with ebay they can avoid it. It can easily be monitored and deleted as necessary. I don't think that it should be loaded up everyday with hundreds of searches, but interesting items and unique finds.

I like the changes made to the forums, the lounge was becoming a free for all and we lost some very good people because of it. My hats off to those who have kept this place up and running! Truckedup has done a very good job in moderating and I think very fair and open, that makes for a good place to be........Just my two cents

sounds like a winner to me,,,off topic forum, will this be the name of it and will you be able to post anything that is not truck related??such as ebay, politics, religion, I did not know that we were allowed only so many topics in the general forum,, that would drive someone crazy,,,so I vote for off topic stuff, with Tonym as mod. and let him decide what is ok,,,that will work for me,,,,,,

Seems to me that the General forum is the place to post just about anything as long as it is not political,trying to sell something,or slamming someone.Why not just leave things as they are?Are you gonna have a special forum for EBay?how about one for good truck parts dealers?Oh yes one for bad truck parts dealers.Maybe one for stock trucks only,and another one for modified trucks.Could have one for those of us who are over 50,and another one for the 50 and under crowd.The whole thing sounds rather silly to me.

Dale has a point,open the forum to all off topic posts except for politics.Now would that mean that sarcastic political one liners are ok?How about a thread about politics affecting vintage vehicles?Suppose one guy goes off a little about tree hugging liberals, then some other guy who may be a tree hugger speaks up,now it's political.
The old Lounge took several years to lead up to a point where they were a lot of complaints.I'm thinking opening the present General Forum to most any off topic post will lead to the same problem in the near future.
To prevent that ,the moderator,me,will have to be ever vigilant,even more of a nag.Nag the wrong guy at the wrong time and it's a hassle.
Maybe I ain't the guy to run an open forum,I believe straight foward rules are necessary in public situations like this forum.
But this is the Milliman's property ,this truck site. Their rules, made by them years ago.If you read the top of the page, truck and only truck related posts are allowed anywhere on any forum here.It would be far easier for those who run things here to enforce those rules only.

IMHO, I think the right formula is in place now. There are E bay forums on other sites as mentioned. There is a forum appropriate for any mood that one needs to spout off about on the internet. This one happens to be about trucks, and that is what I come here for. If I want to get into a political off topic, I go to political forums.com. If I want jokes, I'll find the joke forum.com. If I want an argument, I'll find the arguments-R-us forum.com, the flavor of the day forum, the Christmas forum, etc. etc. etc. etc. They're all out there, just use your favorite search engine and you'll find them. Leave this forum for pre '73 Chevy truck related topics.

Listen. If you were a true truck only poster every subject is already covered. If you are talking about the engine or driveline..., if you are talking about the electrical..., paint..., interior..., now burbs..., what is the true intention of this area without the fluff?

"I used my truck today"
"cool"
"I bought tires today"
"cool"
"Anybody want rattan furniture?"
"shutup"
"I drove my truck again"
"........"

I like the idea of an open forum--seperate from the truck stuff--if you don't like it don't go--if you get tired of it don't go--no sense bein an evangelical about forum management .

History teaches that it will be difficult to manage--politics really involves most anything. Gonna have to have some bright line rules--no porn, flamin, name callin etc.

Something to what Ken says--the guy who runs it is gonna have to be thick skinned (maybe even have an asbestos suit). I wouldn't support Pat Roberson for this job--little too narrow minded Wonder if Ken wants the job???? Hard for him to blame the moderator if it goes bad.

Key thing to remember that such a non-truck BS open forum is different from others--moderator should have broad powers to delete posts, whole threads, and complaints--everybody should recognize that moderator has broad discretion and complaints to the editors should likely fall on deaf ears--after all its a non truck shoot the bull forum. Little BS gets deleted who cares--not like its the important truck stuff.

My 2cents--try em both--ebay forum and lounge BS forum--stop the whinin and carpin--let bolters participate in what they want. Smorgasbolt.

TonyM, "every subject covered"...Good point, maybe the whole thing should be locked down, and used as a "read only archive" from this point forward.
Bzn' "Try 'em both, e bay and lounge BS, let bolters particiapate in what they want"...Good point as well.
I'm off now, got to find the Devil's advocate forum

First I would like to say a big "Thank You" to John and Peg, Tony P. and Joy and everyone else that makes this place go. It takes more time and patience than anyone would ever believe. At times it would be much easier for these people to pull the plug and get back to having a normal life. No one likes having to live by rules on here. Rules were made necessary by us, the users of this site. If we self-policed ourselves better and never flamed each other, emailed the moderator complaining that so and so is being mean, emailed the editors saying I'm going to sue you because so and so wrote something bad about me or sold me a bad part off the swap meet, etc., we wouldn't need rules. The rules came about so the people behind the scenes can keep some sort of sanity level in their lives. If we had watched what we said a little better, John would still be out working his team of horses and Tony would have his fingers stuck in an electrical panel somewhere. They would just have to check in on us every so often to make sure the power was still on. So don't complain about rules, I think many of them were self inflicted.

Winter is an especially hard time on here, and we are just coming up to the worst of it. (Jan.-March or so) Maybe if everyone could use a little more common sense this winter and resist stirring the pot with a canoe paddle, we can have some fun. If you think someone is trying to get under your skin, maybe give yourself an hour or so break before you come back here and start firing insults at each other. If after an hour, you are still bent out of shape, take it to email or something. Leave the rest of us out of it. Don't suck others in to your disputes.

Ebay is a tricky deal. We've had lots of problems with this in the past. Let's say I have something for sale on ebay. The more lookers and bidders on my auction, the more my item sells for. So I post on every old car site I can about this cool auction I want everyone to know about. That's a no-no here, so I have my buddy do it. Works pretty good, but now my buddy is gone on vacation so I do it myself. Now Tony has to come down on me. " What's wrong with that?", I say. "It was OK for my buddy to post a link to my auction, but not me?" That's one of the grey areas Tony was talking about. We had one guy a few years ago that was constantly linking to an ebay auction every night. "Oh, man look at this auction, that's a nice one, and rare too!" "Eveybody wants these, and look at the price. That's cheap!" Problem was the guy posting this had the same name, hometown and email address as the ebay seller, everytime! Imagine that. It's hard to draw the line between helpful ebay postings and downright self promotion and advertising.

No matter what forums get added or subtracted here, I will be able to live with it and will try to remain on my best behavior to make things easy on all of us this winter. Oh, and Tony M. should be a moderator of something, he spends more time here than anyone else!

If the stovebolters that bond together as all of us have only wanted to talk truck, this thread and many others wouldn't have even started. We have more to contribute than just truck knowledge, that's just what brought us all together. Even I get tired of talking shop all of the time. I don't answer threads sometimes just because I may have already done so earlier and just don't feel like talking truck again. For the most part, we all think alot alike, and only a few spoiled the lounge. Just look at the number of threads that filled the lounge, obviously it was popular. I'm not saying I want the lounge back as it was and I'm not making excuses for what happened there, but there are alot of topics that can be discussed by us now, especially since the election is over. Just lay out specific rules right under the forum heading to warn all that come there, NO flaming and/or name calling. Don't call it the "Lounge" though, may attract the old crowd back. Call it the "Gentlemans Club" to hint about its behavoir within that forum, not to exclude the women folk.
There's more of my 2 cents worth,
Scott