Here is my take on the whole thing…
1. Non-Owners
I have no problem with non-owners or enthusiasts. I was one myself at one point. HOWEVER… There is a big difference between non-owners asking intelligent questions and somebody who has never owned jack shit offering advice to a current owner. A good example was Allan asking if he should sell the SV and buy a Gallardo. Mako asked that only owners respond but that didn't stop the kids from posting nonsense like 'don't sell the Diablo, it's my favorite car'. We're glad you like the Diablo so much but what the hell does that have to do with the discussion? That thread should have been all about the real world pluses and minuses of owning each and that's all.
2. Replica non-sense
I don't give a damn about replicas. More power to you if have one or that's what you want. It's your choice. But we sure as hell do not need to see a posting about every p.o.s. that pops up on eBay. Again these seem to be hot topics for the kids. 'Hey, I can fit in if I post a thread tearing some kit apart'. Enough already.
3. Childish nonsense
There is a lot of this on the site. A good example. The video that was posted titled 'rob lay' that was actually a clip of someone screwing a cow. WTF?? It's not funny, not called for and just fucked up! Why it was moved to the video section is beyond me. It should have been deleted immediately. These kinds of things do a lot of damage to the site.
4. Misuse of the 'General Lambo' section
This has become a vast dumping ground for all kinds of things. Take Allan's (sorry to pick on you) posts about the parties in LA. None of that stuff is Lambo related. It should all be in off-topic. I would like to see the moderators taking a more active role in filtering and sorting the posts. Let's set clear guidelines of what belongs where and post accordingly. And Don't bitch if your post gets moved. It's a post, it's not the end of the world if a mod thinks it belongs somewhere else. Get over it. In fact I would say that a mod is doing you a favor by moving it. It's not as if it gets moved and there is no record of it. Phpbb sucks but it will tell you a thread was moved.
5. Threads get off topic
I've seen this many times. Someone posts a thread, asking a good logical question and by the end of the thread it's way off topic with inside, personal jokes, etc that an outsider would have no idea wtf anyone is talking about. Nothing wrong with kidding around with each other. We're all friends but there is a time & place for everything and not every thread has to be about jokes.
That's a lot of criticism so I'd like to close with some things that I see are being done right.
1. Friendships have been formed
Many members have gotten together to meet in person and to drive their cars together. This is what it's all about to me. Enough said.
1. Got rid of NWS.
Yes, I know it was popular but it had to go. It did not attract lambo owners to the site. Instead you had people signing up just to read that section. That does nothing to bolster the site's credibility and sure doesn't encourage any women to become active members of the board.
2. Getting new sponsors
The guys have done a good job of getting new sponsors for the site. LamboBH is a good start at getting dealer support. The addition of the watch dealers and section is good in that the site is catering to more aspects owners are interested in.
Jay