Pinside Hate?

What’s going on lately with all the negative comments about Pinside? I’ve recently heard a few (podcasters) folks say Pinside is toxic and full of haters. I don’t think so. I spend a ton of time on the site and I find it to be a helpful, friendly place! Sure, a few folks act up from time to time but I still think Pinside is one of the finest hobby forums I’ve ever been a part of. I’m also a member of other top forum sites for Watches, Cars, Firearms and more but I gotta tell ya – no one does it better than Robin and the Pinside team. The amount of custom code that went into making Pinside boggles the mind. Just compare any other basic forum with its painfully dated “table-style” format and you have to agree – Pinside is a blessing to Pinball lovers worldwide. So when I saw Robin at TPF this past year, I made it a point to tell him the same and thank him for it.

So what happens on Pinside that creates this perceived negativity? Well, it’s simple – it’s people. Not everyone, not a majority, not even a minority – just a few. Some folks just don’t understand that there are polite ways to engage with their fellow man. Maybe their parents never showed them the way. Perhaps a past experience is driving them to respond in an unpleasant way. Maybe they’re just mean, angry human beings. Truth is we can’t know how they came to that frame of mind but the posts they leave stand out from others as an example of how not to interact on a forum. The good news is that they are few in number. The bad news is that bad news is memorable. What can we do?

Be even nicer.

There’s a valuable reason for being even nicer and for encouraging others to do the same. It’s called Pinball. Or should I say the future of Pinball. The newly interested players, collectors and competitors are most certainly going to visit Pinside. Some will make it a daily visit and others even more frequently. My point is that our written words are what they see, feel and sense. WE set the table for what future Pinheads will experience. Give them negativity, smartass, ridicule and they may not stay around. Worse … if they do stay in the hobby, they become what they get from us. In a few years we’ll get a generation of Pinheads with a not so nice attitude toward others in the world of Pinball. Although I think the negative crowd is a smallish one, I think we all own the opportunity to overwhelmingly tip the scales in a positive way. For this reason alone, I thought I’d share my thoughts on how it could be better.

DISCLAIMER: The vast majority of Pinside members already act in a thoughtful, helpful and nice way. This blog post is to encourage us to take it up a notch and make this hobby the best it can be.

Be more helpful.

If a new neighbor moved in next door and you discovered he was a Pinhead, how would you respond to his request for help with a machine problem? You’d be there in a minute and probably relish the idea of being able to have a neighbor with similar interests. You’d appreciate the ability to help each other out, bounce ideas off each other and play each other’s games. Pretend Pinside folks are your Pinball buds and instead of being the “tough guy” try instead to be the “helpful guy”. Here are some examples:

EXAMPLE 1

• OP: “Hey what size hex key fits this flipper pawl?”
• SAY “Did you even try searching the forums?”
  • INSTEAD: Run a search and post the results FOR the poster

EXAMPLE 2

• OP: “I don’t have a multi-meter”
• SAY “Why did you buy a Pinball then, didn’t you know they break?”
  • INSTEAD: Offer up an Amazon link to an inexpensive  DMM

That’s ridiculous you say … why would I do all that work for them?

ANSWER: Did you EVER come to Pinside looking for help? Did someone help you? Of course they did … now be nice and return the favor!

Price Police is not a real job

Pricing a Pinball game is personal. Recommending a lower price while making a snarky or smart ass remark will not change anything. Think about it … if the price is too high, the result will end the same way as your recommendation. Either the seller will eventually lower the price or remove it from the marketplace. And – it just might sell too. If that’s the case why are you choosing sides? How can you speak for the buyer who has determined that the (higher than you thought was reasonable) price is acceptable to him? Why did you pick the “buyers side” in this equation? Are you never a seller of Pinball machines? Why don’t we see Pinside members pushing sellers to RAISE asking prices? When it comes time to trade do you want to get less for your machine? How about a simple GLWTS? How about some advice on how to better market a machine (more pics, different angles, etc.)? How about saying nothing?

Politics are bad for Pinball

Listen, I’m a political junky. I have very clear political opinions about almost everything in my life and in the world. I very rarely share those opinions with strangers let alone a community of hobbyists on a forum. Why? One reason. It’s immediately ruins the common bond we have in Pinball. It changes a common interest into a competing one. Why would I ruin a shared interest? Most Pinside threads do keep politics out of the conversation (Moderator enforced), and we end up enjoying each other’s conversation and generally get lost in the Pinball subject at hand while oblivious to the fact that we probably are on opposing political sides! Then someone takes a political side and boom – the person you were in civil discussion with a minute ago is now a moron for not thinking like you do. Leave politics for: the voting booth, your like-minded friends or healthy debate with those so inclined.

Clubs are for celebration

So what about those “New Game” release threads or “Game Club” threads we find all over Pinside? Some of the most fun you’ll see on Pinside is had in these threads. Why? All the people in them own or will own the same Pinball game. And they are excited about it! And the intent of the thread is to celebrate the game, discuss the nuances of game play. Talk about mods and fixes. Share scoring strategies and generally share each others love and appreciation for the game they all own.

Except there is one problem. Someone else is in the thread too. They don’t own this game. They don’t plan to buy one either … but they feel like it’s appropriate and important that they share all the reasons why they (one person) don’t like the game and they justify that dislike by offering crushing criticism. All of this shared in a thread where EVERYONE else loves the game. That kind of commentary in this kind of thread is toxic. It’s hurtful. And – it’s not necessary.

To those that feel entitled to crap all over something that a group of people are celebrating I have a suggestion. Start your own thread. Call it “Why newgame stinks” and allow others to join you in that sentiment (if that sentiment truly exists). After all, your feelings about the game are legitimate but they are yours and yours alone. They may even be more realistic than the ones held by the club thread folks. Your own thread will highlight that as fact or show you otherwise.

Look to the star

So where can we look in Pinside for example of how to improve our performance on the “be nicer” scale? Look no further than the shining star of positivism than the “What Machine did you bring home today …” thread. It’s the baseline for all things good in the Pinball world. Started by Pinsider “MiamiRedSkin” over 4 years ago, it now has over 10,000 posts. As long as there are Pinball players and collectors, it isn’t slowing down any time soon. Here are just a few paraphrased comments from the thread:

“Congrats! Getting kids into the hobby early is great!”

“Congrats, you don’t see that game every day!”

“My favorite looking machine, love that artwork!”

“Fun to play and looks so cool, Congrats!”

“A+ games gentlemen, Congrats!”

“You are a credit to this hobby!”

This thread probably takes the record for the most exclamation points used in a thread. What a great reason to use them and how cool does it feel when someone says “Nice game man!” We really need to do more of that. It will brighten your day and the days of others when you do it. I attended a conference a few years back where the speaker (Mark Sharenbroich) wrote a book about this very same subject. Quick read if you’re so inclined. It’s called “Nice Bike!” and it explains the psychology behind it.

By now you’ve probably gotten wise to the theme of all the images I used in this blog post. Everyone is having a great time. Pinball is a unifying thing. Let’s keep it that way. Let’s be nice to one another. Let’s help each other like we were helped by others. Let’s share our opinions without personally attacking each other.

Let’s make each other smile about what we love – Pinball