Is it about to get busy on here? Blatchat to close...
Discussion
BertBert said:
I guarantee that I could give my kids the task and they'd do a better job with with wordpress for pocket money.
The forum ? Possibly, yes. bbPress is certainly good.The main site page ? Yes.
The whole thing, migrated (and no doubt cleansed) and integrated into the membership system. Not a bloody chance.
What you would end up with would be like the old site, multiple logins and disparate parts.
I might not have used Drupal, but I sure as hell wouldn't have used WordPress !
framerateuk said:
Strange they didn't consider it, but then, if they don't have someone aware of such things, they wouldn't have known to ask for it. We get it with clients all the time who thing they want something, but it's usually because they aren't aware of what they really need. I wouldn't dream of not producing a site that doesn;t work on mobiles/tablets these days.
Maybe they did, and made a decision not to for whatever reason. It isn't like the site it hopeless on a smaller device. The dev company can clearly make responsive sites. They seem pretty competent. Unless you are suggesting otherwise ?
Yes, it is strange. But strange doesn't mean wrong given the circumstances.
PurpleMeanie said:
Maybe they did, and made a decision not to for whatever reason. It isn't like the site it hopeless on a smaller device.
The dev company can clearly make responsive sites. They seem pretty competent. Unless you are suggesting otherwise ?
Yes, it is strange. But strange doesn't mean wrong given the circumstances.
Well it is, in that you just get the standard desktop view.The dev company can clearly make responsive sites. They seem pretty competent. Unless you are suggesting otherwise ?
Yes, it is strange. But strange doesn't mean wrong given the circumstances.
I don't think I, or anyone here have suggested the company who've made the site is incompetent. What has been said is that that the focus of the development is perhaps not what the users really want, but was on what the management "think" the users want. For 30k, I can't imagine a lot of consultancy work was done (that would have been a choice by the club), so they've gone straight to development instead - a mistake, I would say, since the initial consultancy stages are what defines the true features of your site.
I can't imagine anyone really used the old L7C site as it was (it was, really bad, and the new site is definitely an improvement on that). Blatchat was the main part used by anyone online. As I've said, I don't think 30k is much for a full website build. However, I think the new development should have concentrated on the forum as the core of the site (come on, it should have been a real forum and not an add on module for Drupal), and the rest of the site should have been built around that. I'm not saying Drupal is a bad choice for the site (I personally wouldn't touch it was a ten foot barge pole), but the CMS should have keen kept for the site, while there are plenty of fully featured forums that are easy to install (phpbb, mvcForum, vBuletin - I can't comment on the php ones, but if it was a free .net CMS like Umbraco and MVC Forum, they already share the .net membership API, so shared login wouldn't have been a problem).
Like I've said before, I'm not knocking the agency. They're done a lot of work for their money as far as I'm concerned! But I do think the focus of the work has been somewhat skewed.
Edited by framerateuk on Friday 3rd October 08:17
So should this tread not be split into a discussion around the theft of information for profit (for which I think we should start a class action - anyone on here a lawyer with no previous professional affiliation with the Club?). The other thread should focus on simply how crap the new forum is?
And another observation of people who are members is thats if you posy something for sale, your market is limited to members only as you cannot Blatmail any more (or equive non member contact)
Its great, to get around this, evene members are posting their personal email and phone numbers where all can view.
And another observation of people who are members is thats if you posy something for sale, your market is limited to members only as you cannot Blatmail any more (or equive non member contact)
Its great, to get around this, evene members are posting their personal email and phone numbers where all can view.
I know plenty of people who wouldn't touch .net with a 20ft barge pole 
It is a matter of priorities as you say. You can't have everything for £30k, so you have to make choices.
The forum is a minimum, the money no doubt being spent elsewhere. Right choice ? Dunno. Wasn't there.
You never going to find out what the users "want" by asking them, they will say a "better blatchat".
The alternative, a more fully featured forum, may have been more difficult in the longer term. Who knows. Judgement call, nothing more. But at least a call was made, we would still be wading through 300 pages of "business requirements" had it been done like many seem to think software development is still done.
If the vanilla Drupal forum is still there in 6 months time in the same form, well yes, then I may throw my arms up in the air.
From a risk perspective, doing the the hard thing first and getting that working...isn't a bad choice.
It is a matter of priorities as you say. You can't have everything for £30k, so you have to make choices.
The forum is a minimum, the money no doubt being spent elsewhere. Right choice ? Dunno. Wasn't there.
You never going to find out what the users "want" by asking them, they will say a "better blatchat".
The alternative, a more fully featured forum, may have been more difficult in the longer term. Who knows. Judgement call, nothing more. But at least a call was made, we would still be wading through 300 pages of "business requirements" had it been done like many seem to think software development is still done.
If the vanilla Drupal forum is still there in 6 months time in the same form, well yes, then I may throw my arms up in the air.
From a risk perspective, doing the the hard thing first and getting that working...isn't a bad choice.
IBDAET said:
So should this tread not be split into a discussion around the theft of information for profit (for which I think we should start a class action - anyone on here a lawyer with no previous professional affiliation with the Club?). The other thread should focus on simply how crap the new forum is?
And another observation of people who are members is thats if you posy something for sale, your market is limited to members only as you cannot Blatmail any more (or equive non member contact)
Its great, to get around this, evene members are posting their personal email and phone numbers where all can view.
Should you EVEN be using the internet at your age And another observation of people who are members is thats if you posy something for sale, your market is limited to members only as you cannot Blatmail any more (or equive non member contact)
Its great, to get around this, evene members are posting their personal email and phone numbers where all can view.
IBDAET said:
So should this tread not be split into a discussion around the theft of information for profit (for which I think we should start a class action - anyone on here a lawyer with no previous professional affiliation with the Club?). The other thread should focus on simply how crap the new forum is?
And another observation of people who are members is thats if you posy something for sale, your market is limited to members only as you cannot Blatmail any more (or equive non member contact)
Its great, to get around this, evene members are posting their personal email and phone numbers where all can view.
Arnie, you surely cannot be serious! I tell you something in the pub, you tell a mate, does that mean I can take you to court over the information? Any (personal opinion) technical advice was offered previously on an open to read forum by paid up members, the inference being that the L7C could continue to host that information in whatever way they wished, they can even take the site off-line if they wished. I'm no legal expert but I suspect you're onto a loser with that one, don't let your axe to grind get in the way of common sense!And another observation of people who are members is thats if you posy something for sale, your market is limited to members only as you cannot Blatmail any more (or equive non member contact)
Its great, to get around this, evene members are posting their personal email and phone numbers where all can view.
V7SLR said:
IBDAET said:
So should this tread not be split into a discussion around the theft of information for profit (for which I think we should start a class action - anyone on here a lawyer with no previous professional affiliation with the Club?). The other thread should focus on simply how crap the new forum is?
And another observation of people who are members is thats if you posy something for sale, your market is limited to members only as you cannot Blatmail any more (or equive non member contact)
Its great, to get around this, evene members are posting their personal email and phone numbers where all can view.
Arnie, you surely cannot be serious! I tell you something in the pub, you tell a mate, does that mean I can take you to court over the information? Any (personal opinion) technical advice was offered previously on an open to read forum by paid up members, the inference being that the L7C could continue to host that information in whatever way they wished, they can even take the site off-line if they wished. I'm no legal expert but I suspect you're onto a loser with that one, don't let your axe to grind get in the way of common sense!And another observation of people who are members is thats if you posy something for sale, your market is limited to members only as you cannot Blatmail any more (or equive non member contact)
Its great, to get around this, evene members are posting their personal email and phone numbers where all can view.
While the loss of access to blatchat tech archives sucks immeasurably, I think this will finally bring a positive change to the community.
Not this subforum here, nor 7-DNA are near the volume of posts blatchat used to get. I'm sincerely hoping the online discussions will move away from the L7C now, because to me it's absurd that the largest forum for the internationally represented marque is still just one of the benefits for a paid-members-only club. It was bad enough not being able to post, so maybe the loss of tech-talk will finally push people away from it.
Not this subforum here, nor 7-DNA are near the volume of posts blatchat used to get. I'm sincerely hoping the online discussions will move away from the L7C now, because to me it's absurd that the largest forum for the internationally represented marque is still just one of the benefits for a paid-members-only club. It was bad enough not being able to post, so maybe the loss of tech-talk will finally push people away from it.
RedCat7 said:
Making Tech Talk members only is an own goal IMO.
After asking for help in Tech Talk, I've been contacted and helped by non-members with solutions via Blatmail. If they can no longer view then they can no longer help members this way, which I think devalues the membership.
TT was also one one the things that attracted me to the club - one benefit of joining the club (being able to ask for advice on Blatchat) was obvious for non-members to see.
From the email I've just received from the L7C the members only access to Tech Talk is only a temporary measure and it will become open for non-members to view but not post.....just like it used to be. After asking for help in Tech Talk, I've been contacted and helped by non-members with solutions via Blatmail. If they can no longer view then they can no longer help members this way, which I think devalues the membership.
TT was also one one the things that attracted me to the club - one benefit of joining the club (being able to ask for advice on Blatchat) was obvious for non-members to see.
Edited by RedCat7 on Thursday 2nd October 12:58
Chrisp5782 said:
From the email I've just received from the L7C the members only access to Tech Talk is only a temporary measure and it will become open for non-members to view but not post.....just like it used to be.
Yer Tis:Website update - D Day plus 1 week
We trust that many of you have now successfully logged on to the Club’s new website. If you are having difficulties, please email websitehelp@lotus7club.com and we will endeavor to help you. Regrettably some data did become corrupted whilst winging its way through from the previous website, so apologies to those having difficulties but these issues will be overcome.
A single account log-in now provides you access to the whole of the Club website, which contains many new features, so please explore at your leisure. Why not create a blog and tell us all of your sevening exploits, whether they be winter upgrades or blatting routes? Technical resources are now all under one roof too - please use the search facility to look through the myriad of topics available. Tell your AR of any upcoming local events and they can be easily added to the calendar to be visible to all other interested members. You can also subscribe to receive details from areas adjacent to you. Overall, we are trying to make the website as inclusive and as interactive as possible – however, up to date and relevant content could benefit from the input of one important person … you!
We do recognize that the web forums are proving a little “challenging” and the web team are working valiantly to bring these up to speed. The changes in functionality, look and feel are being addressed where possible and the responsiveness speed of the forums will improve as the site settles into a regular pattern, allowing the developers to prioritise busy areas. We obviously started from a base setting, and only by collecting data on all aspects of usage can we now adjust these to suit our needs.
How to handle Tech Talk was a particular area of concern for us, as we were seeking to balance a key benefit of membership against a wish to appear inclusive. Our original aim was to provide limited functionality within this area for non-members, but a last minute plea for more time from the developers resulted in this being temporarily restricted to members only.
We have noted and take on board all of the comments and suggestions which have been raised, which inevitably ranged across a broad spectrum. The web team has a meeting with the developers scheduled for Tuesday where we will run through our outstanding issues and will keep members informed of progress when we can.
A major migration such as this was inevitably going to be demanding, and there were always going to be transition issues. However, our new platform provides a base from which we will be able to build a far more comprehensive and future-proof system. We have plans to add significant new functionality over the coming months which will be of real benefit to Club members.
In the meantime, however, I would ask everyone to bear in mind the following:
•All of us are volunteers, we give our time freely where possible but we do have work and family commitments outside of the Club.
•We are just a car club - organisations far more technically adept and with significantly larger resources, time and money encounter similar issues.
•A significant overhaul of the Club’s online tools was inevitable; our existing resources were rapidly reaching the end of their lives, technology is moving apace and we did need to make changes. The financial cost was significant, however nearly half of the total cost was invested in bringing across data from the previous sites. This aspect was vitally important as it represents the history of our last 30 years and to lose it would have been unthinkable.
As the nights draw in and the Club becomes more focused around the technology which helps hold us together, please take some of those dark damp gloomy evenings to look and contribute across the whole site.
Martin
Chrisp5782 said:
RedCat7 said:
Making Tech Talk members only is an own goal IMO.
After asking for help in Tech Talk, I've been contacted and helped by non-members with solutions via Blatmail. If they can no longer view then they can no longer help members this way, which I think devalues the membership.
TT was also one one the things that attracted me to the club - one benefit of joining the club (being able to ask for advice on Blatchat) was obvious for non-members to see.
From the email I've just received from the L7C the members only access to Tech Talk is only a temporary measure and it will become open for non-members to view but not post.....just like it used to be. After asking for help in Tech Talk, I've been contacted and helped by non-members with solutions via Blatmail. If they can no longer view then they can no longer help members this way, which I think devalues the membership.
TT was also one one the things that attracted me to the club - one benefit of joining the club (being able to ask for advice on Blatchat) was obvious for non-members to see.
Edited by RedCat7 on Thursday 2nd October 12:58
More like they have come under pressure from the members...
Its good news anyway
"How to handle Tech Talk was a particular area of concern for us, as we were seeking to balance a key benefit of membership against a wish to appear inclusive. Our original aim was to provide limited functionality within this area for non-members, but a last minute plea for more time from the developers resulted in this being temporarily restricted to members only."
Bull$hit. Still at least we might not have to go legal now.
V7 - Its theft of intellectual property. There was no rights grant given. It's a bit like buying a DVD from Amazon, sticking on my website and flogging it for £5 a download.
Bull$hit. Still at least we might not have to go legal now.
V7 - Its theft of intellectual property. There was no rights grant given. It's a bit like buying a DVD from Amazon, sticking on my website and flogging it for £5 a download.
Edited by IBDAET on Friday 3rd October 18:41
HolbaySS said:
Yer Tis:
Website update - D Day plus 1 week
We trust that many of you have now successfully logged on to the Club’s new website. If you are having difficulties, please email websitehelp@lotus7club.com and we will endeavor to help you. Regrettably some data did become corrupted whilst winging its way through from the previous website, so apologies to those having difficulties but these issues will be overcome.
A single account log-in now provides you access to the whole of the Club website, which contains many new features, so please explore at your leisure. Why not create a blog and tell us all of your sevening exploits, whether they be winter upgrades or blatting routes? Technical resources are now all under one roof too - please use the search facility to look through the myriad of topics available. Tell your AR of any upcoming local events and they can be easily added to the calendar to be visible to all other interested members. You can also subscribe to receive details from areas adjacent to you. Overall, we are trying to make the website as inclusive and as interactive as possible – however, up to date and relevant content could benefit from the input of one important person … you!
We do recognize that the web forums are proving a little “challenging” and the web team are working valiantly to bring these up to speed. The changes in functionality, look and feel are being addressed where possible and the responsiveness speed of the forums will improve as the site settles into a regular pattern, allowing the developers to prioritise busy areas. We obviously started from a base setting, and only by collecting data on all aspects of usage can we now adjust these to suit our needs.
How to handle Tech Talk was a particular area of concern for us, as we were seeking to balance a key benefit of membership against a wish to appear inclusive. Our original aim was to provide limited functionality within this area for non-members, but a last minute plea for more time from the developers resulted in this being temporarily restricted to members only.
We have noted and take on board all of the comments and suggestions which have been raised, which inevitably ranged across a broad spectrum. The web team has a meeting with the developers scheduled for Tuesday where we will run through our outstanding issues and will keep members informed of progress when we can.
A major migration such as this was inevitably going to be demanding, and there were always going to be transition issues. However, our new platform provides a base from which we will be able to build a far more comprehensive and future-proof system. We have plans to add significant new functionality over the coming months which will be of real benefit to Club members.
In the meantime, however, I would ask everyone to bear in mind the following:
•All of us are volunteers, we give our time freely where possible but we do have work and family commitments outside of the Club.
•We are just a car club - organisations far more technically adept and with significantly larger resources, time and money encounter similar issues.
•A significant overhaul of the Club’s online tools was inevitable; our existing resources were rapidly reaching the end of their lives, technology is moving apace and we did need to make changes. The financial cost was significant, however nearly half of the total cost was invested in bringing across data from the previous sites. This aspect was vitally important as it represents the history of our last 30 years and to lose it would have been unthinkable.
As the nights draw in and the Club becomes more focused around the technology which helps hold us together, please take some of those dark damp gloomy evenings to look and contribute across the whole site.
Martin
What a crock......Website update - D Day plus 1 week
We trust that many of you have now successfully logged on to the Club’s new website. If you are having difficulties, please email websitehelp@lotus7club.com and we will endeavor to help you. Regrettably some data did become corrupted whilst winging its way through from the previous website, so apologies to those having difficulties but these issues will be overcome.
A single account log-in now provides you access to the whole of the Club website, which contains many new features, so please explore at your leisure. Why not create a blog and tell us all of your sevening exploits, whether they be winter upgrades or blatting routes? Technical resources are now all under one roof too - please use the search facility to look through the myriad of topics available. Tell your AR of any upcoming local events and they can be easily added to the calendar to be visible to all other interested members. You can also subscribe to receive details from areas adjacent to you. Overall, we are trying to make the website as inclusive and as interactive as possible – however, up to date and relevant content could benefit from the input of one important person … you!
We do recognize that the web forums are proving a little “challenging” and the web team are working valiantly to bring these up to speed. The changes in functionality, look and feel are being addressed where possible and the responsiveness speed of the forums will improve as the site settles into a regular pattern, allowing the developers to prioritise busy areas. We obviously started from a base setting, and only by collecting data on all aspects of usage can we now adjust these to suit our needs.
How to handle Tech Talk was a particular area of concern for us, as we were seeking to balance a key benefit of membership against a wish to appear inclusive. Our original aim was to provide limited functionality within this area for non-members, but a last minute plea for more time from the developers resulted in this being temporarily restricted to members only.
We have noted and take on board all of the comments and suggestions which have been raised, which inevitably ranged across a broad spectrum. The web team has a meeting with the developers scheduled for Tuesday where we will run through our outstanding issues and will keep members informed of progress when we can.
A major migration such as this was inevitably going to be demanding, and there were always going to be transition issues. However, our new platform provides a base from which we will be able to build a far more comprehensive and future-proof system. We have plans to add significant new functionality over the coming months which will be of real benefit to Club members.
In the meantime, however, I would ask everyone to bear in mind the following:
•All of us are volunteers, we give our time freely where possible but we do have work and family commitments outside of the Club.
•We are just a car club - organisations far more technically adept and with significantly larger resources, time and money encounter similar issues.
•A significant overhaul of the Club’s online tools was inevitable; our existing resources were rapidly reaching the end of their lives, technology is moving apace and we did need to make changes. The financial cost was significant, however nearly half of the total cost was invested in bringing across data from the previous sites. This aspect was vitally important as it represents the history of our last 30 years and to lose it would have been unthinkable.
As the nights draw in and the Club becomes more focused around the technology which helps hold us together, please take some of those dark damp gloomy evenings to look and contribute across the whole site.
Martin
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