Why are you not contributing to this Forum anymore?

[Eugene]

I do believe, forums like this is the best way to keep in touch with other enthusiasts. Just looking at the decline in contributions in the last couple of years, I can't help but wonder why members are you not contributing to this Forum anymore. Facebook is the app that you use to spy on your ex girlfriend or where you pretend to be important by "liking" this..."tagging" that and because you are such a dull person, you have to tell the world where you have been, what you are doing and with whom. I do have a Facebook account but have not accepted a single "friend" request, purely because I do not care to know what my neighbor is doing or what my kids are/were up to. Also, try searching for something you saw yesterday

Now, I believe you get arseholes and over-sensitive people wherever you go. To not contribute because Johnny did not like the color of my car is so immature and so is Johnny but that you will get all over the interweb, not just here. People like to be important and they like to be right that's part of life. I have only ever been wrong once in my life......that was the one time I actually thought I was wrong

So looking at the last couple of years, regular contributors have started to stay away and I'm not talking about people like me, who makes a lot of noise but knows nothing about these cars, I'm talking about big guns......can they all just be over-sensitive? Did their love for these cars just wilt away?

In the last 24 hours, around 84 registered users have been online but one or two, contributed....why is that?

I would like to hear your thoughts

[V6 Capri]

Valid question.
Forums in general are a dying breed. Its all Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp etc.

Personally, I like reading the project threads. It motivates you to keep going at your project. Also like the technical question side of things. There is always someone on the forum with the right answer, 2 or 3 that disagree, 1 that has an easier way of doing it, 1 that will come help you do it, etc. Also a great place to keep track of cars and parts for sale, as well as events.

As soon as my project gets traction I am sure I will contribute a little more in the way of pictures to read. Until then, I like reading the updates and things on other threads on here.

[fig]

Unfortunately web forums are indeed dying a slow death. It's not just this one. I'm a member of forums for various other makes and models of cars and motorcycles and they are all barely ticking over.

All the action seems to be on Facebook, Instagram, etc. This is such a shame, because web forums are classified and archived and therefore easily searchable, which makes it easy to find where your question was previously asked and the responses, or to confirm that your question hasn't been asked so you can service the whole community by asking and receiving responses.

Facebook is like a huge hall full of people, all of whom are talking simultaneously and none of whom are listening, with all their hot air disappearing into the ether, never to be seen again.

In addition to answering technical questions where I can (I still do this), I used to repost ACVW ads from gumtree here. I know a few people responded promptly to ads and scored bargains as a result, which made it worthwhile for me. Unfortunately, my employer now unreasonably expects me to do a lot more work than previously, so I don't spend as much time on gumtree any more. And, if anyone missed my reposts, they haven't said so.

[Eugene]

Unfortunately, my employer now unreasonably expects me to do a lot more work than previously, so I don't spend as much time on gumtree any more.

This is so wrong

I don't spend as much time on gumtree any more. And, if anyone missed my reposts, they haven't said so.

Don't make me go find the posts...people actually did. I for one do

[sean]

People are plain lazy to work on their projects, maintaining their cars and sharing it. Most projects are pushed into corners with the owner watching tv.

I don't really post much either these days as my trip reports didn't seem to interest others much anymore. Its seems driving to the local KFC and parking there is what is done these days.

When I actually take a break from work and my projects, ill share an update on the projects, but for now, I have an executive baywindow to get running for George which has not yet run.

[freddiebooysen]

Eugene

I agree with everyone.
Just like good technical knowledge bases and the books it is just a lot easier to google everything and have an answer quickly.

Yes I do some reading from time to time but it is just easy and a pity people do not even go through the trouble of actually figuring something out.

Yes that is me as well.

I have been on a mission to get into teaching myself more and more things and trying to figure out stuff. From welding to bricklaying.

And people just do not put in the effort to try something new and venture into the unknown.

I keep on using the forum it is a great archive for projects road trips etc.

The recent trip I did I did one post on Facebook and kept the detail on the forum.

Nice to keep some old habits and technologies alive.






Freddie Booysen

[Eugene]

People are plain lazy to work on their projects, maintaining their cars and sharing it. ...

Well, I am one of those but the thing is, not everybody has projects. There are a lot of members, who have perfectly running cars. Contributions could be on any of the around 30 diverse topics listed in the index

[64 Notchback]

I to agree with all that is said, but I am only referring to my self here.
Technologically challenged I am and for some reason I am unable to post pics again from my phone.
Apart from the baja that I am building for my son I have three other projects on the go simultaneously and unfortunately the baja is not a priority at the moment.
I visit this forum about 5-6 times a day, don't have a Facebook account and was thinking of joining the UK Sebring/eagle forum as I may neg for an eagle project.
Just some of my issues......

[73type2]

This forum is actually doing better than some other forums I'm on, where there wouldn't even be a new post for two weeks. Most people would read a thread and not bother to comment. Why join a forum and not contribute? No air-cooled related post is too insignificant to post. I think it would encourage people to post more if more people commented on posts. I like the anonymity factor of forums like these and treat everybody the same. I read all posts and try to comment where I feel I can make a contribution.

[Merlin]

As one of the earliest to join, I've witnessed the evolution of this forum from the start.

It's certainly been an eventful journey; described herein with tremendous brevity.

Significant and prologed politics played out many years ago; administered by a then devout clique. This brought about a negative reputation for the forum and drove away a lot of the regulars; many permanently, to various ends. In my opinion, this forum never truly recovered following that period.

That aside, the advance of technology brought new platforms and new communication methods, driven largely by younger generations.

Lastly, a lot of the demographic forming the typical forum audience have moved on to different stages of their lives, with a myriad of newer priorities and different areas of interest. Personally, my time for such activities has become scarce, to say the least, my vehicles are distributed across the country, I have a raft of interests and I have more pressing priorities at this stage of my life. Things change.

[acpaterson]

Agreed Merlin,
there were a few ego's and reputations battered a few years ago, blatent bullying and very personal. from then there was a lot of projects and trip reports which ended by a few individuals.
My Bus Winston is classified as a modified car by the purists, so, I don't share anything related to him because of this. We use him less and less, but I do perform the required maintenance to keep him running in perfect condition. I'll hand him down to my kid in a few years time, to do with as he see's fit. Plus he carries a fair bit of value I'd say.
I enjoy seeing the other projects that are happening, as well as the finds you guys discover, Sean is certainly the leader here, and his collection is fantastic considering their originality.
I don't see much from my other friend Mr Zzzz, who now has a VERY impressive workshop, so he must be doing a lot of private work for friends of friends, but not much is posted here.
Sign of the times I guess.

[AlanH]

I too read this forum daily and quite frankly am disappointed if there are no new posts.
Like others I also am on other forums which are all getting quieter. WA has taken away a lot of traffic I think as people get the posted message instantly and can get response to questions instantly without having to wait till they get to a computer.
Would be great if there was a way to link the forum to a WA group or be able to port WA communications to a forum.
I prefer a forum and also do not use FB just because of the reasons mentioned before. Maybe I loose out, but there is enough info on forums that matter to me.
I am probably also guilty of not contributing enough, but as someone said before if there is no response why bother.
Let's hope forum traffic will pick up again as I really like seeing all the projects and info. A special thanks must go to Retrovan who has kept us up to date with his MeFusCo. Thanks. There are other threads as well that are maintained but not as regularly.

[Edmond]

I also read this forum daily and have also notice a steady decline in the amount of posts here. I try to keep my baja project thread updated but progress is really slow on it, I do enjoy reading retrovan's Mefusco thread updates as well

[Tony Z]

I also prefer the forums again due to all the reasons above.
My take on it is that on a platform like FB, people can get the answers they want quicker, often incorrectly, but quicker without going through the effort of doing a search. And if you do a search for your topic of choice, due to the forums being as old as they are (all of them), the answer exists already thus no reason to post.

My posting on the projects is limited at the moment. Yes, I do take on some work for others. Yes, I have made some progress with my projects, but all the things I am doing are partway done and I dont post things about what I am going to do or what I am busy with, I rather post when it is done. Obviously in my time away from home I cant get any work done, and when I am home, I have family responsibilities and plenty other things to do that keep me busy. Usually in a 2 month period at home, I'll get 5 to 10 days for my projects, so progress is pretty slow, and the things I am trying to do dont take just a day to achieve.
That and my wrists are taking a battering from using a keyboard, so for that reason I use a keyboard as little as I possibly can. I can wrench on my cars for 8 hours a day without any pain or issues, but 5 min behind the keyboard really hurts me.

[Bugger]

Thanks for the Thread
Some valid points


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