Anyone else notice… (1 Viewer)

[King & Country]

Hi Guys,

I’m afraid I am one of the guys who has virtually given up posting on the Forum.

Among the many reasons was the almost constant “sniping” from what I like to call “the usual suspects”. We all know who they are.

As you say Rob “constructive criticism and advice” is both welcome and useful to every company (K&C included).

However, when I used to reply in detail and give reasons why something was the way it was that would never, ever satisfy these most vocal of critics… You can be sure they will always have the last word.

Another thing was when I gave reasons (usually commercial) why K&C would not (or could not) produce someone’s favourite campaign, fighting vehicle or range of figures I was accused of being “dismissive”!

When I got into this hobby it was because it was FUN… pure and simple. When I moved into the business side of the hobby it was because it was still FUN and… I could earn a reasonable living from it.

Believe it or not, most of the time it still is FUN and I love meeting, talking and corresponding with hundreds of K&C collectors all over the world. However here on the Forum there are some who like nothing better than “killing” the enjoyment and sheer pleasure others get out of the hobby and collecting. For the most part K&C seems to be their target of choice.

To be fair though the Treefrog Forum is a lot more balanced and fair than the other one north of the 49th Parallel.

Whenever I feel like reading a little dose of “venomous bile” I take a short trip up there… it’s interesting and informative to read some of the nastier comments from some of our old chums who post on Treefrog occasionally.

Anyway that’s my tuppence worth. Enjoy whatever you collect… however you collect it and… have FUN.
Andy C. Neilson

 

[wayne556517]

Ive been guilty of stirring the pot but ive learn't my ways and now its just pics and help and the occasional begging for a new piece i get involved in but im still having FUN and nothing or no one will ever take that away from me.

 

[mario]

Dear Andy,I am very happy!!!!!!Your work is great!!!!Keep it up...
mario:smile2:

 

[Currahee Chris]

If you've identified the "usual suspects" why not just slap them onto the ignore list and be done with it. You do have a very loyal following that deserves your time and attention- when you can spare it. It's the Paretto Principle- 80% of the problems are caused by 20% of the people- slap those 20% onto the ignore list and eliminate 80% of your problems.

Also, there is nothing wrong with walking away from the forum either- I have done it and have continued to enjoy the hobby immensely. I do enjoy the banter back and forth with my mates from across the pond more than anything and that is what keeps me coming back.

Best regards
CC

 

[jules118]

The forum is the poorer for you not participating Andy. The fact that you were on here discussing your product with your customers was pretty much the only reason I became involved. And whilst I have been disappointed by the lack of SOHK releases (more specifically the rumored pirate opposition for the USN/USMC) and as a result have largely drifted away from TS, it was never about the quality or service which has always been first class IMO. I just accepted that there was/is a bigger picture which you must consider when deciding what to produce.

But, regardless of which K&C range being discussed it was always really good to hear your thoughts and ideas, which is why I continued to hang around over the past few months, hoping for some commentary. Sad that the discussions engendered such polarised and vitriolic responses to cause you to move away. Not saying that everybody need agree with you and there are definitely extremes on both sides. But, imo, the forum does at times look like a bunch of spoilt brats arguing over toys. Very much our loss that it's caused you to drift away I think.

A rambling response, but thanks for bringing me tremendous pleasure with the SOHK series. I may not be buying much these days, but nor will I be parting with any of them in the near future... they're just too cool imo.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Andy,

I used to read every post on the K&C forum, and check it every few hours (sometimes every few minutes) for new posts. For the very same reasons you mention, I ignore quite a few of the threads. It just isn't any fun to get into a nasty name calling battle over something I consider a pleasant hobby (or in your case a hobby and a business). I find myself gravitating to the Trophy thread, as even though I don't really collect Trophy other than the WWI vehicles, I enjoy the pleasant, polite, cordial tone of the conversation on that thread.

I will continue to enjoy my primarily K&C collection, continue to read those threads where a constructive and enjoyable discussion of the hobby is ongoing, and simply ignore the argumentative and devisive threads. Frankly, I miss our conversations about the hobby, especially the ones you participated in on the forum.

By the way, the new Desert Heinkell looks fantastic!

 

[Peter Reuss]

Interesting timing on this post...

For the past week the mods have been discussing ways to help the forum become less acrimonious and more civil. There are only a few of the subforums that contain 99% of the sniping, so we're developing a plan to walk the line between allowing constructive criticism and allowing bitterness and angst.

One challenge is that many threads end up with the same people saying the same things and fighting over them. If we end up plowing the same field (and hijacking threads to do it), the mods may 'clean things up' to allow for a freer flow of conversation for all, not just a few.

We're still developing our plan of action (things like this don't happen overnight, they take careful thought). We'll keep you posted.

 

[jazzeum]

Andy,

I used to read every post on the K&C forum, and check it every few hours (sometimes every few minutes) for new posts. For the very same reasons you mention, I ignore quite a few of the threads. It just isn't any fun to get into a nasty name calling battle over something I consider a pleasant hobby (or in your case a hobby and a business). I find myself gravitating to the Trophy thread, as even though I don't really collect Trophy other than the WWI vehicles, I enjoy the pleasant, polite, cordial tone of the conversation on that thread.

I will continue to enjoy my primarily K&C collection, continue to read those threads where a constructive and enjoyable discussion of the hobby is ongoing, and simply ignore the argumentative and devisive threads. Frankly, I miss our conversations about the hobby, especially the ones you participated in on the forum.

By the way, the new Desert Heinkell looks fantastic!

This sums up my views to a tee: don't read all the K & C posts anymore, enjoy the Trophy section and love that Heinkel. Wish I could afford it! Hope you make some new ones soon in the 800 range.

Cheers,

 

[HAWKEYE]

All the bickering that goes on sounds like a bunch of old ladies, i come on the form to get a way from the pickering and politics. Toy soldiers are my escape and all the garbage talk can't change that, so hopefully with andy being back on board the forum this will be a good time mone forward and better the dialogue. By the way brad, i am with you. Increase the production numbers on the heinkel to get the price down to about $800 would put me in the game. Anyway, hope everybody has a great weekend

 

[Combat]

All forums have bickering. I can remember some lulus on this one from years past (the good old days!). What's considered impolite to some is constructive criticism to others. It depends on your perspective. There's no way to fairly moderate that. It will just result in even more bad feelings or claims of bias. For every "negative" post, there is an endless sea of posts bemoaning all the negativity. There are a couple of guys who have last word or beat it to death syndrome and can't let it go. Myself included on a few occasions. I think maybe cutting them off after they make their point more than once might be a solution.

 

[Guy]

I joined the forum to get out of a modellers typical isolation . This is a hobby which normally is practiced alone; whether it is model making or collecting.I also joined the forum to share my knowledge about model making with fellow modellers. To show my work and to have contact with fellow modellers and collectors from overseas, to find out what is in fashion their part of the world. And the main reason I joined is TO LEARN more about our hobby and -in my case- through the figurines about WWII also.
Some guys monopolize the forum and when an interesting question is being asked, it rapidly turns out in a conversation between just two or three forum members who go on about something that is not at all relevant. The question itself remains unanswered.
Challange is always good but it has to remain polite and civil with respect for maybe a different point of view than your own.
guy:smile2:

 

[MC BOWEN]

I have been reading the forum postings for about a year but have not posted till today.with my limited exposure it seems to me most of the in-fighting is usually a few people over the same conflicts.people are always going to have differences and when you feel strongly about an opinion, things can get heated.we can all agree to disagree and try to keep it civil.if i find myself strongly disliking someone's posts i will stay away rather than get in a verbal dispute that solves nothing.i read this forum for info.and fun if i want to fight i can go talk to the wife.(in truth she is great --she lets me spend to much on my soldiers)

 

[Phantom Warrior]

I used to read all of the threads of several of the manufacturers. Now I read only some of the threads - the ones that interest me. Once the bs starts on a thread, I stop reading it.

95% of my activity on the forum was posting and 5% PMs. Now less than half of my activity is posting and I mostly discuss topics through PMs with people I can have an intelligent discussion with.

Terry

 

[Rob]

It's such an enjoyable hobby and K&C produces such a superb product that maybe people like myself who get a bit peeved with all the sniping should just hit the ignore button and concentrate on the positive interaction that goes on here. Doug is quite right in that for any negative there are many more positive posts.

I do hope Louis, Brad and Andy all feel like posting more in the future, especially if the new policy the mods are working on comes into effect. I don't want this part of the forum only to be ra ra, all constructive reasonable points of view are just as valid as any other. I think we all want to di USA the pints raised, in an adult and calm way is all.

Rob

 

[nmrocks]

Interesting timing on this post...

For the past week the mods have been discussing ways to help the forum become less acrimonious and more civil. There are only a few of the subforums that contain 99% of the sniping, so we're developing a plan to walk the line between allowing constructive criticism and allowing bitterness and angst.

One challenge is that many threads end up with the same people saying the same things and fighting over them. If we end up plowing the same field (and hijacking threads to do it), the mods may 'clean things up' to allow for a freer flow of conversation for all, not just a few.

We're still developing our plan of action (things like this don't happen overnight, they take careful thought). We'll keep you posted.

Peter,
I'm sorry to hear you are struggling with this when to the forum members the answer seems so obvious, surely you cannot expect the same people with the same problems to continue on each K&C thread and get a different result? The common factor has to change, if that doesn't get the desired results change it again. there are a few who simply cannot help themselves and in the forum as in life you do them no favors by somehow mitigating bad behavior. This is not about informative questions and questioning, it's about the obvious agenda and distructiveness of a very, very few.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Good to see Andy back on here.

The "usual" suspects vary depending upon each person's views. I can think of one particular member and if he was not able to post in the K&C area things would be much better (PM your candidate to Peter as I am doing now).

I support any action by the Mods/TF to improve the atmosphere. People have been banned for a while or been not allowed to post in certain areas or even read particular peoples posts. I think a good idea might be an automatic one month ban for the member who has the most deletions (where he started the dispute) either in general or in a particular area.

Regards
Brett

 

[ecuriel]

Good to see Andy back on here.

The "usual" suspects vary depending upon each person's views. I can think of one particular member and if he was not able to post in the K&C area things would be much better (PM your candidate to Peter as I am doing now).

I support any action by the Mods/TF to improve the atmosphere. People have been banned for a while or been not allowed to post in certain areas or even read particular peoples posts. I think a good idea might be an automatic one month ban for the member who has the most deletions (where he started the dispute) either in general or in a particular area.

Regards
Brett

I second that!

 

[Rob]

Peter,
I'm sorry to hear you are struggling with this when to the forum members the answer seems so obvious, surely you cannot expect the same people with the same problems to continue on each K&C thread and get a different result? The common factor has to change, if that doesn't get the desired results change it again. there are a few who simply cannot help themselves and in the forum as in life you do them no favors by somehow mitigating bad behavior. This is not about informative questions and questioning, it's about the obvious agenda and distructiveness of a very, very few.

Well said indeed

Rob

 

[Rob]

I do agree with this. If one person is intent on ruining the enjoyment of others then a ban is appropriate. It's also good to see Andy posting again, for those of us who actually enjoy and collect the product it's good to read his views and opinions on the product/ hobby.

Rob

Good to see Andy back on here.

The "usual" suspects vary depending upon each person's views. I can think of one particular member and if he was not able to post in the K&C area things would be much better (PM your candidate to Peter as I am doing now).

I support any action by the Mods/TF to improve the atmosphere. People have been banned for a while or been not allowed to post in certain areas or even read particular peoples posts. I think a good idea might be an automatic one month ban for the member who has the most deletions (where he started the dispute) either in general or in a particular area.

Regards
Brett

 

[sim simon]

I'm new to K n C and so far it's been great and getting to know more collectors here, and I would love to read Andy's post here.