CarAdvice Forum v3.0 launch
January 27, 2009 by George Skentzos
Last year was certainly jam-packed for us behind the scenes here at CarAdvice, so much so that we completely lost track of the forums which were quickly overrun with spam.
In 2009 we are set to breathe life back into the forum with a new design, new layout and a fresh start which we hope will generate some helpful, constructive and entertaining discussion.
This doesn’t mean we expect 2009 to be any less hectic – quite the contrary actually as you will all soon find out – so we will be enlisting the help of a few devoted readers to act as moderators for the new forum.
All information in regards to moderator positions and the new forum can already be found on the message boards so we encourage you to take a look.
Please note that your existing log in details should still work for the new forum.
The CarAdvice Team
Print it: 
I was all for the forums when they started, thought they would be great. They wern’t, the discussion was uninformed and fairly off point, it seems we just like talking in the comments section, but i wish them well this time!
PS, i’ve suggested it before, but how hard would a comments system with registration and a set username be? CA runs a basic wordpress system doesn’t they, and thats a fairly standard feature.
I agree Tom – the current system that CA uses to moderate comments is somewhat basic.. as it requires someone to take time out and proofread the comments which the system spits out as it has detected an offensive word or series of letters that may happen form an offensive word weven though the the letters are part of a non offensive word.
They could refine it a bit more and make it so that the when a word that is on a particular list of words is detected [on its own] the comment is automatically deleted…
They could also add a few more words which seem to cause the discussion to go off topic and turn into an arguement as one particular party with their holier than thou attitude finds it necessary to launch into a tirade of personal insults and attacks because the majority of bloggers have an opinion different to his.
I think you know who I am talking about and which words should therefore be added…. They are:
D—-
T—–
C—-
A—–
C——
H—-
L—-
etc
This would go along way to improving the site and maybe even restore it to what it was a year or so ago
The one computer one name proposal is also a fairly good idea.. as it would eliminate those who use vaious aliases name just to try and back up thier arguement because no-one else agrees with them
Great, now any time will be a good time to blindly dismiss anything not made in Japan or Europe and endlessly argue about toyota vs the world.
PS I can tell you it isn’t worth trying to automatically detect words, people will quickly figure out how to get around it.
for example
b@ll Fu<k s!ut a1ds D1ld0 F@@cker
I dont think a comment system where registration is required would work.
The convenience here is that anyone can say what they are thinking straight away. Many casual readers would be detracted by needing to register and sign in…
I know that Horse However; the words which I think CA shoud add to the list create more controversy etc than a number of the usual “offensive” words
Theycould make it so that if the the “code” word such as c@ck or f##k isn’t detected as a “normal” word that comment is also deleted..
It would also stop Grammar Nazi Coerectin poples spilling mistooks
However; these are merley suggestions as to how CA could improve both thier sites
I think the words that create the biggest controversy here are Daewoo and Toyota !
Crouchy, the system of having to log in to leave a comment has been around forever and works well on thousands of other sites. A cookie from the site keeps track of your login so you don’t need to type your username and password every time. You still get to fire off a rapid-fire comment, but nobody can hijack your chosen username and people can be held (more) accountable for what they post.
That’s correct guys, we’ve discussed the idea of having registered only commentors but it discourages casual visitors from participating.
I understand that Allborz but have a look at the standard of discussion that goes on on other automotive related blog sites where people have to register like the Holden and Ford Forums
There the discussions manage to stay on topic and there are very few comments with personal attacks etc. people are willing to accept other peoples opinions and even offer advice.
However; I guess it depends whether or not if you are after Quality or Quantity
“we’ve discussed the idea of having registered only commentors but it discourages casual visitors from participating.”
But does that out swing the pointless comments made by some casual posters, not to mention registration should kill dead any spam.
How about a section of EV’s in the forum??
“we’ve discussed the idea of having registered only commentors but it discourages casual visitors from participating.”
This is exactly right. I personally think that there is room in these discussions for pointless and ’silly’ comments and thats what makes them appealing and somewhat entertaining.
People tend not to worry about what is right and wrong and just say what they are thinking…
If you are after a more sensible, moderated discussion then you have the option to join the CA Forum =D
yeah um Car Advice – a secure password does not have to use numbers, a randomly assigned bunch of letters is as secure to force decryption as a password of mixed case and numbers if the system doing the decryption does not know the form the password is in…someone has put a secure password check on your forum that is prohibitively tough for a use that I would rate as justifying the weakest password I use. It’s an internet forum for christs sake, why would I use a secure randomly generated mixed case and number password for it when I could use an easier rubbish one similar to those for other sites and unimportant things.