Member Poll and comments

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

The stats don't lie, over the past 10 years there has been a gradual decline in new topics, new posts and new members.
Obviously since Facebook appeared on the scene a lot of people have gone over for various reasons, some stay away and others split their time.
As the forum software is overdue for an upgrade the Admins thought it would be good opportunity to poll the members for opinions on what can be done to encourage new users and posts on the forum and maybe introduce some improvements.

Please take the time to answer the poll and post comments if you have anything to add.

Cheers
The Admin and Mod Team.

[REDMR2RED]

It's the way all Forums are going.  People are turning to social media, FaceBook Groups & Pages, Twitter and Instagram to get what they want.  I used to visit this Forum every day, now lucky if I read it once a month, so I guess I'm one to blame and sadly I won't miss it until it's gone.

The Internet is constantly changing, fads and trends only last a short time. If nothing changed we would all be driving 48-215s or horse and carts.

[JOX515]

I will always use a forum like this over facebook, etc. Too many issues with social media for my liking..... 

[GMHwagoon]

 l am more likley to help someone here on the forum than Facebook
 information is better and the help you get is genuine
 builds on the go are the best , great for info and ideas
 On this forum l am not embarrassed to ask what maybe simple questions about car
 related things   l am learning all the time l log on

 fcwagoon

[Ol_Girl_58]

I still log on to the forum multiple times a day, even just for a few minutes; hoping to see new project cars or further work done to others. I also like to see if Ken has any nice FE-FC parts for sale, which he does from time to time.

I'll always access this forum before Facebook. The banter on here is great, and it feels specialised in a way. Any joker can post on Facebook, and I feel that there is a depth of knowledge on this forum provided by members that just isn't there on alternative media.

[DJ]

Have to agree that social media serves the broader masses very well.
But I prefer to use this forum for FE/FC specifics, for the same reasons posted by Ol_Girl_58, GMHwagoon & JOX515.

[rickjen]

Hi all
I could not be happier to see pics made easier to get to, as a gallery, they do not have to be sorted into categories. I asked for this many months ago. when I am refitting a part or want to see how someone else restored a part or section looking at the photos would be so helpful, to find one  now you have to look at what forum / describe request / scan through numerous pages / etc etc.
 I do scan through social media but I always end up checking out the forum for help or answers.
I do think that there are to many categories  how many of us start searching for an answer or problem which has been addressed many times before only to give up and ask the question on open forum again.
Otherwise I read the articles daily and enjoy it
rick

[camxsmith]

Hi
 1. I think a button to simply add a picture/s would help.
 2. Sign up not an issue but adding facebook l think would not hurt for newbies
 3. I think under technical would be good to have categories like ..  engine chassis..  etc  help for searching.
 4. An easy way to attach peoples project posts to the technical.   Example... say I was doing diff work an thought I had a good find or solution I could attach that reply from my project page to the technical. This may be just doubling up but it might also help with searching for info. I like to keep my project posts together, but they maybe helpful in technical section, but i do not put them on there.   
5. Ability to keep a list of members you like to follow. Tap talk has this feature. Maybe something for the admin guys to put together a address book. 

6. This is more of a question how do we get the past forum guys (who have finished their rides) to comment on our newbie rides...   They seem to drop off when they have finished..


Just some ideas
Thanks Cam

[2brite]

I log onto this Forum about 4/5 times a week
I mostly look at projects under construction,i love seeing the transformations
Occasionally i use Facebook to see what FE/FC people are posting instantly at events
My 2 bits
Still a great Forum after all these years
 

[KFH]

I would like to see a button  to correct, once I have posted, spelling mistakes/missing words etc in anything I post.  Of course only available to the author of that post.  A hints area with "how do I do this on the forum" for old farts who forget how to do things. Easier photo attaching would be good.

Keith

[Ole]

My biggest issue has always been the loading of photos. I'm not that tech savvy but it is a piece of cake to add photos to face book compared to the forum. I have always enjoyed looking at projects in the build and would have liked to start my own threads for my 2 projects, but I've never been able to get my head around the process.
Having a restricted area for club members only is also restrictive and a bit elitist. Not everyone wants to be a member of a car club because of the bitchiness and back stabbing or they may be just time poor, so lifting that restriction would be good.
The Guru status is also a BS status symbol. Some members add a comment to every post just to achieve that status. There are a handful of gurus on the forum that I respect and would seek their advice, the others just demean the title.
I think the number of categories is fine, they are well defined and easy to navigate.
Thanks for the opportunity to contribute. I, like a lot of others, use to check in to the forum multiple times a day, but it has dropped off since joining Facebook. I would like to see it regain its relevance.
Cheers Ole

[Errol62]

I'm a relatively new user and very happy with accessing and posting threads and photos via Tapatalk iPhone app. I've tried Facebook but just don't get it. No offence to others that use it but it just seems to be more about posing than sharing information, which is what this site is all about.

The only improvements I could think of would be in being able to efficiently key word search the entire forum on Tapatalk. 

A little birdie told me I'm getting an iPad for Chrissy so I should be able to have the advantage of the relatively seamless operation of Tapatalk on a ten inch screen.

The forum rules!
Cheers
Clay


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ardiesse]

I'll add my two cents' worth too -

The forum is an excellent source of information, and I will keep using it.  But I wish that posting images could be made easier . . .
(and it'd be good if it were possible to paste other objects like tables and graphs from Word or Excel straight into a post).

Rob

[FireKraka]

Guys I don't facebook I can't stand all the BS that seems to go on that my wife who is on it tells me about.
I value the forum and log on here at least once a day as others have said the only issue is loading photos again as others have said.
Lets keep the forum alive.

Regards
Neil H

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

A wish list item for me is the ability to filter the build threads or some way to view the thread without the comments and banter, I am not saying to not allow the comments and banter though as they are important for the poster.

[JOX515]

Just a comment about uploading photo's - I haven't had any trouble at all uploading directly from my camera or directly from my computer. I don't use any of the online photo programs, just what is available on my Windows operating system....

And I agree Errol62 - this forum rules, it is one of the best I have used and will continue to use it.

Cheers all, Graeme

[Harv]

I like each of the early Holden forums (FX/FJ, FE/FC, FB/EK and EJ/EH), and have a strong dislike for FaceBook. I think the forums attract a better breed of idiot (like me  )... people who are asking questions and answering them, rather than posing. We seem to get the odd clown, though they are pretty quickly shut down. The forums seem to be more tolerant too of the guys who are learning from scratch... many FaceBook pages poke fun at newbies, which doesn't help. I wish I had a dollar for every dumb question I've asked (and I figure I've still got lots more to ask). It's easier to have a logical discussion on the forums, and to discuss technical details. Maybe it's just me, but it seems a lot easier to search and find old info on forums than on FaceBook.

Posting photos is not easy (I use photobucket), but not impossible. I hate doing it, but seem to get it right most of the time.

Agree the comment on posting tables, graphs etc. I end up turning them into pictures (bitmap), then posting the pictures. I know that on some of the forums I can attach files (like Excel, pdf etc) but not sure about the FE/FC forum... I should probably take more time to see that the forum can do.

Also agree the comment on access to the restricted access Club areas. For me, they are a tantalising source of info for the various tech stuff that I write. I've asked for access a few times, as I figure I contribute enough, but have been knocked back. I don't own an FE/FC, and am not home enough to join one of the clubs. The sneaky part of me says to join the club for a year, download the lot then not renew my membership... my conscience wont let me though. At the end of the day though I can understand the need to encourage membership, and the info is owned by the Club. I've been lucky (and am grateful) that some guys will pass on info that I can't access. Just wish I had a full list of what was in there  .

Cheers,
Harv

[RET]

Thank you to everyone who's provided feedback so far, and on behalf of the admins we welcome it all. Please keep it coming.

I'll just address a couple of points that have come up a few times, but bear in mind these comments are intended to facilitate rather than shut down any discussions.

Image Posting

Yep, we hear you. Whatever forum platform we migrate to will definitely have a better way of attaching photos.

Club Members Only Area

Apologies to anyone who feels having a "private member area" is elitist or unfair, but the bottom line is that the FE-FC Holden Car Clubs of Australia are the people who pay to keep this site running, and free for everyone to use. Like the old Amex ad used to say, "Membership has its privileges". We don't have advertising, popups or shitware gunking up the experience of using the forum, but hosting it is not free, not by a long chalk.

If people would be prepared to consider a small fee for a "Forum Membership", then that could certainly be put up for discussion.

Facebook

The simple reality is that I'm getting 5 forum join requests a week, and 3 of those are spammers. On the other hand I'm approving 4-5 people a day who want to join the FE-FC Enthusiasts Facebook page. I think it would be beneficial to provide a method for those people to participate here on the forum that's as friction-free as possible: i.e. join using FB credentials rather than create a new account.

My impression is that a lot of the questions people ask on Facebook have been answered on the Forum, and participants there often provide links to Forum content for the FB-ers, but all subsequent conversation occurs on FB. We need those people to participate here so that their feedback, questions and knowledge are part of the enormous archive of FE-FC knowledge this site has accumulated.

Again, thanks everyone who has participated in this thread, and there are plenty more opinions we're yet to hear I'm sure.

[surferboy]

Please don't change anything. 
It's taken me 13 years to almost figure out how to use most of the stuff on the Forum. 

I still have problems posting pics using photobucket because it is different everytime I go to use it 
and I don't think I will ever figure out how to use facebook correctly. I think I have it figured and they go and change it too 

I can type stuff
I can post pics with photobucket (eventually)
I think I have figured tapatalk (unless they have changed it since the Nats)
and I am able to post my Nats Diary while I'm on the road

I"M HAPPY 


 
PS... Buggered if I know how I got to GURU status with all the rubbish I post.  I think the moderators are just being nice to the old folk 

[DJ]

The Guru status is also a BS status symbol. Some members add a comment to every post just to achieve that status. There are a handful of gurus on the forum that I respect and would seek their advice, the others just demean the title.

My status changed to Guru recently but I certainly don't pretend to be a mentor or master like the handful you refer to. I check for new posts every day & sometimes I ask a question or contribute to a discussion if I can offer something. After 3 1/2 years the posts have obviously built up, so I'm more than happy to have my status knocked down a notch or two. I just enjoy the forum with so much talent displayed.
Perhaps an offer to accept/decline the Guru status would be more appropriate than it happening automatically. I also think Gurus could note their special interest(s).