Modern Vespa

serious post, and i'm not trying flaming new people here. i expect that the gas prices are driving tons of new people into the scooter scene, which is great, but it seems to me that sometimes 50% of the front page is covered with:

- new here. do dealers offer a discount on vespas? how should i negotiate?
- help me decide between the lx150 and the gts250.
- how much should a new vespa cost?
- the first service was really expensive! how much should i pay?

perhaps some mod could make a sticky and compile all of the new questions and put it right at the top by the msf stuff, etc.

i don't mind answering them most of the time, but sometimes it gets old.

maybe i'm getting old and cranky too, though.

anyway, with all of the new people, wouldn't that be a help to them? they could have one big thread with all of the common questions in it.

patience, grasshopper

I think a sticky on windshields would be useful too.

I was thinking the same thing this morning too, but I was thinking of the two things that I've noticed coming up a lot lately ...

How NOT to overfill the gas tank.

How to remove the evap hose.

Like a "Do This First" sticky.

But then again, I think these two things might be what draws people to MV in the first place.

(spell check, I need you! )

Something is going to happen very soon, patience.

Hows about a FAQ section. Sometimes even I find the search thang a bit of a PITA.

Chad's got a point it does seem that there are more and more of the same sort of questions being raised lately.

Stickies are evil. And they don't get read. If you want to hide something in plain site, sticky it.

We're working on something a little more... involved.

Bwahaha! You jaded old timers are just going to have to hang loose, and wait for what we're cooking up for you! 8)

Meanwhile, remember.... we were all newbies once! And it's true: these first steps, and the kind of replies received, set the tone for those who join us here in the wild, wacky world of Modern Vespa--


--Deborah

So if you were scootin' long ago, way before MV existed, but you just joined MV, are you a newbie or a jaded old timer?

I'd love to see a newbie stickie or FAQ sheet! I don't know when I get to graduate from noob to whatever-ya-call it but after only 600 miles, I do find myself sad that when I rode this spring with three dollar gas all the motos would wave and now with 4.50 gas they don't. So many scoots in town now with flippies and tank tops they think I'm one of "them" despite the corrazzo and the shoei

I'm sure with the way MV has progressed, we are in for a real treat. Thanks for keeping this GREAT Vespa site!

Finally going to implement my suggestion that newly registered users must read 1/2 the threads, tick a semi-hidden checkbox in each thread, and pass a test before they can post the same question differently?

Sort of a MSF course? Must See First? I didn't see this thread when I started one myself. Sorry. I was just at Scooter Diva and saw how they addressed it and would have loved that on this site. Thanks to the moderators for their work.

What?!?
Why do you keep calling me?

Here's the newbie perspective:

When you Google "Vespa won't start," you get:

Modern Vespa : ET4 Won't Start or Idle [Portland, OR]
2004 Vespa ET4 Malossi 190cc & Variator. Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 8 Location: Portland, OR. Reply with quote. ET4 Won't Start or Idle [Portland, OR] ...
www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic27596 - 46k - Cached - Similar pages

When you Google "Vespa GT 200 won't start," you get:

Modern Vespa : GT200 Stalls after ~3 miles and won't start
May 20, 2008 ... GT200 Stalls after ~3 miles and won't start ... That evening driving home my Vespa GT200 stalled. ... Vespa GT200 2004 Around 8000 miles ...
www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic25373.html - 26k - Cached - Similar pages

When you follow those links you find people willing to share their expertise and get you up and running again, such as Jess and Benito. Nice guys. Then, Judy from the North Shore sends a note and tells you about a rally coming up in October. So, you're grateful for not having to haul your two-week old Vespa home in a truck, but you're also happy to find a community that shares your interests and, in general, radiates goodwill.

Whatever you do, realize that your answers to those dumb questions about flooded air filters are MV's welcome mat. I don't think you want to lose that -- as handy as a READ THIS FIRST, NEWBIE!!! section might be.

Aloha.

OHH? Something involved, like our Own Home like this?!!

MV has got it easy. I get emails all the time asking,
Do I need a license and insurance?
I get tempted to misinform these newbies, but I havn't yet.

50%, that's not enough, we were thinking that 75% was a better number of posts that would have to be read by all newbies before they were able to post anything.

When do we graduate from newbie to.....?
Where is my Toaster...
I have posted my 100th post, read 1000's of post...
Filled the moderators mailbox with tons of mail...
Where is my Gold Plated Special Edition MV 4 slice toaster?


Love this place,
I am so glad we have unmonitored internet at work....

Hah! You'll not get yours before I get mine

Ah, newbies are part of the deal. They're all welcome. 90% of the topics have been covered before, and it's not just newbies. There are just so many things that can be discussed about scooters.

The thing that is amazing to me is how big MV has gotten. Holy crap! 7400+ members!

I think it's great but the downside is that threads get pushed off the first page before I even see them now.

Wow.

Growth is mind boggling..
When I joined a few months ago there were a few hard core that I recognized.. Now...
It is like a family reunion... I only know a few of these people...
You are my cousen from where??
Glad I joined...

So are you guys working on a new naming system for the amt of posts we have? I can remember if you answered every thread on here it woulda taken you a year to get moto verbso. Now you can do it in a couple of months. So i'm thinking a really big toaster right

I changed my mind......
I going for the Waffle Iron....
Warm syrup........
Melting butter........

Gotta go. BRB...

nearly everybody gets juicers now. once you reach uber-chatty levels of postage, we'll send you a mule and some cassette tapes of klezmer music. if you're the silent type, or if we don't like you, you'll get a bag of couscous or a mop. them's the rules. don't argue.

Don't forget that at that uber level they also get autographed copies of the MV Moderator 2009 Calendar!

Is it a swimsuit calendar?

In that case...maybe I should slow down my pace....

Nice! Haven't you seen the photo of Genie yet, once you do you'll want your copy of the calendar too.

good one!

...not to mention greasy125 & his speedo collection.

...& Benito, looking dashing sporting nothing but a stethoscope 8)

...And MV-Bot at his/her very best....

....And.... Enough hints. You know you want to pre-order your 2008 MV Moderator calendar instantly!

Oooooo! I want one!!!

Surely at 1942 posts I must be in the neighborhood!!

how bout a sticky about stickies

Oooh, my mind's eye!

Actually, you all HAVE changed my mind about this.

If all the mods got together, posed in swimsuits beside/astride their scoots, and made it into a MV swimsuit calendar... I WOULD buy one!!

I don't know how many mods there are, and except for the few that actually have pic avatars, I don't know their genders.

But either way.. that would be a very fun calendar to hang on my wall.

Are you all game? Talk about publicity for MV!!

Heh heh heh....

I have a couple Vespa calenders. They're meant for those with routines. I always forget to spin the date around.

I came here for information from experienced scooter owners as well as 'newbie' owners.
Actually, I think without the 'newbie' questions I'd be about done with this site.
I thought this was the place to talk about 'scooter issue relataed topics'.
If I want coffee-pot talk I know where to find it.
There seem to be a lot of complacent members around here driving people away.
Thanks to all of you who have provided important helpful information.

Okay. The funs over. Get back to work.