New Member - Montana Owners Club

billhoover · 01-08-2008, 07:45 AM

I have been a member of MOC for a while and have done some reading but no posting. The recent threads on SOB and Around The Campfire, have spurred me on to actually posting. To be honest, I joined this group with a great deal of trepidation and hesitation. A number of members of this, as well as other forums have advised NOT joining. They claim it is a humorless organization, full of clicks and a spiteful group of core members who, at the whim of somebody??, can have a member kicked off the forum for what they deem to be a transgression of one type or another.

During my readings I have not noticed this other than it seems members are hesitant to post anything the least bit opposed to what somebody else says and a great many posts start with "IMHO" or "FWI" or "that/this is just my opinion," or "this is not a recommendation" or "that is a personal choice." Aren't all these forum opinions and all choices personal? It seems posters are extremely sensitive and concerned about hurting someone's feelings...or maybe being kicked off themselves.

Anyway, we have an 06 3400RL and an 06 Chevy 2500HD crew cab, 4x4 Duramax. We are in the process of finding another truck. Got the truck first, big mistake, looking for a dually.

I'm here to learn. Yes, we've had numerous RVs before, but never a 5th wheel and never a Keystone product.

Sorry for the long post and I'm glad to be here...so far.

VanMan · 01-08-2008, 08:01 AM

billhoover - WELCOME !! I hope you find participation here is better than your "advisors" have. You said, "It seems posters are extremely sensitive and concerned about hurting someone's feelings...or maybe being kicked off themselves.". I don't think anyone here is too concerned about being "kicked off themselves", but rather just genuinely "extremely sensitive and concerned about hurting someone's feelings". I think this is a GOOD THING - a true sign of respect for others' opinions and feelings. I know a few times I've posted something, then read it over a couple of times, decided maybe other folks would take it differently than I had offered it, and wound up editing it or even deleting the post completely - Not because I'm afraid of being kicked off, but because I really do care about other folks feelings.

HamRad · 01-08-2008, 09:18 AM

Billhoover,

Your profile indicates you've been a member since Nov. 17, 2007.

As VanMan indicated: WELCOME! And we, too, hope that you will find that members here do show concern for their fellow members. We, also, think that is a good thing.

As any organization I suspect there are some cliques in the MOC. If there are they are not very apparent. But I have never heard of any individual or group that has the "power" to cause someone to be banned from the Forum. Of course it is possible but I've never seen it and I've been here since the early days.

I know that some members have been removed but I think there was always some compelling reason for that drastic action.

When you see a post where you could contribute please do so. Or if you have a problem or a question about your rig or RVing in general please post it so that others can help and or learn along with you. Your comments will be appreciated as much as the next guy's. I appreciate everyone's comments as long as they address the issue at hand and are presented in a respectful manner.

This Forum has saved me untold $$$$ not to mention providing great peace of mind knowing someone else has already faced and solved some problem.

HamRad

richfaa · 01-08-2008, 11:03 AM

Have to comment about the " clique" thing. I know what they are and I know how they form. They usually occur in a work group or organization where people work close together. This would be difficult to do on this forum because most of us have never met. We have been to two Fall rallies in Goshen attended by perhaps 60 units each time many of those repeats and that is but once a year for a few days. We will bump into other MOC' ers here and there like the Tampa RV show this year where we hope to see some new faces as well as some familiar ones. We do go out of our way to be "civil" to one another and we do have a group of moderators/administrators, who ever they may be, that insure this remains a friendly forum. You can say negative things in a positive manner. Things are not cheap..they are cost effective.Since we are not talking face to face it is difficult to express emotion or establish expertise in a given area..opinions are offered so that they not confused with directions.Jump in and learn and enjoy and welcome.

ggranch · 01-08-2008, 12:29 PM

Welcome to the group. The only cliques that I am aware of on this forum are in my knees when I stand up. As for being "kicked off" I am aware of only one person being removed from this forum, I am also a member of the RV. net forum and the same person was removed from there too. He/she/? was only interested in "flaming" and not networking. The posts that prompted the action were patently false and written to incite hate. IMHO this is a great forum, they even let us SOB's hang out with them. As for humor, anyone that spends between 40K and XXX k on these RV's has to have a really great sense of humor. Bob

PS. We all have our favorite people on the forum. It is a shame that no one likes Ozz though.

Waynem · 01-08-2008, 02:08 PM

I think in 99% of the people there are good intentions when posting. Occasionally, 1% may come through. Sometimes that 1% is falsely represented because we do not see the body language, the gestures, the turned up corner of the mouth - and we take what is the written word literally, even though it was not intended that way.

I love humor. I love jokes of all kinds. I have to remember that what I post may be offensive to others, so I am, or try to be, very careful of what I post. I never intend to upset anyone, but watch my smile to be sure. :-)

I'm relatively new to this forum and only 5th wheeling since the latter part of August. I have learned a great deal from this forum. I hope that at times I have contributed to this forum. Yes, all my posts are my humble opinion, just like every other post on this forum. Even what may appear to be factual may have to be investigated to determine if there are other "truths,' that may contradict or support those facts.

There may be more, but in my humble opinion I think I have soap boxed enough.

Welcome to the MOC Bill. Sit back, learn, contribute, and enjoy.

gpats · 01-08-2008, 03:25 PM

I pay no attention to what ever is going unless it concerns information that I can gleen that will help me save money and give me ideas to improve my Montie, my tow vehicle or improve my RVing life style and believe me in a few short months I have gained a wealth of information-I do believe that at least 99 percent of the MOC'ers are very good people and mean and wish well to all the MOC members--I look forward to meeting every one of them that I can !!!!

Glenn and Lorraine · 01-08-2008, 10:04 PM

In the past I was one of the first to jump in and "tell it like it is" but at the same time try not to offend anyone. As none of us are the writers we think we are, our printed words don't always come out in print in quite the same fashion as they were intended. Without the use of body language the readers can only guess at what our attitude to a certain subject truly is.
After 4 1/2 years on this forum and like many other MOCers I have had posts/replies edited and in some cases deleted but I was never ever threatened to be thrown out. I do know personally some of the very folks that you refer to that were kicked off and in most every case it was something they themselves did and not at the whim of some "clic". The Admins. are the only members with the power to kick someone off not some "clic".

Anyway, WELCOME and I do hope you will find that the MOC is more of one BIG extended family and not just another forum where no one seems to care about anyone but themselves. Where the vindict types seem to gather in overwhelming numbers and slam and slander just about anyone who is not in 100% agreement with their so called opinion.

Parrothead · 01-09-2008, 04:04 AM

There is a clique in the MOC. Who is in it? Everyone member of the MOC except we call it family. It includes the ones who post regularly, the ones who post occasionally and those that just log on to read. Every rally or casual gathering always has some new participants and those are open to everyone in the MOC, not just a "clique". I use the IMHO and I believe it is used to indicate there are other ways of doing something or other thoughts.
Happy trails.........................

BB_TX · 01-09-2008, 06:02 AM

I am a relative short time member, but I agree with all the above. On some forums, you can post a question or statement and get 10 flaming replies within minutes. Some will even read your profile and flame you on that. You don't see that here. Someone may disagree with you, but it is done in a civil manner.
When I have asked questions, helpful answers have came quick.
Welcome to the forum. Enjoy.

VanMan · 01-09-2008, 09:13 AM

Anybody remember before these nice pretty forums when all this was done through the "Usenet" user groups? Now there were a BUNCH of flaming fools out there!! I bet they are still using that platform today.

dsprik · 01-10-2008, 11:44 AM

I learned "IMHO" and other related abbrev. from other forums before coming to this one. Thought this was just a common courtesy saying used across all forums on the internet. Never looked at this as a MOC exclusive or a negative. I think your advisors are off base.

I also have NEVER, EVER heard of ANY Montana Owner Club members advising ANYONE NOT to join the MOC. They may have been misrepresenting themselves to you. The more members we have, the more our collective experiences (related here) can save the rest of us $$$ and headaches. We welcome ALL Montana owners into our knowledge base.

simonsrf · 01-11-2008, 04:00 AM

billhoover,

The cost to join is just right, free. You have the option to remove your membership at any time. You will find that you can't live in your rig without the forum...sounds, strange, but there is a sense of security knowing there are people out there who are willing and able to give you any knowledge from their experience that may help you.

There are also those people who are willing to come help you, and they have never met you....something to think about.

You can read just the posters you like and skip the others, and on any day, you can decide to not log on.

Yes, like any forum, we are a diverse group, and we welcome your experience with open arms.

Hemlockusa · 01-17-2008, 04:54 PM

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY.

You will be pleasantly surprised, that this forum is fun and informative, we have great members and 99.9% want nothing more than your friendship and to help in anyway they can to make you RV experience a great one. If you are free in MAY 2008, Check out the Branson Get To Geather we have scheduled. Great fun and great people.
Safe Travels John

sreigle · 01-21-2008, 09:54 AM

Welcome aboard. I've learned an awful lot from this forum and we've formed some very close friendships with a number of members we've met over the past five or so years. I hope you find it not only an informative and helpful place to be, but also an enjoyable place where we try hard, as you noticed, not to be like some of those other forums. Like others said, I, too, have had some posts edited and deleted and have been contacted to tone down others. I take it in the spirit given, trying to make this an enjoyable place to be where there is no dumb question, where nobody is admonished because someone else thinks their question is dumb, etc.

Again, welcome aboard.

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