RIBNet Credibility

[kerny]

Originally Posted by Chris Caton

hmmmmm ............... I'm not gonna start knocking Ribcraft, they're nice ribs, but not sure they're the market leader, I can think of a few others which are as equally good

I think that was Matt just being a little mischievous

[Chris Caton]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Can't we all.

especially if rigged with a Honda 50

[Chris Caton]

Originally Posted by kerny

I think that was Matt just being a little mischievous

me too

[Pikey Dave]

Whilst we're on the subject of shameless plugging, I have very nice Ribcraft 6.4 custom dive RIB for sale with twin 115 Etecs. Ad coming soon to the "for sale" section.


.....sh1t happens.......

[Ovey]

Originally Posted by Mollers

A dollop of 'bugger' would sometimes help, rather than the tireless defence of poorly researched purchases.

I understand what you're saying Mollers, and agree in principle, but my purchase was very well researched, fitted in nicely with my budget, offers exactly what I want at this time and will probably offer pretty reasonable resale value too if I feel the need to change boats or give up boating. So in this case I don't feel the need to offer a dollop of "bugger". However, that said............... If I'd bought a boat that I believed to be good but it turned out to be pretty crap I'd happily say "bugger" and then tell people why my boat was poor.

As it happens, I've been out in reasonably poor weather with a good mate who drove Royal Navy seaboats/RIBs/barges during his career, where it acquitted itself more than admirably (to both our agreement), it's been to the beach with my family where it also suited our needs, it handles well, it is reliable (there's the kiss of death) and I'm slowly fitting more equipment for it. All of this is building up my experience, competence, and confidence, which I was happy to share and chip in with for a while, but now I'm more reserved due to the fact that I might get shot down because I've never owned a boat "that fits".

[kerny]

Originally Posted by Mollers

A dollop of 'bugger' would sometimes help

Bugger!!

Bugger - Toyota funny commercial - YouTube

[Chris Caton]

Originally Posted by kerny

Bugger!!

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Ovey

I understand what you're saying Mollers, .

That comment wasn't actually directed at you, more a comment about the forum in general. However, perhaps thou protesteth too much.


IMV, some of the information/advice offered up on this forum is so muddied by residual/ego/kudos protectionism, it's worthless.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Mollers

IMV, a lot of the information/advice offered up on this forum is so muddied by residual/ego/kudos protectionism, it's hardly worth reading.

Stop stirring it you tw@, I know the weather's too grotty for the Vipermax now but you've still got the SR4 when you really need to go out

[willk]

Originally Posted by Mollers

IMV, some of the information/advice offered up on this forum is so muddied by residual/ego/kudos protectionism, it's worthless.

How's that Etec holding up Mollers?

[Ovey]

Originally Posted by Mollers

That comment was in no way aimed at you directly, more a comment about the forum in general.

Don't worry, I know it wasn't. But even if it was and I had bought a Friday afternoon boat I'd be the first to shout "bugger" at the top of my voice!

FWIW your banter is similar to mine so I can recognise it, it's just that I don't know anyone on here well enough to throw it around at the mo! I'm pretty good at differentiating between banter & derogatory comments.


Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Stop stirring it you tw@, I know the weather's too grotty for the Vipermax now but you've still got the SR4 when you really need to go out

I resent that comment you tw@t!

I went out in the Vipermax once in the rain.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by willk

How's that Etec holding up Mollers?

Great, I don't use it.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Mollers

I resent that comment you tw@t!

I went out in the Vipermax once in the rain.

When's the stripey seat cover man coming to fit them?

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

When's the stripey seat cover man coming to fit them?

He'll be stripey if he tries, with tyre tracks.

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by Clamchowder

I think I can see what Ovey is getting at here. I think think it might be useful to use the analogy of Ribnet as a local pub, an analogy that has often be used in these hallowed pages to explain to newbs who struggle with their initial posts.

Personally I prefer sailing club bar.

It's open to all, and you're free to buy a pint and grab a seat in an alcove and observe the regulars chatting about their day, arranging to meet up for a round of golf (metaphorically speaking obv), and all the other chit chat that goes on. If you pipe up to ask about the local area, what the best route to the next town is, or where's best to buy a house; you'll get lots of advice from regulars. Most will advise you to buy a house in the same area as them, but will probably admit that most of the other areas round about are nice enough as long as you understand what you're buying. There are also certain areas which are pretty much no-go as far as the regulars are concerned because the developer building new houses in that area sent a bunch of shills in a while back to tell everyone how wonderful their new houses were.

ERM... If I go in a pub and ask where to buy a house, perhaps I have the brochures for 3 or 4, perhaps I can provide some specification like needs a garden, needs to be cheap to run, needs to be new build etc. That all sounds a bit like a Rib spec. So I don't expect someone who lives in an old badly insulated flat to tell me that I need to buy the flat opposite him because its got loads of character and would be a great fixer upper. Yeh sure if there are people who know houses with gardens etc I expect them to chip in alternatives. Maybe someone knows of a house with no garden but new built and super green. I expect they suggest it but if I say No a garden is a must, new build I would compromise on then they pipe down..

Then for the actual area I find it bizzare that they all want me to live next door... I want to know where the best area is not where they live. So if I give you the example of when I lived in Glasgow I would have said where I lived was OK but if someone wanted to know where the best place was then Milngavie and Bearsden spring to mind. Places to avoid - certainly back then - Easterhouse, Gorbals, Drumchapel. So if you ask the question of where the best place to live is and someone says I live in Ibrox and its great coz the footy stadium is just 50 yards away that it would be perfectly sensible at that point for someone else in the bar to chip in and say... For starters you might support Thistle in which case you wanna be near Patrick and if you support Celtic you wanna be in the east end but avoid Easterhouse. Better still they point out there are things like Rugby pitches etc... And maybe they point out that Milngavie remains the place to aim for as you will only need to be at the stadium 2days a week tops. The problem comes when the gers fan chips back in and says he can see where the chairman parks his car for the match. Oh yeh there is no garden, but I can walk to a park if I want some grass...

The second problem comes when your man walks in the pub and says I just bought a house in between Parkhead and Easterhouse. It must be a good area as the Milngavie bus goes through it. Its got a big garden. I'm guessing the boarded up houses next door means the area has stuff worth breaking into so what sort of alarm do you recommend coz I'm gonna spend ages out at the Celtic Matches. When they get a response that says buy a BIG dog, don't ever leave the house and put a very big fence round your garden they take the huff because the post comes from someone in Milngavie who thinks they know better.

This is all fine. I think the difficulty arises when you've been sat in your alcove for a couple of years, maybe piping up occasionally on specific issues, but you start to feel you might have something to offer the next newb who comes from in door; after all you've lived in the area for a couple of years, you bought a house which you quite like, you maybe realize there are some positives and negatives to your particular area, but you feel like you might have something to offer. So you offer your opinion only to be shouted down by the regulars because you haven't been there long enough or you haven't owned enough boats (sorry but this analogy was getting laboured some time ago), or you make some vaguely contentious statement.

OK so you've owned one house and once you built a big fence and got the Alsatian you didn't get burgled. Does that mean that area is the best? Now its perfectly reasonable to correct someone saying don't buy a house there you'll get robbed all the time by saying that you live there and you don't get robbed with the bug fence and the dog. You might even point out its half the price of elsewhere and there is a bus into town that is the same bus you'd get to Milngavie but takes less time. But don't tell everyone its the only answer...

This state of affairs means two things: firstly that newbs will get a pretty narrow view because they'll be hearing the views of a vocal minority to the exclusion of anyone else, but also that once the vocal minority 'retires' and goes off to do something else, who will be left to offer help and advice?

So no one buying a house should take the advice of people in the pub without doing other ground work. There will be plenty of backfill with an equally biased opinion when the current lot hang up their pint glass.

To carry on your house analogy... A new house builder who built houses based on a flat roof that is really popular in Spain. The build quality is OK but not premium. There are one or two examples of walls falling down in some houses. Most houses are of course fine. The builder realises people are going to the pub to ask the locals what they think of them and so the builder dresses some actors up as locals and sends them to the pub to talk about the new houses and how great they are. The publican discovers what they did and bars them but they send different actors. Eventually the builder takes the hint. The locals by then have become sceptical of anyone bragging about flat roofs.

So then someone appears in the bar a few months later and says to the Publican I'm buying one of those flat roofed Spanish houses. The flat roof will be OK in the British rain won't it. And when the publican says - do you not think you'd be better sticking with a known design that has a proven record in this country? Should the punter in the corner chip in and say well actually I have one and its great. Yes of course he should. But if someone else says don't forget the one where the roof collapsed and are you sure the flat roof makes sense in this country should the punter in the corner chuck his pint over everyone and shout at the barman for having a biased opinion or should he accept that there are differences and the original guy at the bar should gather all the facts, tales and wot not and make his own mind up.

But I do sometimes feel that Ribnet isn't as 'inclusive' (hate that word, but couldnt think of another) as it could be. It seems on occasion like there's a tendency to 'gang up' on dissenting voices.

Still in the bar... The guy who bought the flat roofed house who says its great is being reminded his garden is tiny and asked if he would have a peaked roof given the choice. Let the punter at the bar decide who to listen to. Don't tell the barman to bar the regulars... At least until they start chucking punches...

[NSS]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

The general hostility towards Bligs is not aimed at the owners nor indeed the actual boats themselves.

Even if that were true, it's easy to see how it might appear to be directed at the boat/owner if you're new to the forum and have no idea of the 'history'.

I appreciate the angst (even anger) that the spammers have provoked, I just don't think some of the 'fallout' is justified or fairly directed.

[willk]

Originally Posted by NSS

I appreciate the angst (even anger) that the spammers have provoked, I just don't think some of the 'fallout' is justified or fairly directed.

Anger, yeah. Contempt, certainly. Fake "newbies" were set up on RIBnet by someone prepared to pay for the privilege, what happened next is public record... which newbies can we trust now?

caveat emptor, I say.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by NSS

Even if that were true, it's easy to see how it might appear to be directed at the boat/owner if you're new to the forum and have no idea of the 'history'.

I appreciate the angst (even anger) that the spammers have provoked, I just don't think some of the 'fallout' is justified or fairly directed.

After a very dodgy start, the lack of warmth for the brand hasn't been helped by noisey new owners bleating on.

[NSS]

Originally Posted by willk

Anger, yeah. Contempt, certainly. Fake "newbies" were set up on RIBnet by someone prepared to pay for the privilege, what happened next is public record... which newbies can we trust now?

caveat emptor, I say.

So what are you saying, anyone who mentions the B word should automatically be vilified? Innocent until proven guilty, I say.