New Owners

[Lawman]

I have been a member for several months, but have not made any posts. A number of people (on other forums) have encouraged me avoid the MOC. However, as a relatively new 5th wheel owner, I'm going to ignore that advice. I can see there are lots of good ideas and suggestions on the forum. In my limited time here I have certainly been impressed with the knowledge of the members when it comes to these trailers. We have been RVing off and on for a number of years, mostly 'off', so can't offer much expertise in this area, but look forward to reading the comments of other posters.

Although I have no ideal how to go about it, it would be good for all if we could some how change the image of the MOC, because it is not good in the general RV community and on many of the RV forums.

[Icehouse]

Welcome to the forum Lawman.

I guess I'm going to stick my neck out here, but what is the image of the MOC elsewhere? We are not members of any other RV forums so I'm not sure what the overall view of the MOC is.

Just curious,
Tammy

[H. John Kohl]

It is only my opinion but I feel we may have a bad name because this ADMIN and MODs do not allow people/members to show their behinds. As I tell potential members you can state problems about your unit but do not "threaten" or continuously just complain with out facts. As stated before this is privately sponsored and Keystone has no control even though some feel they might.
Welcome, your questions and answers will help others, including myself, learn.
Cheers,

[Glenn and Lorraine]

Welcome Lawman to the ever growing MOC Family.

As far as the MOC image elsewhere on the Net I look at it this way. Who Cares!!!
This MOC family is all that counts to me. Those other folks in cyberspace only wish they had such a place to go where just like in Cheers "everybody knows your name". I do try to get along with everybody. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. When I don't, yes it kinda makes me feel bad but I sure don't lose any sleep over it.
Over the years, I have visited many of the very RV forums you speak of. Many times I have posted to these very same forums. More often than not I am welcomed with open arms even after I tell them I am a MOCer. But there are the times when the "A"holes have to jump in and knock the MOC. Sometime ago I did do some research into these "A"holes and I have discovered many of these "A"holes on forum "A" are the same "A"holes on forums B, C, D, etc. Some I don't understand their feelings towards the MOC but there are a number of X-MOCers that for various reasons were banned from the MOC and are like a bunch of cry baby children. Than their are the folks that are just not happy unless they are bit%&ing about something. Do we really want them folks over here??? NOT ME!!!
They can say what they want about us. We know what we have here and we are very proud of it.

[HughM]

Glen, I'm with you. Those "other people" can stay over there and MOC'ers can stay over here.
While their negative comments have no effect on my life, I'm pleased that they haven't upgraded to a Montanna and joined this forum.
Hugh

[Bill-N-Donna]

Welcome aboard Lawman. Glad to have you on here. Jump right in and start asking any questions you may have. This is a very intelligent data base with everyone’s opinion and input.

[HamRad]

Lawman,

Welcome to the MOC. We look forward to hearing some of your experiences and concerns.

HamRad

[dsprik]

I would say the mentality of these forums are different from the MOC. On these other forums, the admins let people get carried away ripping each other up and down. This degrades into entertainment for a select few, and all valid information and real help is drowned out.

On here the admins step in when things start to get out of control - and they do occasionally - and start pulling posts or locking threads. We are not on here to complain, whine and argue for no good reason - which many other forums are loaded with. We are a part of the MOC because we help each other out with valuable experience.

We all have our own personalities, but they are kept somewhat in check here. Whenever someone comes on here and tries to pick a fight for the express purpose of their own entertainment - there are those people out there - they are locked out of this forum and then they loudly jump on many other forums and start bad-mouthing the MOC. Others on those forums, who have no experience on the MOC quickly pick up on this contrived negative and propagate it. Much like the negative rumor mill that develops around the water cooler at work. Many people always suck in negative and thrive off of it. They don't care about the facts.

Cheryl and I researched this and other forums for a year before we bought our Montana. We have been living in it full time for almost 2 years now and we love it. I can tell you without any doubt in my mind that this forum, and the information on here, has saved us an ENORMOUS amount of money and suffering. I shudder to think of what would have happened to us if we would have just blindly jumped into this lifestyle with our Montana without the tremendous assistance of the Montana Owners Forum.

Thank you, MOC!

[Icehouse]

I see what y'all are saying. This forum is well moderated and "policed" and Bernie and I have said numerous times how nice it is to see a bunch of adults acting like, well, adults. Good job MOC Mods and Admin! Keep up the good work!
Tammy

[SAndreasen]

All of the MOCers we have met both on the forum and in person have been very very nice. It is great to have such a bunch of fellow RVers and their knowledge and experiences. THANKS TO ALL YOU FELLOW MOCers!

[slewis]

Welcome, Lawman to MOC. I hope that you feel welcome here and will participate in our forum. We are not "into" any other RV forums, so I don't have a clue as to what "they" might be saying about us. I only know that this is one great family and I feel like I have so many MOC friends due to this site. I hope that you will feel the same.
Sandy

[Waynem]

Welcome to a great forum. I'm one of the ones that the moderators or admins of MOC will occasionally pull a post of mine because it is "off topic." You know what? They are correct and I generally thank them for pointing it out to me.

I think, over time, that you will decide that this is a good forum with a great bunch of people. Some times the words may seem harsh, but it is because we cannot see in the written word the smile behind the writer. So I have learned to add to my posts so y'all can see the smile.

Welcome! No question is a dumb question, but I can sometimes give dumb answers.

Edited: Aw shucks! Did I mention my son is a lawyer also? I hope no one holds that against me!

[Icehouse]

It's ok Wayne, I'm a paralegal.

[dsprik]

quote:Originally posted by dsprik

I would say the mentality of these forums are different from the MOC. On these other forums, the admins let people get carried away ripping each other up and down. This degrades into entertainment for a select few, and all valid information and real help is drowned out.

I would like to qualify this statement...

There is some valuable information that be gleaned off of these forums. You just have the know the risks going in. Tread lightly. Get the info you need. Then get out. I do not try to engage the "Trolls" out there. That's my approach.

There are many MOCers that are members of other forums and some are better than others. Montana owners are the largest segment of the fifth wheel RV population by far. I stick around here mostly and I don't take opinion on some other forums too seriously.

[DarMar]

Welcome Lawman and glad to hear you have been impressed with your experience so far. The longer you hang around and/or contribute the more impressed you will be. Life is full of people that do nothing but put others down behind their backs of course and the www just provides another outlet for people to continue with this behaviour. Like Glen stated "we know what we have here and are proud of it."

[ols1932]

Lawman,
Welcome to the forum. I think you'll find that this forum is "fair and balanced," to quote a well-known TV cable channel. As has been already mentioned, you can state your problem and usually find the answer. We don't all agree on everything but we usually come to a meeting of the minds. It's okay to agree to disagree without bad mouthing others. Again, welcome.

Orv

[David and Jo-Anna]

Lawman--let me join the chorus and welcome you to the forum. We were newbies when we joined the forum two years ago, and the information we gained on this forum has helped make our transition to full-timing soooooooooo much easier and more pleasant. Collectively, the members of this forum have a tremendous amount of knowledge, and I am continually astonished about how willing they are to share that knowledge with others on the forum. Feel free to ask any questions you need answered--as others have said, there are no dumb questions.

As for the reputation of the forum, as with most relationships in life, treating people on the forum with respect and courtesy gets reciprocated and makes the interaction here even more pleasant.

P.S. As for the comments about relatives who are lawyers and members who are in the legal profession, let's not hijack this thread with lawyer jokes. LOL!!!!!!!! FYI, Wayne, I certainly will not hold it against you that your son is a lawyer. People in glass houses ......!!!!

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

Welcome, Lawman! I lurked around other forums myself, before we bought our new Montana, and came to the obvious conclusion that MOC is #1 in every way. Tops on my list was finding a forum that was friendly, helpful, and orderly. MOC is that place. I can't tell you how many little RV problems I've solved by posting a question or concern and getting excellent advice from the MOC members who have been there/done that and could tell me exactly what to do (or not to do, in some cases).

Right now, I'm still working full time, but when we can cut our land lines and hit the road, we can't wait to meet as many MOC members as we can. I feel like we've made good friends here already.

So far as changing the MOC image, I don't think it needs changing. Perhaps some members of other RV forums are suffering from the dreaded sour grapes syndrome. Yep, I bet that's it. Stick with MOC--you are not going to find whiners, complainers, or party-poopers on THIS forum!

Now that I think about it, I can't imagine Life Without MOC!
Carolyn

[nghelwer]

Welcome to the MOC Lawman!

We have found the MOC to be very informative in a pleasant way.
I sometimes get upset at the other RV forums, It seems as if some seem to complain just for the sake of complaining on any subject.

I know we have been helped in a positive way by the general feeling of respect, concern, frindliness etc. on this forum.

It is the first one I logon to in the AM.

Once more welcome.

[Emmel]

Lawman, first of all,welcome.
Now, have you noticed how we defend the MOC and haven't really been real hard on the other forums. Everyone here has said how great our forum is without going into any hard facts about those other forums. That's how we feel about the MOC and our family of fellow MOCers.
Patti and I have met some neat people here and then went on to meet them in person on the road and at the rallys.
Looking for advice about your Montana, your truck, your stick house or even your pets, look here for the best advice available. If the first response to a question doesn't have the complete answer someone else will come along with a solution to help the first response.
Where else on the www can you find a new family just by joining a forum?
By the way, did I say "welcome"!