no offence guys

is it me or is this forum getting a bit pants? apart from reading up and coming events ummmm it just seems a bit dull. I aint here to offend but is anyone else feeling the same?

the events are still great but the chat and posts on here seem to have gone a bit downhill or old posts randomly being restarted.

e.g 12 months after something advertised for sale someone is posting is it still for sale

and does the FRA still exist lol, apart from updating the site whats going on at the min? am i missing something lol

When I first joined I really enjoyed reading all the build diaries, how to build my robot and learning about upcoming events.

But now I learn little more about building robots, a lot of repeated questions, build diaries are infrequently updated and I know there is only 1 (or 2) FW events a year.

Although it could be when I first joined there was a wealth of information to read through and now I just have.....

All doom and gloom!
All great things have ups and downs, it shouldn't last for long.

yeah hopefully it wont last. for me i used to come here daily to read about other peoples projects etc.... but now i just seem to come here once a week if that. others forums im with seem to have so much more to read and talk about.

i'd better start spaming my build diary with all my insanity then :)

Completely agree Adrian

It's all the spamming (not necessarily from you Harry) with pointless and un-informative crap that's the problem. Combine this with a lack of general forum etiquette in some instances and frustration from long-time forum contributors as their pleas (to use Google and the forum search function before asking a question that's already been asked) repeatedly fall on deaf ears and you get more people logging on less frequently which leads to a decline in quality information and discussions on the forum.

If you aren't a fan then it's easy enough to leave.

Yeah I do agree - Seem's to be alot of going over the same thing and pointless arguments. Hopefully it's just a short spate that will pass by. I would do a build diary if I had time to build anything!

It's been a while since the last competitive FW event, so hopefully now with the champs rolling around we'll get a boost in activity as people frantically try to get their machines into shape (as I am!).

The search function is a bit useless/tricky to use, which doesn't help.

I just searched the word 'Dad' and got told No suitable matches. You're trying to tell me that word never comes up?

Plus you can often get more concise information by just asking.

Just some ideas.
Having found the answers to my questions really helpful I may not have needed to ask them if the forum was better organised,
how about a section dedicated to equipment, if someone has used 'x' servo then they could post a sort of review of it, how they used it, what it weighs, where to get it from etc. You could have speed controllers, materials, chargers, anything but it must be kept organised so it can be easily found.

Dividing the forum between Heavies, Feathers and Ants seems to split it up too much.

Interest comes and goes along with events and other seasonal influences so I don`t think thats too much of a problem.

I`m a moderator on another unrelated forum and we have monthly competitions to help generate interest, some with prizes, sometimes just a raffle type thread where a prize is awarded to a random poster.

I think it could be improved with a bit of spring cleaning. For example, having a completed sales/closed wanted adverts section to stop people going Has it been bought yet?, and possibly pruning some of the 15 threads by one person in the BW section.

Also am I the only one who can't edit my posts after they have been posted for a while? If there is a time limit then that must make maintaining and sort of long running thread (A FAQ, A Database) impossible, surely?

This forum has been very helpful with providing me with information regarding construction of fighting robots, but I have to admit I have had to search a fair bit for answers at times, with the search function being of little use and there being little organisation. And my reluctance to post threads containing questions that have probably already been answered somewhere in the dark depths of the forum.

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Forum Lurker
~Connor

This is also something I have been noticing for a while now. Without pointing the proverbial finger too much it seems to me that a lot of the spam and repeated questions come from new roboteers who are typically quite young. I'm not saying I have anything against young people in the sport (being one myself) I just feel that their forum use and etiquette is a bit meh. It also seems that a lot of forum garbage is simply the same questions that have been asked and answered hundreds of times. I recommended this a while ago and nothing happened but how about a FAQ and tutorial section for people who are just starting out? I think that would help quite alot. I also think the time limit on editing posts should be removed as quite frankly it's rather silly. In the for sale section there should be a way to clearly show the item has been sold/taken off the market. As we get further and further away from the time of robot wars I have noticed a lot of older roboteers have hanged up the gloves to be replaced with new, less experianced roboteers. The problem with this is that when new people come in and ask questions less and less people who do still use the forum have the correct answers so a lot of garbage gets thrown around and the actual factual information gets lost amid a ton of crap.

Just my 2 cents
Jack

Quote:

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Originally Posted by typhoon_driver

If you aren't a fan then it's easy enough to leave.

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That's rather provocative, don't you think?

But yeah I've been spending less and less time on the forums. However, that's mainly due to real life issues and just plain interest elsewhere. But I can understand where the others are coming from, I still love this forum to death.

yeah being a young roboteer myself and 90% of my build diary is me talking to myself I fit none of the rules
I'd like a button that shows any topic or thread that has been posted on
probably a stupid idea but some may feel the same
thanks
archie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by archie2000

I'd like a button that shows any topic or thread that has been posted on

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When you log into the forum, click on view new posts
This has also been added to the front page of the website (again once you've logged in).

thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kodster

Quote:

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Originally Posted by typhoon_driver

If you aren't a fan then it's easy enough to leave.

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That's rather provocative, don't you think?





i thought that lol, but certain comments are expected from sum people, Its a open forum after all and anyone is entitled to their opinion.

Hardly. If you are going to be a sissy about it and moan away about how crap something is then I got no time for you. Either do something about it or bugger off

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ady

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kodster

Quote:

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Originally Posted by typhoon_driver

If you aren't a fan then it's easy enough to leave.

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That's rather provocative, don't you think?

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Have to say I read the original post and thought about responding to it, about how it doesn't fit certain peoples opinions of the adult conversation they want, it does have lots of repeated questions (or new interest as some would say) and has quite a nucleus of new roboteers some of which can be a pain in the backside (I wont name names on that one but Matt knows who he is :proud: ). New blood is something we've been missing for a while and there's been a deluge of young roboteers on here recently so no bad thing IMO.

Like I say, I thought about responding and then thought the only way I could respond was to get into an argument with you about something I really don't want to waste a load of time on. Usually when someone starts with 'no offence' it's a prelude to something which probably will. The original post was designed to provoke a discussion, it obviously has and I'm quite sure that people will have strong opinions when something they enjoy is slammed like it was. Most of the new guys posting regularly here are kids so wont post an opinion. Others who have a strong opinion will. I don't particularly agree with the terminology used above but do you seriously don't think the original post was provocative?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by typhoon_driver

Hardly. If you are going to be a sissy about it and moan away about how crap something is then I got no time for you. Either do something about it or bugger off

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Hmm! Now that's just out of order. Agree with the sentiments but is that really necessary?

yes, yes it was :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by typhoon_driver

yes, yes it was :)

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Just checking. Not heard anyone use the word sissy since I was in school :rofl:

forum filters are a pain to get around at times :rofl:

Haha, I freely admit I must have been a right pain, but the way I learn is keep going over things until I remember them, but that does sadly mean I need to re-post things sometimes

The forum has been a little quite but it's just getting back into the season so that might be a reason for it? I wouldn't know as I've only been into all this just over a year, so compared to 80% of this forum, I'm still very much a learner, and I will quite happily say I am as I don't know even a quarter of what most know on here

I may seem a little dim sometimes, but I just learn about the stuff that I need to know to build and run the bots that I have, but once I've got them running I'm usually fine.

IMO, this all comes down too sharing out great knowledge from a lot of knowledgable people, and if this means answering the same question to 4 different people, then you have collectively helped out those people learn and keep the future of robot combat brighter. Shouldnt necceserily shun people just for wanting to learn

My view is purely from a the prospective of someone new in the sport though, so it may well differ to the older snd more experienced guys

I am in total agreement with the sentiments of Gary and Matt. The new forum users are just trying to learn the way we do stuff (and by asking it a few times, you'll get varied answers), and I am sure there are many people on here that were the same to start with. It is a great shame that there are so many people that feel animosity towards the new guys when they are likely to be the future of this spobby, and if you don't want to try and help the next generation, then be silent. No need to berate them.

Having re-read my post i would like to make a quick amendment. I do not have anything against new guys coming into the sport and learning everything, I was there at one time and understand how it feels. I just get a bIt frustrated when we answer the same questions over and over again. This is my opinion if others don't agree I understand but that's how I feel. Like I previously said, I think a tutorial/FAQ section would really help. I would gladly help create some tutorials if thats what needed?
Jack

Please do.
Write it up in word or similar and email to me.

Will do Kane, will create some tutorials ASAP. It would be cool if i had some other people to help me though. I remember MartSard had a great featherweight tutorial and theres a few Antweight guides kicking about, so any help would be appreciated. Also, can i get a rough idea of questions people want answered? im going to do most of the frequently asked questions (AKA what motors/batterys/RC/ESC should i use etc). Should be good.
Jack

EDIT: Oh and Kane/any other Admins, i seem to have accidentally removed my FRA membership number from my profile, would it be stored in a database somewhere?

The ability to edit posts even long after typed would be a great thing when writing a FAQ as you could refresh the info every now and then instead of having several pages with severals posts with only a little difference.

What motors / ESC's ,batteries for each specific class would probably be a valuable thing to have in a FAQ. Aswell as where to buy them.
Other questions that seem to come up every now and then from newer members is how to wire upp robots, where to put mixers in and
stuff like that. If theres a faq with either detailed pictures (recall some pics from how to wire an antweight for example) or maybe even a link to
a video showing these things would help clarify in a way most people would understand.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by team_orr

Will do Kane, will create some tutorials ASAP. It would be cool if i had some other people to help me though. I remember MartSard had a great featherweight tutorial and theres a few Antweight guides kicking about, so any help would be appreciated. Also, can i get a rough idea of questions people want answered? im going to do most of the frequently asked questions (AKA what motors/batterys/RC/ESC should i use etc). Should be good.
Jack

EDIT: Oh and Kane/any other Admins, i seem to have accidentally removed my FRA membership number from my profile, would it be stored in a database somewhere?

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jack, im in the middle on building a antwieght tutorial atm, hopefully we could add it to the 'beginner' section

My original post was to get other peoples opinions about wot I think, and perhaps talking about it with others may help improve things and shows trying todo something about it,Dropping hints about spamming was a polite hint! still have fun on the day of a event and watching certain peoples build diaries, the people's opinions I'm bothered about seem to agree, 2 of them are eo's. We can all get funny if we want Gary like I can say ...... (your rite, the filters r a pain) and I don't even read your posts with any interest, im sure the feelings mutual. If people think my original post was provocative that's fine we all got opinions, but I find talking about issues that other people seem to agree with is a good way of improving things, if people want to get personal about it then that's their choice so bring it on. It makes no real odds to me to sit and watch and not air my view but wether people think its right or wrong it shows i care, I also said the buzz at events r still great for me and that it was just the forum that seems to be sliding a bit, and also what is the Fra doin right now? Meaning it would b nice to here things they have goin on etc.... If everyone said the forum is still as good then it's obviously me but their seems to b 1 or 2 that feel the same
Oh btw the no offence guys was as It said, as I know how argumentative it gets here at times