Modern Vespa

As if Jess didn't have enough to do. Here's the deal, on Modern V. I am a lurker. I will post stupid stuff looking for a laugh, but even know I ride 24/7 I am still a mental midget when it comes to technical know how. I have watched people get slammed who are new to the scooter scene, and in good fashion I have watched those posts get locked. Now I love scootering, I love to promote scootering, and I am ecstatic when someone is about to become a new rider. But the other day, when talking to a new scooterist, I was hesitant to recommend Modern V. for info because I knew there was a chance that they might get slammed for asking a "Stupid Question".
Then I thought to myself that this was crazy. Modern V. is the best possible site for info and was started on the premise that other sites were just too unfriendly to the newbie's. So I have a suggestion. How about a Newbie Forum, where the Technoids and the hard cores can just avoid all together, and the welcomers and promoters can answer all the stupid questions asked. I would even volunteer as a moderator for that area. Stupid is definitely my area of expertise.
It's just that I REALLY, REALLY, enjoy riding more than I enjoy posting and when I look at all the friends I have today thanks to scootering I figure, "Hey, you can never have enough friends" so what do you say? Newbie's Forum? Let me know, it's worth my time.

I would say that's a good idea. Another forum for newbies.
For the most part I would say Modern Vespa is cool with "stupid questions" but yes once and a while you may get put down for asking something that they feel is obvious. Good Luck and I mean that sincerley.

How about if we just don't slam newbies?

Jess =

I think some members get a little snippy if they don't get enough saddle time, but otherwise, as long as you can deal with the occasional foul language and innuendos, it's a fine place for newbies.

No offense, this is still the friendliest site on line it's just that the questions asked on such a forum would'nt have to be so carfully worded. Because lets face it, when you're just getting started, there's a lot to consider. Just looking for a better comfort Zone, "Welcome Newbies" kind of thing.

I have ensured there is a "New Members Introduction" section on every forum I administrate - it makes an easy break-in for all. Some of those have a posting only to that section for two posts before they can post elsewhere. It helps to weed out trolls, and also helps newbies to get welcomed before they ask the inevitable "What is the service interval" question...

Also there can be a few pinned topics in there, such as "What info to provide if your scoot won't start". I'm getting fed up with repeatedly asking "How many flashes does the immobiliser LED give before becoming steady ON" - when this should have been given in the OP.

I'm against making new forums willy-nilly - but a newbie welcome area could help here on MV, I'm sure.

your really begging for this....so here goes

What a stupid idea........noob......





can you feel the love?.....

So you otta the dog house for breaking Linda's hand yet?

Hope you are both well....

R
8)

The only stupid question is the one unasked.

AND - The search function on this forum is NOT User (read newbie), friendly.

generally NEWBS to this forum are NEWBS to ALL forums.

so creating a newbs section won't do much good.

plus the people that slam newbs will go to the newbs section, and slaughter the poor "how do I put gas in my..?" "how do i get the scooter on/off the center stand?" "Full face or half?" "can i expect 111 mpg?" "insurance?" "does a 150 cc scooter require an M1 licensce?" "msf course or NO?" "should i take the MSF course" "flip flops or converse" "what is aTTGAT?" "What is SSR mean?" "what is NSR mean?" "why do they call jess lil' hitler?" "can we talk about politics?" "why can't we talk about politics" "why does the clock not work on my et4?" "should i use soft scrub or windex on my windshield?" "windshield or fly screen?" "what's the difference between a windscreen and a fly screen?" "what kinda oil?" "what kind of gas?" "what is a stebel?" "how do i install ____ in my _____?" ...... people

A solid summary to be sure! I rather dread the possibilities, however, in "how do i install ____ in my _____?"

I had no problems here when I was a noobie...And don't you guys all enjoy helping the new ones with problems? Even if the question has been asked many times before..

Leave it the way it is

ex-noob

100% intentional...

so, i'm a newbie (been riding since june of this year) and i would like to say that i think a newbie forum is a GREAT idea!

sure, i learned a lot from snooping and browsing around the site. and yes, i got into the search function and looked up things specific to MY bike, but as far as the site goes there is a lot to explore and it can sometimes be overwhelming.

i've been exploring and looking around the site every other day or so, but becoming a vespa-holic takes a lot longer than three months!

As a new guy who has spent a lot of time using the search function, I can tell you that it doesn't work that well. I can do a search and bring up a list of threads that might pertain to the subject I am looking for. After I have selected and read a thread, I cannot go back to the list and must start a new search all over again.

I've used the search function of a number of other forums, but using this one efficiently excapes me.

Generally speaking the folks on this thread are friendly and helpful, but in the short time that I have been visiting this site, I have seen way too many snotty answers that were clearly not appropiate.

that's not true, sometimes there really are stupid questions. ask anyone in tech support.

My browser (Safari) doesn't have a problem with the scenario you describe. Have you considered a better browser?

I have no problem with new members asking a common question for what may seem like the millionth time. New responses can add new, helpful, information. Likewise, they may present the answer in a more understandable manner.

Just because a question was answered once doesn't mean that it was answered best.

Most importantly, every member on this forum was a noobie at one time, and someone took the time to answer their questions.

I am a noob. I saw this site in my search for help and was excited about it at first. However, when I tried to post info I thought would be helpful I was sad to find that it was old news. I wasn't bashed outright but felt not too welcomed. I was just trying to add to the wonderful knowledge base that has been developed here (That is the spirit of this site right?). I do think that a noob area would be extremly nice. It won't be intimidating for noobs like me to try and find our place and not be noobs...

Good heavens yes. I'm now in "brains" business, but I worked for a bit in tech support...

For the record I don't think newb questions on a Vespa forum can be "stupid" though

A major round of applause.....

Except you Rich Glasseye, Damn you! Oh and no I'm still in the dog house and hey, see you at Amerivespa in 09? Oh and Damn You!...and all that.

This would solve the issue now wouldn't it. I have to say that when I was a noob, I felt quite welcomed here even with my stupid questions that had been answered before. I don't mind people asking questions which have been asked before either, in my job that occurs everyday.

You are a kind soul. Anybody who could produce an old ET2 manual is my forever friend.

And I am sure that some of us will remain perma-noob, even with the manual. And I'm talking about myself here. Why I just had a patient individual explain to me why I didn't need a dip stick in my ET2. I have an endless supply of ignorance, but I don't think Modern Vespa is the place I'll be asking any of my really doofus style questions any time soon.

Exactly my problem - are you suggesting this forum doesn't run "properly" under IE 7?

I am a noob; started riding scoots in '05. Have to say that I have had no problems here, gotten very good advice from more experienced members. That said, why do people have such thin skins? If I ask a dumb question and get ridiculed on a forum, so what? Chalk it up to a learning experience and move on.
There is so much technical info here, and good advice; it doesn't need to be a self-esteem building workshop.
Apologies for the rant-

Does any site?

I actually think the not so secret Nominate Your Favorite Post! project will take care of most of the often repeated questions as well as some of the search issues.

I find the search to work really well to find something I've seen but can't locate. It's not as good when looking for information on a topic.

I am also wondering about IE browser since I have the same problem.

I am also fairly new to this forum. This site is great and has been invaluable to me from my first posted question. I was impressed by the great and sincere responses I received on my questions and found it very welcoming. Of course I did get a few inappropriate/obnoxious responses, but they were the exception. I tend to think a separate Newbie forum is not necessary, there seem to be plenty of good responses to most questions. And as some have said, there are always new things to be learned by addressing some of the same questions more than once.

I think topics/threads take care of themselves; if no one wants to respond, the question will just die off on its own anyway. Most members who respond will only take the time to respond to "newbie" questions if they are sincerely interested in helping. I could never understand why some waste time responding just to insult the poster. I have not always taken my own advice, but those types are best ignored. Keep the questions coming, that's what keeps this forum thriving. No newbies = a dying site!

I wasn't aware of these problems. I've amended the search guide for Internet Explorer users.
Please try it out and let me know how it works out for you.

Regards
Harvey

IE users might want to hold down the CTRL key while clicking on a link in the results window to force IE to open the link in a separate tab.

We are all noobs in life. The only things noobs need is, don't be afraid of someone giving you a bad time on a forum. Develop a thick skin, even if someone you formerly looked up to on the site is slamming your automatic TNG scooter, and has developed into such a snob that you now think he is a rather large J-HOLE. And don't put up with someone doing that to you. Call them on it. I've asked plenty of noob questions about how do I _____ to a ______.

Thanks Marcster! I've added that to the guide.

Regards
Harvey

I'm pretty much a noobie here, too. Just since June. I think I have been treated well. Most of my dumb questions have been answered kindly.

Of course there IS this dannyw who can't figure out how there could be more than one danny in the world

I have the same issues and I am using vista for business with Ie 7

Dannyh is looking for a moderator position, pay him no mind.

Mac people always think we're superior...er, yeah.

Right click on the individual thread topic and then click "open in new window" or whatever that is and it will open whatever link you click on in a new window. Then when you're done reading/posting, you can just close the window out and go on to the next one. It's like a place marker.

Happy surfing.

I think Kevins Idea is a good one, Call it an introduction thread. Thats where all those "what color helmet should I buy" post could go.

I see a lot of vets on this site rip on how dumb that post was (by a newbie), or how dumb some of the vets post are, I have thick skin, but sometimes I cant figure out if they are being serious, joking or just being an a**hole, so I can imagine how the newbies feel.

I understand its more work for Jess, but its an idea that could make this site a little more newbie friendly. MV rocks over the other Scooter boards that Ive been on.


And for the record I think Jess and the mods has done a great job with keeping this site civil. Its tough with more and more people joining, and some coming from those sites that allow anything to be posted. I had no problem with him shutting down the site to get members in line.

I guess now would be a bad time to ask for a Shifty Room?

MV, where adults come to post (95% of the time). .

Manny

I have a GTS250ie what's that got to do with my browser?

I actually enjoy the occasional abuse. Some people have never caught on that if you scream out loud in a crowded room (the real world version of a forum), people will respond differently.

I will not tell you my age but I have been around longer than the Internet and I have learned to live by the following 4 concepts:

1. You never can tell when people are having a good day or bad.

2. You should never take anything personally even from a single response or thread.

3. A smart ass response usually includes the answer in some form. (Look at rules 1 and 2)

4.

4. In this day and age a well moderated forum has a tendency to quickly identify, correct and/or eject the 'evil' personages.

5. That's right. I am on number 5 of a 4 concept list. I put in 4 twice and left one blank. You can tell me where I went wrong.

If you really feel the need to correct me, please perform the following.

Type up the correction. Also include your view point of the original post.
Find my home based on my forum description.
Deliver it to me personally.

(If you succeed at this I will buy you a beer.)

My friends and I always joked that you were worse off being a friend in our group rather than the enemy. We tormented the friends. We had a tendency to ignore the enemy. As you age you have a tendency to forget about the enemies. They are usually not around for very long.

IE is widely regarded by everyone who has ever had to maintain a complex web site to be the worst browser on the planet. The only reason it's supported at all is because so many Windows users mindlessly keep using it, to the detriment of the entire web infrastructure. No, seriously: IE has done more harm to the inner workings of the web than any other single force. It routinely ignores standards, either through gross incompetence or malicious intent, forcing all of us to jump through ridiculous hoops to make things work for the people who can't be bothered to download something better.

You don't have to upgrade to a Mac or anything. But really, use a better browser. The future of the web depends on it.