Random post thread

[Dave]

Can anyone do something about this spam nonsense that has started coming through PMs




Regards
Andy

I'm not sure there's anyone maintaining this website anymore, it doesn't even use SSL.

[Andy]

I'm not sure there's anyone maintaining this website anymore, it doesn't even use SSL.

Had a feeling that may be the case.


Regards
Andy

[JohnH]

I'm not sure there's anyone maintaining this website anymore, it doesn't even use SSL.

Had a feeling that may be the case.


Regards
Andy

I’ve had the same thought and think that needs to change or the site will die (and let’s be honest it’s been on a ventilator for the last while)

[eddiem74]

@Curran see above few posts in relation the site, are you the only Mod these days or does @ciars still help.

Looks like some TLC may be needed, along with a technical help strategy.

Let's know where things stand and what help is needed as I am sure it can be a thankless job.

[JohnH]

@Curran see above few posts in relation the site, are you the only Mod these days or does @ciars still help.

Looks like some TLC may be needed, along with a technical help strategy.

Let's know where things stand and what help is needed as I am sure it can be a thankless job.

I think you’re right Eddie, Dave is the only active mod. I think the other issue (afaik) is that Ciars is the owner of the site so any decisions ultimately rest with him.

[Dave]

I think you’re right Eddie, Dave is the only active mod. I think the other issue (afaik) is that Ciars is the owner of the site so any decisions ultimately rest with him.

I assume he still pays for the hosting, and likely has done for 9 years. Forums are dying, the death of this forum and Autostadt seem to be inevitable.
All traffic seems to be moving to facebook, which is crap if you want to document a build thread etc.

I wonder how many contributing members we actually have anymore? There's not much in terms of build threads anymore.

I think the question is, is there a point in keeping it alive and if so, how do we do it?

[Chillipepper]

A very noticeable decline in activity over the past few months, which is a pity.

Seem to be a small enough group of active members posting.

Would be a pity to see this platform go south.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

[Curran]

Ciars is the owner and has been renewing the hosting. Site sponsors had funded most of the earlier subs but he definitely paid the last one of his own pocket and if not a few beforehand.

Spam by PM is difficult to control from my perspective. I approve anyone who looks like they are a genuine username / email address....granted I should check more frequently but there usually isnt many new profiles. Anyone can set up a profile and PM without prior approval and this is why the odd one will always creep in!

I discussed recently with Ciars about how to proceed. Personally I prefer the forum over Facebook route but the forum will continue to struggle to bring in new blood given most young folk are using social media type groups and that combined with the fact that a hell of a lot less people becoming of age are into cars than there were when we were in our teens into 20s.

Open to suggestions on how to liven up the place, even if it's just for the people who are active. I feel a planned cars and coffee would get the ball rolling on solidifying the community!

[dergside]

Personally I prefer the forum over Facebook route ........

Agreed. I may be an old fogey, but I will be very reluctantly dragged on to FB or any other social media (I was dragged kicking and screaming on to WhatsApp so that I could use charging points at work, that's as close as I intend to get ).

If this forum dies, I think it'll be time to reduce the BMW exposure and buy a Porsche, Mercedes and Jaguar instead.

[JohnH]

Ciars is the owner and has been renewing the hosting. Site sponsors had funded most of the earlier subs but he definitely paid the last one of his own pocket and if not a few beforehand.

Spam by PM is difficult to control from my perspective. I approve anyone who looks like they are a genuine username / email address....granted I should check more frequently but there usually isnt many new profiles. Anyone can set up a profile and PM without prior approval and this is why the odd one will always creep in!

I discussed recently with Ciars about how to proceed. Personally I prefer the forum over Facebook route but the forum will continue to struggle to bring in new blood given most young folk are using social media type groups and that combined with the fact that a hell of a lot less people becoming of age are into cars than there were when we were in our teens into 20s.

Open to suggestions on how to liven up the place, even if it's just for the people who are active. I feel a planned cars and coffee would get the ball rolling on solidifying the community!

Thanks Dave, especially for all your efforts at steering the ship.

Firstly, I think it’s unfair on Ciars to be footing the costs single handedly and I don’t think it’s realistic to expect sponsors to pay the bills.

While I appreciate there’s a general debate about the decline of forums and dwindling interest in cars in general, I think we need to decide if we want this forum to survive and if so sponsor it ourselves, and not worry about the macro picture.

I like the structure of a forum compared to FB groups or WhatsApp chats for the reasons mentioned previously and am more than happy to share the costs of running it.
Whether that’s split between 2, 5, 20 or 100 people is a detail.

Secondly, I think there needs to be more mods to monitor new registrants and posts, which would share the burden then.