I agree with this decision. It's nice to debate the strong/weak points of the cars intelligently, but the car insults don't add anything constructive.

 

Speaking for the Austin S2000 owners and as a member of the this board as well as the S2KI board...

1) We had a joint dinner and happy hour with the 350Z owners in Austin. Both groups were glad to meet and happy to get together. We'll be doing a lot more together... including a drive this weekend and several other events coming up. We also had 3 M3s and a couple of other misc cars at the same event. Our own S2KI group in Austin consists of several types of cars and has evolved past it's initial charter.

2) This is the stage in the evolution of your board where you have to make a decision. You can either have a bunch of immature whiners... or you can have mature intelligent discussions. All boards go thru this at some point in their existence. If you tolorate the immature whiners... you will loose the serious owners. The ones who stay around for a long time, do serious events with their cars (not street racing, but auto-x or open track), the ones who mature even further into serious car nuts.

3) 350Zs are brand new to the road... learn a couple of lessons from the S2K board. We've been at it for years. Whiners are not tolerated... in fact when you watch the board for a few months they outright dissappear. There are also moderators who take their work seriously... and moderate! Get rid of the entire thread as soon as it degenerates. Send the whiners off to other boards.

4) Car manufacturers, OEMs, dealers, and aftermarket people all look at these boards... done right, they can sponsor them too. The S2KI board, for example, has several large sponsors and as a result is one of the larger boards in existence - all out of proportion to the actual number of S2Ks on the road. The folsk with the sponsorship $$$ don't want to deal with whiners... they loose their patience - and work for other brands instead.

5) Tribal warfare is the worst part of this hobby. If anybody thinks buying a specific brand of car makes them more potent, they need to grow up. That type of person rarely gets above the clear-taillights and giant exhaust phase. Come out to a serious track event and you will get a dose of humility. You will learn that no single car is perfect, that something better always comes along, and that despite some people buying the latest things that in the long run it's driver skill and knowledge that win.

 

Jeff, interesting observations and for the most part, quite accurate and agreed upon by your fellow S2K owner. However, as a 41-year-old who runs with a Tanabe Racing Medalion cat back installed, I felt you "snap oversteered" off your point by categorizing those of us with "giant exhausts" as being somehow less serious and/or qualified about our passions then those who visit the track frequently. I'd like to think I represent that "rare" person you speak of. It's not those of us who seek a more aggressive exhaust note (and extra VTEC thump from the marginal HP gains) that spoil the salad. A poor representation of attitude comes from within. Such disrespect of anothers automobile choice would reveal itself at the track surely as quickly as it does here in cyberspace.

Just another observation. In most cases, I agree with George Bernard Shaw who wrote "the censored words are the most dangerous." As is the case with s2ki.com, I would think the average 350z owner is far removed from the "my car can bear up your car" mentality that so often appears in enthusiast forums. At the best, such thread bravado ends quickly when ignored and at the very worst, entertains others before being judiciously locked down. From my daily glances (and occasional musings here), it appears the my350.z moderators are doing a fine job beating down the few ingrates that seemingly poison all forums at one time or another.