Team-BHP: Harassment for New Joinees!
NOTE: In a recent communication to me, Team-BHP highlighted the fact that they are now deleting rejected members’ accounts from their system, and are also confirming/rejecting memberships within a week. See my last update below, dated Dec 10, 2010.
Recently, Team-BHP has come up with a new policy that all new registrations will have to be “approved” by them, and only after that will their membership be confirmed. And till then, the new joinees pretty much cannot do anything on the site, be it posting queries or responding to posts (see image below).
To help Team-BHP in deciding if you are “worthy” of being a member, all new registrants are required to answer a question “Why do you wish to join Team-BHP?” as part of the registration process. You are expected to provide detailed reasoning as to why you wish to join the site, what is your level of interest in automobiles, etc. And there is a warning not take this lightly, since based on the reasons you provide, they will decide whether you really are member material or not!
Now, let’s put aside for a moment the fact that in a competitive environment, one cannot afford to be this arrogant. Even so, we would still expect that they be prompt in confirming or rejecting registrations, and that they let us know about it. It’s only basic courtesy! However, it’s been a few months now since I registered on the site and till date I have no intimation as to whether my membership has been confirmed or rejected.
I’m sure ultimately Team-BHP will realise the folly of its policy. Because if they want to continue to have quality members who have valuable information to contribute, they will have to give up their snootiness and arrogance and relook at this sarkari type of policy of keeping new members on hold and harassing them in this way.
Besides, I somehow don’t agree with the argument that this move is necessary to ensure quality of posts. Well, for one, that’s exactly what moderators are for. They can delete, move or merge posts which they feel are contravening guidelines. That apart, I’d like Team-BHP to remember the shining example before us, that is Wikipedia. The main differentiating factor between Wikipedia and other such sites (and indeed, the reason for its unprecedented success) is that it is truly a democratic website. Anyone can add or edit any page there, provided the changes are backed by legitimate references, and the senior contributors ensure the upkeep of quality. Surely, if Wikipedia can do it, Team-BHP being much smaller in comparison can certainly emulate it.
As for me, well, I’m not interested anymore! It’s a competitive online world, as I said. There are numerous other excellent sites and forums where I can participate and exchange knowledge on automobiles.
Hope Team-BHP gets its act in order soon, for its own good!
Oh, and one more thing! I would request Team-BHP to kindly delete the accounts of those people whose membership they don’t approve, or at least allow them to re-apply from the same user ID. I think it’s grossly unethical to retain people’s accounts even after rejecting them. I think someone could actually take them to court over this!
UPDATE: Nov 28, 2010
Just noticed that one of my blog posts has been plagiarised on one of Team-BHP’s threads by one Mr. Souvik, who also appears to have happily claimed it as his own!
Have raised the matter with Team-BHP. Let’s see what happens.
My original blog post: http://www.vijaypadiyar.in/blog/2009/02/how-to-get-ration-card-in-bangalore
Plagiarised post on Team-BHP: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/80761-ration-card-bangalore.html#post1867439 (by Mr. Souvik, dated May 3, 2010)
UPDATE: Dec 5, 2010
Team-BHP admins responded to my email and have added a link attributing the article to me. I thank them for taking the necessary action. See their email below.
From: “Team-BHP Webmaster” <webmaster@team-bhp.com> Sat, 04 Dec 2010 16:19:33
To: meHello,
Please note that it is COMPULSORY for members to provide due credit wherever
applicable; in fact, it’s a part of our rules as well as the infraction
system. The said post has been edited and a link to your blog has been
inserted.Sincerely,
The Team-BHP Webmaster
My response:
From: “Vijay Padiyar”<xxxx@xxxx.com> Sat, 04 Dec 2010 19:09:59
To: “Team-BHP Webmaster”<webmaster@team-bhp.com>Thanks a lot. I appreciate your personal intervention.
I will mention this on my blog.
Regards
Vijay Padiyar
http://www.vijaypadiyar.in
UPDATE: Dec 10, 2010
It appears that Team-BHP has taken action on two of the points raised in this blog, namely:
1. Deletion of rejected members’ accounts from the system, and
2. Early intimation of acceptance or rejection of membership.
I am sure many people will appreciate this. See the below mail from Team-BHP to me, which was basically a continuation of the above mail thread.
From: “Team-BHP Webmaster” <webmaster@team-bhp.com> Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:31:23
To: MeSure thing, Vijay! It’s only fair, and we would expect due credit for our content too.
BTW, we just read your blog and noticed the following comments:
“Oh, and one more thing! I request Team-BHP to at least delete the accounts of those people whom it doesn’t approve for membership, or at least allow them to re-apply from the same user ID. I think it’s grossly unethical to retain people’s user IDs even after rejecting them. I think someone could actually take them to court over this!”
And:
“Even so, we would still expect that they be prompt in confirming or rejecting memberships…..”
Just a note:
- All rejected memberships are now hard-deleted from the system.
- The maximum turnaround time is one week, and each application is informed within this period…whether they have been approved or rejected.
Can we request you to update your blog and / or remove the inapplicable comments?
Thanks
The Team-BHP Webmaster
My response:
From: “Vijay Padiyar”<xxxx@xxxx.com> Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:52:11
To: “Team-BHP Webmaster”<webmaster@team-bhp.com>Sure, I will add your response below to my blog.
I have nothing personal against Team-BHP, I just disapprove of this particular policy which I feel does not do an objective job of screening an applicant.
Thanks
Vijay
KrishnaKumar
Hmm…I just came across this page and couldn’t help commenting on TBHP. I too was taken aback by T-BHP’s arrogance when I applied for registration a year or year and a half ago. It was a bit amusing when they rejected my registration request citing something that indicated that my essay on automobiles was not upto the mark. They seem to want me to write some eulogy praising them, automobiles, etc. Must be some pedantic from the sixties or seventies who are manning the registration booth for them.
PP
TB is a bunch of people who have lot of EGO issues (Moderators and owners)
I agree with all the negative reviews about them.
Maximum infraction points are 4, and I get 5 points each time just for spelling mistakes, even I written most of my posts very carefully. They banned me two times and now I am not going to login there any more.
I got banned not for spellings, its becasue I called “kiddish” to Toyota’s car design. If anyone keep praising the mods along with companies like Fiat, Honda, Toyota etc then that will have a long stay there. No one is allowed to admire the Germans there becasue their super-mod GTO has a second hand Mercedes and he can’t afford its maintenance cost. They are backing someone who got problem in his Skoda. and Skoda is almost prohibited brand there, anyone talking good about Skoda will have tuff time. I stongly believe that they have surely tried to blackmailing Skoda on the behalf of this single incident to earn money form them. There are much more horror stories of Hyundai, even much greater in numbers than Skoda but they are OKAY with Hyundai.
I have a German machine with me without any issue to mention there. It goes against me.
I don’t need an amp with sub to enjoy music because my choice of HU and speakers is performing enough for me, so this also goes against me becasue I don’t want to spend much amount by taking their idiotic advices.
I am dam sure that they have link with aftermarket-shops in south India and earn commission from them, especially in Banglore, Mumbai, Pune etc so the people from there have easy chances to get in than the north Indians, especially from small cities.
Don’t get fool with no. of registered members, they just have idle members and these numbers help them getting advertisements and money.
Honda, Fiat, Toyota etc are few of those car companies which pay them to keep praising about.
mprab
i too tried in vain, just once, to register way back in jan-2011. but it looks like i did not write a detailed enough thesis on why i like them. i just kept it to 1-2 lines (i seriously dont have a very intense detailed passionate desperate need to join team-bhp). if allowed entry, i had planned to share my feedback of car i recently purchased.
Anyways, their post quality is fairly good and i dont see any reason to badmouth them.
…just a wee bit narciss.
The Sorcerer
Team BHP is a closed community. It goes without saying
An impression is made that they are one of those guys from the 60s and the 70s and the uber rich people (atleast enough to spend on cars). I made my first post there and I think it was spelling typo or forgot a comma or something, but they gave me an infraction. wah!!! I forgot: “We’re the descendants of the British empire!!” *sarcasm*
They have some good content by the members and its a very good forum to be proud of, no doubt- but they remind me of stories I hear about U.S. embassy. They carry that “holy thou” attitude and reject your first application. Then after 2-3 applications- or if you have a letter from the company inviting you for something , they give a visa. I am not sure if this is true about their embassy but it looks that way. Maybe they let people with references from a known member to join in the first shot- I don’t know. It’s their forum, their wish- agreed. But if forum goes down this line it doesn’t really look good. Maybe they should make all of their threads/posts accessible to those who have signed up- or have 2 types of memberships.
1. One for lurkers: Access to read/like/dislike/give reputation.
2. One for people who want to post.
If they want to behave like a closed community, go all the way through. But then again, its their forum. A good impression is made that most admins and mods develop that annoying “corporate” attitude when they become older and work in mid management of a company. While that sits well with their fellow colleagues and clients, it doesn’t sit well in a community. That kind of attitude simply discourages people and they leave. Sadly I’ve seen such mods/admins damaging their friendship with a long time forum friend on more than 1 occasion.
Then again, I haven’t observed such attitude on foreign/U.S./Singapore based forums. Food for thought.
SunnyS
Guys, check my Team-BHP review related to their ridiculous policies and arrogant behaviour of the moderators…
http://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/www.team-bhp.com
Gin
I also felt the same. I tried 5 Times for the registration and these guys are not letting me in. I dont know how the others got selected. And what is the minimum requirement for admission?
shaju chakko
I have approached team-bhp with a good motive of helping those with my travel experience and of my exposure with cars and bikes. They ask three questions and they ask us to write an essay type answer, which is unnecessary. You can find out whether you can keep a user or to delete him with one or two post.
By the way its not only team-bhp the only site in the world to express your views. Try other blogs. Create your blog. Create proper keywords. It will reach the world.
If it is this case then Wikipedia will ask us to write a 3 hour exam to become a moderator.
Happy New Year 2012 guys
Amar
Team bhp suckss… I tried almost 9-10 times , no luck….why they so strict for registering?? They should remove this stupid question from register form site….how they know , if user is spammer or not , if they not getting registering….
Shrinidhi Hande
if they’re so selective, There’re alternatives…. gearheads.in for example
BHPian
Man, there are so many people who are jelly out here. So what if the rules are strict? I am a member on my forums including TBHP, and to be frank, just hate it when a newbie comes along and starts typing in SMS language. Really, were you deprived of education that you resort to such stupid SMS lingo which even you won’t be able to read. Their reviews are generally spot on, calling a lemon a lemon. Yes, even I hate some rules like 20 minutes between posts, etc. but it’s not that you can’t live with that. See most of them who have replied here after their rejection, no capitalization, no punctuation, etc. It’s actually great that these guys filter the registrations, helps in maintaining the cleanliness. Oh, and about others promoting other sites here, well we know how successful you are that you need to resort to backlinks here in order to get members.
Another BHPian
i agree with you. some dickheads are trying to publicize themselves !!
james
wow bhpian, the grammer proffessors with punctuation, cleanliness and all listen to your fellow ‘another bhpian’ using high class words like ‘dickheads’ shows the low class schooling, if these are the third class people registered in team bhp then you know what class of people are registered on team bhp. What i figured out from team bhp are that most of them are good for nothingbut middle class brats surviving on papa’s money, buying second car, modifying it and make it sound are they are owners of porsche, ferrari.
BHP
you sucker. lol.
The Sorcerer
You need to stop generalizing the entire population that way.
I could have said more, but I am speaking to a person who finds comfort by being anonymous. Sadly, I can’t make horse out of donkeys.
JAYALAL
really agree with all, their approach to public is very arrogant and pathetic….i agree that they group of jokers
sn
GTO/Mods of team BHP are like King and members are like “Chamcha”. I am pretty sure, in next few years, other competitor forums will kick the team-idiots in the ass
Abhijeet
Its so pathetic that you need to apply again and again for such a small thing. I felt like I am applying for some countries CITIZENSHIP. I have applied for 3 times and got rejected for the same number of time. Do team bhp things that people who surf net are fools or nerds. It DISGUSTING !
KRV
I made several attempts to become member, but never succeeded.
I moved on, there i no point in making failed attempts again and again.
Public forum having biased reviews is unacceptable
XMen Returns
I can grapes are sour. Why all you want to become Team-BHP member. If rejected move on. I feel such strictness is required to maintain quality. Otherwise like here people can use any word there.
You are free to join umpteen number of automotive sites. But strict rules are must to maintain quality. There is forum called gearheads (aka dickheads) which uses all sort of words like fucking, sucking, licking, ass and what not.
Who will enjoy visiting their sites. I’m not. Move on guys. I can see you all are desperate joining Team-BHP.
Shri
I could see people using words like “lolzzz…” or “lfmao” and even “f***ing”. Dont believe, check the recent posts of the new beemer ownership experiences as well as the thread related to modified cars.So, is this you quality maintanence?
motorheadersucks
stop publicizing your stupid website with different ids dude..it sucks more than tbhp!!
Anand
Hi all,
Iam surprised people have not mentioned this other automotive forum called motorheader that has been creating a buzz recently. I have not joined motorheader.com/forum yet but it seems to be an unbiased fun place with not too many rules that would hassel us in anyway.
GTO
Quality content = Strict moderation lol…
Raju
I have tried 3 times to get a member of team-bhp. but all the times they simly reject my membership request. I don’t know the reason. i would never try to get the membership again.
Abhijeet
Same with me ……. I guess joining Team – BHP is a ROCKET SCIENCE !
Vinoth
Just a note here I am running the official android app of team-bhp (also a member)…lo behold their application requests for updates of your current location and your GPS coordinates. This is done even if you’ve your GPS switched off in your mobile. This information can be viewed by them, now these guys have become peeps and pervs. The lowest of all. I thoroughly disapprove this method of logging and using people’s information.
SK
Spot on.
They are too arrogant. Even not tried official review with any other swift. Still waiting for invitation from MSIL.
sandeep
lol……poor chaps now begging their members for cars….. coz maruti dint invite GTO like honda!!
Roshan
Though a person has loads of knowledge on automobiles, its impossible to join thier community. Not sure what team bhp is going to achieve without the generous contribution from automobile gurus…. Also, I too have observed about the car reviews. Its been more than a year since alto k10 is launched. seems like the team bhp admins are busy rejecting the memberships rather than contributing to their own blog!!
rohan
MSIL made a mockery of GTO of team bhp. hahha.
The team bhp guys used to put the car reviews first page first day, but now they dont have the car itself.
Its been more than 15 days of the launch and they dont have the reivew of Swift .
It seems that the company is now aware of these money hungry mongers.
Loads of unnecessary adds on their website too.
Anoop
Agree to you Vijay, Team-BHP is not the only site! Too much rules for a fan to join a site. I too face this thrice. Feels bad when Team-BHP stickers are seen on vehicles, people buying stickers at a heavy cost and popularizing their site name (once I too thought of buying, but their reaction made me not to). If they think they are big, let them, it is their site. After all you will never find something really worth from that site moderators or owners other than few pictures of newly released cars. It is real owners who make it, but name for the site owners! Only reviewer’s nonsense comments, as if they mock at somebody’s design which they don’t find apt (may be apt for others), if they are that big let them design a car and produce it in market with matching features. Can you find an official review of new Swift on this website? See the no. of Renault Fluences are there on the road and read their review. It is real owner’s pride of deciding a vehicle. These sites may spoil by giving multiple ideas.
Ashok
Spot on my friend!! Let them design and prove that they are really big! These people get all the ideas and information from the users & boast that they know all!! Pity!
viper
hmm…am member on both sites dude tbhp and tai and now more active on tai ‘coz their ppl they dont ban you for grammer mistakes!!
stop cribbing about rejects from tbhp ppl…go look at other better sites like this – http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums !!!