I think what "maslove70" is saying is that there is too much knee-jerk non-constructive criticism on the board. How many times have we seen someone get attacked, only to have the attacker be forced into making an apology? That happens at least a couple times a month around here. To be fair, it isn't the fault of the Y-net, it's people's natural competitive/jealous side that they allow to come out in writing. In my mind, there's a clear difference between "constructive" criticism and the more common slightly-negative kind of impulse-driven criticism that I think "maslove70" is talking about.
David Frieburger said it best in his Hot Rod column about a year ago: "The Internet is ruining hot-rodding." Too many guys let their emotions get ahead of their brains and they attack some guy's sub-50K restoration attempt. Then the guy replies on the forum, explains himself, and then the attacker(s) have to back-track and eat their words. Another thing that bugs me is that the wealthy collectors on this forum get 100% "positive feedback" from the attackers! I mean, it's embarassing how some of the attackers will lavish praise on the high-dollar guys yet bash the guy who's busting his tail trying to get his sub-50K Camaro or Nova done right. Granted, the wealthy collector can afford to get his restoration done right but even if he doesn't you'll never see one of the attackers say anything negative about him or his cars. Yes, it's that obvious.
Having said that, this is still one of the very best car forums on the Internet, back-biting and all. I have gotten some very good help and learned quite a lot in my year hanging around Y-net. I was skeptical about giving money to join the club but then I realized that I had saved money by getting some very good FREE advice right here. That, and the fact that there are many dedicated and highly-knowledgable members on the forum made it easy for me to click on the Pay Pal link*.
As for eBay, yes, there's a lot of BS being said in eBay auctions, we can all agree on that. I don't think that's ever going to end and that's why there's the "Auctions, Scams, and Ripoffs" forum. Maybe if we try to keep the chair-throwing and non-constructive criticism on that part of the forum the rest of the board will maintain a higher degree of professional conduct.
Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
x 100!
* I've noticed recently that many members have lost their membership stars under their login names. C'mon you guys, hit that Pay Pal link!