Ensuring the Future of EOC - 10 Post Rule

[Brendan1969]

Hey Karl, since this thread has started up, how many more premium members have you gained out of interest?????

 

[Cliff Goodwin]

Yes this was the case in my other Elgrand club I used to be in a few years ago. Great idea. Gives folk a sense of belonging straight away with the window sticker and welcome pack info.

Yes you got it,just found the words better than me but that's exactly the point,

 

[Cliff Goodwin]

Hey Karl, since this thread has started up, how many more premium members have you gained out of interest?????

Well I for one am ready to pay up,just holding out to see if the sticker/welcome pack comes to fruition.Lol

 

[Karl]

And by the way, it’s nice to see such proactive and positive energy in the last month or so, it was in danger of becoming a massive negative bitch fest. Hats off to turning around the vibe.

Yes, the Facebook side of things has been pretty ugly in all honesty. There have been battles on a few fronts that I've been fighting (some public, some not so public). I appreciate that my response to those events has been pretty damaging to the club overall, which is why I have pulled back from Facebook a lot, and only really share things from the forum to the group, which is hopefully encouraging people to look for answers themselves.

Maybe Stuart Caller is referring to the FB side of things Phil?? Hopefully none of that crap will end up on here. If it does then I will be one of first to be OFF.

Yes @Brendan1969 - he was referring to the Facebook side of things. It's not been pretty

But doesn’t it make it a little cliquey? Using terms like “guests” and freeloaders won’t attract new members.

The term "guests" is what the forum titles those who look at the data but don't register. We, as the Forum administration, have the ability to allow guests to view or not. You will probably find that a lot of forums are behind closed doors which is to protect "their data". We have always allowed the data to be free to anyone who wants to view. But now, after 4 years, the "guest" traffic is getting exponentially bigger than the "member" traffic. The point of this exercise is to keep the forum free and available to those who want to be a part of the club, rather than forcing a fixed fee for those who want to use it. By keeping the "guests" from using the clubs resources, it means that there is more resource for anyone who to be a part of the club, and reduces the pressure on the admin team to require payments.

Maybe when u pay membership u should be sent a car sticker as like when u join a working men's club or suchlike u get a clubcase! Just a suggestion

We have looked into this, but none of the admin team have been able to dedicate time to do this. We are still looking into it, and as things start to settle down a little more, then this is something we will consider again.
I have been handing out free stickers at meets, and to be honest, this may be another way to go. As we now have regional champions for meets etc, we may send a pack out to each of the champions, who then, in turn, hand out free stickers to those who go to meets.

@Karl @Madfish I welcome the changes will google be ask to remove its cache of the Forum

In all honesty, I doubt many people know how to use Google Cache, but if guests use Google Cache to view forum content, it's not going to be using our bandwidth, so it's a win/win really.

 

[Chrisplumber]

Have you paid £20 then buddy and started the ball rolling??? a packet of fags less a week and or a couple of beers would suffice albeit I doubt the pissheads and smokers would agree on that one

Lol. Happily pay 20 when renewal comes around. There is no way I am saving money on beer ha ha

 

[Brendan1969]

Well I for one am ready to pay up,just holding out to see if the sticker/welcome pack comes to fruition.Lol

I have absolutely no control or influence over that buddy. One for " THE BOSS " me thinks.

 

[Brendan1969]

Yes, the Facebook side of things has been pretty ugly in all honesty. There have been battles on a few fronts that I've been fighting (some public, some not so public). I appreciate that my response to those events has been pretty damaging to the club overall, which is why I have pulled back from Facebook a lot, and only really share things from the forum to the group, which is hopefully encouraging people to look for answers themselves.


Yes @Brendan1969 - he was referring to the Facebook side of things. It's not been pretty



The term "guests" is what the forum titles those who look at the data but don't register. We, as the Forum administration, have the ability to allow guests to view or not. You will probably find that a lot of forums are behind closed doors which is to protect "their data". We have always allowed the data to be free to anyone who wants to view. But now, after 4 years, the "guest" traffic is getting exponentially bigger than the "member" traffic. The point of this exercise is to keep the forum free and available to those who want to be a part of the club, rather than forcing a fixed fee for those who want to use it. By keeping the "guests" from using the clubs resources, it means that there is more resource for anyone who to be a part of the club, and reduces the pressure on the admin team to require payments.



We have looked into this, but none of the admin team have been able to dedicate time to do this. We are still looking into it, and as things start to settle down a little more, then this is something we will consider again.
I have been handing out free stickers at meets, and to be honest, this may be another way to go. As we now have regional champions for meets etc, we may send a pack out to each of the champions, who then, in turn, hand out free stickers to those who go to meets.




In all honesty, I doubt many people know how to use Google Cache, but if guests use Google Cache to view forum content, it's not going to be using our bandwidth, so it's a win/win really.

Because your famous Karl, can we have signed stickers from you and or a signed sticker photo of " The Boss " perhaps. Could be worth a mint in years to come if you hit the big time.

 

[Karl]

I'll have a think about it @Brendan1969 - might have to get you to sign a contract that if it's ever worth that much, I want a percentage back

 

[Cliff Goodwin]

I have absolutely no control or influence over that buddy. One for " THE BOSS " me thinks.

I'm all paid up now,worth every penny,will just pay for my own drinks down the pub tomoz and I'll have recouped it in 10 minutes lol

 

[LMP]

I am a user rather than a contributor as I know nothing about anything mechanical. The Forum has been godsend but because it already contains so much information I haven't had to post and ask questions. I upgraded to Premium soon after joining as my way of saying thank you to Karl and all the regular contributors. I'd happily pay a higher fee for the encyclopaedic knowledge on here. It would be a disaster for numpties like me if the Forum folded!!

 

[sticky]

Karl / other full members
As one of those new 'members' ( registered earlier this month ) and now in receipt of a Restricted Access e-mail (until I place 10 posts in the Social area or pay an annual fee) . Ransomware was my first thought...then I read it properly!

Now - It just feels like I am just the kind of member you do not want!

I do not eat, sleep or dream about my old 1996 E50 ( owned her for the past 12 years) - I just try to keep her running reliably and doing what she does best - transporting the family everywhere for everything. It is true to say that we would be completely sunk without her..
From this you can conclude that I am NOT an Elgrand 'Top-Table Socialite'- there will be no Elgrand Club Rallies, Elgrand pictures, Elgrand picnics, Elgrand parades or car shows for my old girl. She is a 22 year old work-horse...is that so bad?

As an Engineer I do not even consider using garages when I am perfectly capable of investigating and doing the work. As there are no workshop manuals / wiring diagrams readily available, I do have to use the internet when I have a problem that I can not solve readily myself ( usually with my MK1 eyeballs and experience). True, I have used other older Elgrand Technical forums in the historical past but have also contributed to their knowledge-base with my own experiences and researched technical findings when I have something really useful to pass on.

Fee for full membership ( = access to Technical) - It is highly unlikely that I will ever naturally make 10 Social posts - let alone 10 every year - what a complete waste of time and energy - that is just not what I do with my time. So its the paid membership option then...but then why pay AND contribute information due to my lack of a social life / event calendar to boast about?

That I should even contemplate writing ten meaningless "hurrah Henry", "Pat on the back", "What a lovely drive...", "nice pub/resaurant...," "great garage service..." , "well done you.." typical posts with more Elgrand related images just in order to freely use (and contribute) to the Club Technical information 'treasure chest' is absurd. I thought you were concerned about excess traffic and lack of bandwidth!

If its the Technical Information that you feel is being "used and abused" why encourage Social posting as a qualification? Why not make the qualification 10 Technical posts and let the Social 'posters' + Technical info 'dippers' pay?

Better still have no 'Top-Table' 'Socialite' get outs - no exceptions - just ask everyone to pay a £1 across the board.

 

[Madfish]

The ethos of this club has always been free access, that's not going to change.

Any paid membership is completely voluntary

Most forums operate a minimum posting ruling, it's a standard affair.

The 10 post rule isn't even an annual requirement, once you hit your 10 you have access...

 

[Chris T]

Some people seem to be taking this very hard, I don't understand. Karl and the guys are looking to have more people contributing to the forum. I don't know much about Elgrands technically but find it's quite easy and welcoming to help new comers with links that answer their initial questions until someone more technical turns up.

I feel that is a good contribution to the forum, it means the mods have to spend less time finding links to the typical stuff (cats, double din etc) and the new user gets a welcome and a prompt response.

 

[Karl]

@sticky, so really, what you are saying is that you expect to have this kind of resource available without contributing or helping it?

Well, if this resource was not here (as it won't be if we don't implement changes) then no one will be able to benefit.

Please share your ideas with the admin team if you feel there are other, better ways to ensure the club has a long and bright future. We are welcome to suggestion, but often when we ask others to give input, they rarely come up with a solution.

 

[Dazzafact]

@sticky couple of great points there. Maybe need to work on your delivery though...

 

[Karl]

At the end of the day, we live in a world where money wins.

It's not free to host this website, and especially not free for the amount of traffic we have going through the forum. We do NOT ask people to sign up as premium members, and we certainly don't ever expect it. But without those members who see the benefit, and the money they have saved from being a part of the community, and feel it's worth the £12 a year, this club would not be anywhere near what it is at the moment.

All we ask is that people get involved, get stuck in and interact with one another. Socialising with other Elgrand enthusiasts, helping to contribute to the friendly nature of the club, and helping to point newbies in the right direction is basic stuff. If you are of a technical background and you can give input to other people's problems, then you are adding value to the club by allowing future members to see solutions to their issues.

By doing what we are doing, we are making the money paid by members to support the club goes that little bit futher. It means that those who DO want to help and contribute get more for their money.

I would love to say that we have unlimited resources for zero cost and could keep going as we are without a worry, but there have been issues that members do NOT see in the background over the last few months. The decisions made, as stated, are to ensure that the club keeps going without having to increase the premium membership fee, or force a paid entry fee.

Even Wikipedia had problems over the last few years and begged for donations from viewers to keep the website going. No one complained about that because Wiki is the first place most people go for an answer. There is even basic Elgrand information on there. But I am sure a lot of people would have been up in arms if they did not ask for money and just disappeared without a trace.

You have to take into account that this club relies on members being a strong part of the community. The more active members we have, the more information we gather. The more information we gather, the more people feel that the resource is worth paying for. The more people who think the resource is worth paying for means more investment in the club.

NONE of the money that comes into EOC goes to any of the admin team. We all do this voluntarily for no reward. If I was to take the attitude that some people have, and just expect everything for nothing, I'd just not bother spending my time working on and developing this club into what it has become.

 

[Dazzafact]

@Karl i know this is a spare time thing for all you guys, but you should really look into the advertising, it would at the very least cover some costs.

 

[Phil]

All we ask is that people get involved, get stuck in and interact with one another. Socialising with other Elgrand enthusiasts, helping to contribute to the friendly nature of the club, and helping to point newbies in the right direction is basic stuff.

that means I'm only a basic member - can I just pay £6 per year?

Like @LMP I'm useless with cars but I can use the info supplied by the proper car guys so I have a little understandin of things when passing it over for repairs etc

And I like to view others project threads

 

[Easy Rider]

my £12 membership has so far bought me a £5 discount on the Yorkshire Rally camping fee, if you come along you will benefit from that too.
https://forum.elgrandoc.uk/threads/yorkshire-rally-meet-15-16-september-2018.8613/#post-85389
Plus, in my 1st week as a non paying member I was given advice about getting a VX report that saved me thousands of pounds on a clocked van!
https://forum.elgrandoc.uk/threads/thinking-of-buying-an-Elgrand.8555/
https://carvx.jp/
I decided 25p a week was well worth the info and advice ;-)

 

[Mr G]

@sticky Could have broken that post into 10 bite sized chunks and hit the 10 post target