Are the AVSIM forums really toxic?

[Fizzelle 66]

4 minutes ago, DavidP said:

Go to the MSFS forums here on AVSIM and see the responses to any remotely negative comments toward MSFS or Asobo - no matter how well intentioned - and you can make up your own mind.

Some are a bit "Precious, my Precious" sure enough.

[bobcat999 8,483]

It can be a place of strong and well defended opinions sometimes, and some people can come across as a bit sharp or discourteous, but it is no worse that any other walk of life.

So you have to have a bit of a thick skin sometimes to some on here, but I don't think it is ever personal.  I just don't reply to anything I consider 'toxic' now - I just ignore posts I dislike without even pressing the ignore button 🙂.  Life's too short as they say.

It is a great place in general.  I have had some excellent help here, and the mods keep it in order. 👍 

[mtr75 653]

I think at times some of us could do better, and that most certainly includes me. Sometimes I could do a lot better.

But I will also say that I've reached out to a few members individually about different things, and not knowing me from Adam, each person has been very helpful. I even had one person send me their phone number and asked me to call them so they could explain something. That's pretty amazing. 

So I would say this is a fantastic place, and it's up to each of us to make it that much better. 

[jimcarrel 688]

every forum have the "popcorn popper" crowd. Doesn't take long to notice who they are on Avsim, or wherever you frequent.

[Virtual-Chris 682]

I can only speak for myself, but I find this forum community very helpful if you come here with a specific question or issue.

But I’ve found this is not the place to share a negative opinion piece or rant.  You will become vilified and bullied. My take away is that many regulars here take this stuff way to seriously and personally with blind enthusiasm. And take any negativity towards Asobo as if insulting their first born.

I had people here going to great lengths, even capturing screen shots, to bully me, discredit me, and try to force me into admitting my opinions and experiences were wrong and unfounded. Even after I provided my own screen shots in support of my claims, they were dismissed and I was still bullied into submission. There is no tolerance here for open criticism.

My sense is that there is a group of deeply knowledgeable people here who have been simming for decades but they are not tolerant of differing points of view on Asobo or the state of this sim. 

[desbean 357]

Passionate not toxic. Negative experiences are treated with respect, negative rants not so much.

[Car147 2,279]

The MSFS forums brutal.... far friendly here...

[icewater5 181]

Avsim has a really good set-up. It can get technical but is very

helpful and friendly overall. Plus it has around quarter million members.

[JBDB-MD80 1,473]

4 minutes ago, icewater5 said:

Friendly overall I would not go that far. Its more entitlement and agendas than any other thing.

 

[n4gix 4,947]

I was one of the first beta testers, but quite honestly actively dislike their choice of forum software. Trying to follow any specific topic quickly becomes an exercise in futility.

There is an appalling amount of real ignorance, arrogance and entitlement ever since they finally opened the general forums to users. Where the beta forum(s) were largely helpful and pleasant to participate in, despite my disdain for the really awful forum software, I did participate as much as possible.

Now I hardly ever visit there, and then only when someone here points to a link in a post here that might illustrate a point they wished to make. This is my dos centavos worth. 😎

[icewater5 181]

1 minute ago, jbdbow1970 said:

 

1 minute ago, jbdbow1970 said:

 

 

1 minute ago, jbdbow1970 said:

 

Sorry ive messed up my quote button.

To the above post i think agendas are a good thing overall iff they stay focused,

but not "entitlements" thats not good🙂 2 different things i think

[F737MAX 5,606]

In my opinion, a lot of the comments made elsewhere regarding Avsim's reputation boils down to some generational differences.

There's a prevailing view that the typical Avsim forum member is a male 'Boomer', adds his full name to his profile, signs off every post with his first name, gets tetchy with people requesting help with frequently asked noob questions, thinks that 30+ years of flight simming makes their views unquestionable, and believes that hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars spent on add-ons is the only way to make the flight sim experience enjoyable.

A lot of that is true. However, very rarely is all of that description displayed at the same time and by the same individual. Instead, it's a parody of what a stereotypical Avsimer appears to be to people who don't use Avsim frequently or deliberately want to bash the site.

Generally speaking, the stereotypical Avsim forumer is older, and therefore usually a bit more picky when it comes to flight sim features and is also more likely to be able to spend their disposable income on their sim of choice to improve it to their liking. However, with the extra amount of time spent on flight simming comes experience. Therefore, for me, the forums are a gold mine of information about: add-ons; compatibility; comparisons; hardware setups; and just general chat (on the Hangar Chat forum).

I spend more time on here than any other social media site as it's popular, amiable (for the most part), full of info, help and opinions, plus is less prone to negativity than other social media channels - there's no downvoting or insta-blocking by gatekeeper types.

What's not to like?
 

[SlowFlyer 78]

I don't think or believe "really toxic" is the correct term to describe the mood here, but it has changed. The community "feeling" is not as prevalent as it once were (my outlook, right or wrong, my feelings are what they are), and it's more of a "my view is right(er), and if you don't like it, get out of here".

The ol' intolerant "love it or live it" attitude. Well, I can love something and rant about its short-comings, thank you very much. I don't post much, but have been around for 15 years as a member, and probably 10 years before that as a viewer with no profile.

People are very passionate about FS here (obviously), and sometimes that can cause people to be less tolerant of other people's views, ideas, or suggestions.

I agree with some that if you are a bit negative about MSFS, you get a lot of "ribbing" or worse. Even if you are just pointing out something you don't like about it, something broken, something not working right, something lacking, OR GOD FORBID you make a suggestion about what you might like to be included. You get the ol' "better than thou attitude of": "it's a flight sim, not an "octopus pet" simulator". 

I guess, everyone has the right to state anything, but it's the way you state it that can make all the difference in the world. And isn't this a discussion forum? 

41 minutes ago, Virtual-Chris said:

My sense is that there is a group of deeply knowledgeable people here who have been simming for decades but they are not tolerant of differing points of view on Asobo or the state of this sim

I don't think it's a lot of people who have been here a long time. I think it's the newer posters who are the ones who are less tolerant and more willing to give a snarky reply. Maybe they are younger? They seem to be like the posters i used to see on GTA forums. God forbid you talk negative about that there...it's almost as if people are losing money if you bring up a fault or issue you are experiencing.

In some ways, you get a better reply if you insult a person's first born kid than if you express a negative regarding MSFS..weird dynamics. Maybe the parents of the developers are here reply? LOL. 🙂

 

[SlowFlyer 78]

38 minutes ago, Car147 said:

The MSFS forums brutal.... far friendly here.

True, but when I go to the MSFS forums, i don't go there with a "community" feeling. It's just to see what people are discussing, ranting about, praising, etc.

Here, it - to me- is a place I come to see the posters I recognize and see what they are saying. It's sort of like: I would be more bothered if i go go a hangout place and everyone is acting awful, as oppose to i go to a place to visit and people are just jerks. 

[Maxis 1,865]

I find Avsim has an older demographic who may be used to certain norms for them. I consider myself to be somewhat too old for Reddit but somewhat sometimes at odds with some of the more prominent members within this subforum. I find some members have no issues nailing themselves to the cross "in defense of" Asobo when there is criticism given and then go to attack the person giving it instead of providing a coherent reason as to why its acceptable to overlook certain things. But for me thankfully i can overlook or ignore that and the moderation has been unbiased and open to fair discourse provided it doesn't get too out of hand.

We are all passionate about what we expect from our hobby so there is bound to be discord in some aspects. As for it being toxic? I would say no. On balance there is a lot of knowledge and helpful people in this sub forum that negates that assertion.