Bad Posts

[cfaslave]

Anyone else noticing a higher than normal number of posters spewing bad information on the forums lately? There have been several who are simply misleading people. Its very frustrating to watch.

[nanook105]

Anyone else noticing a higher than normal number of posters spewing bad information on the forums lately? There have been several who are simply misleading people. Its very frustrating to watch.

I would agree. Expressing an opinion (and making it clear that it is an opinion or a guess) is one thing, but presenting a guess or an opinion as a fact just makes it confusing/misleading, especially for new users. Unfortunately, other than just being considerate (by clearly identifying fact from opinion/guess, not making personal attacks, etc) to your fellow users, I'm not sure what can be done.

[cfaslave]

I would agree. Expressing an opinion (and making it clear that it is an opinion or a guess) is one thing, but presenting a guess or an opinion as a fact just makes it confusing/misleading, especially for new users. Unfortunately, other than just being considerate (by clearly identifying fact from opinion/guess, not making personal attacks, etc) to your fellow users, I'm not sure what can be done.
You are right of course. Its a challenge not to stoop to their level though. I try to make a point of correcting any of those where I can without offending, but it is a challenge...

[Khris]

There's only so far you can go before you have to stoop to their level so they understand however. It's rather ridiculous.

I've also noticed some people posting right after other individuals in numerous threads, just for the sake of posting.......no real helpful information was included.

[queonda]

I see that also. But I also see posters who ask questions and they get an answer but ignore it. Only to complain some more.

[Khris]

I see that also. But I also see posters who ask questions and they get an answer but ignore it. Only to complain some more.

If they don't get the answer they're looking for, they're bound to ask again in the hopes that someone will potentially give them wrong information, yet will be what they want.

[DonK]

It's quite obvious there are some shills on this board for other companies, it's irritating that people have to be petty enough to go preach in someone else's church, to coin a phrase.

[merrypig]

Damn, busted.... =)

[queonda]

It's quite obvious there are some shills on this board for other companies, it's irritating that people have to be petty enough to go preach in someone else's church, to coin a phrase.

Don't try Btv YOU WON'T LIKE IT. It will work well for you, let you record lots of shows. Let you skip commericails (imaging that, who wants to skip commercials). Can record HD. Can let you setup recordings away from home. Damn, this program will improve your tv watching. Make you a couch potato. POTEST against this!! :winkwink:

[merrypig]

I think queonda fails the POT-Test :)

[Khris]

It's quite obvious there are some shills on this board for other companies, it's irritating that people have to be petty enough to go preach in someone else's church, to coin a phrase.

Oh please tell us who you feel these shills are won't you?

[cfaslave]

IMHO, I don't think anyone was pointing a finger at Khris or anyone else who posted in this thread so far, but that's just me I guess.

I'm gonna stick my neck out here (I guess I already did by starting this thread) and say I don't think the majority of forum members are "shills" from competing products. I think its fine and even healthy to have an open discussion that sometimes includes competing products. The problem occurs when you have one of these situations:
1. Poster is obviously not trying to help - matter of fact is trying to cause trouble and post untruths that confuse the issue for other forum members. This is the category I was really referring to in my post of frustration above.
2. Poster is a fanboy of a competing product and simply hangs around to say "don't buy this" or "this product stinks" etc. These posters while sometimes anoy others, usually do not sway people in the end unless there is truly a better alternative. I've been very impressed at how open SS has been in the past many months on the forums. Yes it sometimes hurts to see people do this, but it would hurt SS more by over-moderating the forums like they used to. That just makes it look like they are hiding something.

Now that I said that.... I love Beyond Media, but I have tended not to recommend it to anyone without pointing out the alternatives. Why? Because of no updates and even more recently no plans for it in the future. BeyondTV is the present and the future - hopefully with HTPC plugin capability some day soon.......

[queonda]

I think queonda fails the POT-Test :)

POT? you mean 4/20?

[cfaslave]

POT? you mean 4/20?
It scares me that I might be understanding your code words... :tongue:

[ZetaVu]

Ok, going to 4/20, wasn't there an ash Wednesday on the third Wednesday of Arpil as well?

Anyway, we talking about trolling or just bad advice? I'm fairly sure a lot of my advice has sucked, but there do seem to be a lot of people that appear for a few posts just to rant and rip and then disappear. I keep getting sucked back into the rebate bitch and moan forum because someone tries to take it from complaining about the 4 month process and turning it into SS products suck.

Now, company shills? I doubt it. More likely just fanboys or someone that got disgruntled. If SS wanted to they could check the ip address of any post they wanted, my bet is any shills would be too lazy to cover their tracks and could be traced to a company IP. Now like many here I've complained and offered alternatives (to BM, I still see no alternative to BTV) and only because it has stagnated in the water and you can only be patient for so long. I think when Rakesh allowed discussions of competitive products that was a good idea, it is not being abused in my opinion, and clearly distinguishes people who try to misinform for the sake of smearing SS' name.

And Khris, what's the deal with your Avatar? Did I miss something?

[queonda]

Yes Khris, I been wanting to ask that as well. I thought you had a green orange swirl. In looking at the other avitar it was an animai character that someone else had (forgot who he is) and he changed his to ORIGINAL under the animai picture.

(I know I spelled animai wrong LOL)

[Khris]

Call it a proactive approach! :)

http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showpost.php?p=249223&postcount=6

[jkirk]

it is an anime character named inuyasha. i found one that was slightly different and changed my avatar since i was getting nowhere trying to get his removed. the avatar with original underneath was a temporary measure to keep people from confusing mine and his posts.

though it seems a bit unfair that i put work into finding and resizing an avatar. then someone can come in and take it for themselves and i have no way of stopping it.

[merrypig]

Isn't that hypocrisy? You "found" an avatar and someone else came and took it for themselves?

[Khris]

though it seems a bit unfair that i put work into finding and resizing an avatar. then someone can come in and take it for themselves and i have no way of stopping it.

Exactly why I put up a deterrent for a little while! :D

If he wants my Avatar now, he can have it! LOL

[Khris]

Isn't that hypocrisy? You "found" an avatar and someone else came and took it for themselves?

If you read between the lines and stop looking for trouble, you'd realize what was being said is something like this....

"I spent the time to find a picture that I wanted for an Avatar. Resized the portion of it that I wanted and then someone else goes and copies it from me."

jkirk: Not trying to put words in your mouth......but this is what I understood you to say and hopefully made it clearer since MerryPig had a hard time understanding. ;)

[jkirk]

khris you got it exactly right.

Isn't that hypocrisy? You "found" an avatar and someone else came and took it for themselves?

wrong i "found" a picture then made an avatar out of it.
also i didn't take someone's avatar off this site either(which is the complaint i made)

[queonda]

I don't have an avatar. Maybe I should take someone's on this thread.:tongue:

[merrypig]

Clearly you both have a hard time understanding that the original image, that was manipulated into your avatar(s) was owned by someone else...

[queonda]

Call it a proactive approach! :)

http://forums.snapstream.com/vb/showpost.php?p=249223&postcount=6

So, He didn't steal it. He wanted to. LOL:thumbsup:

[Joe The Dude]

I don't have an avatar. Maybe I should take someone's on this thread.:tongue:
I found an animated gif on the web and I shrunk it down to avatar size.
I don't know what the words mean, so if I was in error, please let me know.
:thumbsup:

http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda.gif

[Khris]

Clearly you both have a hard time understanding that the original image, that was manipulated into your avatar(s) was owned by someone else...

Clearly you're just trying to start trouble...

[ZetaVu]

Well, looks like I unintentionally caused this threadjacking. Oh well, for what it's worth, imitation (or in this case copying) is the sincerest form of flattery. I'm sure he meant no harm by it.

I would hazard a guess that most of the comments in an off-topic thread called "Bad Posts" should be taken a little more tongue-in-cheek.

[cfaslave]

I think I'll have to change the title of this thread to "bad thread" :lol: since I started this mess.

As far as the avatar issue, the real problem is that the person who began using the same avatar was aiming to cause trouble. He was and has littered many threads with unhelpful and misleading information and then attacked others who were trying to correct the mistruths. Its free speech, but pretty annoying free speech all the same. Not much we can do about it so I guess this was a place to vent. Now that that is done, I'll try to move on :redface:

And yes, the posts in this thread should be taken tongue-in-cheek and not to seriously

[queonda]

I found an animated gif on the web and I shrunk it down to avatar size.
I don't know what the words mean, so if I was in error, please let me know.
:thumbsup:

http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda.gif

haha. THat's cool. To bad we can't have animated gifs. It means what's going on in spanish (slang).

[queonda]

Well, looks like I unintentionally caused this threadjacking. Oh well, for what it's worth, imitation (or in this case copying) is the sincerest form of flattery. I'm sure he meant no harm by it.

I would hazard a guess that most of the comments in an off-topic thread called "Bad Posts" should be taken a little more tongue-in-cheek.

Well, that's another issue of bad posts. I see people threadjack all the time.

Some one talking about their problem and someone else says, is it going to rain tomorrow. :rolleyes:

[jkirk]

Clearly you both have a hard time understanding that the original image, that was manipulated into your avatar(s) was owned by someone else...

and clearly you don't understand the site gave permission to use as an avatar. i didn't give permission for this person to use my avatar.

i knew i should have stayed out of this thread but i thought it was safe since that certain person was not on for a while. sorry cfaslave

[DonK]

Oh please tell us who you feel these shills are won't you?

I am not going to point fingers at anyone... but so far I don't think it's anyone in this thread.

I look at it this way:

If you're not shopping for, using BTV/BM, or are not looking for help, and are using someone else's product, and you come here telling people to go to another product, then you're a shill.

[Khris]

I am not going to point fingers at anyone... but so far I don't think it's anyone in this thread.

Please don't bother with the accusations then unless you're prepared to back them up. It's the equivalent of saying "I'm mad at you for what you did......but I'm not going to tell you what that was."

I own BTV and BM, however I will NEVER encourage someone to use BM over MediaPortal (or anything else for that matter). If that makes me a Shill.....so be it.

[Joe The Dude]

haha. That’s cool. To bad we can't have animated gifs. It means what's going on in Spanish (slang).
No animated gifs, eh?
Well, here are a few more random avatars:
http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda_2.jpg http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda_3.jpg http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda_4.jpg http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda_5.jpg http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda_6.jpg http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda_7.jpg http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_queonda_8.jpg

Oh, and in case you happen to be a girl (I honestly don't know if you are male or female, so please don't take offense) here are a couple of female avatars:
http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_kagome_1.jpg http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_kagome_2.jpg http://www.jtdsoftware.com/avatar_kagome_3.jpg
Yes, it's Kagome from Inuyasha. XD

But to get back on topic, yeah, it can get annoying when a thread is hijacked, but even moreso if someone recommends a product or solution that doesn't live up to its hype or promise (I'm speaking in general).

[draven]

haha. THat's cool. To bad we can't have animated gifs. It means what's going on in spanish (slang).


no animated avatars, who would want one of them?

[ZetaVu]

ouch!

[queonda]

OUCH is right. I get this msg when uploading the avatar: "You may not upload animated images." I guess I've been denied!

[ZetaVu]

Then draven should share his secret. I had an animated gif of Spiney toking his cigar and having the cloud dissipate into the name. Never found a way to load that either.

[HomeyFour]

When it comes to the subject of "bad posts" with mis/disinformation, the beauty of vBulletin is that you get the wonderful join date and number of posts that follows people around. Now I won't say that simply the more posts someone has, the more knowledgeable they are, especially in relation to SS software. However, combine a modest post count with a long time on these forums, and you get a good picture of how familiar one is with BTV or BM. Now I claim to be no expert, but I've been a loyal SS user for a "little while" now, I began using BTV at version 3.4 I believe, and reasonably active within these fora. Like everything in life, one must take things with a grain of salt - you pay for what you get(!!). Consider those who pose the questions which get bad responses - there is some burden on the original poster to validate who is responding to them with information, and whether it can be trusted.

Take RichA for example - I have personally contacted him a number of times for non-BTV related PC issues, because I can tell he knows his stuff. The folks here who positively contribute to the community will always be known and well respected... plus their wisdom is permanently archived within the walls of these fora.

[Khris]

Although in most cases that is true......some people go out of their way to post mis-information over and over and therefore increase their post count.

[ZetaVu]

Now you just wanted to show off your new avitar, didn't you? ;)

[Khris]

Now you just wanted to show off your new avitar, didn't you? ;)


SHHHHHHH! :p

Actually as soon as you change your Avatar, it changes it in all your previous posts as well. ;)

[ZetaVu]

Yeah, same with your signature, which can get confusing, since old messages are searchable, so if I talk about my current config (a year ago) I am talking about a different system that is in my current sig. So, instead of relying on my sig I need to explain everything in each post.

I wish there was a way to keep old messages untouched/unchanged.

[Rich A]

Thanks HomeyFour ... I really do try to help if I can. MY biggest gripe is when there is a thread with someone asking for help and you start to inquire about his system and ask questions in order to formulate a troubleshooting path ... and suddenly you find the thread hijacked by one or more OTHERs who start putting in all THEIR particulars. Sometimes you can't tell who has what. And efforts to help the actual "thread starter" become painfully complex.

I wish more people had common sense and when they see a problem already being worked on that seems similar to their own, that they would just be polite and choose to "watch" that post. Or at least start their OWN thread.

It's like being on the land line telephone providing support and you are listening to ten people, all talking at once. Who is on first, what's on second, and I give up is at bat.

[Khris]

Don't forget "I Don't Know's on Third" :D

[draven]

Then draven should share his secret. I had an animated gif of Spiney toking his cigar and having the cloud dissipate into the name. Never found a way to load that either.

There used to be a lot of animated avatars floating around. Maybe I was just grandfathered in with the one I have

:winkwink: