Hiding the light

[anwar]

This post in our neighbor forum had a reference to RC India, when the poster originally made the post.

http://www.indiarc.com/forum/index.php?topic=2554.msg16087#msg16087

Originally, it read :

"I have posted a build log on RC India  http://www.rcindia.org/servos-gyros-and-all-electronics/rc-multi-tester-v4-35-by-philip-sun-build-log-by-sahil/"

It was edited by the moderators, and now it just says "I have posted a build log         Click here".

The direct references to RC India have been removed, and any user would have to look at the link (or click on it).

So it is not just commercial links/interests, people are afraid of anything outside of their control !

Well at least the link remains, for now ! 

[rcforall]

Well said Anwar , 
Previously only we were competitors to the hobby shop  .

You have to understand you are a direct competitor to so called forum which is the entire basis for hobby shop in the first place .
Without the so called  forum ( group discussion ) the hobby shop cannot exist  unlike other hobby shop's  .
The the purpose of the forum is promotion of the hobby shop's products and largely self reviews of products sold by the hobby shop.The customer base is largely the forum members .

I might be more forthright than other shop owners but  facts are facts . You will not find the same level of moderation  for links to forums like RCG/RCU etc  but be sure this is not the last as far as RCINDIA is concerned 

So welcome to the problem makers  category .
You as a member will soon have restricted access with crosses indicating to all that you are an unwelcome member  you will be denied access to PM's , and your posts will be monitored , deleted , modified etc at the will of the paranoid  "MODERATOR/Forum Owner  ( LOL ) "

sai

[gauravag]

Well said Sai,
What you said is cent percent correct and the hostility shown by the Moderator/Owner/GOD of the other forum, pissed me off to an extent that i boycotted that forum entirely.

-Gaurav

[rcforall]

Well said Sai,
What you said is cent percent correct and the hostility shown by the Moderator/Owner/GOD of the other forum, pissed me off to an extent that i boycotted that forum entirely.

-Gaurav

Gaurav ,
I have also more or less boycotted the other entity ( I prefer not to call it a forum ) , in any case the active members are a handful regulars in any case largely from Chennai and Delhi  Puneites as conspicous by their absence .
The monitoring goes on to the extent that PM's exchanged between members are monitored.
Any one talking positive of seller other than the particular shop is considered a stooge of the seller hence can be blacklisted as well.

Beginners are ridiculed by " GOD " himself  .

As an individual I am pissed off as well.
Sai

.

[anwar]

Wow... wow... slow down...     I didn't bring this up to start a forum war !

I just felt it was interesting, that it is not only purely commercial activity that was frowned upon.  I guess this forum can be treated as a commercial venue, in that other shops are actively advertising there.  In fact, this may be more commercial than any other single store, since we have so vast a variety of product and price discussion here.

In fact I am thinking of offering a prize to anyone who posts 10 links to http://www.indiarc.com on this forum, as a part of genuine discussion    We welcome all links ! (and I just made my second link from this forum to the other forum) 

[sahilkit]

This post in our neighbor forum had a reference to RC India, when the poster originally made the post.

http://www.indiarc.com/forum/index.php?topic=2554.msg16087#msg16087

i was the poster !

edit :

i don't want to be part of anything or say that would effect some one or group in a good or bad way i just what to be neutral from now on

sahil

[anwar]

Ok, if you did it in purpose (to advertise RC India), then there is no moral stand for us anymore in this    

I was under the impression that it was a part of genuine discussion.

[rcforall]

Anwar ,
I think you should understand the frustration built up and your post was just the tipping point to release that pent up frustration 

[chanvivek]

Guys,

Let me first appreciate Anwar on taking his time out to build a forum where commercial activity is promoted and moderating is minimum  .  This is really a commendable effort and worth an applause  .  I have infact got a lot of help on my gasser on the commercial front as well the technical front on this forum!!

My following comments are just my feelings and not meant to promote or offend anybody.

Next let me also point out that IndiaRC has been online from 2002 long before IndianHobbies was started in 2008.  Sunil had also taken his time off and also spent his money on starting a RC hub which linked most of the Indian aeromodellers starting 7 years back.  I have benefitted a lot from that forum as well.  I have made a huge number of friends in the aeromodelling circle which would not have been possible if I had not been in that forum.

Server space and website management was a costly effort at that time when you had to pay for data traffic as well as the web space!! But he had endured that with contributions from a limited few (which does not include me)!!

He also encouraged advertisements on his site which is not totally against other vendors.  And moreover the rules for banning commercial activity on his forum was there right from the beginning and not after he started his hobby shop!!

Even now after starting IndianHobbies, he has introduced a vendor section in his forum which is largely inactive nowadays.

I dont see why a guy who has spent close to 7 years to build an online community with all his money and efforts should use that to promote his own hobby shop    !!

I would definitely agree with all of you on the aspect that he is putting down / hiding the light of all the others if he had taken the step to ban commercial activity on his forum just before the start of his shop!! But that not being the case, I would strongly object to this!!

I basically did not want to make this post and contribute to the forum war  , but I also felt that most of what I learnt and most of the help I obtained from IndiaRC also would become obsolete if I restrained myself.

Heavy moderating sometimes becomes a pain but eventually without any moderation, it is not a forum!!  We do not need moderators!!  Each forum has its own rules and mods make sure those rules are followed and each forum owner has their own preferences when making those rules!!

Anwar,

I would definitely request you to lock this topic to prevent misunderstandings particularly between the two forums and also eventually between die hard members of both the forums!! I am a regular contributor / visitor to both the forums and I would not like to take sides at any point of time!! This being just a hobby, I would also suggest guys to take it light!!

Gaurav,

I got a mail from Sunil as well as a warning about excessive trading yesterday.  That was becuase I had 3 threads in the Trade section which was against forum rules.  Rules are a bit strict but eventually sometimes we have to endure them! 

In fact I got myself almost banned from a very popular indian automobile forum http://www.team-bhp.com because of just one post which was something like this

"hey guys...please contact me if you need any help...regards..chan..."

The reason being that I was not punctuating my post  !! I think I still have the mail I got from the moderator!! 

Note from the Team-BHP Support : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Avoid...typing...like...this. Thanks.

So let us leave it at this and concentrate more on our aeromodelling..

Am really sorry if I had offended anybody but I would also request people to avoid contradictory topics on open forums!!

Thanks guys..

Chan

[anwar]

Thank you Chan.  You said it best 

Just like shops need to make a "reasonable" margin, everyone should expect "reasonable" moderation in any forum. 

I guess people have different opinions about what is "reasonable". 

I suggest we leave this topic at this point, although I will not lock this thread (sorry Chan), which is againt the rules I set for myself.

[chanvivek]

Thanks Anwar!! No problem if the thread is open!!  Thanks again!

Chan

[rcforall]

That's the spirit Anwar  once again  

Chan ,
You have your own point of view and experience which not be in agreement with mine  , we are both entitled to our points of view and can express it when I can , the reason it is expressed here in my case as well as Gaurav is because of  certain basic reasons mentioned already , it is nothing personal . Many facts mentioned by you are not accurate  , but as Anwar has said let us leave it at this  I respect that .

There is an old saying there is no smoke without fire

This is my last post on this topic

sai

[sahilkit]

i can't comment on any of the above but i have a concern which is - why aren't the 80% of crowd registered at our site not active (at least that's what it looks to me!)

so i want to put up a point ( this can be kinda wild   readers discretion needed)

how can we bring out those (supposed 80%) crowd out from hiding and be of help to then

what can we done,how should it be done.............. what do you guys think


in personally feel this is of more importance than what is being discussed  

sahil

[chanvivek]

Thanks uncle.. Even I feel that this is better to leave it here!! I may not be fully aware of your experience or Gaurav's experience.. I just happened to quote mine!! No harm intended!!

- Chan

[tg]

i can't comment on any of the above but i have a concern which is - why aren't the 80% of crowd registered at our site not active (at least that's what it looks to me!)

so i want to put up a point ( this can be kinda wild   readers discretion needed)

how can we bring out those (supposed 80%) crowd out from hiding and be of help to then

what can we done,how should it be done.............. what do you guys think


in personally feel this is of more importance than what is being discussed  

sahil

Hi Sahil,
     Most likely none of the members are hiding. But not all of us are busy building planes and flying all the time. So, the forum becomes more of chit-chat now and then. Instead of some body discussing a build thread or some issue with a part and what not. And some of us (like here in Bangalore) live far away from a flying site to do any flying on a regular basis - that means lesser broken planes and lesser problems to ask help about. But frankly we get a lot of advice and help on this forum, as we need, so thats good.

I guess sellers are best positioned to not only advertise new products here but also post reviews of the new arrivals, build threads of new products, etc.

[anwar]

I can think of at least two reasons why people are not active on the forums.

1) Not everyone wants to participate, as they may just enjoy watching (and learning).  More like the people who go to malls just to watch others 

2) They are busy with their non RC lives, and even if they are passionate, it is limited to flying one day a week (or even at lesser frequencies).

I don't think coaxing the rest 80% (or 90%) is something we should sweat about.  What we do want to see happen is that even these inactive members are aware of the new advances, products, opportunities  and deals in this field; and more over be aware of such forums as places to share and ask for help when they feel like doing so. 

After all, they took the pain of registering; so they will participate as needed !

[rcforall]

Sahil,
the purpose of the forum  is to have information available when needed  by some one .
Not every one will contribute , but all can use the available  info when they want .

I know of  a couple of members on this forum who  are up to date with all that is happening here but they have not contributed a single post.

Sai

[sahilkit]

to tg,anwar,sai

my original intention was to take this thread off topic  as things were getting heated up ! and yes i do agree with all the things you guys have pointed out

regards

sahil