quote:

Originally posted by carlflack:
Been thinking about changing my name to "Ol Carl"

In the spirit of fun ... please don't change your handle to OlCarl. My wife's handle is OlBetsy. People might think that you were married to OlBetsy or that I was married to Betty. That would be really confusing! Your wife is Betty; my wife is Betsy. Both of us own a 1992 30' Breakaway painted very much alike.
Carl Feren

Sure this is a very competitive competition!!!! First one to past Bill H. wins. I only have more than 4,000 to go if Bill stops now.

Nick

Carl Feren, Please do not worry and tell Ol Betsey not to be afraid because OL CARL,is going to stay just plain Carl regardless of how old he gets.LOL
Merry Christmas, we missed you all at our GTG here in Florida. It was great!.........Betty

quote:

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with where this particular thread is going. I have never felt there is any competition in posting here. There are a few of us who peruse and respond to most every question or notation posted here, and I've always felt this was what this site is for. It only takes a second or 2 to see if you are interested enough to persue the thread, and if not, move on. I, for one, have received far more than I could ever give, and I hope this great site remains as a beacon for Barth owners who realize that being a Barth owner is not a competition, but something we should all take pride in, and welcome all who recognize our coaches.

Dan &

Well stated Danny.

I didn't even know we had access to the membership directory, or that there were "Karma Points." Also, is my understanding correct that anydonation would make someone a "supporting" member?

quote:

Originally posted by Lorelei:
I didn't even know we had access to the membership directory, or that there were "Karma Points." Also, is my understanding correct that anydonation would make someone a "supporting" member?

Here is something akin to a "Behind the Scene @ Barthmobile" tutorial.

When you sign up to Barthmobile we require certain things from our members before all functions are open to them. We all like our privacy and I will do my level headed best to keep "Anarchist Types" off of our boards. One of the ways to do this is to keep the "Membership Directory" private until we have a pattern of posts by an individual.

We do not "Open The Vaults" to anyone who just signed up here. Post a few times and we'll release functions and features for you to use.

New person who just signed up...Personal Permissions
View Own Personal Zone
Use Signature
Use Avatar
Update Profile
Can upload avatars to site
General Community Access
Can View Private Messages
Can Create/Edit Private Messages
Set Custom Avatar URL

Post several times...Personal Permissions
View Public Profiles
View Member Directory
Allow HTML in posts

Post Some More...Personal Permissions
Edit/Delete Own Posts
Exempt from all moderation

Post more still...Personal Permissions
Edit Own Custom Title

Why would we restrict someone from editing or deleting a post? It sounds like a basic right of any forum and it seems that it should be turned on right off the bat doesn't it? Well sadly this was one of the main reasons for starting this type of "Karma Point" grading/reward system.

Ok, lets face it, we have people signing up for the sole purpose of "Selling Their Barths". I have no problems with a "First Time Poster" dropping by and unloading their coach. We have several supporting members who started off this way. What I do have a problem with is them selling it and then deleting their ad all before I have time to tell them that we save this for research.

I go into every ad and link it to a map. If the coach is sold, and then they delete the ad, our map turns into a useless linking mechanism that cheapens the site. Once a coach is sold it gets "De-Hinged" from the map... The "Member/Seller" phone, email, mailing address, etc... gets deleted and the post winds up in the "Sold Forum". Now we have a basis for research.

Also, a first time poster could be trying to sell you something he doesn't have. I try, oh how I try, to take an active part in trying to weed out the "Trouble Makers" from the "Good People" who frequent our site. Of course, "Your Safety Here" is not guaranteed and anyone with a screen name could be a potential "Ripoff Artist".

So, how can you tell a "Vetted Person" from a first time poster with no skin in the game? We use a "Supporting Members Badge" to let you know that the person cares enough about the site to have placed a financial stake in our being here to enjoy what we have. We use a "Karma Point System" and we also allow you to see how long someone has been a member here with their post counts clearly shown.

Now, that is not to say that you need to be a "Supporting Member" to feel included. Post a few times and say hi... let us get to know your posting practices, stop by a GTG or send me an email and shoot the breeze and things get turned on quicker.

Post one time and then expect me to turn over the "Membership Directory" or allow you to view another persons "Member Profile" without me knowing who you are and I'm going to balk at that. If you do become a "Supporting Member" then that is one way for sure that I know who you are. At this point, I have your contact info and you are no longer just another "Poster" with a screen name.

So there you have it... a quick rundown on why "We Do The Things We Do" here.

Also, this should help explain why the "Testing Area" is not open to everyone. Besides the testing of every feature you see here in use, this small group of dedicated members talk frankly about the day to day operations and they help me spot potential problems and recommend fixes to these problems.

Bill, and all the others who work so hard to make Barthmobile such a positive experience, a heartfelt thanks . And that doesn't even begin to say how much a sense of 'family' I experience here. In this day and age, that is rare and priceless.
Jim

I agree Jim and Tere, not many people are lucky enough to have a large and caring "family" like we have here. I am proud to be a part of this group.

WE are not even in it that I can see. Maybe it is misplaced
lenny

quote:

Originally posted by lenny and judy:
WE are not even in it that I can see. Maybe it is misplaced
lenny

Lenny, you are on page 11 of the alphabetical list about 2/3 way down the page

Nick

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cagle:
Lenny, you are on page 11 of the alphabetical list about 2/3 way down the page

Here is the link to what Nick said.

But, if you go by the Karma Points Standings, you're The 19th one down on the very first page.

Based on the membership signup date, you're the 2nd one down on page 4.

thanks just missed it sorry.
lenny

Took me a while to find this thread and it explains a lot. I always thought I had great Karma? I will be posting a lot more but right now i am trying to glean as much as I can about something I know little about. Bare with me as we learn about each other.

quote:

Originally posted by mnhunter:
I always thought I had great Karma?

You probably do have great Karma - Welcome to the boards.

Waiting on your call Bill! I got time if you got time.