Re: I\'ve been warned
You see, it's called "tact". Some have it while others don't. I am certainly not going to comment on your posts as I can't recall them offhand. What I will say is that when anybody enters the "home" forum of a certain car, it is just in poor taste to come in and slam that car. Does that mean "don't criticize"? Hell no. What it means is that if you want to criticize it, try to do so with some tact that doesn't insult every single owner.
Example: I was very pleased (and a little shocked) to read GTS Bruce's very recent critique of the SRT body style ("Changing the SRT body style for the better"). He made some suggestions about making the car better, which is what everybody wants to hear - including SRT owners. What no Viper owner wants to hear (outside of a chosen few), is that the car "looks like ass", "can't sell for crap", "owned by a bunch of morons", etc. Most SRT owners have a lot of time, money, and yes, even love, invested in their Vipers. Having anybody, but especially fellow Viper owners, come in and spit in their faces isn't just rude, it's bannable. As well it should be.
Think about it: If an SRT owner came in and pulled similar crap in the Gen I/II forums there would be outrage 100 times stronger. You would not only call for that person to be banned, you would probably send out a hit squad. Imagine if some goofball (and a few of them at that) regularly came in and posted threads or hijacked many, many others with comments like "Yeah, but the Gen II doesn't even have 500 horsepower - don't get me started on the Gen I", "the GTS and RT/10 couldn't even sell 1000 copies a year they sucked so bad", "you like that clown shoe styling? I guess for a girl's car it's okay", "anybody notice how bad the values of the Gen I/II are tanking because nobody wants them?", "nice styling you got there - if you liked 1989", and on and on and on. Think that wouldn't have a ton of Viper owners screaming for a banning? Of course it would and rightfully so. So what makes it okay for anybody to post the same BS in the SRT forums? Answer: NOTHING. (And for the record, the GTS is still my favorite Viper body style to date - Comp Coupe right there with it)
Now, any single one of those lines used in the Gen II forum would call for immediate banning. And any one of the Viper owners in this forum would agree with it. You can whine about "trying to inspire DC on future product", but that is BS. The posts referenced in the second paragraph have nothing to do with inspiring the DC team and have everything to do with just being mean-spirited. Newsflash: The looks of the SRT were endlessly debated, criticized, and praised when the car was released in late 2002. After three years it has just been enough. The points have been made, DC is on notice, and there are now over 6,000 SRT owners that like the car the way it is. Just like there are 17,000 Gen I/II owners that are happy with their cars.
Constructive criticism is welcome on any car forum, maybe even Gen I/II. Whining, slamming, degrading, and insulting is not. Simple enough.