UPDATE: DRIFT or DIEcast 1:64 Racing shutting down, heads up
I want to be very clear about this, I do not know the full circumstances behind recent interactions with one of the members here, but I feel my experience warrants a heads up to this group.
Although for the most part I only do in-person racing if there’s one thing I’ve always appreciated, it’s the people in this group. I enjoy and take advantage of the wealth of information and racing entertainment that’s always here.
With that said I feel I need to make the group aware that one of our members may be going through a rough period that can affect others here. Drift is a guy I know personally, has been a good member of our local group, has held successful races here and currently has one on the schedule - Team Race Wars January 10th.
Totally unexpectedly after his recent Fast Bash races many of us have not received our cars back even though return shipping was paid upfront. After a few weeks I had sent direct messages requesting my cars with no response until the end of October when he told me he had some health issues including a hospital stay, but all was now good and my cars would be mailed the next day. To date I haven’t received them and have not had any replies to additional inquires. He was scheduled to host a race at a local toy show this past weekend but canceled the day before the show. He spoke with the show organizer so I have no idea why I, along with others, have been ghosted. When he became involved here and posted his first races several of you had cautiousness & questions. I spoke up regarding my good experiences with Drift but apparently, they’re a little different now
My purpose in posting this is not to berate the guy, I don’t know his situation and genuinely hope all is ok. I just want to make this group aware and advise anyone that’s intending to enter his January event to try to verify things before you send off your cars. You may note that there have been no responses to posts on that race for a couple months.
That’s all, just a heads up.
Discussion
He should definitely be more communicative. We work so hard on our cars and some hosts need to have more consideration for our efforts.
Don't get me wrong, I understand what it's like to be severely ill. I've been battling cancer for years and am currently on a 3 day a week maintenance chemo schedule. However, you're damn straight I'd do my best to, at the very least, move my fingers across a keyboard to communicate with said racers even though I can't get out of bed some days to go to the post office. We're all human and sometimes circumstance doesn't allow us to do things we'd like to.
- Too, I've had my issues with mental health issues, and some days the body and mind won't function whatsoever. Sometimes for weeks. — RayRaySugar
- Agreed. A little communication goes a long way. And we’ll cut sameness tons of slack if we know what’s going on. But too many times this has happened, I pressed the guy on returning the cars and was assuerd “he’s legit, it’s all good…” — G_ForceRacing
- Thanks Ray for announcing how I would feel, and managing responsibilities and decency. Take care mate. — CutRock_R_Marc_D
Thanks for the heads up...appreciate the insight and concern for everyone involved.
It's been covered before but we all know shit happens and schedules change, that's fine. Toy cars come last, as they should, but the key is communication. If you're hosting and something's up, just let folks know. We don't need private details or anything, just a "hey, got some stuff happening and things are being delayed." is plenty. I know I'd rather get a "Things are delayed" status update every couple weeks than hear nothing for months.
I had to pull out of his upcoming race after not receiving my cars or trophy with no contact. I gave a new host a shot and once again seemed to have been burned.
- Uggh! — Dutch_Clutch_Racing
- That sucks. And yes many of us at times try to "assist" lesser knowns in the hobby. Many times it works out, but sometimes crap. Many hosts have no "secondary verification" or back up if the main person "has an issue" Hmmm. Cheers — CutRock_R_Marc_D
Thank you for the communication Chief. I was beginning to wonder. None of it makes any sense. A little communication goes a long way.
I tried to enter,even started building, but he never respnded to indicate if I was in or out. Hope all is well with him.
To all that host, and those that are thinking about it, not sending cars back in a timely fashion is not cool. Not sending cars back at all is unacceptable. Hosting races is a MONSTER effort.
- Yep! — Dutch_Clutch_Racing
- Like with tabletop roleplaying games in person, where the better Game Masters are usually ones who started out as players, hosts who also race appear to have a lot fewer complaints. They've experienced both sides, and regularly, gives them the fuller perspective — Chris_Hood
Ghosting your racers who have sent in cars and money for return postage = blacklisted.
- Yep — Dutch_Clutch_Racing
- A lesson learned earlier about a Dude we no longer abide — Chris_Hood
- Um, no reference to YOUR username of course, SpyDude — Chris_Hood
- LOL — SpyDude
Last time I talked to him on Facebook was 11/11, after his sickness bout and I just messaged him to see what's up. If he's not responding, it honestly saves me plenty of time in rebuilding 3/4 of the cars I was planning on sending and gives me lore time for others. I'll keep you all posted if I hear anything
Keeping comms open is so crucial in hosting even in the face of "Life Stuff" that threatens to overturn the apple cart
Trying to see this from the other side, a major hiccup in continuing the races can lead to feelings of failure, guilt, shame and as guys we typically don't handle those gracefully. Easier to lock it all down than to be open about it even though there's no "solve" to be had that route
I have two host friends gone suddenly dark for months and worry about them as people, separate from their channel & content. To borrow from Jerry Springer, "Be good to yourselves and each other"
- "Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!" — SpyDude
- Thats a fair comment Chris. — CutRock_R_Marc_D
Relevant once again...
www.redlinederby.com/topic/the-importance-of-communication-when-hosting-a-race/5904
- That final section has come up separately between then and now. What does it look like behind the scenes for you to establish the added functionality? — Chris_Hood
- It's currently in-progress along with a somewhat major overhaul of the guts of the site. The Spam Page Incident highlighted a lot of areas that need fixed. Once those are solved, then I can add new features pretty easily and with confidence. Adding an event management system is priority numero uno. — redlinederby
- I wish there were a way of vetting a host. The only solution I can come up with is some sort of "test event". Perhaps have 8 random racers sending in a car they no longer care too much about and if it gets returned in a timely manner we'll have more of an idea as to their ability to host a race within a reasonable schedule as well. Sending in cars with a due date and then not seeing them race for six months, or longer, can be one of the more annoying things about being a racer. I think that if the criteria are met there would bet not one single racer here who wouldn't have their confidence boosted in a new host and much more likely send a car to future events by that host. Just an idea that I, obviously, haven't fine-tuned. — RayRaySugar Undo — RayRaySugar Undo — RayRaySugar
You know, I don't know who this guy is and I did not sign up for any of his races. But let me say that as a older racer, I just turned 70 in November, health issues can pop up literally out of nowhere. Or what once was outpatient surgery and healing, taking only a few days or a week can now result in many weeks or months of downtime. And along with all that can come feelings of letting people down whether it's those who are caring for you or in this case things you have hoped to accomplish.
I may host a race or two in the coming year but these things are of course on top of my mind. One thing that I think would help with communication is the ability to send bulk emails. So far my experience on redline is you can only send one email to one individual at a time. And that would be a drag if you had 30 or 40 people signed up for a race and you needed to communicate.
- I guess my theory is if you put up a post here on the forum you potentially reach every RedlineDerby member. — Dutch_Clutch_Racing
- Agreed with Dutch. If you're using the desktop site the formatting tools allow for an all caps bold header to grab attention plus everyone in the thread should get notified on their next login. All that's left is the amount of detail you feel comfortable with — Chris_Hood
- Yeah...I know it's a little low-rent but also the PM system here isn't intended to replace full service email like GMail. When I hosted, I would get email addresses on the entry slips so I'd contact people through my normal email. It's just easier and more featured, plus after a few races, I had a good Rolodex of guys that I could contact outside of PMs. — redlinederby
- However, whenever I get a better Race Manager added to the site, some sort of "Notify Entrants" feature could be possible. We'll see...but again, I'm not looking to replace regular email. If you make a friend on here, just ask them for their direct mail and go that route. No reason to suffer through the limits of the RLD website. — redlinederby
- My thoughts also Abby, one of a hundred things could happen to any of us. — alva1370
Thank you for the heads up Chief. I was pretty close to shipping my Team Race Wars cars, but will definately give it a second consideration. I was about to send some cars that I would not want to lose.
I appreciate your honesty and candor.
-Z-