R-e-s-p-e-c-t

[RiverRev]

I have but one complaint about the new boards and that is repect. I realize that the migration to the new boards caused our posting numbers to fall, but this has created a great leveling of the playing field that has had intriguing results. No one knows the truly informed people online and do not recognize their authority.

 

I am amazed when BurBunny is questioned about anything in the travel world. BTW all of her Priceline data didn't come over. :( And the newbies have no experience with the "O" crew.:cool: I wish there were some way of noting the superposters whose words are from on high

[madforcruising]

You are right! Respect on the board is great and should be a general rule, but it shouldn´t be based on the number of posts. The information that a first time poster can be as valuable as the information from a poster with 10000 posts. I respect everyones opinion regardless of how many posts someone has.

[FinelyCruising]

I like a combination of helpful information and chatting in a poster. The helpful experience is a requisite to the value I place on a post. A new poster may have gone on a ship I have never been and I can get more insight from them than a poster who tells me about the ship when they have never been on it, or a port, or a line, etc.

[Folgy]

...with RiverRev and FinelyCruising.

 

Both good points. I am feeling somewhat displaced since the move .

 

I could probably tame down a bit. I need that cruise soooooooooooooo bad in just a few days ooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! Howllll!! arf! arf!

 

Ok ..maybe I need therapy :p

[FinelyCruising]

See if the cruise does the trick first. ;)

[abridalmaven]

Actually Folgy, I think you have the makings of a fine "O" member. I agree there seems to be no history in the new board.

[xpcdoojk]

HI Rev

 

Thanks for putting the O crew into the exalted category! :D My how our stature has grown. We used to be called renegade pain in the bottoms. I feel my grey beard filling in nicely! :D I and my fellow voyager Os are mostly interested in fairplay and having good vacation experiences and sharing those experiences. I have no problem with the loss of my post count. I am quite used to it at least this time I didn't have to start at zero! ;) Just remember the O crew is still around and we aren't going anywhere, anytime soon. Laura is probably sorry to hear that! Just teasing Laura! ;)

 

I agree with people dissing (disrespecting) BurBunny is pretty shocking. I don't really know her well, but she is a very honest wonderful resource from my reading of her postings over the years.

 

I am getting pretty comfortable with the new forum, and it is a little quicker, but still there is room for improvement. I have read people wishing that there was PM in this forum, and I am wondering when they will utilize that functionality that is available.

 

Again RiverRev, thanks for the nice words, as I have said in the old forum, I don't go to church often, but I would go to your church anytime.

 

love

 

jc

[SUSANITA]

Hi River Rev. I find your thread interesting. As a "blue ribbon cruiser" myself (mainly from Carnival posts), I consider myself to be a "regular" here at this board. However, I don't feel that my post count gives me any "authority" here on these boards. If anything, it tells others that I just plain have too much time on my hands. ;) Are you suggesting that people that spend more time here deserve more respectful answers than others? Or are you just suggesting that they shouldn't be disrespected because of their "status"?

 

I questioned once who the O crew were and how they got the name, and was pretty much disrespected in regards to getting an answer, that never came. Just a bunch of innuendos and horn tooting going on. Not sure if they O crew are people that just post alot, actually have alot of cruising experience, or if they are people that truly go out of their way to help others on this board (no one could seem to answer me.) Just because they post alot and appointed themselves a "crew" isn't enough to gain my respect, sorry. Helpful, honest and occasionally even humble posters are the ones that I respect the most, no matter how many times they have posted. :)

[nosnobunny]

Gosh Rev, you've got me blushing. :o Nice to hear the voice of reason. If anyone would qualify for O status, it would be you. Just wait until Hallowe'en because you never know..... ;)

 

Beth

[davidaperryman]

Don't fret RiverRev, the super posters and zeros will inform you about who they are and then you can show proper respect. I think I detect a note of sarcasm here.

[hstrybuf]

Nice post, RiverRev! I really don't care how many posts I or anyone else on the boards has racked up. I'm looking for knowledgeable people who can give me information and just maybe like to have some fun once in a while. Unless everyone lists their past cruises, you have no idea how experienced they are either.

 

I too was surprised at some of the responses to BurBunny. I've known her since first coming to Cruise Critic and she was one of my tablemates on the Dawn Princess. Nice lady, willing to share what she knows and smart too!

 

As long as we can treat each other with respect, then things should move along nicely. I promise to TRY to keep my mood swings under control! :D

[Folgy]

I shouldn't be a nosy . BUT

 

Burrbunny has been and is an immense source of very helpful and kind information..

 

>>>>>>>>>Point me to who has insulted her

 

please.

[Alexis]

When BurBunny speaks, I listen. She has a wealth of knowledge.

[xpcdoojk]

Doulasue, I am sorry you felt disrespected by the O crew. That was never our intent. We, unfortunately, did not become the O crew on purpose. I can not and will not discuss this in public on the forum, but if you really want to know about us, and this applies to anyone please feel free to drop me an email. I will be honest with any question. Not to mention the O crew is not a monolithic entity, just a loose coalition of people that share one simple thing in common.

 

I agree that post count means very little, and sometimes the join date means very little. I have cruised a medium amount and travelled a large amount, and I don't know everything about any aspect of cruising, and I try to offer advice when I can, but some people like BurBunny are very knowledgeable and new folks can't know that.

 

Anyway, I am pretty sure zero's is dissing the O, and that is less than nice, but at least we have been called worse. You can multiply us by a million and we stay the same.

 

:D

 

jc

[RiverRev]

But Doulasue, I KNOW that you are a "blue ribbon" cruiser because I have seen your history and, were I ever to do a Carnivore tour I would take your answers with the weight they deserve.

 

I think, in addition to lowered post counts, lost avatars and the ability to limit signatures, that the board change over occured when many of the "blue ribbon" types were relatively quiet. IMHO that led to a new core of repondants who look at a posting by BurBunny or Superjerryw and say "who are these people and what do they know?" And yes, if the O crew waxes eloquent or Felix or Folgy tell people what they really think there is all kinds of turmoil (well, come to think of it, I guess that's normal).

 

As a matter of fact, I haven't heard from Felix in a long time. Has he posted since his move to Florida?

[LauraS]

I saved a list of everyone who had attained certain posting levels. I saved 3,000 and 5,000 - maybe another level but don't quote me!

 

I have no problem adjusting titles to reflect that coveted status it is just a matter of carving out the time to do so.

 

Laura

[SUSANITA]

Laura, I've considered emailing you and asking you to "up" my post count to at least 5,000 (I'm somewhere around 5500 now), but felt kinda petty about asking for that! Like, it shouldn't MEAN anything! I then decided that I didn't care about the post count, I could "earn" respect here the same way I did it before, by being helpful and kind, and sharing what little knowledge I have. In other words, my post count has NO reflection on the amount of cruising experience that I have.

 

Case in point, I went out to dinner the other night, met a man in the restaurant that had been on 22 cruises, no kidding!! ALL on RCI!!! This man knew cruising, yet had never heard of Cruise Critic!! This drove home the point that the most "knowledgeable" people may in fact have the lowest post counts.

 

However, I do see Rev's point. There are certain people here that deserve respect just due to the fact that they are here alot and really are helpful (Cruisingislife is one I can think of off the top of my head, I'm sorry I don't know many of you on this board yet). Then again, some of the most annoying, insulting and downright rude people on this board have some of the highest post counts, which IMHO does NOT deserve R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

:)

[LauraS]

OK, I checked my listing...

 

 

 

There were only 20 members who had 5,000 or more posts at the time we migrated to the new boards...

 

 

 

So, I gave them all a new title to reflect their status. I will have to go into the FAQ and add something about these new titles, because it will have newbies scratching their heads. I'm sure our 5,000+ club members will be sure to set folks straight in the meantime :)

 

Oh, and we had one 10,000+ poster in there!! WOW.

 

 

The list of 3,000+ users is a bit longer. I'll get to it sometime today. In the meantime, I'd better update the FAQ if I'm making all these changes.

 

Laura

[og719]

I don't come here too often, but used the board as a resource before our first cruise in June. I think most people are just looking for information, whether it comes from a first time cruiser who just sailed on the same ship or someone with 30 cruises. It's nice that everyone can provide some input.

 

As for the "respect" issue, if you're looking for some kind of self esteem buzz on a cruise bulletin board...that's just creepy.

[Toto2Kansas]

I don't think respect is something attained by the number of posts someone has, but more from the knowledge they share from first hand experiences.

 

I have read threads where some give all sorts of advice on a cruise they have never been on but obtain the information just from reading what others post about the subject.

I for one would like to hear it from someone that has been there, not second hand because they feel they are knowledgable as they read about it somewhere. Info that is passed along from a review that has been read or from someone elses post is not always reliable.

 

If someone with their first post answered a question for me because they had been on that ship, I would believe them more than someone who was shareing second hand information.

 

IMHO of coarse.

[xpcdoojk]

Ok, what any of this has to do with the RiverRev's original posting is beyond me, but here goes anyway(this is part of being an O). ;) I have been on certain cruiseships, therefore, if I were to post an opinion about the Majesty of the Seas, I would be a credible poster because I have done a 7 day cruise on her. Unfortunately, I was on the Majesty of the Seas over 8 years ago. I don't think my opinion of that ship is worth diddly squat, today. I think someone that has read about the ship on 8 forums and read a dozen recent reviews is far more qualified than I am, even if they have never been on the ship. It is my opinion that those researching a certain ship have lots of information to share.

 

In other words there is a lot of critical thinking involved in determining who and what to read and believe. For me I look at the poster's intent to determine if they have credibility. I don't base my opinion of their credibility on a few postings, but rather on their overall attitude and helpfulness. Many new posters come in to a forum and start bashing away, in a take it or leave it way, or by wearing their feelings on their sleeves and then complaining that the forum is a negative hateful place. Both of these kind of posters are very difficult to handle for me. Hopefully, they will grow out of these habits the more they post, or they will move on. For example despite being a long time member and notorious O, I am currently booked on my first HAL cruise. I am reading the HAL site as religiously as I read the RCI site(not as hard to do as they don't post as much), but my posting content at HAL is a fraction of my RCI posting. Why? Because, I don't know the regulars as well and I don't want to offend them by pushing them around, and I respect their insights into the cruiseline they love and the forum they participate in. I think that is the kind of respect that RiverRev is talking about. Are there poster's here and HAL with 5000+ posts that drive me insane, yes. I am still not going to judge those I don't know until I understand them better. There are, however, people here that when I see their name I roll my eyes, reflexively. I know these people as well as you can know anyone from an anonymous message board.

 

JMHO :D :eek:

 

jc

[greybear]

Please remember that there is no way that a newbie can know who has experience and knowledge (well, they do now - to a certain extent - with Laura's upgrade). It's not like we all have ESP and know right off the bat who to believe or not, although it is easier to figure out who NOT to believe.

 

I do not have a problem with a poster questionning another poster on where and how they got their information. I don't see it as a lack of respect, I see it as a poster being cautious about the information he/she is receiving. Once a newbie finds out that a certain source is reliable than I would expect that they would not question that poster again.

 

JMHO,

[RiverRev]

JC have you really posted 500+ times since the board migration? You need to get the Mini out more.

[RiverRev]

Greybear,

 

True. But...

There is a virtue to being a lurker for a little while.

I probably spent a month as a newbie lurking on the boards just voraciously reading and getting to know the "cast of characters." I identified the folks who were real pro's in specific areas and the folks who were going to complain about the food, pools, and children onboard. Then I posted my first question and entered into my first forum.

[Rustynail]

Speaking of the O crew, what ever happened to nyfan?