Please consider upgrading to a more modern forum

[eBrooker]

Firstly OP its a good call to ask the hard questions - its not the first time this suggestion has crossed our paths and I think it a little unfair that you've scored a hard-ish uncompromising response.

No worries Harry, I'm not taking it personally and the responses are pretty much exactly as what you see on other older forums when an upgrade is suggested... but they're quickly forgotten when the upgrade happens and once they've had a chance to get used to it (if moving to a good platform like Discourse anyway, which was created by the same people behind Stack Overflow).

I do think it's a little sad that the resistance will probably result in the admin deciding not to upgrade, because users will be missing out on so much. Even simple things like the ability to like a post as a quick acknowledgment or thank you for someone replying to your thread would make a big difference, and @tomscott and I have mentioned quite a few other benefits.

Overall I think an old platform hurts user-retention as more modern platforms are just easier (and more enjoyable/less frustrating) to use - so while the old-hats will happily plod on... fewer and fewer newer members will become regulars in the same way.

It all boils down to what the admin and the community wants - do you want more people to join and stay? If so a more modern platform will almost certainly help. (Discourse is free/open-source btw, and if the admin here needs help with the switch over I'd be happy to help)

 

[enuff_zed]

Overall I think an old platform hurts user-retention as more modern platforms are just easier (and more enjoyable/less frustrating) to use - so while the old-hats will happily plod on... fewer and fewer newer members will become regulars in the same way.

If you take the time to read back through the last couple of years or so I think that theory is easily disproved.
As someone who has the time to meet and assist many other zed owners the one thing gthat is constantly repeated is how glad they are they found the forum and how much they now refer to it. Most of these are new members from the last year or too as well.

By the way, how many shares to you have in 'Discourse'? oke:

 

[CliveN]

So, dying to be ask. What Z4 do you have?

 

[enuff_zed]

So, dying to be ask. What Z4 do you have?

He has a Landrover Discoursery

 

[john-e89]

This gaff is like an MGB, might be getting on a bit but it’s simple, easy to work, does everything you need it to, and you know what you’re getting, personally I don’t see anything wrong with that, why does everything have to be up to date tech when as has been demonstrated by the amount of folk who think it’s fine as is compared to those that don’t, says it all. It’s a sit in a deckchair on a sunny afternoon place.

 

[tomscott]

Overall I think an old platform hurts user-retention as more modern platforms are just easier (and more enjoyable/less frustrating) to use - so while the old-hats will happily plod on... fewer and fewer newer members will become regulars in the same way.

If you take the time to read back through the last couple of years or so I think that theory is easily disproved.
As someone who has the time to meet and assist many other zed owners the one thing gthat is constantly repeated is how glad they are they found the forum and how much they now refer to it. Most of these are new members from the last year or too as well.

By the way, how many shares to you have in 'Discourse'? oke:

I think the thing is its fine to assume from "experience or opinion" but the data will tell all and kind of pointless arguing about it as neither have it.

There is a correlation between these elements. The facebook pages have exploded; there must be 50 Z4 facebook groups and I get very confused at which is which. But that shows the appetite and there is traffic there that back in the day would have been driven here.

For me the forum is a better place as it can be quite negative on the facebook groups but at the end of the day they appeal. I quote the forum a lot and people dont know it exists.

links that automatically populate rather than using the code system.

I could never get this to work, so as an example of how we old folks would rather muddle through than change, I open a second tab on my browser, find the thread I want to link to, copy it's address and paste it back into the post I'm making on the other tab. :roll: 8)

Honestly, in this day and age, this is an effort, and it shouldn't be. Most platforms auto-sort content rather than being on the user. I have to agree with eBrooker, and the fact that you have explained it here kind of sums it up. Other users won't have patience and will move on—direct correlation with ease of use and retention.

The fact that there are still threads popping up about uploading images correctly etc

The difference is half of the people discussing are used to how it works but for newer users the user experience isnt great. Easy to get familiar over years and expect everyone to know. There are barely any sites these days where you have to mess about with code on your posts, regardless of how simple.

That is the top and tail of the thread.

 

[eBrooker]

If you take the time to read back through the last couple of years or so I think that theory is easily disproved.
As someone who has the time to meet and assist many other zed owners the one thing gthat is constantly repeated is how glad they are they found the forum and how much they now refer to it. Most of these are new members from the last year or too as well.

I haven't criticised the content or the members, which is the main reason people will come to the forum All I am saying is that an older platform hurts user-retention and engagement, and I would argue more people would stick around and engage more on a more modern platform. (I'm a software developer so do have relevant experience here)

By the way, how many shares to you have in 'Discourse'? oke:

None.. it's free/open-source and you can host it on your own servers.

So, dying to be ask. What Z4 do you have?

I don't have one yet, but as you'll see from my posts I have been thinking about getting one for a while. My last BM was an M3... which I wrote off a month after getting it :roll: (In my defence I was young and it was my first RWD!)

 

[Pondrew]

By the way, how many shares to you have in 'Discourse'?

:rofl: :rofl:
It is getting to sound more like a sales pitch than a suggestion TBH.

 

[eBrooker]

There is a correlation between these elements. The facebook pages have exploded; there must be 50 Z4 facebook groups and I get very confused at which is which. But that shows the appetite and there is traffic there that back in the day would have been driven here.

This is a very good point - this forum is missing out on many of those members. FB makes it easy to post photos/links/vids/engage etc

(I hate FB btw, can't stand Zuckerberk and his ilk - much prefer independent platforms like this one... just wish the'd use more modern software)

 

[enuff_zed]

The facebook pages have exploded; there must be 50 Z4 facebook groups and I get very confused at which is which. But that shows the appetite and there is traffic there that back in the day would have been driven here.

For me the forum is a better place as it can be quite negative on the facebook groups but at the end of the day they appeal.

I'm on a couple of the fb groups.
The way I describe it to people is that fb is full of keyboard warriors (no, scratch that, snowflakes). They see someone ask a question so they go off, google it and spout absolute tripe, but in such a way that the poor mug who asked the question believes they know everything and ends up buggering up his/her car.

This forum, in whatever format it chooses to present itself, is different. Broadly speaking it consists of two types of people:
1. Those that know what they are talking about and are happy to explain it (sometimes over and over again) to assist others.
2. Those that happily admit they don't know what they are talking about but listen to those that do and take their advice.

This is what makes this forum such a valuable resource to the zed community.

But anyway, I've digressed from the purpose of the thread.

 

[eBrooker]

It is getting to sound more like a sales pitch than a suggestion TBH.

Discourse is easily the best forum platform around but you don't need to take my word for it - go try it for yourself. The second best is probably Xenforo, but I would recommend Discourse (it's free and open source, Xenforo must be purchased and isn't as good imo).

 

[Pondrew]

do you want more people to join and stay? If so a more modern platform will almost certainly help.

Nonsense. You seems to forget that the 'content' and 'community' is what makes this forum popular, not how pretty the paper is!
The fact that this must be one of the most popular cars forums on the net still (certainly much busier than any other car forum I have come across in the last ten years.
The demographic of this forum is overwhelmingly 50 years plus (cos old codgers buy Z4s. No idea why), the average age is probably more like 60. Older people don't give a toss how funky the forum is. It is simple and effective as it is.

 

[pvr]

Still haven't worked out on the FB posts what the time order is. The latest is not at the top or bottom, but can be a reply to something in the middle so it is way to easy to lose track of what has been said already by who. Very odd setup.

I like time sequential posts, like this forum. The format doesn't bother me what so ever.

 

[Pondrew]

go try it for yourself. The second best is probably Xenforo,

I'll pass. IT shite interests me about as much as having teeth pulled. That is not at all BTW. Or in your language: 1011000111010000111 etc.

Maybe we could have an AI forum, then we wouldn't even need to write anything...it would do it all for us?

 

[eBrooker]

Nonsense. You seems to forget that the 'content' and 'community' is what makes this forum popular, not how pretty the paper is!

They are not mutually exclusive, one can enhance (or impede) the other. Older platforms impede user-retention and engagement because they are more frustrating/less enjoyable to use.

Anyway I hope the admin sees the thread and at least considers it.

 

[Pondrew]

Still haven't worked out on the FB posts what the time order is. The latest is not at the top or bottom, but can be a reply to something in the middle so it is way to easy to lose track of what has been said already by who. Very odd setup.

Yep, same here. I find it utterly confusing. I am on a couple of 'private' car groups on Faceache. They are terrible. No one ever around (cos their private so you can't visit) and when someone does post something I can't keep up!

 

[pvr]

As an example, look at the time line. All over the place, how do you find the response order

 

[Rockhopper]

I haven't noticed the activity on this forum dropping off in the five years that I've been here but i know that's the case for many others who seem to have more success on Facebook.
I am a member of a couple of those and was an admin for one of them for a little while. They all seem to be full of Zedshed fan boys though - on most posts at least one answer will be "phone Mike at the zedshed, he'll sort it for cheap"....

 

[Scubaregs]

I find it rather strange the OP has been a member nearly 6 years, made a few posts after joining, now this thread.

 

[enuff_zed]

I find it rather strange the OP has been a member nearly 6 years, made a few posts after joining, now this thread.

Yes, even us old dinosaurs who aren't software engineers managed to work out how to use this clunky, old-fashioned format quicker than that. :rofl: