Is This Forum History?

[mikemax04]

"If you build it, they will come". Not sure what's going on anymore. Is "you" having all kinds of technical difficulties or just losing interest? "They" are getting fewer and fewer with time. Is there anybody out there that can shed some light on this situation or is it time to move on, like so many have done already? It's starting to feel like the ancient catacombs. Ah yes, I remember them well.

A voice crying in the wilderness!:th_signs54:

 

[G Man]

A voice crying in the wilderness!:th_signs54:

(I'm just ribbing you with the quote!)

Well as I give some thought to this issue, I see the total # of members of our humble little forum is 187. A fairly small group. I also note that the majority of the members in the 187 total have either never posted or have less than five posts. It has been my experience(I have a few forums of my own) that approx only 10% of the total number of members in a forum contribute by posting regularily. That puts it right about where we are at with our small member list and the amount of regular posters.(I counted about twenty with more than fifteen posts) Fairly typical. With that number, there is only so much we can talk about. Our people generally belong to a number of other forums as well as the matter of day to day life getting in the way of hanging out here to post. That's o.k.. It's all for fun anyhow, isn't it? It shouldn't feel like work. I do wish I had more things of value to add, but I don't like to waste the forums bandwidth and resources if I haven't anything worthwhile to post. I'm not much of a "chatter" After all... our beloved bike isn't exactly a new release that requires new ground to cover. We have been talking about and handling the old girl for decades! When the new model comes out, this place will be all lined up, working great and fully armed to tear it apart! hyeah00: I think that Buster has done an outstanding job with the creation of this forum and I am honoured to be a part of it. Hang in there Mike! I think everythings cool and you are a valued part of it all. As you, myself, or anyone else requires any assistance, we know that as soon as we post or request it one of us will be here to help out. Gradually, our numbers are increasing and with time we are going to become THE place to be!

Take care and talk to you soon,
G Man

 

[shawn kloker]

I still check in on this forum.

I did notice the other day that I punched www.vmaxforum.net into AOL and it did not come up.I had to go back to google or msn to find it.
Hopefully evryone is just enjoying riding their bikes instead of working on some problems.

 

[Buster Hymen]

I find most "specialized" forums are a roller coaster ride. When they first start, there is a large influx of users and then it slowly levels out. There is a smaller finite pool of VMax owners than say if this was a Ford owner site. Also factor in the age of your target audience. For many, this is rather "high tech" compared to YahooGroup where you can receive and reply to the group as email. Plus as G Man pointed out, it's not the number of members, it's the number of people who contribute. 10% is probably an accurate number as I can name every regular contributor on the Yahoo Groups. Probably a bit early to forcast the forum's death, but I will admit, Europe has a much more hard core VMax base than here in NA. I'd factor in the fact that it is summer and most are all out riding or at events. I've seen posting declines on other bike forums I am on. But come come winter, the posts go way up. So hang in there Mike, the real benefit of a forum, is the ability of posting pictures and images, which this forum hasn't really had a lot of. When I get more time I have some other options i want to implement, but the riding weather is too nice at the moment!:thumbup1:

 

[Calimus]

Naw, it's not dead, we're all out riding. I've managed to put just about 600 miles on the bike since Thursday.

Summer for any car/truck/bike/watercraft related forum will always bring a slow down in posts because everyone is out enjoying their toys.

Speaking if which, I'm about to go and enjoy mine some more. Have fun everyone!

 

[mikemax04]

It's great to hear that there is still life out there. For a minute I wasn't so sure about it. That's all I wanted is to hear that all is well with this small startup forum. Picked a nice week end to re-do my bike seat for the fourth time. 90? and sunny. I'll keep at it 'till it's right, or totaled. Have fun guys and ride safe.

 

[ViciousCycle]

Just checking in to say I'm still checking in daily to see what's new, but not spending long on the computer for anything this time of year. Keep up the good work!:worthy00:

 

[Redux]

Not dead. Issues there are, tho. I have found the "lost data" issue a big distraction. Twice (at least) the host has lost data causing many posts to be lost. It is disappointing to have a good thread started only to have it all "lost". A larger, more populated board can weather technical difficulties better than a fledgling one.

I have found myself here less often. I will continue to check in and post as I may, but hope that what is posted will remain available.

 

[vmx12s]

This is one of the sites I have bookmarked for a daily drive-by. I don't have much technical advice to offer but really appreciate those who do.
Me likes it here!

 

[Reved]

This board is a great spot to stop by and do some reading about the Max. I can't always post but I do stop in. A massage board is as good as it's members, so if you want it to be a busy board we all need to contribute. That includes you and I.

 

[-Lee-]

IMO I think that this board is exactly what is needed as an aswer to the VMOACHAT and VMOATECH lists.

Now if I could only convince everyone else too.

I also belong to the German language VMAXXERS board and it is a fantastic forum! www.vmaxxers.net . I think that this forum could easily be as good as that one.

So... if you were thinking about killing it, or letting it die, DON'T!

Thanks.

 

[mikemax04]

IMO I think that this board is exactly what is needed as an aswer to the VMOACHAT and VMOATECH lists.

Now if I could only convince everyone else too.

I also belong to the German language VMAXXERS board and it is a fantastic forum! www.vmaxxers.net . I think that this forum could easily be as good as that one.

So... if you were thinking about killing it, or letting it die, DON'T!

Thanks.

Great site Lee. I'll have to mix and mingle and see just how bad my German really is. Not sure if you should convince ALL the Yahooers to come over to this forum. Notice there are no arguments or name calling, because there is no need to be "top dog" of the wrenchers here.

There is no intent of "killing" this forum. What's needed is a diversed interest base where more people can join in and voice their view point, or add their .02 worth to other subjects. As the membership grows, so will the participation on the Max.

What would be a plus for us all is to have more than one person being responsible for the upkeep of the forum. Sort of like a backup for Buster when he's out playing with his toy. Like a second in command that's able to correct problems as they occur.

 

[-Lee-]

Great site Lee. I'll have to mix and mingle and see just how bad my German really is. Not sure if you should convince ALL the Yahooers to come over to this forum. Notice there are no arguments or name calling, because there is no need to be "top dog" of the wrenchers here.

There is no intent of "killing" this forum. What's needed is a diversed interest base where more people can join in and voice their view point, or add their .02 worth to other subjects. As the membership grows, so will the participation on the Max.

What would be a plus for us all is to have more than one person being responsible for the upkeep of the forum. Sort of like a backup for Buster when he's out playing with his toy. Like a second in command that's able to correct problems as they occur.

The idea of a 2nd (or 3rd...) Administrator is great! That is exactly haw they do it on the German board. They actually have 4 admins with full access to everything. They take great care of it. If I knew more about it I would be more than willing to help.

 

[markmax]

I come on here several times a day to see if there are any new posts. I don't know much about the max yet, having only owned one for just over 3 weeks now. But I hope to learn so I can help out others, or atleast point them to a post that helped me out.

 

[KRL0215]

i think a huge problem is that the majority of Vmax riders are older, and less likely to frequent a chat forum. The guys on the Yahoo lists already feel like they have their own little world over there, so they wont comehere.

Someone should write a small blurb about this site and sent it to the V Boost. Maybe more people would learn of the site that way

 

[maleko89]

Ken, that's a great idea.

Buster, can you give a list of features of this website? I can write a short article for next fall's Vboost. It's too late for the August issue, cutoff date was July 1.

 

[Calimus]

Here's a quick list since I'm familiar with V-bulletin and how Buster has it set.

1. Personal avatar's allowed

2. Specific topic areas for easier searching

3. Photo Gallery for uploading you pics

4. Garage for specific pics and details about your bike (as soon as buster fixes is again)

5. Flash chat - for real time conversations.

6. Dedicated group of fanatics to chat with

7. Private Messaging for when you just want to talk to one person.

8. Calandar for scheduling rides/events/reasons to leave the wife at home.

9. More smiliey's then you can ever use

10. Free Speech freindly. I haven't seen Buster surpress any language

11. Created by an enthusiest for all to use and not controlled by a club/official entity - This keep politics to a minimum and thought sharing to a maximum

There is a quick few for ya.

 

[maleko89]

Coolio, thanks Calimus.

 

[KRL0215]

Id add that its free!

 

[4gasem]

I just ran across this thread and wanted to bump it...

Still kicking 'eh? 800+ members and going strong! :thumbs up: