When did it become "cool" to "hate thesamba.com" ?

[candyman]

we just returned from a long roadtrip and met a lot of vw peeps along the way. While sharing campfire stories the subject of the samba seems to always come up. One reoccurring theme i have been noticing is the amount of people claiming "oh I hate the samba, i never go on there". It seems to be the cool thing to say now.
As a long time member of this forum, this sentiment saddens me. i still remember life before the internet forums and how difficult it was to get good advice, buy parts or even get camaraderie out of this hobby. I understand in the last five or so years a lot of FB groups have surfaced pertaining to various vw interest. And those are fine, in fact im a member of some of them. They do lack the overall comprehension of all things vw like the samba offers. When I ask them what they dont like about thesamba a lot of what they say is negative posters, bad information etc... sure there are some cantankerous members here but thats also evident on the FB groups too. I like to think of myself as one of the ol' timers on this group since ive been on since almost the beginning. I have gotten so much from this forum in information, friendships, buying parts, selling parts. Its doubtful I Would even still be in this hobby if it wasnt for this group. Anyways just venting as I have been hearing this sentiment come up a lot over the last couple of years. Im also willing to bet the majority of those hating on thesamba are regular visitors

[vwjetboat]

next time.. ask.. who they voted for.. you will find your answer as to why its cool to hate...

[gt1953]

I have never came across someone whom does not like it here. Like everything some have good and bad. As far as bad info, that can happen also. FB=Facebook I do HATE letters to describe something without spelling it out like I did at the beginning of this sentence. Not a member of FB Twitter or any of that other nonsense. Oh I don't even text. Call me and let me here your voice.
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[candyman]

[raygreenwood]

I know why they hate it. There are reasons I think it sucks too...and why I avoided any activity here until about ...2009?..I think?

And in my opinion...in most cases... the fault is squarely divided 50% to one of two causes:

1. In many cases the fault is directly with the individual who hates the Samba...and probably hates ANY of the VW or Porsche or car forums in general. These people treat anything they do on-line as a "free service".
They want it to operate like "Google"...with no bartering, bantering, drama or interactive friction.
They expect to post a concise question on their part...and even of they do not know the part name, number or even have usable spelling....good old Samba-Google will know what they mean and provide a precise answer, link, video or downloadable how-to.

Not getting that....the level of difficulty of having to verify what they are asking about, deal with short tempers....and interjections of absolute BS in the middle of the thread...pisses them off. Their fault.

2. The other 50%?.....Bluntly put....I would say about 30% of all posting in the Samba is worthless banter....like ......

Question: I have a 73 type 3 that is blowing blue smoke...what could be the problem?'
Among the many answers in the thread: "hey...I had a blue type 3 once....do you know Bob in Phoenix?"

or.....something that is not totally out of line...but is too far off on the fringe.....like...."its the way you are driving it"

This 50% is the fault of the Samba.

The Samba........I come here because of the broad range of subjects I am interested in based around just a couple of cars and engine types....the activity level....is afforded simply because of the huge numbers of active members....and not because of it being a better system or forum site.

But make no mistake...while its a great goldmine of a resource....the Samba is an absolute ghetto trailer park of personalities and interactions.
Its only saving factor...really...is its absolute volume and the huge archives of information. I do like the Samba a lot....but its still a whorehouse of sorts.

If you go over to the STF or Rennlist or even the Vortex for watercooled.....which really are the same type of thing as the Samba....you get a much more reserved...and for the most part more technically informative conversation with virtually no drama. Different atmosphere.

Ray

[TDCTDI]

No offense Ray, but I'll call BS on the Vortex analogy. They seem to be more of the "I drive a VW because everyone else drives a Honda" but are all Honda converts & still want to modify their VWs to look like they belong in a Honda club making their cars look & drive like injured Sea Turtles with a Coke can butt plug. With so many of them of the same opinion, there isn't going to be the same friction that offends the feint of heart newbie.
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[skills@eurocarsplus]

[raygreenwood]

[vwracerdave]

I think in general it has become cool to be a hater of everything in life and not be proud of anything anymore.

Most of the hate I see is with the Bay window crowd, They have always been a different breed.

What pisses people off is when you tell them the truth and it isn't what they want to hear. There are a ton of BS myths and old wives tales that just don't work, but many still insist on doing it the old way because that's how it was done "back in the day".

I'm not a purest but I enjoy a totally stock VW as much as I enjoy customization, performance, and modifications, but this is a VW site and I don't give a shit about your Subaru engine transplant. I'm also not interested in anything water cooled.
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[scottyrocks]

Hate is born of ignorance, as well as lack of tolerance.

I've been involved in various forms of online discussion forums, BBSs and mailing-lists since about 1996. In each one, you either learn how to sift through the BS and laugh at it (or not), and move on. Not being able to do that is the seed of the 'hate.'

Many of the above explanations look spot on to me.
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[candyman]

Perhaps the old expression "familiarity breeds contempt" comes into play. When the samba was new everyone enjoyed discovering it and for over a decade it ruled the interwebs. Now that is been around for almost 20 years, its cool to hate on it as its only cool to like the next up and coming thing, whatever that may be. Kind of the same with music. Whatever, I still love spending way too much time here and always discovering and learning new things.

[hitest]

I lurked here for years before joining. I still lurk many forums here but would never post in them because I can't hang (Hi-performance engines, type 3, etc.). But they all interest me. When I hear a negative remark it is usually among those who also think they can't hang. So they diss it to save face. Fact is, they shouldn't hang. Here's their offline MOs:

They are the negative guys in your club who are mad because they want a garage night but will never host or arrange one.

They also think your club ought to always attend parades and food drives- regardless of how much oil their primer schlep pours on to the Veteran's Hospital parking lot. They try to shove meets down members' throats.

They associate and intertwine their car with their ego. To not love their version of a 1978 hippy bus with bathtub flower stickers is a personal assault on them.

When these cats don't receive the love they so deeply desire here, they blab around town seeking non-samba allies. Funny how you rarely meet two of them together.
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[raygreenwood]

[Glenn]

[rcraigbug]

It's NEVER cool to "Hate" TheSamba.
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[skills@eurocarsplus]

[Tram]

[Glenn]

[iowegian]

[Jon Schmid]

A lot of interesting personalities post here but I've never had an issue. I just ignore the a-holes and pay attention to those who have a clue.