I appreciate all the folks here who share their knowledge.
I appreciate all those who keep things positive.
I really appreciate those who appreciate how amazing this sim really is.
But the negativity here is starting to affect my enjoyment of the sim.
I get that there are legitimate complaints about performance, fidelity, and a hundred different ways people feel their immersive experience spoiled.
It just seems that cynicism is staring to rule the day, and that’s dragging me down.
There are other reasons I’m considering leaving - ones I can’t talk about.
Maybe I’ll just take a break and log off until after FS2024 has been released.
You know, get back to actually flying.
My fear with taking that approach is that the negativity could be even worse when I return.
Please know I’m not criticising ANYONE. I’m just unloading a bit. Expressing my feelings. Sharing my thoughts.
Maybe it’s just in certain threads, but I really don’t experience much negativity here. Of all of the available forums I’ve tried, it’s the most generally positive. Which forums (if any) to use is a fully personal decision that no one can choose but you. Best of luck wherever you go! I’ve definitely seen your name around and have probably interacted with you (hopefully positively?)
Edit to add that I also use SOH and Avsim, though not as much. Avsim has actually surprised me lately with how straightforward a lot of the threads are.
Edit to also say that there are individuals who seem to make it their habit to be negative in almost every comment they leave. I think there’s a lot of psychology behind that that I’m not skilled enough to unwrap. But my theory is that people who are frustrated with life in general want this sim to be perfect and flawless because it’s their escape, so when it isn’t, they get very bitter and cynical, even about relatively good news. I understand where you’re coming from. That can get really depressing to read day after day.
One thing I fully agree on though, it’s far better to spend your time flying! About to go do that myself, checking out the latest engine update to the Dove.
You may want to delve deeper into this because whether or not you enjoy using a specific product should be completely unaffected by whatever some strangers decide to yak about it on some Internet site.
Nevertheless, if such a linkage exists for you, forum abstinence should provide immediate and lasting relief.
Yes, it can! Especially an anonymous forum where anyone can say anything.
The Mods here do a good job of regulating, but there are certain threads and users that can just be too much.
I’ve gotten better at muting users or dismissing threads that are just all negative and don’t represent how I personally feel about the sim. I’d say try that for a bit and see how you feel.
Hang out instead in the threads like “what did you do in MSFS today?” which is frequently inspiring, there are others that are mostly positive; you will find them more easily if you mute the ones you didn’t enjoy.
You can also mute individuals by visiting their profile, if you find you’d rather not read posts by certain users.
And if you still find the forum too negative & cynical after trying out the excellent suggestions by DestructZero915, BigCow74 & RagingWombat839 you can go one step further and set individuals to “Ignored” by visiting their profile page:
Ignored: “You will not receive notifications related to this user and all of their topics and replies will be hidden”
I think the main forums (FS9, FSX, P3D) were always like this. Back in the day the FS9, and moreso, FSX official forums were the same. I found “my people” in another online forum back in 2002 which is why I kept my interest. A much smaller group and more niche. I think you’ll find that the large generic boards attract a lot of keyboard warriors and it can be quite difficult sifting through the negativity.
I understand what you are saying. I also sometimes feel that some individuals are too negative. But first of all, that is everywhere where people spread their opinions on the internet. Some people are just miserable and feel the need to load their negativity on others.
Like many others here suggest, best try to avoid and ignore these people. Hold on to the positive vibes around here. There are a lot of nice and helping people. In fact the majority of people around here are very friendly and nice.
If this doesn´t work for you, maybe take a break from the forum, but please don`t let this stuff ruin your passion for the flight sim. This forum has nothing to do with your fun and joy of the flight sim.
I recognise your opinion and thoughts.
I visit this forum almost everyday but ( mostly) only to pick up the topics that are of value.
Some times I learn from reading the topics I’m interested in, some times others learn from my hints and advice.
And yes…some times people simply throw their negative frustration over the wall.
Thanks for the feedback and the suggestions. It’s true that social media (of which all forums are a subset) are in a sense a reflection of society, where one can find positive and negative energy.
There is a lot of positive here. I really do appreciate all the folks here who focus on being helpful and hopeful. I will work to continue to do the same.
Well, I guess it’s more an overreaching sense of entitlement. Some people seem to think that just because they spent a hundred bucks on a piece of software over 3 years ago and got fed free DLCs and Updates over that time period, MS and Asobo owe them a 100% perfect product - which of course it can never be, because no matter WHAT someone will always find something to moan about
Guess that’s just the curse of social media.
Yeah, I think what you mean about THAT. That’s also been a thorn in my side for a while, if we’re talking about the same thing …
I think I know what you’re talking about. I tend to only read the posts about an aircraft I am currently flying, and speed read what I don’t like.
It’s not often I’ll comment.
A lot of very very good advice above.
And the forum is still a very valuable source of information when I want it.
If you’ll allow me I’d like to pose some tips here as I have been down your path multiple times.
Forums are awesome as they typically have people who have the same exact interests. For us, aviation. But like any forum (or community for that matter) have ups and downs. No community is perfect. This isn’t an exception, though it is better than other communities I am in.
I’ve had issues on the forum where I get too addicted or do something stupid which leads to issues. And what I realize is it’s because I am on the forum too much and I let it take over me, which affects my enjoyment of the simulator. There’s always something in the back of my mind when flying in MSFS that leads to the forum.
As @SmotheryVase665 linked, you can block off what you don’t want to see, and see what you want to see on the forum
My suggestion to you which I do: take a little break (which you discussed). I’ve found that if I just log off from it from all my devices (sometimes I’ll block the web domain with my WiFi) and enjoy the simulator, it works wonders. MSFS is truly a masterpiece in its own and you can’t let stuff destroy it.
By no means am I telling you to do this, but I am sharing what has helped me.
Based on all the positive feedback from others maybe you should rename this thread from “I’m thinking about leaving the forums” to “THE POSITIVITY THREAD!!”
Where everyone is welcome to discuss whatever they want with the only rule being that it must be positive.
This forum is light years better than the one for that-other-sim-that-starts-with-X…
I came from the-other-sim a few years ago for a few reasons… one of which was my frustration with the extreme views of people over there. Any mention of MSFS was sure to be greeted with pitchforks and torches. I was very active over there and provided lots of help and advice regarding how to get that sim running smooth in VR. Not to say I was an expert, but I think my forum posts helped a lot of people. The final straw was when I mentioned that MSFS was looking really good in VR (or something like that) and was told - by a ‘community leader’ to basically pack my stuff and leave and just go use MSFS if I liked it so much.
That was the final straw. I never posted over there again. Which is a shame, because every once in a while I’ll go over there and see people asking VR questions I know I can help with… but nope. Admin/community leaders or whatever are so polarized in their views so bye bye.
Anyway - I don’t find that over here. Sure, there are a few bad apples, but the moderation here is very good and, in my experience, this is a very welcoming place.
