Mini-Rant: What has happened to our site?

[x5GuyInLA]

no offense taken...just wanted to know how disciplining people for posting an answered question would boost morale. I would think that it would lower morale and might make people less likely to want to visit the forum for fear of being reprimanded for not knowing forum etiquette. I'm with roadfrog in that I'm not bothered by repeat posts. It's a quick click back if it's a repeat.

[tetonguy]

Wow! I was gone for six months. I had to replace the engine in my 01 X5....I was so pissed at the ride that I wanted it to dissapear not to mention the SES light that stayed on until this week.....ugh talk about frustrating. Anywho so the board has changed admins/owners? whatever.....I would have ditched my rig long ago were it not for this board and all the time and $$$ it has saved me. I drive a rare 01 with a manual tranmission 115k on th OD but 77k on the replaced engine. Perhaps a suggestion is in order here.....the origins of this board were to exchange information and need for knowledge....somewhere before me a lot of posts turned to "look how cool I am stuff".....now I read that members are being dissed for asking repeat questions? really? ...my suggestion is to split the board into two sections...tech help/repair/purchase inquires and "hey man check out my new bling section"...that way those of differing needs will be less inclined to cross paths in a negative way. I personally don't care how shiny your door handles are and you proably don't want to read my rants about engineering issues......just a suggestion from an appreciative member who has been absent for a while.......I need this board and its expertise if I am to stay a Beemer driver. Hate to think anyone is wasting their time dissing others for their lack of expertise or knowledge of how it works......we were all newbies and stupid once....just because you might be quicker on the uptake don't make it right to diss anyone. You wouldn't do it in person so don't do it here.

[YIPPAUL]

I agree wholeheartedly. Well put.

[Quicksilver]

No offense taken by me for sure.

We like to joke around about the rerun questions.
Sometimes it's pretty entertaining.

Perhaps a few FAQ stickies at the top of the Forum
pages would help to answer some of the more frequently
asked questions.

Originally Posted by ZsX5o3

sorry if my rant offended anyone, I've just been frustrated with the forum lately. If everything on the front page is a rerun it does tend to wear on you.

[TheGodfather]

I am just thankful we dont really have any snobby, "the way my BMW looks is the only way a BMW should look" guys here.

Just a thought of mine after reading some posts on bimmerforums E39 section.

[chilliwilli]

Originally Posted by TheGodfather

I am just thankful we dont really have any snobby, "the way my BMW looks is the only way a BMW should look" guys here.

Just a thought of mine after reading some posts on bimmerforums E39 section.

Actually...there is one odd member here that comes to mind but i assume his issue is more of a personality disorder

[coffeesnob]

So, what kind of oil should I use in my X5?...just kidding.

[milesz]

Originally Posted by Michelle

I believe we've lost the welcoming feeling and spirit that used to be "X5world" and made it such a great place. I want to get back to when new members could post a question and would be greeted with a few links or nicely directed to the search option. Now they are basically belittled and blasted with screen shots pointing to the search button.

I'm not saying I don't want to pull my hair out when someone asks how to fix their rattle or when they ask if anyone else has a problem with their windows "getting stuck." But there's a way to nicely guide someone to the search function along with some links to former helpful threads related to their issue. Searching for terms like "oil" will find hundreds of related threads. No one wants to sit and comb through all of them to avoid being ridiculed.

There will always be newbies, there will always be reposts, there will always be people who are too lazy to use the search function. I found X5world by accident. I had never been a member of a forum or had any idea how they worked. Who cares if the question has been asked a bajillion times? This is a message board - a place where you can post your question and hope for an answer. It isn't the encyclopedia. If you are sick of giving the same answer, then I suggest moving on before blasting a new member. Having 5,000 posts doesn't make you God or someone who knows everything about X5s. It also doesn't give you the right to be a bully.

The board is growing by leaps and bounds and is a lot more active…the E53 forum especially. The repetitive questions will pop up more often and our frustrations will increase, but I hope we can continue to make every one of them feel just as welcome as we feel! We need to get back to what used to make X5world the place to be and set us apart from BimmerFest and RoadFly.

End of my rant.

Carry on.

Amen.

[nra0707]

The increasing snarkiness of some member answers and general overuse of sarcasm to respond to questions is really degrading the quality of this forum. Sure, a sense of humor is important, but honestly, it gets tiresome with so much noise muddying the information people really want to read about. I have seen some genuinely helpful members who point out a link or two or kindly suggest searching, but they are becoming few and far between.

[Harley Monster]

I agree with NRA0707.

When this thread first started I ws hopeful we would see a change in attitude, but that has not happened.

I, like many members, do not have the time to be a constant reader of this forum or any other; however, I find this forum to be priceless when I have a problem with my 100,000 + mile X5.

I always search for my answers and then I can not always find them using various search terms.

When reading the "snarky" answers of some who post here I feel sorry for the poor guy that was simply asking for advice.

This forum belongs to all of the members, not just a select few.

Everyone, think about what you write and if you can't say something nice just move to the next thread.

Remember, you were new once too and you did not have all the answers either...help these guys out.