Our little forum

[galen211]

Because I'm bored and I think this is a question that needs asking I'll start up a new thread.

How do we get more club members looking at the forum? We have a lot of people in the club and I know some look at other forums on a regular basis but they never come here. Others are techno dinosaurs but their information is invaluable. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Galen

[sven]

Maybe you should shut down that old yahoo rovers forum. That would force everyone else to use this one.

[crazyfish]

I suggested to shut down the yahoo email list, but we seem to have members who just love to get emails instead of going to something like a forum. Of course they could subscribe to the forum and get email notifications....

Small club forums are much harder to build than generic forums that cover everyone in all parts of the country, ie discoweb or muddy oval. Guns and Rovers is mostly series vehicles and does better traffic and information wise than we do, but way below others.

The main problem is that someone comes in here and posts a question. No one answers and they go away. We've all posted in other forums, and got good response time.

The smart guys have answered all the questions before, and hate to rewrite everything in a new forum. We need new smart guys who have the time and energy to start giving the information back out.

My 3 cents.
Sean

[galen211]

I suggested to shut down the yahoo email list, but we seem to have members who just love to get emails instead of going to something like a forum. Of course they could subscribe to the forum and get email notifications....

Small club forums are much harder to build than generic forums that cover everyone in all parts of the country, ie discoweb or muddy oval. Guns and Rovers is mostly series vehicles and does better traffic and information wise than we do, but way below others.

The main problem is that someone comes in here and posts a question. No one answers and they go away. We've all posted in other forums, and got good response time.

The smart guys have answered all the questions before, and hate to rewrite everything in a new forum. We need new smart guys who have the time and energy to start giving the information back out.

My 3 cents.
Sean


So you're saying were not smart people?:(

[crazyfish]

ok, more smart people :)

[galen211]

It's OK Sean, I know I'm not smart. I bought a Series Land Rover.

[crazyfish]

That makes two of us.... and we both bought them from Tom....

Hummmmm :)

[JohnC]

I think you need to get friendlier people, smart people are mean and anti-social.

[galen211]

What I am looking for is more of how to get OUR club members to come to the forum.

Honestly I don't care about the person from California who posts once and never comes back.

We have 150 club members and maybe 15 that actually come here regularly. How do we get more of the others to come and check out the forum? These people are already know us and we don't have to act friendly or dumb for them because they already know we're grouchy and stupid.

[rmuller]

Unfortunately the best way to get people places is to force them... turn off the yahoo mailings, stop the mailings of the newsletters, make it that the only communications is on the website/forum... that'll definitely get you a lot more traffic, but could cause some people to leave all together.

[Alvin]

stop the mailings of the newsletters
I agree with stopping the Yahoo group and making this the official club communications route, but I disagree with stopping the newsletters. It is a tangible benefit of belonging to the club. Some members are not on the net, or the don't have access to a computer on a daily basis. The groups that gather on Muddyoval or Dweb or any other web-forum are primarily computer users who happen to drive Rovers. This group is primarily a Rovers club who uses computers. Different types of clubs, and they have to tackle the issues differently. The newsletters/mailings should not be stopped. Now, to get our members to come to the forum, some of us have to start writing articles that are interesting to read. I have been without my Disco since mid-February because of a blown engine. I have decided to rebuild it myself, step by step. I have learned an incredible amount of information about the Rover 3.9/4.0/4.6 engines. I started the project without a clue, and now I feel I have enough information to complete the project. Now all that is missing is time. After I finish the job, I will post a writeup of my findings in the hope that it will provide information to help a fellow club member make the correct decision when he is faced with the same problem I was faced with. If my engine ever died again, I would definitely crack it open and fix it again instead of procrastinating and searching for way overpriced rebuilts of questionable quality or "good" used engines where you don't know what "good" really means. I would like to see articles on applying waxoyl, Q&A about tire sizes, what is necessary to hook up your rig for off-road expeditions, etc. I am sure that others have opinions on what articles they would like to see. I think articles are a great way to generate traffic on this forum. ALSO, we need to answer questions in a timely manner. People generally check back the next day for answers to their questions. If they are not answered, then they generally stop checking back. Just my $.02.

[shortcut11]

I would have to agree that I sing by the forum every single day, however I notice there are generally no new post's. It would be great if some tech sections or just general info would be available. I would love to read about people's wheeling trips or just the dumb things their rovers due to them. I am currently roverless, however I'm trying real hard to get another. I see this forum as having great possibilities, especially to the members. It gives us a chance to talk to people local and not some arrogant person on the west coast.

I'm mostly a lurker, but wanted to throw my .02 in.

thanks for the bandwidth

[ccalado1]

I agree with using this forum more often. I ussually check it out everyday and very little has changed. I like to post stuff for sale here and at guns and rovers. The Rovers north crowd can be a little rude at times.

Thanks
Cristina

[tightlines]

I haven't been here for long, but have posted a few times, have had great response, and I look forward to meeting a bunch of you and your LRs. I think the most important thing is for people to meet face to face, for us to go out and do some driving, to schedule regular rides, and to really try to add as much useful content as possible. If we build the community between the few of us that really are trying to bring something to the table, I think it will grow. So if you post...keep posting, if you haven't get on board!!!

[bens101fc]

email lists and forums each have their own advantages and disavantages. When you boil it down, IMO, an email list is a push technology--you don't do anything and it appears in your inbox. A forum is a pull technology--you have to remember to go to it and look at it. Forums are better for posting photos and you can selectively read topics. Emails lists are simple and people tend to read all or none--which is good when threads morph from their original topics.

However when you have both, then you will have some that will only read one or the other with a minority that read both. Then all important annoucements need to be posted in both locations. I'd pick one and stick with it. Unfortinately no matter which one that you pick, you will loose some people.

FWIW, I've been on LR email lists for 15 years and have run mendo_recce for 12. In the last 2 years I've started reading forums. At first I was hesitant to change from email lists since I forget to go look (push/pull), but I've been converted.


Ben

[galen211]

email lists and forums each have their own advantages and disavantages. When you boil it down, IMO, an email list is a push technology--you don't do anything and it appears in your inbox. A forum is a pull technology--you have to remember to go to it and look at it. Forums are better for posting photos and you can selectively read topics. Emails lists are simple and people tend to read all or none--which is good when threads morph from their original topics.

However when you have both, then you will have some that will only read one or the other with a minority that read both. Then all important annoucements need to be posted in both locations. I'd pick one and stick with it. Unfortinately no matter which one that you pick, you will loose some people.

FWIW, I've been on LR email lists for 15 years and have run mendo_recce for 12. In the last 2 years I've started reading forums. At first I was hesitant to change from email lists since I forget to go look (push/pull), but I've been converted.


Ben


We're glad you made the switch! Each post/postee helps us move in the right direction.

[bens101fc]

ROVERS seems to be reaching critial mass with regular posting. Meanwhile the OVLR forum (which I admin) has a post maybe once a week. It has failed to reach critical mass. The MORE forum is going strong.

It seems to me that most clubs have started forums or email lists and have mostly phased out newsletters.

Ben

[galen211]

ROVERS seems to be reaching critial mass with regular posting. Meanwhile the OVLR forum (which I admin) has a post maybe once a week. It has failed to reach critical mass. The MORE forum is going strong.

It seems to me that most clubs have started forums or email lists and have mostly phased out newsletters.

Ben

Well I would be your friendly newsletter editor I for one can tell you it is a huge pain. The newsletter is the easy part, chasing people down to write articles is the hard part. I am a Series owner and do not own a coiler. Sometimes I feel the newsletter is Series heavy but what can I do? No one writes or submits for the newer trucks and I have a hard time justifying a Discovery to the wife in the name of fair reporting.:D

[bens101fc]

Getting people to write is a major PITA. Look at OVLR. They have a monthly NL. Always a constant battle for content. And those that gripe the loudest about the content never write an article. Dixon had a nice group of regular contributors in the mid to late 1990s. The NLs were 20ish pages every month. At this point all photos had to be scanned. Then the layout guy (in DC) got burned out and the NLs got later and later. At one point it was months overdue. He asked if he could use another layout guy and was told no more Americans. Eventually the club exec had a secret meeting, fired Dixon and gave the NL to another editor who use the american replacement that Dixon wanted to use. The NL rapidly shrank to 10 and then fewer pages--most with filler. It didn't help that most of the contributors sided with Dixon and stopped writing. Maybe one or two articles total were in each issue. That team burned out in a year or two. As did the next team.

NL editor is a lot of work. But if down properly, a good NL (or email list or forum) can hype up excitement for an event and get more people to show up.

Ben

[jason]

I have to say, I absolutely love the newsletter! Galen does such a professional job with the layout and printing, I really can't imagine being without it again like we were not so long ago. I think it's a well written, well executed, quality publication that needs to be supported by the entire membership.

The group list is a PIA, but is a necessary evil. It's really the only tool to get information to the entire group quickly and efficiently. It doesn't cost anything, and reaches every member but about 12. It's how the widely ignored renewal notices get sent (about 50 per month), so it is sort of important to the life of the club.

I like seeing the forum get more action. It really is the best way to communicate with the masses and organize our thoughts in an easy to catalog way. Unfortunately, it is open to anyone, member or not, to post, sell, say, or do whatever they want. I am also not a big fan of anonymity. I know we all pretty much know each other at this point, but as it grows, we aren't always going to know to whom we are talking. Roverluvinmudhoney69 might be a Nigerian prince for all we know.

In the welcome letter that new members get, I have been promoting the forum. Even though it's mostly the same people posting all the time, there are more and more people climbing on board. We just need to get more of the experienced [read: smart] members to visit more frequently, like Sean said.

[Randy]

The best way to get and keep people in a forum is not to force them, it's to make it more alluring and interesting. If someone comes here once a day and there are 2 posts since yesterday, they will quickly lose interest. I think thats why I wondered away.....now I've wondered back and there is alot more material, and because Galen has made an issue of it, then I will come back more often.

[galen211]

The best way to get and keep people in a forum is not to force them, it's to make it more alluring and interesting. If someone comes here once a day and there are 2 posts since yesterday, they will quickly lose interest. I think thats why I wondered away.....now I've wondered back and there is alot more material, and because Galen has made an issue of it, then I will come back more often.

Thanks for coming back Randy, to me the forum is an easier place to find information.

It may be a generation thing but I have grown up with computers and I feel at ease using them when I need something.

Interesting commment about not forcing people, in the last few days the activity has really gone up and I enjoy that. I tell some of the dinosaurs of the club, "this was on the forum or so and so said this," and they are interested in checking it out but they still don't look it out. I wonder if many aren't just lurking out there in anonymous land.

You can lead a horse to water...........

[Randy]

Thanks for coming back Randy, to me the forum is an easier place to find information.

It may be a generation thing but I have grown up with computers and I feel at ease using them when I need something.

Interesting commment about not forcing people, in the last few days the activity has really gone up and I enjoy that. I tell some of the dinosaurs of the club, "this was on the forum or so and so said this," and they are interested in checking it out but they still don't look it out. I wonder if many aren't just lurking out there in anonymous land.

You can lead a horse to water...........


hehe...you said dinosaurs!!!