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Rule: No promoting NEW Mog discussion sites

10K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  coachgeo 
#1 ·
Well some of you will be upset but Imma going to stick my neck out here a little bit.

1. Do not advertise, promote etc. not yet established Unimog mail list, forums, blogs etc. in these pages.

That does not mean you cant say on occasion.... "hey, did you see the xxx over at blanketyBlankUnimog.com"

My reason is simple. The Unimog Mail list is established, and this forum is getting more and more established. Thats about all that the Unimog population can support IMHO. Spread it out any thinner with more forums, blogs, mail list etc etc etc and we will all starve each other out of existence. There is just not "YET" enough moggers to support so many things.

THANK YOU to all who come around here regularly. Keep on reading and posting your input. Invite others to stop in and participate. Helping this forum grow can only help support the Mog world.

Moderator
 
#2 ·
RE: NEW RULE

I'm sure this will get deleted but I'll ask anyway...

So, If I hypothetically had a link to this site from my Unimog site, would you want me to delete it?

Hypothetically, I would have links to a bunch of Unimog sites help people find information instead of feeling like I was competing.

Also, If you hypothetically were to post info about this site on my forum, should I just delete your message and make a NEW RULE the next day or leave it there for people to use???? Almost forgot...should I also boot you off as a member????

Hypothetically of course???

Just curious
 
#3 ·
RE: NEW RULE

fish36990 - 2/2/2005 7:19 PM

...So, If I hypothetically ...
Just curious
Several ways to look at it.

As to the hypotheticals; most of what you brought up falls under the "it's ok" comment made in my first post. Links to helpfull info in post about this and that is just fine. If you look around in here you will see I and others have posted links in here to other websites to assist folks search for Mog info. Also their is a thread here that was started "specifically" to "cooperate" with friendly folk on the Mog Mail List.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1166113&start=1&fid=35

This thread provides a place to post pictures for linking in messages on the list. This also provides a GREAT BIG advantage to the Mail list cause the pictures will most likely be available , for many many years, to those searching the mail list archives. This is because this Bulletin Board is hosted by a Mercedes Club non-profit corp. (501C3)

Think of it like this, if you were to walk into someones auto parts place; who does not even know you, and began to promote your business by shouting "HEY EVERYONE" come on over to my Auto parts place" you would would expect to be quickly asked to leave; right. If you went to another's auto parts business; whom don't even know who you are, and plaster advertisments for your same type of business onto their front windows you would expect that they would be torn down; right. Thats the point here. It is really rather simple.

Besides lets be honest; a person who in one of their very first few post begins promoting their new simular type of web site it is obvious they are not here to be an active participant. They are only here to be a fox in the hen house. To steal something that we have worked hard to get.

Now if someone were to become a friend by being a helpful active participant in here and by having been a person of good faith to this forum; odds are I and others would do all they could to support their adventure into another Mog web talk site, as long as this site and that one complimented one another. If they detracted from one another obviously we would not. I wish there were as many Unimog owners out there as their are Toyota's. If that was the case their would be plenty of people around to have many websites to support all the different aspects of the Unimog. That is just not the case here.
 
#4 ·
RE: NEW RULE

That's the whole point, your analogy is exactly the problem I'm talking about. If you're a "non-profit" entity, then the word 'business' in your post doesn't apply and neither do the sponsors everywhere. Noone is trying to hurt your BUSINESS....in a hypothetical situation of course.

You used the word 'steal' as though there was property involved that is being taken from the forum when it's the exact opposite. I've always thought the theory behind forums was to share knowledge not to try to lock it down and have a monopoly on it for sponsors.

Also, Using the phrase 'fox in the hen house' implies that there were bad intentions which is obvioulsy not the case. If so, there would be no hypothetical link to this forum on the supposed website. The alleged link even leaves the original site completely and brings the user here....novel idea of sharing this hypothetical site has huh?

Hypothetically, someone could have created a new name on a rolling IP address because they thought the Moderator would delete them as a member for even mentioning another site....go figure.
 
#5 ·
RE: NEW RULE

I was thinking about it,

This conversation is pointless because I wouldn't even want my hypothetical site mentioned on here now but I will leave the link to this forum on the alleged site because it's the right thing to do.

You can delete this member name now also.

Good Luck
 
#6 ·
RE: NEW RULE

Thats funny Fish. You sound more like a pissed fox for being scorned cause he was in the hen house. Don't sound like a fish at all. Information to be shared is best found when you only have to look for it in a few different places compared to having to look all over the place.

For now I'm not deleting anything and I welcome discussion.
 
#7 ·
RE: NEW RULE

I don't know you so it would take much more than animal analogies on an internet forum to 'piss' me off, disappointed describes it better.

But you prove my point exactly. Why would you want to look all over the net to find info on the Unimog???? That's exactly why I would have hypothetically built the site.

You're a forum moderator and it's a great forum, it says it on the alleged site. But you are limited on what you can do here and that isn't your fault. You can't put an area aside for: items for sale, wanted items, member pics, links (God help someone posting that on here) and so on. To find anything except what the topics of the day are here, you have to do a ton of searching through the forum. With being a small topic in a HUGE site, your options are limited.

The hypothetical site has a forum...yes, but it also has a link here, a bunch of other sites, and companies that are friendly to the Unimog Community. I doubt the alleged forum will ever be this big and I'm sure the link from that site to this forum will be well used. But that site is much better organized due to having full control of the site.

That site is better, this forum is better...it's not really the competitive pissing match that you've made it out to be but the sponsors may disagree.
 
#8 ·
RE: NEW RULE

Fish and Foxes etc. Just take that as humor not as name calling. Ok..... so I'll never be a writer for a TV sitcom. [;)]

Now we do have something we can agree on. This forum (any forum) has limitations when compared to a full bulletin board. I came on board here for some of the same reasons you started a bulletin board. Cause it is a much better format than a mail list. If enough information comes forth in this forum where it needs organizing better that is not too difficult to do. Been there done that for two different bulletin board forums already. (one Unimog based; but now mostly rockcrawlers with Unimog axles, and another on a much more complicated topic than Unimogs)

That being said though, I look forward to the day that there is enough activity in the internet Unimog world to dictate the need for its own bulletin board instead of just a forum on a board. At the moment that is not the case. In fact the last couple attempts at keeping Unimog Bulliten boards active have failed and the boards have been removed from the net or just gone idle. This forum is a GREAT step toward your goal. Help this forum's activity grow and then lets move onto a bulletin board of its own.

Just realize that it will take even longer to get an active unimog internet place going if there are lots of Internet Talk Sites. (Blogs, Bulletin Boards, Mail list etc.) The more activity with in "one" site the more good conversations about each topic and that is what matters most cause it is within these conversations that good information is passed along.

If you have information to share then feel free to post it here as others have and still do. What kind of Unimog do you have? Let's see it in the pics thread. Got any technical advice or great ideas? Feel free to post it in a thread. Bring on some good conversation I dont care if your a fish fox or bull dog for that matter[:eek:)]

I am freezing this thread cause both of us have gotten our points across and now are just beating a dead horse.

Fish, I look forward to your and other's helpfull Unimog information.
 
#9 ·
RE: NEW RULE

Though nobody has requested me to I am unfreezing this thread incase someone else besides Author wants to throw there .02 into the hat.
 
#10 ·
RE: NEW RULE

ok, i´ll give it a try .. [:)]

I think coachgeo has a really good point there.
Promoting other similar forums at a forum is never
appreciated by the owner/moderators.

Too hard rules are not good either, and one can never
stop people from making there own forums. A already
populated forum will always draw people at first, but
if the impressions are´nt good they just go to another
website ...

I´m no big fan of moderators in general, i think they
to often regulate peoples writings and opinions.
Cant really judge any foreign moderators (read american)
though, dont now enough about your laws to do that.
Here in Sweden the freedom of speach is extremly
important, and you can talk about anything on
forums, without any risk of forum owners getting
prosecuted. There has only been one such trial, but
the forum owner was freed. That time the discussions
were about pirate copies of cards for cable tv recivers.
What i´ve seen so far, coachgeo seems like a good guy! [:D]

I found a few other forums when i looked for info,
and other people to talk with, but this one was the
only one where my first post got answered at all.
At the other forums "Hi everybody!" by Fizz still is the
newest post. Not wery exiting ...[xx(]

well, that was my 2 cents, hope i´d added something
to the discussion ... sorry for any the bad spelling,
i dont get to either talk or write english that often ...

(noticed that i did´nt mention mail lists and blogs?
here in Sweden the mail list is dead, and has been
for 5 years or so. the blogs are in my opinion overrated,
as they mainly concern the blog owner, and gives the
reader limited controll over the information in it.
the forum is the perfect solution for letting people
sharing information! (and dont forget the wiki, information
wants to be free!))
 
#11 ·
RE: NEW RULE

I think the real issue is this

do you want to join and search on 500 different forums about unomogs or do you want to go to 2-5 forums... if there was 100 million owners in the US then 500 might be cool. but when each state has maybe 100 mogs total on average lets stay to the 2-5 range.

And if you really want to have a forum see if you can't try to improve what is allready there, then to try and replace

Thanks
 
#12 ·
RE: NEW RULE

I'll probably be deleted for this but I need to say this and support our community as a whole.

I oppose ANYONE trying to control the free flow of information. Especially in regards to the Unimog. There is just plain nothing out there for us but a few limited venues.

I personally would also welcome the creation of any venue or forum for the Unimog community even if it drew users away from me. It's for the common good of the Moggers out there and expands our already small community. More sources of information sharing out there will do MORE for the community.

I think it's selfish to deny the members in this community from sharing forum info and also, I believe it has more to do with egos than anything.

Now for the bomb. I tried to establish a new Moggers Central Forum at Delphi and guess who came over there and suggested I close it down and support thier forum? COACH_GEO. Ironic isn't it? He has the audacity to deny you folks your right to freedom of information by banning the advertisement of other forums but has no problem coming to mine and leaving web links and dropping his name. Hippoctate? Possibly.

I'm not one to judge. All I can say is that I am extremely dissapointed that ANY person can apply rules to you but doesn't have the common courtesy to follow then himself. Holier than Thou? You be the judge.
 
#13 ·
RE: NEW RULE

BornOnFire - 3/26/2005 6:26 PM

I'll probably be deleted for this but I need to say this and support our community as a whole.
FYI, I don't remember ever deleting anything but one post advertising another Mog/info forum.

I oppose ANYONE trying to control the free flow of information. Especially in regards to the Unimog. There is just plain nothing out there for us but a few limited venues.
Totally agree with you on no control needed on free flow of information. Limited venues being a problem?:... that Iwe must agree to disagree on. As stated already IMHO at this moment in time the more venues the more RESTRICTED the "FLOW" of information becomes. It's like plumbing..... The more places you tap the flow of a main water line, the more each one slows down. The more wells you dig into an aquifer the slower the flow of water out of each well etc. etc.

I personally would also welcome the creation of any venue or forum for the Unimog community even if it drew users away from me. It's for the common good of the Moggers out there and expands our already small community. More sources of information sharing out there will do MORE for the community.
Nice theory and can see how someone may come to that conclusion. With deeper thought though ya begin to see common good is not necessarily reached when someone has to search through “more� sources. Would you rather search through just a few books in a library to get the information you need or would you rather have to search thru the whole states library system to find what you need?

I think it's selfish to deny the members in this community from sharing forum info and also, I believe it has more to do with egos than anything.
I try to keep my ego in check. Thanks for keeping tabs for me though; try to stay consistent too. A poster at my favorite diesel benze forum advertised they were starting a new website for a diesel benze and I brought up the same points about slowing the flow. US diesel benze owners are also not real plentiful; more than Mogs but still not enough to support a whole bunch of info/talk sites. BTW ; I’m not a moderator there and it’s not part of this website either� Have to admit though some thought I was off base, some didn't.

Now for the bomb. I tried to establish a new Moggers Central Forum at Delphi and guess who came over there and suggested I close it down and support thier forum? COACH_GEO. Ironic isn't it? He has the audacity to deny you folks your right to freedom of information by banning the advertisement of other forums but has no problem coming to mine and leaving web links and dropping his name. Hippoctate? Possibly.

I'm not one to judge. All I can say is that I am extremely dissapointed that ANY person can apply rules to you but doesn't have the common courtesy to follow then himself. Holier than Thou? You be the judge.
Thank you for helping establish to the folk here that I am consistent in my stance on things. Yep, I posted on your site; before it really got off the ground, the same points discussed here. Yep, I left a link to invite you and others to participate here to discourage tapping off from the trickle of Mog information. BTW, its not MY forum, I just work here for the mog folk trying to maximize the flow of information.

The invite is still open for you and others to add expertise, .02 thoughts etc etc. BTW the post on your site was before I made the ruling here. Cannot remember exactly but I think it was a few weeks, month or so?.. . As to making judgements.... your right others will form their own opinions. They will either particpate here or seek another venue, maybe both.

PS: “Holier then thou�. LOL. If so why would I have reopened this thread for discussion?
 
#14 ·
This all sounds quite reasonably argued. BUT I have received PMs from some forum members telling me about another forum - these are PMs, not posts on the public forum - and these members have since been banned from Benzworld. Why? Well, your guess is as good as mine...
I am a member of 8 forums, visiting some on a daily basis and some only occasionally. The admin at these forums doesn't seem bothered about having exclusive rights to their members' undivided attention, so what's the deal? In my opinion BW is the best Unimog forum by a long shot, due to the high levels of traffic and the cool atmosphere and general helpfulness of all the posters. It would be a real shame to throw this all away by banning people simply for looking in more than 1 place for their banter.

"Tank Girl"
 
#15 ·
Tank Girl said:
This all sounds quite reasonably argued. BUT I have received PMs from some forum members telling me about another forum - these are PMs, not posts on the public forum - and these members have since been banned from Benzworld. Why? Well, your guess is as good as mine...
I am a member of 8 forums, visiting some on a daily basis and some only occasionally. The admin at these forums doesn't seem bothered about having exclusive rights to their members' undivided attention, so what's the deal? In my opinion BW is the best Unimog forum by a long shot, due to the high levels of traffic and the cool atmosphere and general helpfulness of all the posters. It would be a real shame to throw this all away by banning people simply for looking in more than 1 place for their banter.

"Tank Girl"
Those members were banned temporarily for abusing the rules of the board, and they know this, as not one of them has emailed or PM'd about it. They have been unbanned since Saturday.

There were a couple of posts about this in the Suggestions and Feedback forum, where it was mentioned that in light of abuse they were still welcome here at the forums.
 
#16 ·
administrator said:
Those members were banned temporarily for abusing the rules of the board, and they know this, as not one of them has emailed or PM'd about it. They have been unbanned since Saturday.

There were a couple of posts about this in the Suggestions and Feedback forum, where it was mentioned that in light of abuse they were still welcome here at the forums.
Today is Tuesday and some of them are still banned.
How can a member PM you if they are unable to log on due to being banned?
What exactly was the abuse? Is submitting posts on another forum abusive?
 
#17 ·
I have NOT banned ANYONE, nor I am unaware of any bans. This is all news to me!! I assume those above me have banned some folk w/out my knowledge. I actually thought this rule was only my rule and not one of the whole forum.

My reasons for it being a rule are clearly stated earlier. I have no idea if those above me banned folk for the reasons I discribed or for some other reason, but I must admit I have not yet read the thread the administrator suggest.
 
#21 ·
coachgeo said:
I have NOT banned ANYONE, nor I am unaware of any bans. This is all news to me!! I assume those above me have banned some folk w/out my knowledge. I actually thought this rule was only my rule and not one of the whole forum.

My reasons for it being a rule are clearly stated earlier. I have no idea if those above me banned folk for the reasons I discribed or for some other reason, but I must admit I have not yet read the thread the administrator suggest.
Coach, I am not blaming you. Sorry if it came across that way.
My questions were to the administrator, who said that the people who were banned are now "un-banned" ~ Today is Wednesday and those people are STILL banned.
Admin also mentioned "abuse" ~ I am unaware of any abuse by those members who are still banned.
Perhaps you're thinking this would be better placed in the Feedback forum, and not in the Mog forum. Well, I'm kinda thinking that too, but that's how the forum works, right? You start off saying one thing and see where it takes you. FWIW I have PMed admid asking why a particular close friend of mine was banned, but have not yet had a reply.
 
#22 ·
The mention of Stalin seems to work here.

I cant beleive I just read THREE PAGES of Drama!!

I came here to find out information about my truck. I know its not a Mog, but it does share the same engine. I have had some help in my thread, but I have also had people biting their tongues due to fear of banning.

I know I am a black sheep considering that I own a truck that is neither 4wd OR an SUV. Those are the only trucks supported by this site. I have spent a huge amount of time trying to find out information or a forum to learn more about my truck.

I wish I had knowledge to share with others in hopes that more knowledge would be shared with me, or even just to help someone out. But, my knowledge about Mogs is limited. I admit I am a n00b. But I am not a n00b to the basic understanding that when someone needs help or info; that the right thing to do is to share it.

I own a German car repair/tuning shop and I answer just about all the questions that I can from people that are in need of knowledge. I know it may be costing me a little bit of business by telling people how to do simple things to their cars, but it will eventually pay off when they need something done that they cannot do themselves. Not to mention the times that they promote my shop by word of mouth about how helpful I am.

Got a VW/Audi question? I would love to help. I have many lp-1419 questions.

/rant

Chris
 
#23 ·
the issues going on now have NOTHING to do with the concepts that brought forth in this thread. Entirely different ball game and have absolutely NOTHING to do with the priciples of this thread. You just have to trust me on this.

vanagonturbo- your plight to find info on your truck also has nothing to do with this thread. You are welcome here with open arms since it seems folk in here are the most knowledgable around about your truck's engine. As explained before If anyone knows of a better place for you they are free to name that website here with out coming anywhere near violating the priciples discussed in this thread. Now...... will it cause problems with the admin....... I don't think so but things have been weird lately.
 
#24 ·
vanagonturbo,
I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.. I found these threads by googling for info on my OM352 enginines. I have trouble finding info on the trucks they were installed in and even more so to units that have been marinized for boats.

Mercedes made arrangements with several companies who would marinize engines with ad-ons like pumps & exhaust manifolds etc... Now these companies have gone out of business and Daimler-Benz provides NO SUPPORT other than what parts can be matched up for the basic unit. Local Detroit Diesel dealer has told me that "You need to buy new engines" when I ask about a fuel filter or something. (they would like me to go away I'm sure..)

I read and learned much on here before I ever joined and posted. One member named Jack R. was sharing great info. I was shocked to learn that he had passed on at an earlier date but was teaching me so much in the present tense. He really lives on!!

I have thought about posting a thread that is just all "Keywords" which would be searchable to fellow mercedes-powered-boaters. I'm sure it would be a while before we reached membership deserving a thread of our own with MB.. I'm not sure if the keyword idea would be accepted on here (I have a list started).

I find all machinery interesting! MB should be proud of it's marine heritage and I have certianly enjoyed learning about the MOGS (not just here but all across the Net). I just might need to own one with a radio box, set up as a support vehicle for my boat (one can dream..)

Anyway I skated around all the drama by just jumping in here and accepting whatever responce I got.. If "The Word" is that the forums are now run by what will affect MB's bottom-line and not by "What would Jack R. do?" it is a sad thing..
 
#25 ·
Hi,

I've just joined and issued my first post "Purchasing Advice" I mentioned a couple websites I was looking for feedback on before I saw your notice. Did I make a mistake referencing those sites, or is it just other Blogs etc. you're concerned about. Thanks...Glenn
 
#26 ·
gdm1188 said:
Hi,

I've just joined and issued my first post "Purchasing Advice" I mentioned a couple websites I was looking for feedback on before I saw your notice. Did I make a mistake referencing those sites, or is it just other Blogs etc. you're concerned about. Thanks...Glenn
Your just fine. Your not promoting any Unimog discussion boards or mail list. The first post in this thread states

1. Do not advertise, promote etc. not yet established Unimog mail list, forums, blogs etc. in these pages. ...
 
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