Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi.
Curious, why do certain topics keep vanishing off this Forum??
Recently I've tried going back to a couple and they are gone when I look. Like the "What is wrong with Rickenbackers" (or whatever it was called) topic. It was not even slightly slating Rics, just stating facts about certain flaws that they have.
Also, the recent Ampeg B200R Topic has vanished, whats up with that???
Like I said, just curious.
Or are we not allowed to say certain things against The Holy Rickenbacker, does it offend some folk?
I love my Rick, flaws and all(and I'm happy to talk about them so others can be aware of what to look out for wehn buying a Ric), and find this a informative forum, but if there is some kinda non acceptance of the truth or denial among some people here then what is the point??? You cant sweep some things under the rug.
Hopefully I'm looking too deeply into why some topics dissapear, but it does seem a little odd.
Monty

Nothin' wrong with my RICs,

Manta

Sometimes things are said that send a thread spiralling out of control. Peter does a good job of keeping things sane without being an nazi about it and will often edit posts to keep threads on track. Sometimes entire threads get yanked because they run so far afoul that Peter niether has the time nor inclination to clean them up. When you consider the volume of stuff posted here it is amazing that he even has time to read it all let alone police it. Constructive criticizm seems to always be tolerated here but useless flaming is not. We are all passionante about our music and choice of instruments so unintentionally crossing the line is pretty easy.

Some threads are abducted by aliens and never seen again

rickfan60 wrote:Sometimes things are said that send a thread spiralling out of control. Peter does a good job of keeping things sane without being an nazi about it and will often edit posts to keep threads on track. Sometimes entire threads get yanked because they run so far afoul that Peter niether has the time nor inclination to clean them up.

And that's what should be done!

Monty,
Try clicking on "View Your Posts"
Many of the posts can get buried quickly because of lots of activety.
Granted some get removed but I have found that if I click on "View your Posts" below RickResource Forum header,
I can find what I've posted on previously, fast.

It's also possible that the threads are relocated in departments that are more appropriate.

Monty Brown wrote:Hi.
Curious, why do certain topics keep vanishing off this Forum??
...are we not allowed to say certain things against The Holy Rickenbacker, does it offend some folk?
I love my Rick, flaws and all(and I'm happy to talk about them so others can be aware of what to look out for wehn buying a Ric), and find this a informative forum, but if there is some kinda non acceptance of the truth or denial among some people here then what is the point??? You cant sweep some things under the rug.
Hopefully I'm looking too deeply into why some topics dissapear, but it does seem a little odd.
Monty

Monty, if you've checked into a variety of guitar forums on the Web, you'll note that each has its "forum culture". some are freewheeling, "no holds barred", "anything goes" places that can be fun to visit, or they can be unpleasant for a visitor who happens upon a "death-spiral" thread which a moderator allows to destroy itself, or to a newbie who simply says the wrong thing and gets pounced upon.

Other forums are more tightly moderated; corporate-run forums are a good example of this.

On this respectful, middle-of-the-road, wide-ranging public forum, Peter does a fantastic job of keeping things under control while offending a minimum of people. This, on rare occasions, can result in a thread being edited or deleted in its entirety; members who repeatedly cross the line in offensive or overly controversial posting, lose their membership and posting privileges.

On the RRF, as on every other forum I've viewed, it's 99% inevitable that threads that focus upon a negative aspect of our passions (such as the "what's wrong, etc." thread to which you refer), end up being online gripe sessions, with anyone who has an axe to grind, whether it be a valid issue or not, tossing comments around, usually unaware of the heat generated unti the thread goes into meltdown.

An aside: the bitching on this most recent deleted thread brought to mind my experiences with traffic school here in California: most students arrive ten or so minutes early, and those ten minutes are spent pleading their cases (already convicted and sent to the very same traffic school) to the other students. My own feeling is, if you're there, make something positive out of it.

Regarding your "Holy Rickenbacker" comment: Nothing's perfect, and this includes things made by hand in series. Rickenbacker as a manufacturer walks a fine line between robotic perfection and handmade charm. We're here to celebrate these instruments and share our love for them, learn about their history, care, and maintenance, and to spread tips for playing and getting certain sounds from our guitars, basses, and mandolins (both of them). Issues with new instruments should be handled on a one-on-one basis with the good folks at RIC customer service. Issues with older or vintage instruments...well, they're older and vintage. What do you expect?

Nothing "holy" here. But, respect is a strong component of our journey through these online pages.

Ive heard from a good source that Peter has a sanctuary for lost threads in his back garden.Also on some weekends he sets them free to roam the wilderness. Im serious im sure a caught a glimpse of one shopping in tescos

I'm not sure about all topics that disappeared but those that i've seen and read were, in my view, not worth being kept for next generations. And yes, this isn't the best place for discussing Rickenbackers in a negative way.
Nicely put, Scott.

bassduke49 wrote:It's also possible that the threads are relocated in departments that are more appropriate.

Yes, there is that too.

Things have calmed down recently it seems....

Quite true Andy. There were some pointless battles here a while back. That is one of the reasons why I took some time off. My work life is filled with stress and conflict my hobby shoudn't be.

And yes, this isn't the best place for discussing Rickenbackers in a negative way.

No, I disagree. As long as the comments can lead to constructive discussion. Negative opinions don't have to result in bare knuckle fighting. Some design/build problems of Rickenbacker basses have been discussed and later addressed by members of this forum. A good example is how some 70's and 80's basses lack punch in the low end. John Hall clued us in to the bass-cut cap that when removed gave those basses some much needed balls. Despite that, some basses continued to under perform. Through independent trial and error it was discovered by a few formites that the tailpieces of some basses did not fit properly into the body greatly reducing the contact area under bridge. Two solutions were developed and passed along in threads here. Because of that, several forumites were able to make their anemic basses perform the way they should. In that case we started with negative comments like "My bass sounds like ****" and we ended up with dramatic improvements in performance. In a less insightful community there would have been a holy war. Instead something good came from it. If the inital negative comment was not allowed we may not have ever solved the problem.

Well yes, that is right, Ted. I might have formulated it badly (no surprise, i always do that), and you'll never know where the discussion may walk us. Sometimes an innocent topic may develop into a fist fight, and sometimes something that promised a heated debate may turn into a civilized discussion that'll help find some important and helpful clues. I remember, a couple of years back, there was a discussion about critique (constructive vs destructive). And it was not so hard to find. And yes, it was a bit less than 2 years ago.