How many is enough?

[Zakk]

I hpoe anyone who got 2 hj's for valentines day was kind enough to give one to his mate

would want to be a 'close' mate to give him a HJ... 

[crash n bern]

I can see both sides of the argument here but I dare say T-Bone has the most valid point.

I was talking to a bloke recently who wanted to get back into riding and decided on VMX because it was more affordable for him to buy an old bike.  He said he joined this forum but left after being shot down for a couple of his posts.  He said that out on the track everyone he met was great, and totally opposite to the reception he got here.

[Nathan S]

In no particular order:

1. Old mate's ad was crap - not the worst ever, but still crap.

I know of another forum that will delete every ad that doesn't use (and complete) the standard forum template. It saves a ton of grief for everyone.

2. New members who post for sale ads as their first ever should be treated with some suspicion. It's a very common way to scam or spam...
Most forums don't allow new members to post for sale ads until they've racked up a certain number of posts and/or been members for a certain period of time. This weeds out almost all of the scammers and spammers.

3. Any forum that's working properly has a genuine sense of community. This can become/appear cliquey.

This forum has a habit of not really accepting people until they've "proven themselves" to be genuine enthusiasts - everyone is treated with a degree of suspicion until they've established themself...
It was like a switch was flicked after I competed in my first Heaven event...
I've watched this happen over and over again with other people too.

4. Every time anyone has talked about "the in group", they always get it so wrong. 

5. Among a generous and helpful community, Rookie's a particularly good egg who has done a lot for a lot of other members.

[firko]

I agree with every word Nathan said......The ad was pretty poorly executed causing even cynical old me to wonder if it was fair dinkum. I also reckon a bit of an introduction wouldn't have hurt either. I try and welcome every new member to the forum as do a number of others. I believe that it helps newbies settle in and get used to posting their thoughts. It always makes me grit my teeth when I see accusations of cliquey in crowd behaviour on here....sure there is a bit of banter between punters that may seem like it's secret mens business only for the clique but in truth it's merely mates talking to other mates. Once you've been on here long enough you get to know that nearly everyone is more than welcoming. There are a few dickweeds who only post to stir shit but you get those blokes on any forum or facebook. Most folks here will go out of their way to help out....that's exactly why this is the best VMX forum on the 'net, it certainly gets more traffic than most of the others combined.

[crash n bern]

Firko's right about the cliquey behaviour. I've never noticed it.  I only know about two blokes on here, everyone else is a stranger to me and I've never felt 'out of the circle'.  As Firko said there's banter between mates and that's about it.

[Tim754]

Gees, wonder which side of the barbwire fence I am on? Cheers Tim754

[Hoony]

Gees, wonder which side of the barbwire fence I am on? Cheers Tim754

i though you had a padded cell  i know i have