rant Does anyone actually care about this site any longer?

[Delboy52]

Photobucket really did pull a fast one by blocking all image hosting unless money is coughed up. I've updated my old links as I when I find them to a different host (http://www.flickr.com) but it takes a little time to do it. Using a phone and burping photos straight up onto Facebook gets your instant dopamine hit a lot quicker and easier, but more hassle to find some info that has been said after some time has passed.

[blythmrk]

I have only just joined face book in the past week and must say I much prefer the forum.

Although the moderators (especially the red ones) should maybe on here more often especially when new members are paying a subscription and not getting instant access. Also how to become a full member and how to pay could be made easier.

I would be interest to see the viewing numbers to the post ratio as I know a lot of members still log in but just read what has been posted and never really post.

Are the forum/club finances still healthy or does branners have to put his hand in his pocket?

[SupraLEDrears]

SRD have only literally just bought Hecklers business.

 

And quite frankly, how can we say we can’t have two traders that offer the same service, yet actually have more than two traders that offer the same services.

 

Shame about Hide n Seat though.

 

This

[Frank Bullitt]

SRD have only literally just bought Hecklers business.

 

And quite frankly, how can we say we can’t have two traders that offer the same service, yet actually have more than two traders that offer the same services.

 

Shame about Hide n Seat though.

 

It was more to do with the Hobbiest conflict rather than Trader status. I don’t think there has ever been a Hobbiest offering the same service as another or a Hobbiest offering the same service as a Trader.

 

I was always lead to believe that if a hobbiest offered the same service as a Trader then that was a non starter. Happy to be proven wrong though.

 

The traders themselves have really shot themselves in the foot with the forum by posting so little, although a requirement for a trader and hobbyist membership should have always included a rough quota of posts per week/month. It is new threads and footfall that keeps the forum alive. Some traders literally only post on here when they want something, which is pretty disgraceful imo.

 

Another gripe that has been mentioned previously yet nothing has ever come of it. Only a couple of Traders on here actively contribute to the forum which is a great shame.

[The Raven]

I love this place, Facebook is ok for selling or quick questions. But in depth answers this is the place

 

 

Photobucket ruined a lot of threads including mine. However i managed to reup all mine to a new thread. Alas a lot of the people that carried out the the how to are long gone

[samdale]

Using a phone and burping photos straight up onto Facebook gets your instant dopamine hit a lot quicker and easier, but more hassle to find some info that has been said after some time has passed.

 

More people using Tapatalk would be a good start. Uploading photos is as easy as posting them to Facebook.

[Pete]

1) Photophuckit (or any other photo hosting). We’ve consistently recommended uploading images to the forum and not a 3rd party as they can disappear at any instant. Whereas the forum ones are backed up and we won’t lose them

2) We’re having discussions regarding mods and activity. Decisions awaiting to be made.

3) Technology. We know. It really needs to improve and there has been discussions on this also in the last week.

4) Social networks and Whatsapp. Sadly i’ve Seen silos of discussion happening here away from the forum where it would’ve been 3 years ago. We need to integrate with these somehow.

 

Stay faithful Supra fans. This is still the best place to congregate.

[Pete]

More people using Tapatalk would be a good start. Uploading photos is as easy as posting them to Facebook.

 

Crapatalk is dreadful. I’ve had to work with them on another forum. They are a pita to deal with, support none existent and their technology makes me want to cry.

[samdale]

1) Photophuckit (or any other photo hosting). We’ve consistently recommended uploading images to the forum and not a 3rd party as they can disappear at any instant. Whereas the forum ones are backed up and we won’t lose them

 

The single biggest problem is ease of use. I've tried and failed on a couple of occasions and just resort to Tapatalk.

 

 

[Suprakeith]

1) Photophuckit (or any other photo hosting). We’ve consistently recommended uploading images to the forum and not a 3rd party as they can disappear at any instant. Whereas the forum ones are backed up and we won’t lose them

2) We’re having discussions regarding mods and activity. Decisions awaiting to be made.

3) Technology. We know. It really needs to improve and there has been discussions on this also in the last week.

4) Social networks and Whatsapp. Sadly i’ve Seen silos of discussion happening here away from the forum where it would’ve been 3 years ago. We need to integrate with these somehow.

 

Stay faithful Supra fans. This is still the best place to congregate.

 

With regards to points 2 & 3. How come it’s gotten this bad before mods have started discussing it and trying to resolve it? Not being picky or funny but it’s been on decline for last couple of years and how long have we got to wait before these issues are resolved?

[Pete]

The single biggest problem is ease of use. I've tried and failed on a couple of occasions and just resort to Tapatalk.

 

/QUOTE]

Yeah. I totally get that.

[Pete]

With regards to points 2 & 3. How come it’s gotten this bad before mods have started discussing it and trying to resolve it? Not being picky or funny but it’s been on decline for last couple of years and how long have we got to wait before these issues are resolved?

As mentioned above, it’s been over a year since upgrade plans were started so it’s not recent. Mawby holds the keys and with a new family, plus work pressures have meant time is short nowadays. He’s put in hundreds of hours over the years and I think it’s coming to the point of handover or seeking extra help at least.

[Suprakeith]

As mentioned above, it’s been over a year since upgrade plans were started so it’s not recent. Mawby holds the keys and with a new family, plus work pressures have meant time is short nowadays. He’s out hundreds of hours is over the years and I think it’s coming to the point of handover or seeking extra help at least.

 

Thank you, appreciate Mawby is out tons of hours and hopefully there are plenty of members willing to help out, I for one would love to do more to help but I haven’t the skills.

[rider]

If money is an issue then I'm sure lifetime membership could be replaced by a loyal member reduced subscription. My feeling is the lack of activity isn't going to get new potential members excited. Having stickies from almost a decade ago offering up good latest 2010 iphone or android apps just looks, well really. It just looks like there is no housekeeping and that suggests no active moderators and admin and if neither mods or admin is active then it really is a sign things have moved on, maybe elsewhere but not here.

 

The lack of new sponsors isn't as worrying as the old ones that don't bother any more which isn't as worrying as the old ones that don't bother anymore being still here in the traders section as expired membership. Expired traders were today JM and Opie, but seems like JM have fallen today.

 

Hopefully we can get a new dynamic set of mods up and running who can lead the forum forward. I think there is a great revenue potential in this site just charging visitors for access to the technical documents. Translate those into however many languages and let people buy them. I'd happily pay for how to docs, I buy workshop and Haynes manuals after all so why not? You can tell from the number of hits some threads get the site has a lot of lurkers. 20,000 for Bitcoin in 3 months, the most popular thread on the Supra forum by far. Got to love it, next week how to make a lemon sponge.

[Tyson]

It’s true the forum needs a major update and as Pete said it is in the pipeline.

[Guigsy]

problem with moving things to facebook is you cant look on there easly for stuff... "oh i saw someone post something about your problem last year on this group" good luck finding that post...

And you cant store things on it easily for reference. Its not what it was intended for. Its a social networking platform. Its great for informing people and organising meetups or distributing other news. But holding long lasting discussions and as a repository of knowledge it is not good at.

[Pete]

problem with moving things to facebook is you cant look on there easly for stuff... "oh i saw someone post something about your problem last year on this group" good luck finding that post...

And you cant store things on it easily for reference. Its not what it was intended for. Its a social networking platform. Its great for informing people and organising meetups or distributing other news. But holding long lasting discussions and as a repository of knowledge it is not good at.

Exactly that. Facebook drives me mental for that reason. That and whenever you open app it doesn’t start from where you left off. Stuff often isn’t shown to you depending on the device you use or if FB thinks you should see it.

[Pete]

If money is an issue then I'm sure lifetime membership could be replaced by a loyal member reduced subscription. My feeling is the lack of activity isn't going to get new potential members excited. Having stickies from almost a decade ago offering up good latest 2010 iphone or android apps just looks, well really. It just looks like there is no housekeeping and that suggests no active moderators and admin and if neither mods or admin is active then it really is a sign things have moved on, maybe elsewhere but not here.

I’m stuck on an iPad in Berlin at the moment so a little difficult to review. It has been recognised that we have a few mods which are not as active as they could be (myself included) and that also is under review and awaiting decisions from the reds.

 

The lack of new sponsors isn't as worrying as the old ones that don't bother any more which isn't as worrying as the old ones that don't bother anymore being still here in the traders section as expired membership. Expired traders were today JM and Opie, but seems like JM have fallen today.

That is a concern. Let’s get that sorted. I don’t know, but they may be in negotiations during which we may not necessarily disable them immediately?

 

Hopefully we can get a new dynamic set of mods up and running who can lead the forum forward. I think there is a great revenue potential in this site just charging visitors for access to the technical documents. Translate those into however many languages and let people buy them. I'd happily pay for how to docs, I buy workshop and Haynes manuals after all so why not? You can tell from the number of hits some threads get the site has a lot of lurkers. 20,000 for Bitcoin in 3 months, the most popular thread on the Supra forum by far. Got to love it, next week how to make a lemon sponge.

JB could’ve made many profit making decisions, I understand he opted not to turn it into a cash cow as it is a club run volunteer members, for the members and not a commerce venture.

A lot of the tech docs I uploaded may have hazy copyright, so I certainly wouldn’t charge for them.

 

Some good points made thank you. Members ideas are always welcome and I look forward to your cake making tips!

[Paul]

I'm still here so that's a massive plus point

[Ric]

The forum and community was one of the main reasons i got my 3rd (current) supra.

 

I've been around here for a while and yes it's got quieter but the forum meets and get togethers are still great.

 

It just needs a revamp, more areas need moderation mainly the sales section as thats just a mess at the moment. The forum sofrware could be upgraded to a newer versions but that is a big change and may put people off more.

 

Changing to another forum software imo isn't the way to go. I'm on a few forums and they changed to a different software and it just drove everybody away.

[peter richards]

not so long ago the set up changed I remember jb saying this is how it is lol but soon get used to it , members including myself have had the car for a long time , so kind of not much to ask about it compared to when we first bought it. agree the sales section isn't brill but that seems to be the way atm with parts being scarce , and prices on parts a bit on the high side , I remember when I first joined certain bits were free lol yellow blobs number plate holders . now its all money

[Frank Bullitt]

Unfortunately I think you will find it is more down to greed now Peter, it’s a shame as you say but I guess times have changed. There are still a few good eggs on here that are willing to help others without the need for financial compensation. They are just in the minority now.

[safcdixon]

One of the biggest issues for most poeple is the picture/video upload, its not to hard once you know how, but surely could be made easier so members dont have to use third party hosts for them, Id guess that why many dont bother with build threads anymore, Its the reason i havent updated my old supras one or started a new one for my current supra (which ive had 3yrs now)

[Ric]

One of the biggest issues for most poeple is the picture/video upload, its not to hard once you know how, but surely could be made easier so members dont have to use third party hosts for them, Id guess that why many dont bother with build threads anymore, Its the reason i havent updated my old supras one or started a new one for my current supra (which ive had 3yrs now)

 

Attaching to the thread is probably the easiest thing ever? you don't even need your own hosting.

[ManwithSupra]

I don't use the Facebook site for the Supra club and probably never will, I have always thought if you are a car enthusiast then you go to that dedicated forum where the forum/club is paid for by the members of that club, not some free for all, everyone is welcome Facebook rubbish.

At least with a forum you get people dedicated to the cause. That said, I have been a member of this forum for over a decade and in the last 3 years I have seen a massive decline in not only active members but people who I would consider to be supra enthusiasts (maybe that is just my view on things).

 

I even stopped posting on my build thread because the response I was getting was pretty crap, it got to the point where I felt there was no point in spending up to an hour or more writing and posting images of what I have been up to with the car during the week or weekend.

 

I think an overhaul of this site could be good, no offense to the mods, but there has not been a change on here in 12+ years I have been on here, same images, same layout, its all looking very very dated now and is not going to attract new owners if the site looks like on first glance it was made 15 odd years ago.

I mean you look at the bottom of the site, no one has even bothered to update the "MKIV Supra owners club copy write date statement since 2012.

 

I would love to continue to share the development of my Supra, I have some pretty amazing things in development for it but I am discouraged to put anything up because of lack of interest and attention from the members, mods and traders.

Traders, there used to be a time you would be posting every day and bending over backwards to help fellow club enthusiasts, I can only think of one trader that does that now..