Thanks for the memories guys from DJ Downunder

[Ed K]

Hey Guys, no worries....this is not really happening....

Remember, as other posts have suspected, DJ is really....

Secret Agent Man....

....and he'll be back!

[Doug]

DSKYZD and SJBMW, thank you for your posts, they are right on.

I'm not trying to sit on a throne here and hand out orders to everyone and abuse what little power I may have – I mean honestly, life is really too short. I didn’t even want any rules in here, but when someone clearly posted the wrong thing, and others were somehow confused why it was wrong, I made some rules/guidelines and posted them (via a suggestion by a member). Now that there are rules there, all I get is bitching about them and how this place sucks! I can’t win!

At this point, I'm just throwing my hands up in the air and go "WTF do you want from me?!"

Listen, I'm just trying to make a nice environment for everyone to come and enjoy each other’s conversation - this is my only real goal. I have learned that it is IMPOSSIBLE to please everyone, even when I absolutely feel that the "rules" are extremely fair and do-able by EVERYONE (BTW, If you think the rules are unfair in some way, then you really do have a problem and are not seeing the big picture and taking other people into consideration – it is not a big stretch to just follow them).

If you want to put your foot down and leave, this is totally your prerogative; I can not stop you – Hell, I don’t want to stop you, if you don’t like it here, then I’ve failed, and you should go. But you should know that you're leaving will not change what I'm trying to do here, and anyone that has been here since the beginning knows what I'm working towards. Anyone that has been privy to other message boards that are total chaos, fully of lackluster information and no sense of community will know what I’m working towards. This place used to be awesome! Everyone was courteous, people chimed in with totally great & detailed info, lots of friendly banter, there was no bickering or “He said-she said” or “Johnny’s touching me” crap - This place has turned into freaking kindergarten the last few months. For Pete’s sake, most of you are grown men!

So I don’t know what you want me to do about all this. The moderators and I are doing the best we can, working towards a very specific goal, and if it’s not good enough for you, well then….thanks for stopping by.

Ps- perhaps my comment whilst editing DJ's post was a little rude. Sorry, Dj. After the 3rd or 4th time contacting him about it, man, that gets old! I guess I wanted to leave a little bit of an impression - looks like I made more of a "dent."

[JToole]

you should know that you're leaving will not change what I'm trying to do here, and anyone that has been here since the beginning knows what I'm working towards. Anyone that has been privy to other message boards that are total chaos, fully of lackluster information and no sense of community will know what I’m working towards. This place used to be awesome! Everyone was courteous, people chimed in with totally great & detailed info, lots of friendly banter, there was no bickering

Maybe the rules are the problem. Back when "this place was awesome" (and it was, too), the decorum around here was policed by the membership - When comeone fvcked up the other people here detered them by social presure.

If you remember, you had problems with the Mod secret police force from the beginning. A topic for only paying members (when they could get in) only caused more trouble - others couldn't see what was going on. Creating another topic where anything goes yet moderated by yet another secret policeman, well, does that even look like a good idea (in hind sight)? True, you could have just secret policed all of the topics you didn't want to participate in off the board, but you know that puts you at odds the majority of your paying membership. So now you have a board where the rules, enforced out-of-view, are more important than anything else.

I know. You can't understand why everyone can't simply deal with the rules and their consequenses. To stay on track for your (and our) goal, you have to try to look at it from our perspective - an open society is always preferable to a secrecy-shrouded dictatorship.

[Biff's R]

I hope you return DJ, because your ride stories were one thing that kept me rolling through last winter's bitter cold.

Enjoy Christmas, and hope to hear from you soon.

[DJ Downunder]

Thanks Jeff (Biff's R)....and thanks to every one else...I just posted a response to Marks post on another topic and I'm sure there's a few waiting on this topic for me to reply..well my reply to Mark says how I feel right now so I've copied it over here.

DJ

______________________________________


mcooperstein ( moderator) said

ps - I *do* feel obliged to comment on DJ's blatant disregard for the rules of posting. His last thread "Thanks for the memories guys - DJ" contained 26 inline images, each about 175KBytes big. Now, if you do the math..that post alone was about 4.5 Megabytes big. Some of us do not (cannot) get high speed Internet and still use dial up modems. So, with a 56Kbit connection which averages no better then 5 KBytes/second it took me almost 15 minutes for that thread to open. Forgetting about the "content" (bikini clad women on bikes) request...Doug also has repeatedly asked him and others to NOT post piccies inline, but have links pointing to the image. It does two things...If I don't want to click and see a bikini chick on a bike I don't have to, and second, I don't have to wait 15 stinking minutes for the page to load!! THANKS DJ FOR BEING SO CONSIDERATE!!!!!

G'day Mark...I had planned to take a few days off from posting until I read your comment shown above and I *also* feel obliged to comment.

First off...It is a lot easier to just post a link to a pic than embed it into the post...I'm sure you know that..

When posting a lot of pics on more than one occasion I have asked if anyone is still on dial up and no one said they were...if anyone had said they were I would not post pics like this because I know all too well what dial up is like...I had dial up for years before going to broadband...I'm sorry it took you a long time to see my pics...you should have said something in the past.

On many occasions I've had comments back about my great ride pics saying that it's great that I go to the trouble to post them in a way that they don't have to click on each link to a pic...so I continued to make the extra effort to do it that way.

As far as using a link to a pic...I understood that that was for a pic that might offend someone or show nudity...and I've also done that in the past.
I've posted warnings..I've tryed to do the right thing....really.

When I posted that new RR pic I was so used to posting pics my way and maybe rushing a little...I didn't consider that girl in the pic as offensive...there was no camel toe...no nipple poking out...it just seemed like the typical girl that you get at bike shows...I agree that maybe I should have posted that one pic as a link...I made a mistake...sorry.

When I received my warning from Doug he said "I'm not going to warn you again..Post it correctly..Whats your problem?...etc"

Maybe Doug caught me at an emotional time...maybe another time I would just have thought..Opps I did it again....or...Whatever...or even replied saying sorry Doug...but at that time I felt hurt...and that he showed no appreciation for effort I put into helping make this board so great...not only that..I felt like a pest..and the board would be better off without me.

If Doug had contacted me saying.."sorry mate..I've deleted that pic..just re-post it as a link and it'll be ok"...how easy is that..I would have been more than happy to fix my mistake.

I was going to post with a topic saying 'DJ's last post'...but after cooling down a little I changed it to the thanks for the memories' post...I did say that I was only 'considering' that it would be my last post...I though I would just think about it a for a while.

I was flooded with replies both on the board and privately with some words bringing a tear to my eyes...I was starting to think maybe it's not all that bad...and I do not want to let so many friends down...yes friends...real friends..some that hope to visit me one day...some that send me their old magazines...even home made dvd's of their local bike and car shows..how good is that.

I did see Dougs words hidden in one of his comments saying.." Sorry, Dj."

I was starting to think maybe I should contact Doug and thank him and apologize back because of the effect my post has had to his once great board...I was not looking to stir things up..get attention or sympathy..or cause people to take sides.

Then I came across your comments Mark...I now seem madder/sadder than ever...talk about not feeling appreciated...sheesh!

Doug has not repeatedly asked me not to post pics inline...in fact not even once...and in the past 4 1/2 years I've posted thousands of pisc..(more than one thousand pics from my own site and heaps linked to others)...and out of all those I only remember a few being removed..and never having a problem with it...Doug said he's told me 3 or 4 times...I must have a bad memory or Doug is confusing me with someone else...but still..3-4 times out of how many thousand...geees!

I would love to stay...I'm sure others that say they're leaving would also love to stay...but I think a few a few things need to change first...Maybe get Dave back as the one and only moderator...I don't know what the answer is...I'm not very good at putting my thoughts in words...I guess I'll just wait and see.

ps...Mark...sorry again FOR BEING SO INCONSIDERATE!!!!!... ...I have a pic for you... http://members.optusnet.com.au/~djp1/mypic1580.JPG

DJ

[DSKYZD]

Thanks for posting that DJ.

This is second time I've to make this post. I don't know if it's my browser or this but I think something technical may be going on that isn't helping things around here.

DJ can I get you to agree that we've got some high tension going around here right now. As moderators we're literally under attack with almost no way to defend oursleves some harsh things are getting said out of pure frustration.

Nobody's perfect. Help us work this out.


DSKYZD

[Boxer]

...I have a pic for you...

That was one funny picture DJ! Really made me laugh! And It's good to see your remarks on the matter.

As has been said before, it is soooo hard to distinguish a person's true delivery of a "line" without being right there in front of them. I have been pretty flippant about this whole thing because I see it as kind of immature and super sensitive. But HEY! That's just me.

At any rate, I have to tell you, Mark is indeed a most pleasant and caring person in real life. Knowing Mark from two previous Bashes, the little "Don't let the door.." remark sounded just like him but I can see the big smile on his face as he says it. You can't visualize that. I know he and the other mods are frustrated and I believe his remark was aimed mostly at the few who have seen it necessary to post a sort of negative, whiney type "goodbye" the last couple of days...YES! I said "Whiney"!

Alas today is Monday. I have two weeks off. And today is going to be sunny and 50ish. Time to take the baby out.

[collyers]

DJ - he ain't heavy, he's my brutha....


stay cool - send me your contact info in case I stumble on to a plane bound for Melbourne.


[email protected]

[Pat]

DJ's posts have always been appreciated, and his images entertaining.

DJ,
You became a creature of habit, and failed to hear some of the concerns whispered under our breath about your posts. I simply rolled my eyes and accepted that it was DJ..... when images of your 'Great Rides' were posted in the main forum again.
I also accepted that when all your images FINALLY loaded up on my computer (I was patient enough to wait, and wait.....), that I could expect the obligatory shots of scantily-clad or tight-clothed women.
Motorcycles, women, dead animals along-side the road...... presented as mere 'objects' in your posts. Motorcycles and animals are inanimate enough not to object to their presentation as such. Lady R1150R rider/owners who visit the site should be afforded more respect than being stereotyped as nipple popping, camel-toe showing, and shallow-minded sex-objects for men to drool over (on a MOTORCYCLE site).

I recently asked on one of my posts if people preferred links to my images, - OR - to have the images automatically pop up for their viewing pleasure. The preferences that people expressed were split. But my camera is a old 1.3 mp camera, and it likely doesn't take very long for the images to upload. However there are STILL guys out there who are on 'dial-up', and I imagine THEY get frustrated when they unwittingly open a post with images OF ANY SIZE.

All I'm suggesting is.......

Don't allow yourself to get caught up in the recent hysteria. You know you enjoy the site and the people who frequent this site..... as members of the site appreciate YOU as well.
It is unfortunate, but there are untruths being propagated, misunderstandings, and obtuse reasoning behind some posts of late. Members are jumping to unfounded conclusions, and newcomers continue to be puzzled by the recent fray. I have not bothered to openly defend myself against the untruths being spread about my moderating practices (few that they have been), because it would only fuel the level of discomfort around here.
DON'T add to the discomfort, YOU MUST HELP US to make the site a pleasure to visit (women and men alike), and we beg for your HELP to encourage folk to navigate to the various forums. With regard to images...... that's a tough call. I won't hesitate to post a single image taken by my cheap 1.3mp, but I will likely continue to post links if I have several images in my post.

Don't leave, we need your help.
Help us to make this a pleasant 'G' rated site, comfortable enough for ANYBODY to visit, be it at work or in the privacy of their home. Help us to give visitors a reason to navigate to the variety of forums packed with information, images, bantering, and organized rides.
DJ, you are a staple around here. It is your smile and upbeat demeanor that we want MORE OF on the site. It's YOUR continued participation that we want around here. Help us to to keep 'R1150R' alive, and help us to prepare for 'R1200R'.

[Shaman]

DJ,

This is the only farewell post I have clicked into, as I generally consider them to be nothing but self serving for the poster.

In this case however I wanted to see where you were coming from, as your post are both educational and often entertaining.

No one is asking you not to post your content, in fact most of us are ENCOURAGING you too, but that everyone do it in such as a way as to be in the appropriate forum and clearly labeled.

It is my sincere hope that at some point in your internet wanderings that it becomes evident that what the R1150R board is putting together as a set of board etiquette is the norm for most respectable boards. Then that you come back and continue as a staple of the board.

[Doug]

DJ, so its clear, I was too short with you; also wrapped up in the moment, I suppose. It did not occur to me to also say that I also appreciate your posts as they are a great contribution. Thank you for coming online and explaining more fully.. Mates again?!

[beekstersocal]

[MooseR1100R]

With all that is currently goin' on amongst us members of this site, I have only one thought. When our shared Christmas wish for the R1200R is granted by Santa BMW, I expect DJ to post the first hot and sexy pics. Then we'll all be happy. Merry Christmas, Moose

[MattPie]

he's NOT having his pictures hosted on the R1150R server - it's hosted remotely - he's just using clever code to make his image appear inline - by using the [ img ] tags my browser is the part of the system that goes looking for the image - not R115R's) , and is instead saying... "Nice Pics btw"

That's wholly correct, BTW. The pictures above are links from an offsite server. The board is just giving the layout information (HTML) and telling your browser where to go to get the picture. While I'm probably as often right as wrong when it comes to the bike, networks I know. Or, at least, I've fooled my employer into thinking I know. I suspect part of the DJ and images issue are *some* of the images don't pass the wife/daughter/sister rule (would you want the guys looking at a picture of your w/d/s dressed that way). That's probably where the link vs inline debate comes in. If you post a link to a picture and say, "Easily Offended? Don't look here!" I don't think there'd be a problem (as long as it's in Off-topic). But I may be wrong.

[Shaman]

(would you want the guys looking at a picture of your w/d/s dressed that way).

OH YEA! If she would pose!!! *grumble grumble*
well.... not the daughter or sister part. I'm not from appalachia you know.

[DSKYZD]

I'm not from appalachia you know.

What? Don't be perpetuating stereotypes, Shaman. Go eat some Lobster!

I'm joking here in case it's not clear.

humor, ar, ar!

DSKYZD

[scottybooj]

I'm joking here in case it's not clear.

humor, ar, ar!

THAT'S THE POINT!!!!!! We are using computers with simple words in a grey and white box to convey our feelings, thoughts, and motives. So if somebody pisses you off, clear it up, move on, or AOL instant messenge each other with pics and sound so it does get cleared up.

For the last 2 years and 11 months that i've been coming to this site, I've seen DJ post stuff everywhere and anywhere. I didn't care, but I can see why mods would. That's their job, keep order. We all know we're probably the most un-unruly (would that be plain ole' ruly? ) but structure does help with function. And if the mods thought that DJ was causing them undue work, they had every right to tell him...in a decent respectful way, given his past contributions and overall sunny aussie demeanor.

Listen, people go to chat sitesand think they're talking to a hot chick when it's really a nasty truck driver from Appalachia ( oh man, i am SO kidding, but I HAD to put that in. ) So it's easy to get caught up in the bullcrap.

We all know what we DON'T need is holier than thou attitudes (i think that was effectively dealt with prior) and trouble makers. DJ is neither. I, however, am a wise as$, and am quite surprised i have not garnered a warning before. So when I heard DJ griping, my ears perked up, cause heck, i like camel toe. sue me.

But when Herb posted a few posts back on how he was put in a precarious situation with some of the pics, I could feel for him. And I know DJ would never do that on purpose to someone. Like he said, "over a thousand pics...." I'm sure after this, we will all post properly. (i, like dj, would post in the main forum too...but now i realize it was a pompous attitude on my part to get more people to see it, which basically perpetuates the lack of traffic in the other forum.)

so, back to our regularly scheduled holiday program. Happy Hanumas, Chrismukah, and ChristmaKwanzakah.

[wncbmw]

I'm not from appalachia you know.

I am! And I find that very offensive!

(Just messing with you Shaman! )

I have managed to stay off this thread and limited myself somewhat on all the other goodbye threads. But I guess I have to post at least once to implore DJ to stick around. I completely understand the mods issues with the postings but hopefully both DJ and the mods can work it out and his entertaining posts will return.

[bimmer83is]

Hey guys,
I don't think it should get to the point that someone has to leave a message board. Lets remember what they are for: conversation, exchanging information, camraderi, etc. I hate to see anyone be turned off from a site. The are rules and policies, like in anything we may encounter.
DJ, and others are very resourceful to the site. Stick around guys.

[JToole]

Ah, forget what the intent of the rules were, just enforce them to the letter!

Ya know, that's why real live people still make the really important decisions instead of trusting them to computers...