I love THP, but...

[tpluff]

I'm very glad this thread went the way it did and not the other way. Speaks volumes to the people we have on here and the bond this place really has created between us all. DDT, big ups for voicing your true feelings in a very constructive and level headed manner, it took some kahonays (spelled phonetically). I love THP and THPers!

 

[ArmyGolf]

Jman hit the nail on the head with regard to the review threads. Having someone say "Good writeup" or "Nice thoughts" is so encouraging especially if you are struggling to put your thoughts into typed words.
This forum is incredible and it's remarkable how civil it is even when people are getting some things off their chest. Every other forum I've ever been on (golf or otherwise) would have turned into a dogfight by now. I really get the feeling that THPers post and act online like they would in person and that's what makes friendships form and develop on here. I've only met a handful of THPers in person but every one is a class A individual in my books. We barely knew each other yet we sat and talked over some juicy burgers and cold beer (and rum for John) for hours after our round and we could have kept going without a problem. Awesome!

 

[dietDrThunder]

This thread is awesome!

I was wondering how long it would take...

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

Jman hit the nail on the head with regard to the review threads. Having someone say "Good writeup" or "Nice thoughts" is so encouraging especially if you are struggling to put your thoughts into typed words.
This forum is incredible and it's remarkable how civil it is even when people are getting some things off their chest. Every other forum I've ever been on (golf or otherwise) would have turned into a dogfight by now. I really get the feeling that THPers post and act online like they would in person and that's what makes friendships form and develop on here. I've only met a handful of THPers in person but every one is a class A individual in my books. We barely knew each other yet we sat and talked over some juicy burgers and cold beer (and rum for John) for hours after our round and we could have kept going without a problem. Awesome!

Just goes to show the class of those that started the site and those that are leading it today. It is simply like a town. It is only as good as the people running it and the people living there.

 

[dietDrThunder]

The moto here is "don't just play golf live it". THP is the vehicle in which we all live it to an extent. Are there times I get frustrated with posts, or threads, or points of view? Certainly, but it's what I expect. But at the end of the day, some of my closest friends are here, I respect them, and the fact that they are entitled to their opinions. Not to mention there is a wealth of knowledge here that is begging to be untapped.

As far as Grandaddy Thread goes. The 8 of us are living a dream, were representing the THP family, making life long friend in which we share a pretty awesome bond with. We encourage everyone to share it with us. Has ever been negative, no but why would it be? It's magical.

I agree with all of this, but it's not related to what I was saying. My sole mission was to try to stem the tide of 'WOW" posts in event/opportunity/contest threads. That's it...I love opinions, discussions, well thought out arguments, reviews, smack talk, banter, jokes, pictures of scantily clad LPGA stars, classified ads, vendor announcements, off-blowing of steam, swing tips, and all the rest!

 

[LeftySean]

...I am afraid that it has an illness that if left unchecked, will take away from its growth and essential awesomeness. For lack of a better term, I will call this sickness CNS, or Chronic Nuthugging Syndrome (sorry GG).

There is an opportunity to 'thank' a poster for any thread using a button at the bottom of the post. We all know it, and it gets used often, and that is awesome. However, every thread that involves a contest, or event, or any other THP-created opportunity of any kind is overrun with countless "yay wow awesome" and "MIND BLOWN" and "can't wait to hear more" posts. Take a look at #TheKing's original event thread for an example. That thread has nearly 800 posts in it, and maybe 75 that are actual conversation/information/etc. with the rest all being CNS posts. If you can't live in these threads for hours every days, it makes them all completely unreadable.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge blabbermouth on the Interwebs...I love to chat/debate/discuss/etc and I really love that such an environment as this creates new friendships, stimulates lots of great conversation, and in general brings people together. Of all of the forums I frequent (and there are several) JB, GG and the team do these things better than anyone. All I'm saying is that we forum members have a responsibility to everyone here to play a part in helping the forum thrive by being thoughtful in our participation. This includes not being rude (this place is 100% on this score), helping new folks get involved (also awesome here), as well as actively participating in the conversations on the forums in a productive, interesting, and dare I say, economical way.

In my opinion (and I am _certain_ to hear about how I'm full of it any minute now ), we should all be using the 'thanks' button to thank people...that's why it's there. If you're posting just to say 'thank you' or 'that just happened' or 'mind blown' maybe, you know...don't. In that #TheKing thread, if you removed the CNS posts, it would be less than 2 pages, easy to read, and full of information and all of the fun conversation/smack talk that makes such a thread enjoyable. If we could keep this in mind as we participate in the forum, I think THP would be all the better for it.

I am certain that I'm going to be blasted for this, but that's ok with me. I like THP too much not to have said it.

:friends::golf3:

I agree with this to some extent. I do think, though, that some great threads get off to a slow start, don't show up one page one of new posts, and one way to bump them up is with one (or more) of those "that is awesome, you are way cool!" kind of posts. When that happens, though, it kind of sets a tone for the thread and lost of people jump in with similar "CNS" posts. And then there are posts that turn into alt banter threads, and yeah, it's sometimes is hard to get a word in edgewise.

One other thing to keep in mind: THP is one of those rare forums where the replies to a run of the mill post are mostly positive. Maybe 2 pages worth of "You are spot on" / "you da MAN!" / "Bazzzzzzinga" etc. There are other forums out there where the typical response to a run of the mill post is 2 pages of "U R a moran" / "Ban" / "Ban" / "Wow I can't believe you wasted my time you sack of s**t" / "Ban" / "BAN!!!" / "BAN this MF already!!!"

I will gladly take THP with its flaws. I wouldn't mind seeing the flaws diminish a bit, though.

 

[dietDrThunder]

THP is a forum and users post as they wish. This isn't communist USSR where people are censored. I say post away and offer your thoughts on topics.

Nobody is suggesting otherwise.

 

[dietDrThunder]

Could be way off here, but I use thanks to show agreement with the post, appreciation for the point of view of the post or just that I found it useful. As for content of posts, I have done what the OP finds distasteful when I wanted to post more than just a thanks. Cliques are human nature, we are drawn to groups of like minded individuals which is why THP exists right?

I love it when I can engage in discussion and when people return the sentiment. That doesn't always happen, and I have been known to virtually shut down a thread with a simple response. I'm also 50 years old and am long past worrying about what most people think. I love this place so much and it has become an important part of my golf life, so I stay here, stay positive and try to contribute what I believe is quality content.

I see the point of the OP, but I just choose to deal with it differently I guess. Cookie has a pretty similar outlook to what I'm trying to say I guess. Give it a try, you might like more involvement and thus accept how others choose to contribute.

JM

Thanks for the reply!

Don't mistake my thoughts on this...I have no problem with being involved etc. ...those thoughts came from other posts. What I'm trying to bring to light is that we don't all have time to sift through 400 "WOW!" posts to find the one post that has actual information or discussion in it is all. Also please don't think I'm trying to dictate anything with this thread...I'm just voicing an opinion , and wel...getting involved!

 

[dietDrThunder]

OK, so, I have a couple thoughts.... (I hear people cringing, hahaha)

First, I love that DDT can post this without being flamed beyond belief. Yes, there is some, IMO, unnecessary sarcasm in here but it has remained pretty nice and civil with the exchange of thoughts. There was a time where that wouldn't have happened, but that is another thing all-together.

Second, I respect the hell out of you for posting this. To throw up your honest thoughts knowing it may not be popular is a big leap and kudos to you for that dude. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

Third, I agree with parts of it. I do think that the one word responses are old and played out as they are the perfect candidates to be replaced with our kick ass "thanks" button (which is SOOOOOOO much better than the old Rep system). I will say this though, as a reviewer who spends most of his time in equipment threads and talking about the gear and having reviews go up, some of the "good job" and "great thoughts" etc. posts mean a lot more than people think. Same goes for the actual forum reviews, when you're in a long term testing its amazing what a couple people dropping some quick words of appreciation will do for ones motivation, its something that frankly a "thanks" just doesn't do IMO. But, I see both sides, I think there is a balance to it.

Fourth, as to the new people jumping in direction we kinda had going, I was there in a big way just a couple years ago. When I first came I felt overwhelmed and "outside the circle" if you will so I disappeared, then one day I said eff it and just jumped in on conversations. That's when I not only made life long friends but life long family in a lot of cases. Its a big leap and its harder for some than for others but if there is one thing I'm proud of its that in the last year with the new THP people are welcomed and when they truly jump in they are embraced. Its why we're unique form the others, I love that, no HS/teenage relentlessness here.

Just some thoughts from my crazy mind. Like I said, I respect the hell out of you posting that DDT, I really do dude.

Hey I really and truly appreciate your compliments and your thoughts on the matter. Honestly I hadn't noticed an issue with banter and/or sarcasm, but JB's, yours, and others' thoughts on it point out that maybe we have more than one way to work on as far as becoming better THP citizens eh?

Speaking of respect, I'm not sure how many folks here participate in other forums around the 'net, but it is pretty much stunning, and an amazing compliment to the quality of all who live here, that I didn't get drilled/flamed/shouted down immediately upon posting. I really tried my best to be open-minded and honest in my post, and I was rewarded with a really good conversation. I never dreamed this thread would be as interesting to people as it has become...what a great conversation. So thank you to all who have or will participate. Good on ya.

 

[dietDrThunder]

<snip>
The OP has a point. I can leave a thread for an hour or two, and come back and there's 10 more pages of banter. It can make it tough at times. But I think it's all part of forums, it's going to happen. </snip>

Not trying to:deadhorse: here, but to me personally I dont' even mind the banter that you guys are referring to. I just think that if we could just trim out the "MIND BLOWN" posts that alone would be a huge improvement in readability of the forum.

Also sorry to be repetetive...I just wanted to respect the folks who took the time to post here by replying individually is all...not trying to go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and...well, you know.

 

[dietDrThunder]

I'm very glad this thread went the way it did and not the other way. Speaks volumes to the people we have on here and the bond this place really has created between us all. DDT, big ups for voicing your true feelings in a very constructive and level headed manner, it took some kahonays (spelled phonetically). I love THP and THPers!

Thank YOU!

MIND BLOWN! (YCWIDT?)

 

[thedue]

Damn, just as the music was starting, guys holding hands, singing and all, the whole thread changes. I'm bummed!

Good luck with the WOW posts, some people just post differently than you.

 

[Javelin]

I many of times will post single line posts regarding the given topic. Like the Sarasota Gauntlet. I posted what was on my mind at the time. Whether that be "this is gonna be an epic event" or "12 days to go". Sure this might seem like silly nonsense I guess. But I'm just speaking exactly what is on my mind at that time.

This forum is one big convo. Imagine you and a dozen friends in a room. Everyone is going to say things that don't necessarily pertain to what is going on, people get side tracked. You tell a story, people are gonna say "that's awesome" or congrats. They don't need to have a long drawn out reply that covers and recaps the story.


So be happy and dance like this banana. :banana:

 

[dietDrThunder]

Jman hit the nail on the head with regard to the review threads. Having someone say "Good writeup" or "Nice thoughts" is so encouraging especially if you are struggling to put your thoughts into typed words.
This forum is incredible and it's remarkable how civil it is even when people are getting some things off their chest. Every other forum I've ever been on (golf or otherwise) would have turned into a dogfight by now. I really get the feeling that THPers post and act online like they would in person and that's what makes friendships form and develop on here. I've only met a handful of THPers in person but every one is a class A individual in my books. We barely knew each other yet we sat and talked over some juicy burgers and cold beer (and rum for John) for hours after our round and we could have kept going without a problem. Awesome!

Talk about hitting the nail on the head. I agree with you 100%. This forum is blissfully devoid of eThugs, trolls, and all other manner of Interwebs vermin. If I didn't think this was such a great place to hang out, I would never have bothered to post in the first place. In fact, I admit I hovered over the 'post' button for a while, unsure if I was 'asking for it' or not. Eventually I decided to trust my instinct that this is a place where, as long as you are constructive and honest, you will be met with same when you post your thoughts, and I was right.

 

[dietDrThunder]

Damn, just as the music was starting, guys holding hands, singing and all, the whole thread changes. I'm bummed!

Good luck with the WOW posts, some people just post differently than you.

I still hear the music! I hear it!

Seriously...I think we're all good here. Did you see something that rattled your cage? Do tell!

 

[thedue]

Not at all, just see a very diverse bunch of people from the entire world represented here and it would make for a tough fix to regulate to that end. Great thread though!

 

[checkered]

As someone that is admittedly extremely shy and have a tough time with social things in general I thought I'd say a couple things from my perspective.

It can seem daunting trying to navigate the forums and all the posts, the conversations and *in* jokes and comments, that is true. However, there are SO many great people around here and a lot of just genuinely nice people that if you just talk, are willing to help or talk without hesitation. I was lucky enough to meet several people at the outing, and briefly met more that I wish I'd had more time to talk to. There wasn't a single person that I met that made me feel uncomfortable. That says a lot for me.

There definitely seems to be certain "cliques: around here. And the cheerleading for certain people to get in to some events can be a bit much (and sometimes discouraging), but that tends to happen in any social situation. I know opening up and just talking to folks is all it takes as people here are very friendly, but it can be daunting for someone as socially inept as me. That said, I've met/talked to so many great people on here that I feel lucky to know; War Eagle, SkiBumGolfer, ArmyGolf, Hawk, C0ncept, to name a few. All just great people and have been good to me regardless of the way I am. That's only a small fraction of the awesomeness of THPers I've witnessed both through the forums and at the outing.

As for the posts, (sorry to sidetrack) I agree sometimes threads can get a bit out of hand with the congrats/OMGs/YAYs and what not, but the excitement around here is darn near palpable, and it's hard not to want to express that. I use the thanks quite a bit without posting about a thread to say thanks without just posting "thanks" on a thread. Sometimes though, you just want the world to know you agree with a post or are excited. It happens. I think all said, the staff does an amazing job keeping this site running smoothly and the content relevant and interesting.

This is a great community and a lot of work goes into that from JB and GG running things, to the staff, to the community itself. As some have said, you get out of it what you put in. There's a lot of people that make this a great place.

If you've taken the time to read this, thanks and sorry for the rambling. Just had to get some of this off my mind. I love this place and am happy to be a part of this community.

 

[thedue]

That was a great post Checkered, well stated and spot on.

 

[Barberakb]

I will beg to differ on negative posts especially as it relates to reviews by staff and forum members. Take a look at the JumboMax grip testing thread. There is a big difference between constructive criticism and useless negativity. To me "that thing is fugly" is a useless post. Say what you don't like about it so the company can take that feedback and use it. Sorry if I missed the point of your post. As for the OP, I agree to an extent and as you can probably tell by my Thanks given out count I fully subscribe to the Thanks button when I have nothing meaningful to add to the conversation.

It's kinda negative but at the same time not useless. That is feedback as well to the company that the product is ugly.

 

[Jman]

It's kinda negative but at the same time not useless. That is feedback as well to the company that the product is ugly.

It lacks tact.

You can convey something's looks without being tactless about it. Companies love feedback, but things like fugly aren't the way.

But tact is a dying trait.

 

[Barberakb]

I agree, just stating IMO it's not useless.

 

[oiler3535]

Okay, I'll admit I just got back from hockey and skimmed a bit (read the first 3 pages), but would like to add my 2 cents. I interact some, and read a lot here on the awesome THP, but I have to admit to some empathy for the OP. I would read and interact a lot more, I think, if there were an option to only show posts of longer than 100 characters (an arbitrary number picked to aid my point). There are many threads I open up but only read the first few posts on what may have many pages for just the reasons the OP said. IDK if such an option even possible, but as I say to the kids I teach all the time, if you don't open your mouth people will never know what you're thinking . Absolutely not a criticism of anybody or the site in general, just putting it out there as an example of a way I know I personally would get more out of the site.

 

[Paladin]

I will say that there's a little bit of gratuitous posting that takes place on THP. We want our thoughts expressed and a thread subscribed to, and sometimes those thoughts aren't much more than, "Dude, so cool!" so that's what we say.

That being said, the somewhat gratuitous use of the "thanks" button isn't excessive, in my opinion. Does JB get thanked for nearly every post by a handful of people? Sure. Is he far and away the most interactive forum creator I've ever seen? Yes, he is. Is this forum the greatest conduit between golf's professionals, manufacturers, and high quality courses, and ordinary schlubs like me? I think it is. I took this summer to get serious about golf and looked around at places on the internet that talked about it. I "lurked" in a bunch of different forums and heard about the Morgan Cup. I said, literally, "No way is this for real. It's a pure loyalty system, or some kind of gag." I heard about regular duffers and hackers testing brand new, top of the line gear, gratis, and I didn't believe it. This is an amazing community that creates excitement about a game that we all enjoy and are trying to get better at, and the sort of godfather of this little kaserne gets thanked a lot, because he's, as I understand it, kinda the patriarch of this whole mess. Doesn't cost anyone anything. People are genuinely excited about new opportunities and ways to get off the internet and interact while doing this golf thing we all claim to enjoy and want to get better at. Do I occasionally sort of join in on spamming a new contest or opportunity or testing? Yeah. Do I enjoy that I'm excited and so are a lot of other people that make up this community? Yeah.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing, with the OP. I think it would be interesting to hear, for example, what makes people regard the Bio Cell irons as less pleasant to look at than others. It's one thing to say it's ugly. It's another thing to say why you think it's ugly. That's just an example off the top of my head. But at the same time, saying the Morgan Cup is a great opportunity and lots of fun is a positive building of excitement about the event. It's empty from a pure content perspective, but still helps add to the positive buildup. That excitement and interest got me on here in the first place, and I hope to keep it going.

 

[golfinFF]

Kudos to you DDT on starting this thread and staying with the conversations.

To the OP I get what your saying and it does make getting caught back up on a thread hard to do and sometimes time consuming when I just don't have it. I am guilty of it as sometimes I just get excited about something I hope I can participate in.

On the flip side of that there are lots of threads that literally go un-commented on and if your the one that started the thread or doing a review it gets frustrating and an occasional "great job" or "fantastic write up" goes along way to encourage one to keep writing and reviewing. I know this cause I have done reviews for stuff and rarely saw a comment on it, the best message I ever got was from Morgan thanking me for the review not only from THP but that the company followed along the whole time and truly appreciated it.

Wether you see it or not every company involved with THP looks at what goes on here as a very very intricate part of their customer reception and thoughts on what they do to the next release as far as colors, forgiveness, design and the excitement that those in the general population may have on a club or product. Almost every golf related company out there is reading the threads about their stuff as well as their competitions.

So IMO every post about a product wether many think its a count booster or something more meaningful is looked at by someone who is interpreting it for their company.

OFF Topic Kinda but staying with some of the convo going on here

I understand the difficulty of jumping in a thread that has tons of banter going on and side convos, especially as someone who is new. Heck I had a hard time even after my first gathering but I got through it and am happy I did as I have made some great friends in person and through the internet on here. I've Pm'd people I have never met about things going on in their life that I thought I could lend an ear to or even help.

Being new anywhere is difficult whether it is a new place of employment, an acquaintances party, significant others work gathering, but eventually if you want to be involved and not sit on the side lines you have to jump in and let people get to know you.

This is a great community and even with its quirks is a fabulous place full of fantastic people.

 

[Nebgolfer]

Looks like I'm late to the party on a very open and honest discussion. As to the OPs point, I'm sure I'm guilty of some "OMG" posts, but part of that is me genuinely showing my excitement about all of the awesome things coming out. Sure, I can click the thanks button, but seeing 38 pages of responses after one of JB's famous bombshells shows me that there is a TON of excitement on the forums where 100 thanks might not convey the same message. I do 100% agree that weeding through some of it is cumbersome and also contributes to a lot of skimming, but I think there are some benefits to it.

As far as the cliques and breaking in, I've felt that to a small degree, but I also completely understand it. That's one of the reasons that I want to make it to an invitational so that I can meet some of the amazing folks on here face-to-face because I think there is no substitute to that method of contact for building relationships. I think the veterans have done a great job accepting people, at least I feel that way personally. There have been many times where I've asked questions about equipment testings and Jman or Hawk have not only addressed them quickly, but in many cases gone above and beyond and testing something specific to what I was asking. Sure, there are times when I post and get crickets, but I've been known to kill a conversation in person, so it's only to be expected that I could do even better on a "blog" (to quote John from BirdieBall).

I want to give props to everyone who has participated in this thread in the fact that nobody really got angry or defensive, and certainly nobody turned this into personal attacks, which is all too often both in person and especially on the internet. I think this has been a healthy thread, and hope much good can come from this.