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I am starting to feel not welcomed.

norbyx

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Well it is a bad feeling, let me tell you, to try to enter a comunity and be treated like if I was just not welcome.
I entered this forum because in google search it was the biggest laser comunity forum I could find on the internet.
Since I am member of forums in every sector of my various hobbies and I enjoy very much sharing information, asking questions, and entering market places that can be found mostly on forums, I had to give it a shot and become a member.

Now why am I feeling not welcome, well easy, First I started a thread with a simple question, a question that if I searched the forum I wasn't able to find an answer (untill I placed a search in google), and for that I got 4 negative reps.
Ok that is welcoming, instead of just saying "look that isn't the type of question you should ask, please refrase it" and that would have been it, NO, I get negative commets all over my post saying that I am a fellon, that I am a law braker, "see you in the news" ecc...ecc....
Than I find out, through google, that the same question was asked in this same forum long ago, with compleately different results. HERE is a link to that post, and guess what the one that made the question asked the exact same thing and got no negative rep.

Well "get over it" is what I thought, so I start searching the forums, I start buying lasers from other forum members, I make normal posts arround the forum and than when I see I have enough posts to place a WTB add in the Buy/Sale/Trade section I do so in the hope of finding someone willing to sell me a laser in a waveleght I am missing.
Well my post never sees daylight and probably never will....
As I had seen many other post of people searching for various types of lasers all over the forum I decide to make a new post with the title "Looking for a high power 405nm laser", a type of title I have seen posted by many many people on many types of different lasers.
Well now I realize that my post has been erased also, probably because considered as a WTB post. Now, since I am not the only person in this forum making a market research on WHO might have a 405nm laser that wants to sell in a section other than the B/S/T section than why was my post erased?

Now I have over 30 posts and counting and still am not able to open a thread in the B/S/T section.

How am I supposed to post "just" laser related threads? If somebody asks a question in this forum, the FIRST answer most of the time is "use the search engine" (very welcoming for a noob).
I guess I will have to post reviews on my lasers as soon as I get them in order to have some specific "laser related" posts, since questions or comments don't seem to count.

Now my personal thoughts, maybe I am pretending too much... maybe I have to realize that lasers are a hobby where 80% of the users are just kids, teens, or guys that are too young to be mature enough to understand my dissapointment. I was looking at a poll on what is the average age of the members of this forum and most are younger than 25.
That might be why I see things in a different way, that is why I normally am used to forums were the average age is over 40-50 ( I am a metal detectorist and a ham radio operator).
The only forum that I found similar to this was the RC related ones where again most users are very young.

I would appreciate constructive comments on this post if possible, not negatives again.
 





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All things aside, just so you know I have well over 1K posts and am a veteran, and it takes days for my BST threads to show up. Every single BST thread created gets put in to limbo until a moderator has time to log on and approve it. It takes a while.

My adivce; you seem like a nice guy who just got off to a bad start, clean the slate a bit and start over. People here can be very forgiving and warm, but it takes time. It helps to avoid hot button issues as well, but as a newcomer it is hard to tell what is and isn't a faux pa.
 
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How am I supposed to post "just" laser related threads? If somebody asks a question in this forum, the FIRST answer most of the time is "use the search engine" (very welcoming for a noob).
I hate this too :tsk:
 
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Joined
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http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/must-read-before-you-can-post-buy-sell-trade-board-74202.html

It takes time for threads to be approved in the B/S/T. Usually at least a few hours, sometimes, well over a day. This restriction applies to all members, vets included, not just you.

Your WTB thread was deleted because you didn't follow the rather basic guideline, and were not patient enough to just wait a day or two for the thread to come up.

The reason most questions are answered with USE SEARCH is because most questions have already been answered.

After you type the same thing a few hundred times, it gets too be rather annoying to have to repeat.

Had you USED SEARCH you would have gotten an answer to your question. The one you're apparently feeling butthurt about.

You have the right idea in that regard. I suggest getting over it.

As to how to contribute, or post laser related threads, and raise your post count to be able to post in the B/S/T...

HELP and CONTRIBUTE

Help other people with their questions.

There are all levels of users on this forum, ranging from preteens who like shiny bright things, to scientists working with lasers on a day to day basis. When you see someone with a question help them out.

If you see something interesting, and have something constructive to add to the conversation - make a post.
 
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if you are only looking to sell here, then LPF is not the right place to be. I've seen a few threads of you complaining about just this.

If you want to just sell here, then buy advertising space.

The community is open to you on the hobby level, to participate (get info, give info), share pix of your builds, talk about lasers in general.

The negative feed back comes because you have been told many times about the rules of selling.

i suggest you take advice in this thread and just relax a little and try to start fresh.

Michael.
 
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Also, one thing new people may not be aware of is that our hobby is under a great threat from government regulation and unjust law enforcement. In the last five years or a tremendous amount of changes have been enacted. Due to irresponsible use of lasers by the general public, which is fueled by lower prices and higher output lasers being more widely available, more and more people are losing out on the laser hobby and finding themselves in serious trouble. We cannot afford even one more incident as each one threatens all of us. We have seen police, FDA, and even higher branches of law enforcement reading this forum. We even had several try to buy from members here as a test. There is paranoia going around here for good reason.

We do not have long left before simply owning a laser is a crime. Australia is already at this point and we have had members go to jail for owning >1.1mW laser pointers.

All it takes is one person to call the police and complain and you will have your lasers confiscated and you may be facing serious legal consequences. I nearly ran in to this back in early 2007 while shining a 30mW green laser against the wall of my own home in my own back yard. If it wasn't for the fact that the person who complained decided to not press anything once I apologized and ceased, I would have been in serious trouble, not just a slap on the wrist.

So the thread you found from six years ago asking a similar question was during a different time, a time when information about the destructive capability of a laser was not something to keep hush hush. These days even if you don't do the damaging activity you ask about, someone who reads the post may, and then you, and the forum, can be held liable for encouraging criminal behaviour.
 
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I, for one, am very pleased by the 20-post guideline. This isn't a classified advertisement site. The purpose of this site is NOT to sell stuff. It is a place to learn and discuss. Most of the time when people have a problem with the B/S/T guidelines or the 20-post limit, it is because they are treating this site as if it's a place to sell and/or make some money.

one of the things the limit does, is it helps people to get to know whom the would-be seller is, what they are like, and whether or not they are going to rip the buyer off. That's pretty important, and I fully support that. Trust is a large component of buying and selling through a community forum.

Another positive thing about this site, is that we are honest with one another. We say what we think is the truth. If someone is full of sh*t, then we say so. Being polite does NOT mean, being silent when bullsh*t is being spread about.

Whatever negative reputation points someone gets, if they clean up their act, behave themselves, and continue to participate in good faith, their reputation will turn around - just like in real life.
 

norbyx

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if you are only looking to sell here, then LPF is not the right place to be. I've seen a few threads of you complaining about just this.

If you want to just sell here, then buy advertising space.

The community is open to you on the hobby level, to participate (get info, give info), share pix of your builds, talk about lasers in general.

The negative feed back comes because you have been told many times about the rules of selling.

i suggest you take advice in this thread and just relax a little and try to start fresh.

Michael.
I see that I am not making myself clear, I am NOT looking to sell anything sice I have NOTHING to sell, probably if you took some time reading the starting post you would not have answered with an "apples and oranges" type of answer.
I was trying to BUY a laser, and helping some comunity member that might be making some extra money from the sale, and not just go online and buy it from a store...
 
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Now I have over 30 posts and counting and still am not able to open a thread in the B/S/T section.

I see that I am not making myself clear, I am NOT looking to sell anything sice I have NOTHING to sell, probably if you took some time reading the starting post you would not have answered with an "apples and oranges" type of answer.
I was trying to BUY a laser, and helping some comunity member that might be making some extra money from the sale, and not just go online and buy it from a store...

If this has NOTHING to do with B/S/T, then why discuss it in your post? Is sure looks, smells and tastes like an apple to me. But what is that odor?.

Helpful Tip: you may want to try googling the meaning of the word, "Humility" and then strive to show more of it in your posts.

I would appreciate constructive comments on this post if possible, not negatives again.

We cannot control how you will react to things. And in an OPEN forum, you will have difficulty forcing control of what people post.

Best of luck to you on your journey to become an adult.
 
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norbyx

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If this has NOTHING to do with B/S/T, then why discuss it in your post? Is sure looks, smells and tastes like an apple to me. But what is that odor?.

Helpful Tip: you may want to try googling the meaning of the word, "Humility" and then strive to show more of it in your posts.



We cannot control how you will react to things. And in an OPEN forum, you will have difficulty forcing control of what people post.

Best of luck to you on your journey to become an adult.
I am probably much more of an adult than many of you.... I just get tired of receiving negativity in the posts....

"You did it all wrong", " if you just want to sell stuff get an account" ... What is this ... Positive comments !!!! No ... Do the comments have anything to do with the real situation .... I don't think so... Anyway I appreciate all the other posts in this thread.... Thanks
 
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@ norbyx

Just play nice, be very safe with lasers, and try to be a part of the hobby. When people see someone with neg rep change their attitude they go from orange to green really fast.
 

norbyx

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@ norbyx

Just play nice, be very safe with lasers, and try to be a part of the hobby. When people see someone with neg rep change their attitude they go from orange to green really fast.

Will do, thanks for the comment.
 

ARG

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I, for one, am very pleased by the 20-post guideline. This isn't a classified advertisement site. The purpose of this site is NOT to sell stuff. It is a place to learn and discuss. Most of the time when people have a problem with the B/S/T guidelines or the 20-post limit, it is because they are treating this site as if it's a place to sell and/or make some money.

It does keep the spammers out, but it also keeps honest people out too. Someone who bought a meter from me speaks very little English and has trouble contributing to discussion because of the language barrier, he wanted to sell here but was not able to because of the 20 post rule.
He was a great guy to do business with and I know that there would be no trouble if he were to sell something, but he can't.

The system works, but I think it should be lowered a little, maybe just by 5 posts. It's hard to find the right balance between unintentionally restricting honest people and keeping out the spammers.
 
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As I understand it, right now there is nothing automatic about the process.

All that is done, is every thread is checked before the thread is posted.

If someone has under 20 posts, the thread is not approved.

So maybe exceptions can be made, if a veteran or someone of standing in the community is willing to vouch for the person wishing to sell.

This would still prevent spammers, but help members who want to contribute but can't.
 

Pman

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My personal rule is to be overtly nice. Members are much more tolerant when others are humble. Reading what you are going to post is a must.
 
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daguin

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I am not going to close the thread, but be aware:

These arguments were all made before the policy was crafted

Also, buyers can defraud as well ;)

Peace,
dave
 
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