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Your Club Needs You ! #OldSkoolFord


Mk2Jo

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4 hours ago, Vista said:

 

Unfortunately that's one thing that's difficult to change as it's dictated by the operating software platform. We can tweak the look and layout a bit but not really do much about the format.

Its no biggy at all.

I can still get round the site ok ?

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Don't think you give one specific reason why the numbers are down on forums.Seems  to be  various things which have been mentioned. You've only to look at the numbers attending the likes of classic ford to see the numbers are dwindling. One of the main factors is cost I beleive, along with the theftabilty of older cars so people are reluctant to take them out. Also along the lines of cost is people put so much into them taking them to a show and having jo public all over them like a rash puts them off. Although there are a lot of members on here they don't have to ask a question to a problem, just google it and a lot of answers come up including the OSF forum if that problem has been discussed on here. There is also so many good restos on here it may put people off showing theirs if they don't have the funds or capabilitys to match what's been done so are reluctant to do a thread. There are so many helpful and knowledgable people on here to help with their problems, but how do you get that across to someone ? As for the layout, it appears to me to be good, easy to get round and find specific subjects. Overhall don't think it's a trend you will be able to alter, maybe another year or two and trend will change from faceache back to the forums.

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1 hour ago, Vista said:

Maybe, but I don't want it pushed down people's throats either. It's entirely voluntary.

agreed, but I think its becoming apparent that a lot of members either don't know its there, or don't know what it is and / or why and what its for, like for instance the running costs of the forum and actually having the site in the first place among other things, perhaps just a read only section in the main area explaining all that may be an idea

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I think the forum is great as it is, not sure you could improve it. Does seem to go through quiet spells but it's the only forum I really bother with: I check in a few times a day. I stick my head into rodsnsods a bit but don't post anymore and occassionally I'll look in on Turbosport, again no posting though. I'm on fb but not on the osf group there.
Only thing I will say is to keep the forum working with Tapatalk. Nothing wrong with the mobile site, I just prefer to use Tapatalk for forums.

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8 hours ago, HotRodMatt said:
9 hours ago, NudgerSS said:
What the hell is Retards Club? Sounds like i could be a perfect fit for it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The site's swear filter changes farcebook to Retards Club automatically.

And that's why I love the forum as it is!

While I do enjoy the forum layout I do have concerns. As Col mentioned people can search and access all the information without ever joining even though its free to do so. Maybe disable the search facility for signed in members only? Also this complete open access allows anyone to check out members profiles. That at least should be privy to those who join not for outsiders to collect information about members and their cars and the things they are currently discussing.

PS I always have trouble loading pages that have been uploaded through tapatalk and im just using a conventional PC. There may be a compatibility issue there that could be looked at if attracts more to the forum as many seem to like it.

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I don't think you can help the forum too much more than you already do - I think it is a good idea as mentioned above that only fully fledged members can see other members details, but most on here don't go too specific on details anyway, as you never really know how is checking you out. The site lay out I think is very easy on the eye and easy to navigate. Forums by their very nature are quite boring unless you like being online all of the time, me personally not - I use it when I need/want to but can go weeks or months without, and that is not the forums fault, it just that I have a life, it is what it is. Some posts are fun and you get involved and they go on forever, some not so much. And although OSF, it does seem that the majority of talk and members revolve around Escorts, no ones fault, it is what it is..... :eeek:.....Now where's the popcorn.

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On 20/09/2018 at 07:47, Rally Pack 2000 said:

And that's why I love the forum as it is!

While I do enjoy the forum layout I do have concerns. As Col mentioned people can search and access all the information without ever joining even though its free to do so. Maybe disable the search facility for signed in members only? Also this complete open access allows anyone to check out members profiles. That at least should be privy to those who join not for outsiders to collect information about members and their cars and the things they are currently discussing.

PS I always have trouble loading pages that have been uploaded through tapatalk and im just using a conventional PC. There may be a compatibility issue there that could be looked at if attracts more to the forum as many seem to like it.

Some of those are valid points James, the issue is that if we close off the forum to non registered members, none of the Facebook or Twitter feeds into the forum will work anymore. I will look to see if the search facility can be limited to registered and logged in members only. Members profiles it is only staff (such as yourself) that have access to any personal contact details so I don't see this as too much of a problem.

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2 hours ago, Vista said:

Some of those are valid points James, the issue is that if we close off the forum to non registered members, none of the Retards Club or Twitter feeds into the forum will work anymore. I will look to see if the search facility can be limited to registered and logged in members only. Members profiles it is only staff (such as yourself) that have access to any personal contact details so I don't see this as too much of a problem.

Thats fair enough. As much as I despise FB knowing how much others rely on it then its more important to keep that line open to FB users than create new restrictions. The suggestion was just to encourage non members to sign up rather than peruse the site for information without ever becoming a part of it but keeping a FB link is the more important of the two.

While the private personal information on profiles is limited to staff there is still a fair amount you can read about on profiles of members without ever logging in. If you read their location and enough about their habits from their posts a determined person could easily figure out what shows they are attending and roughly where they live in order to plant trackers and thefts and the like. It just seemed a bit more open house to anyone on the net compared to other forums I have seen. This affects you guys more than me of course, since I dont have friends Im flattered anyone would take the time to check out my profile! :mrgreen:

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19 minutes ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

This affects you guys more than me of course, since I dont have friends Im flattered anyone would take the time to check out my profile! :mrgreen:

I think with the information and views you have and freely give you have more friends on here than you think! ?

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I joined this site earlier this year and have really enjoyed using it for meets and obviously help. I love that you arrange for a club stand at shows which gives access to places an individual couldn't, the likes of the NEC and the position you get at Santa pod. 

Before I joined I did spend a few months browsing, but that was mainly due to not actually having an OSF at the time so I thought I would be a bit of fraud without the experience of actually owning one and being able to join in. I realise now that that wouldn't of been a major issue, but for me I joined so I could go to shows with like minded enthusiasts as well as getting help and helping.

I think that allowing browsing made me get to know the site and realise how nice everyone on it is. I looked at other sites and some wouldn't allow me to see anything without joining which comes across as very negative. Maybe you could allow people access for browsing for a limited time or a certain number of searches to give them the opportunity to see how good the site and members are. I do believe you have a great site because you have open access though.

I will join the cult of OSF shortly as all you admin guys do a great job and after now being involved in a few events I realise how much work goes into the organisation of these and that they do cost money and every little helps!

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5 hours ago, Munch said:

Maybe you could allow people access for browsing for a limited time or a certain number of searches to give them the opportunity to see how good the site and members are. I do believe you have a great site because you have open access though.

That's a good suggestion but unfortunately isnt possible to achieve as it would entail monitoring the IP address of every guest visiting the forum and limiting the number of times they coukd do so from the same IP address. We don't have any means of doing that and even if we did, there'd be nothing to stop someone from just using another IP address.

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I think a lot of the old gits  are still lurking,but many have sold there cars and can’t be bothered to rebuild something gets too long winded,and getting new blood is hard because many can’t afford the prices of these classic fords,and younger generation are into hondas corsa,s etc,

personally I think Fac book has impacted on a lot of sites to

Just my thoughts,but if your new to the old ford scene it’s an excellent site for mostly all you need to no,and some knowledgeable people to help

i blame the admin ????

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I'm an old technomuppet and like the site as it is and appreciate the work that goes in with thanks, but if change came I would roll with it. I have noticed since I joined 11yrs ago that the age demographic has shifted, or we have got older and the younger feed in is becoming rarer. This is probably due to old Fords increasing in price, even old shitters to restore, (or bodge and smoke around in, which is probably where most of us started), are daft money for what they are.

I'm glad NudgerSS asked the question as to who the Retards Club was as I hadn't a clue either. I wasn't even aware OSF had a club FB page.

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  • 1 month later...
On ‎29‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 21:50, accord83 said:

I'm an old technomuppet and like the site as it is and appreciate the work that goes in with thanks, but if change came I would roll with it. I have noticed since I joined 11yrs ago that the age demographic has shifted, or we have got older and the younger feed in is becoming rarer. This is probably due to old Fords increasing in price, even old shitters to restore, (or bodge and smoke around in, which is probably where most of us started), are daft money for what they are.

I'm glad NudgerSS asked the question as to who the Retards Club was as I hadn't a clue either. I wasn't even aware OSF had a club FB page.

I think you're right about the demographic … when I first joined the site in march 2005, it was quite small and was mostly 20 & 30 somethings who were very active but mostly in the South London/Surrey areas which is where the founder Darren lived - there were also almost weekly meets that everyone in the local area seemed to go to (Boxhill / Marquis of Granby / convoys to Wheels Day in Aldershot / impromptu blasts down to Brighton) - these don't happen anymore which is a shame as they were much fun.     The site has changed a lot over the years and I do think there are far fewer younger folks on the forum but I do think perhaps we have a wider demographic now which is a plus as it was deemed to be a bit clicky to those outside of the local area.     Thanks for all your views - much appreciated :)

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  • 4 months later...

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