I understand and appreciate that TMC has a very open format - it's one of the things that makes it great! But that openness comes with a downside. The media now uses TMC as a resource, often to ill effect, and there seems to be an increasing frequency of suspicious FUD comments from first-time posters (such as the bickering today of/over first-time poster "BillHamp" in this thread: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/23581-Ugh-Another-Model-S-fire-2013-11-06. I think TMC needs to consider a way to make some conversations private to vetted members only. Perhaps there could be some private forums that are invisible, until a user reaches some threshold of minimum-time-since-registration, and a minimum number of previous posts? (and then maybe a final sign-off from a moderator?) This way, "hot topics" like breaking news of vehicle fires -- news that has the potential to impact the success of Tesla Motors -- could be discussed in these semi-private forums first. (apologies if this has been discussed before -- I took a quick look and didn't find anything... I'm just increasingly concerned that the very-public forums of TMC have too much potential to cause problems for the company...)
Actually, duh, there's the existing Reputation system! Would probably makes sense to use that, eh? Then again, maybe there ARE already forums like these, and I just don't have enough reputation to see them? Dang.
Wait, there's TMC swag available somewhere? How have I missed it? I guess I must still be of ill-repute. And PLEASE tell me you're selling a "Moderators of TMC" 2014 wall calendar??
While I think the idea is good and has value, people would still bring up issues like fires and such in the general forum and they still would get used by the media.
True, though I'm also thinking of the "Q3 2013 results - projections and expectations" thread. I can't help but wonder if it may have fueled, in part, the unrealistic expectations on the street. Having all of our (overly optimistic?) speculation hidden from the media and analysts might be a good idea.
That doesn't work. You'll have a hard time keeping out riff-raff that somehow have high reputation. <--