The Way Toc Is..........

[flexy7]

!

[Jimlad]

Ah, the good old days....

Anyone remember these people.

"midmotorsteve

gordypix

silvasirfer

pizzaboy

kalmr2

Ryan

Bibbs

Rico

Roytoner

Allan Bradley

Zeroblade"

[Hou]

Yeah the past legends!

This is better, we are actually having a discussion about a point i brought up properly. Some posts have been a bit wierd, some have seemed selfish but everyone is different.

Em - I will say anything I would say on this forum to someones face so dont think that rules should apply to me

[GIDDLEPIN]

Ah, the good old days....

Anyone remember these people.

"midmotorsteve

gordypix

silvasirfer

pizzaboy

kalmr2

Ryan

Bibbs

Rico

Roytoner

Allan Bradley

Zeroblade"

Not all as far away as you think ;)

"midmotorsteve

gordypix:Last Seen: Yesterday, 08:41 PM

silvasirfer

pizzaboy: Last Seen: Today, 02:16 AM

kalmr2

Ryan: (changed name) Last Seen: Yesterday, 05:33 PM

Bibbs: Last Seen: 25th July 2008

Rico

Roytoner Banned but rejoined under another name

Allan Bradley: Last Seen: 16th June 2008 -

Zeroblade"

[JAHill]

Was going to say, I'm sure I saw Bibbs a few weeks back on the forums.

I've recently returned to using TOC but I never really left. It's just if there's nothing being said that I have an opinion on or something I can help with then I try not to post for the sake of posting. After a bit of this, I forget to visit. Occasionally lurking. If I participated on all the forums I have a log in for, I'd never get any work done... S***! Is that the time?

[JustJJ]

I joined a few years back now...

and I do come here less these days due to a number of reasons...

1) The forums are a lot quieter than they used to be (remember.. in the past we had an 'anything goes' Gold section that was also lively alongside the standard forums)

2) Nothing much of interest to me gets posted anymore... 'regular' meets went through a stage of being few and far between and were generally over the other side of the country (I must say the camping trip was good tho )

3) I have joined other forums and become more heavily involved there because they are more beneficial to me (Car related, advice related etc).. tho I still maintain contacts with some people from TOC as I class them as my friends... I dont think I've posted up here for advice in a long time.

4) Sorry... but occasionally 'some' Mods need a good bashing lol ;) ... its how its always been, is and always will be across every and any forum... and any forum that says otherwise either seriously blind/stupid or are just covering up.

I look through this thread and I see some good discussion, some argumentativeness, some amusing posts, some deep and some pointless...

I dont know Flexy7... but I personally found that image of the toy car Aygo very amusing.. relevant to the thread conversation or not (perhaps you should start a 'take the ****' thread and get everyone to post up images like that relating to all cars... might actually crack a few smiles round here.) What I dont think it needed was 3 moderators to come down on it and back eachother up around the single post...

Now I know you guys, and I know you are nice people etc... but when a new person coming to a site (regardless of people joining.. which Im not sure is a fair estimation of interest - you do need to look at lots of other factors like joining, posting AND staying)... what does it look like if someone posts something funny... (and god FORBID!) a little unPC towards a certain car (not even a person.. could understand if it was a personal insult/dig but its a car FFS... how many times have MR2s had the **** taken cause its a 'hairdressers car'... or a Yaris because a 'TSport is not actually a sports car' type stuff).

So what does it look like when something amusing has 3 or more Moderators 'swarming' around it.. I know you guys are members too... and you have to be seen to have a united front.. I guess just looking in from the other side it can be intimidating...

That said, TOC is free from a lot of crap, its family friendly and I can still see people having fun here which is good... I just think that much like the rest of the world, there is an element of 'just a smidge too much PC control' going on... how about you relax a little (im not saying open the flood gates and let it all in).. perhaps wait until someone does actualy take offence to something and act upon it, rather than get rid of the stuff before there is even the remotest chance of offence taken?

*shrugs

[T V O R]

I will add that all but one mod are great!

I agree with that and I try and not to take the bait... Which is very hard!

[JappyBeast]

Ah, the good old days....

Anyone remember these people.

"midmotorsteve

gordypix

silvasirfer

pizzaboy

kalmr2

Ryan

Bibbs

Rico

Roytoner

Allan Bradley

Zeroblade"

Yes, I also remember Soda Streams, Gen 1 Transformers, Curly Wurleys were bigger and Snickers were called Marathons!!! You can never get the past back, look forward!! What about all thats gone into the forum recently with ACstreet, Pom Gaz plus other characters that have given this forum a bit of personality and a very sucessfull meet last month!! :P

[dawesy]

ken (aka sorted avensis) was missing from the list as well.

ive been on TOC since 2003 and seen a lot of changes (some for the better and some not) i have been a mod as well. the turmoil of a year or so ago seems to have settled a fair bit.

yes there do seem to be members that spoil for confrontation, but that is something seen on most forums.

some people seem to get hung up on that (i have been one of those in the past) but its best just to ignore the people that wind you up. if its a post that you are participating in just ignore the bits that wind you up and don't retaliate in your posts.

as les said forums will forever change, peoples interests change and so do their circumstances the Christmas meal last year was awesome and it felt like the old TOC there, so the old spirit still lives, its possible that we need more get together's to keep that spirit.

maybe a central meet once a quarter (can be camping or single day) would help tie the forum together again

[GIDDLEPIN]

ken (aka sorted avensis) was missing from the list as well.

ive been on TOC since 2003 and seen a lot of changes (some for the better and some not) i have been a mod as well. the turmoil of a year or so ago seems to have settled a fair bit.

yes there do seem to be members that spoil for confrontation, but that is something seen on most forums.

some people seem to get hung up on that (i have been one of those in the past) but its best just to ignore the people that wind you up. if its a post that you are participating in just ignore the bits that wind you up and don't retaliate in your posts.

as les said forums will forever change, peoples interests change and so do their circumstances the Christmas meal last year was awesome and it felt like the old TOC there, so the old spirit still lives, its possible that we need more get together's to keep that spirit.

maybe a central meet once a quarter (can be camping or single day) would help tie the forum together again

Thanks for that Lee and I'm on with this years Christmas Party as we speak

(and Ken:......Last Seen: Yesterday, 04:58 PM ;) )

[Tegan]

Its possible that we need more get together's to keep that spirit.

maybe a central meet once a quarter (can be camping or single day) would help tie the forum together again

Thats a great idea dawsey - i think that one meet for all areas in a location thats good for the majority of people would defo bring the club together - as the regions dont really mix apart from jae and thats not gonna be a massive turn out this year either :( Would be nice to get to know people from the other regions of the club

Teegs x

[Bizarra]

I joined a few years back now...

and I do come here less these days due to a number of reasons...

1) The forums are a lot quieter than they used to be (remember.. in the past we had an 'anything goes' Gold section that was also lively alongside the standard forums)

Ah yes! The frequently recurring mention of Gold Section :D

I joined Gold in order to support the Club, financially & also for the craic (ruder jokes, topics etc)

I would wish to continue to support the finances, & could do by joining Silver. I don't know whether it is elitism, snobbery or just being plain thick, but I don't want to lose the "Gold Member" status on my Avatar, so I am holding on, in the hopes that it will return & I will be the 1st to divvy in again

It is noticeable that quite a number of Gold Members have held on to their status, too , after , what ? 1-2 years ? Possibly for the same reason.

I know that I am harping on, but a logical & reasonable explanation for it's disappearance would help. It might help to swell the Club's coffers too if we knew for sure that Gold was gone beyond recall as I, for one, would then sign up for Silver, which could be upgraded to Gold

[flexy7]

!

[Blue84]

I've been here for over 4 years now and I think it is a really good club still. I do agree that sometimes it can feel like everything is so controlled and that some mods can be a little bit over zealous when it comes to 'flexing their powers' shall we say. However I know that it is a hard job to do and that's just my personal opinion.

I will also admit that I didn't have a car on the TOC JAE stand last year but back then the atmosphere was a hell of a lot different to what it is now & this year as I now have a 'classic' car I am putting it on a stand with other MK1's too :D.

Saying that, even at JAE it doesn't feel right if I don't catch up with peeps here on TOC!

So to summarise I think this club is great and seems as busy as ever to me.

[Kev Mc]

I've been a member here for far longer than I like to think about and over the years that I've witnessed plenty of changes, it's understandable because as mentioned a few times in this thread, people's circumstances are forever changing & for various reasons some people stop using the forum as much/all. Likewise, other people's circumstances change leading them to sign up & use the site, it's just 1 of those things.

In my opinion there appear to have been 4 things that have been bad for the site (in no particular order):

1. Mods getting involved unnecessarily

1st let me just make this clear: I have nothing but respect for the people who put so much time into keeping this place running as well as they can, it's an extremely difficult job & there a lot decisions to be made on a regular basis, some people will agree with the decision, others wont but they have to be made nonetheless. Also, having to be impartial all the time must be really difficult, while I take a light hearted view to most things, every now & then subjects are brought up that I feel really strongly about & being a member usually allows me to stick to my guns & have a proper debate with someone with a different view. Having not been a mod I'm guessing a bit here but as far as I'm aware, mods have to constantly be diplomatic & sit on the fence all the time. That would do my head in at times because there are times I have a lot to say & like to have the freedom to do so.

Anyway, to the point: There have been plenty of times where I feel a mod has got involved too early when I feel that things could just sort themselves out without any interference, whether it be a disagreement or a thread drifting slightly off topic. It just makes it seem like everyone has to really watch what they say & not have any freedom with regards to what they post. Sometimes things can kick off suddenly but other times they'll fizzle out & I feel at times mods have been too quick to jump in & tell everyone to calm down. Sometimes it would be best to sit back & observe how things go instead of getting involved immediately.

2. Subforums

Something that really changed my opinion of TOC was when the T-Sport subforums were created. At the time I had a 1.0 Yaris & while I could see the reasons behind making the new forums, they made me feel really unwelcome. It seemed to say "Your car is inferior, stay out of this upper class forum". I know that wasn't intended but that's how it felt to me & I'd been a member for ages, God knows how some newcomers felt but I'd imagine a lot of other members felt the same way.

3. The lack of gold forum

This was our space where we could be ourselves & post anything we wanted. We could swear, have proper banter, post stuff that would shock some members, insult others or make some feel sick without worrying about people accidently viewing it in work & getting sacked or young kids seeing it. It was all very light hearted in there so everyone had a laugh with each other while not worrying about sticking to the rules. It just helped to see what people were like when they didn't have to watch what they said & could just have a laugh & I feel the main site benefited from that, while it's not here new members don't get chance to see that side of people.

4. General

As with other sites, some peoples opinions of the forum changed from seeing it as a great site to 1 that used to be a great site but now isn't as good as it used to be. I think that makes a huge difference, it can have a big impact on how the rest of the members view the place, after being told that all the time a lot of people will believe it & then will start saying it themselves.

Right, now that's all been said let me just clarify - while this may seem like a massive whinge, the fact is I'm still here at Toyota Owners Club all the time despite me not even having a Toyota. Yeah, there are things that could have been done differently but that's just 1 of those things, we all have our different views. This is the 1st forum I've been a regular visitor of & is the 1st one I check when I go on the internet. There are a lot of members here that I'd genuinely miss talking to if for some reason I no longer could.

Is TOC as good as it used to be? Almost certainly not. Is that relevant? No. It will never be exactly the way it used to so let's just take it how it is today & get on with things

[Hou]

*Bows down to Kev!

You have put into words alot of the thoughts in my head that I couldnt write without confusing myself further!

[Hoovie]

Hi Guys-

Kev - you make some very good points

Although I have not noticed over-modding myself, I guess it must happen somewhere if quite a few people feel that. You say "Also, having to be impartial all the time must be really difficult" - it is impossible really!

I mentioned I am a mod on another Forum and on that forum I have two IDs - one as a user and one as a mod, so I can keep my 'split-personality' and argue MY opinions when I want to as ME, but also apply the FORUMS rules when I need to as a MOD. Not sure if dual-IDs happen here but IMO that is the best way to do it - clear demarcation.

Subforums are not great, I think. Even across different models there are quite a few common interest areas which means visitors can miss good info as a question may have been asked by a member with one kind of vehicle and they have another - Sub-Forums make that even more likely.

Not familar with the "Gold" section, but is there any reason why the "Subscribed Members Area" cannot be the new 'Gold' Forum? That section has always seemed very underused and never understood why?

I joined as a 'Silver' Member after being here for a while and getting lots of good info as a way of supporting the forum - I guess it would be nice if the members only section was a little more lively. Maybe there should be a concerted effort to liven that up by the members who feel there needs to be a chill-zone (I'll be in there with a beer or two )

I'll have to drop in this section a bit more often :D

[+Steve]

sub forums have been merged

[Parts-King]

I never see much trouble with mods having to get involved, ive been shot at in here a few times for working in a dealership, that's the way it is, I dont't get woked up at the toss*rs who fire the bullets (You know who you are!) Most people in here seem quite sensible (most) Thats a good bit of news to merge the sub forums and can only enhance the experience. I visit a few car forums and think that this is the best I have seen

Kingo