The future of this Club/forum?
Discussion
Although I'm not an avid poster, I have to agree that this is a great forum. There's a good mix of posters (good crossover from other pistonheads forums) and topics. The only negative is a strong commercial bias towards certain suppliers.
So it's another vote for "if it ain't broke don't fix it".
The forum generates a relatively low volume of posts and I like the fact that they all appear in one place. It makes keeping track of things easier than ls1gto.com.
If things have to change (for ease of moderation etc) then perhaps we could use the "Technical"/"Non-technical"/Multimedia" idea from ls1.com.au.
I also agree that forum software like vBulletin would be an improvement over whatever pistonheads uses.
So it's another vote for "if it ain't broke don't fix it".
The forum generates a relatively low volume of posts and I like the fact that they all appear in one place. It makes keeping track of things easier than ls1gto.com.
If things have to change (for ease of moderation etc) then perhaps we could use the "Technical"/"Non-technical"/Multimedia" idea from ls1.com.au.
I also agree that forum software like vBulletin would be an improvement over whatever pistonheads uses.
My AUD$1.00 (2p) worth...
Like others below... "ain't broke don't fix"
As an even smaller minority than Will (2 door with HSV badges) I have to say I find this forum sensational - Paul and other menmbers gave me tremendous advice & support from the day I decided to look at brining my car over here & that spirit has not let up since. As a fairly small community, we will have difficulty breaking the topics/owners into different sections but the fact that we are smallish is one of the great assets of this group. Being a smaller community it won't have all things for all comers, but I reckon the combination of in-depth techo talk,a few spotted ties and cricket sledging makes for a colourful, informative & valuable web forum.
Those requiring greater stimulation should put up with the weekly spottings & light banter, just as the technically uninspired should put up with the in depth comparo's of various supercharger thingimy wotzits & dyno penis size comps!
Wot ever the future holds..
1. NEVER lose sight of the Holden/HSV origins of those cars we all love
2. Don't take it soooo seriously that we can't have a laff & a shitstir every now and then.
3. Always listen out for any crys of help from Paul & the others involved in admin of the club/forum "many hands make..."
HSV Holden.... DRIVE ON!
3.
Like others below... "ain't broke don't fix"
As an even smaller minority than Will (2 door with HSV badges) I have to say I find this forum sensational - Paul and other menmbers gave me tremendous advice & support from the day I decided to look at brining my car over here & that spirit has not let up since. As a fairly small community, we will have difficulty breaking the topics/owners into different sections but the fact that we are smallish is one of the great assets of this group. Being a smaller community it won't have all things for all comers, but I reckon the combination of in-depth techo talk,a few spotted ties and cricket sledging makes for a colourful, informative & valuable web forum.
Those requiring greater stimulation should put up with the weekly spottings & light banter, just as the technically uninspired should put up with the in depth comparo's of various supercharger thingimy wotzits & dyno penis size comps!
Wot ever the future holds..
1. NEVER lose sight of the Holden/HSV origins of those cars we all love
2. Don't take it soooo seriously that we can't have a laff & a shitstir every now and then.
3. Always listen out for any crys of help from Paul & the others involved in admin of the club/forum "many hands make..."
HSV Holden.... DRIVE ON!
3.
HSVGTSCoupe said:
My AUD$1.00 (2p) worth...
Like others below... "ain't broke don't fix"
As an even smaller minority than Will (2 door with HSV badges) I have to say I find this forum sensational - Paul and other menmbers gave me tremendous advice & support from the day I decided to look at brining my car over here & that spirit has not let up since. As a fairly small community, we will have difficulty breaking the topics/owners into different sections but the fact that we are smallish is one of the great assets of this group. Being a smaller community it won't have all things for all comers, but I reckon the combination of in-depth techo talk,a few spotted ties and cricket sledging makes for a colourful, informative & valuable web forum.
Those requiring greater stimulation should put up with the weekly spottings & light banter, just as the technically uninspired should put up with the in depth comparo's of various supercharger thingimy wotzits & dyno penis size comps!
Wot ever the future holds..
1. NEVER lose sight of the Holden/HSV origins of those cars we all love
2. Don't take it soooo seriously that we can't have a laff & a shitstir every now and then.
3. Always listen out for any crys of help from Paul & the others involved in admin of the club/forum "many hands make..."
HSV Holden.... DRIVE ON!
3.
A valueable Dollar that mate
I am also fairly new to forum and find its been a valuable asset to HSV ownership, admitidly I am one of the minority with 4drs but never would of purchased my GTSR if it wasn't for the easy to navigate forum.
If you start splitting forums down into HSV,Holden,VXR,vaux Monaro the site will become more seperated and will lose the community feel its got, yes I agree that some of the posts get very technical but I for one have looked at other forums and get bored within 5 minutes of trying to search for exactly what I want in all the different headings.
There is also the fact that my mates CV8 and my Gtsr are on the same platform and share alot of things, mods you do to one can be done to the other.
If there is onething I can winge about its that on some occassions when on topic looking for info or helping the thread goes off on a tangent which is good fun/laugh but then thread ends and you lose out getting the info you want.
Keep going its a great site
Nick
If you start splitting forums down into HSV,Holden,VXR,vaux Monaro the site will become more seperated and will lose the community feel its got, yes I agree that some of the posts get very technical but I for one have looked at other forums and get bored within 5 minutes of trying to search for exactly what I want in all the different headings.
There is also the fact that my mates CV8 and my Gtsr are on the same platform and share alot of things, mods you do to one can be done to the other.
If there is onething I can winge about its that on some occassions when on topic looking for info or helping the thread goes off on a tangent which is good fun/laugh but then thread ends and you lose out getting the info you want.
Keep going its a great site
Nick
HSVGTSCoupe said:
Those requiring greater stimulation should put up with the weekly spottings & light banter, just as the technically uninspired should put up with the in depth comparo's of various supercharger thingimy wotzits & dyno penis size comps!
I agree it's a great resource for problems and advice and knowledge and so on and I've taken advantage of that on many occasions and for that I'm grateful.
But when it becomes the only things that everyone can talk about and the same things are regurgitated over and again, then it's as dull as ditchwater.
Maybe it's the nature of petrolhead forums such as these and I shouldn't expect anything else, I dunno.
Tell you what I wouldn't mind seeing though is more cars put to more use and driven as nature intended.
I and others have posted a number of threads involving track-days and visits to the Nurburgring and so on - perfect proving grounds for these cars, all of which have monster power outputs compared to the average 3 box car out there...and yet they get very few responses.
Surely these cars aren't so fragile they can't bear a good thrubbing around a track now & then?
BigNige, I think the problem with trackdays is that most of these beasts can't pass the noise tests! 
I agree though, why don't we orgainise Club Dyno days, Drag meets and other things which are more interactive as opposed to just your average meet where you just talk? I think part of the problem with the Trackdays is that they are quite expensive however I went on a dyno day with another local car club with my Dad and it was only £29.00 to run your car with ten of us there. If you look around there are plenty of RR's and hub dynos that will do club days, it just needs someone to organise it. I would be happy to do it if I had enough support...
I agree though, why don't we orgainise Club Dyno days, Drag meets and other things which are more interactive as opposed to just your average meet where you just talk? I think part of the problem with the Trackdays is that they are quite expensive however I went on a dyno day with another local car club with my Dad and it was only £29.00 to run your car with ten of us there. If you look around there are plenty of RR's and hub dynos that will do club days, it just needs someone to organise it. I would be happy to do it if I had enough support...
Well, I just typed a load of stuff, went to post it and the computer had a hissy fit and lost the lot....to avoid missing the train home I shall have to be quick now. Basically I was trying to say I thought we had a good balance here. I don't post often cos I seem to have (according to Mrs Huffy) too many hobbies and not enough time. My interest in cars extends beyond HSV's (I even used to own a 65 Mustang for a number of years - I deliberately left out the F word!!), I ride bikes and sail boats too, but I have found this forum to be both helpful, informatve and friendly.
We are all different people with one common interest (albeit each with a different emphasis) and probably many varied interests away from it. It is the diversity of the group that makes it interesting. I am fast coming to the conclusion I am the only one driving a standard car, but it is interesting to hear about others mods - if it gets too technical I skip it! I like to here about the spotteds (I have only seen one other Monaro on the road, and no-one has seen me yet). It is good to hear people are considering track days - unfortunately I don't have the time.
In a nut shell, my view is keep up the good work, help each other out if we can and above all have fun
Mark
We are all different people with one common interest (albeit each with a different emphasis) and probably many varied interests away from it. It is the diversity of the group that makes it interesting. I am fast coming to the conclusion I am the only one driving a standard car, but it is interesting to hear about others mods - if it gets too technical I skip it! I like to here about the spotteds (I have only seen one other Monaro on the road, and no-one has seen me yet
). It is good to hear people are considering track days - unfortunately I don't have the time. In a nut shell, my view is keep up the good work, help each other out if we can and above all have fun
Mark
BigNige said:
But when it becomes the only things that everyone can talk about and the same things are regurgitated over and again, then it's as dull as ditchwater.......
Surely these cars aren't so fragile they can't bear a good thrubbing around a track now & then?
Fair call Nige, I'd luv nuffin more than to cane my coupe round a nice circuit - loss of insurance coverage and not enough funds for "self insurance" prohibits me though - maybe I'm not the only one in this category?
Great thing about the web though.. choose to read and write wot u like; what may be dull to one punter interests another - we all have one great thing in common but thankfully we are all different too - hence the refreshing diversity of subjects & perspectives.
J So the general consensus is there ain't a lot wrong. That is good news, but maybe we have to lighten up a bit if we see a spotted/techy/modded/HSV v VXR v CV8 type post and just choose to not read it if it doesn't interest us. But most importantly of all be proud of your cars wether they be modded/standard, HSV'S/VXRs/CV8's,04/05 or whatever. I was proud of my 4 door GTS-R when I owned it and I'll be proud of a 2 door Monaro if I get one. I'm also very happy that it's been sold via Pistonheads twice, probably as a direct result of this forum.
So all we have to do now is find an answer for Pauls workload?
So all we have to do now is find an answer for Pauls workload?
I think the general consensus seems to be leave it as is however I have a few suggestions if we are going to leave it. Firstly could we assign maybe three willing members to be 'events organisers.' They would be charged with orgainising meets, dyno days, drag strip meets etc. for the rest of the forum members. I also think perhaps we could have regular regional meets, perhaps once a month or once every two months at different locations and the organisation could be shared out amongst members in that area. I also think that any queries that Paul receives should be directed here because a) it reduces his workload and b) we increase the number of members if they are not already joined up.
I think it’s important to stay under the Pistonheads banner for a lot of reasons,
1, It has a huge presence on the net.
2, many of us have other “performance” cars so there is the crossover factor.
3, People like StevieTurbo and the corvette guys drop in with invaluable technical info.
4, From a marketing point of view it opens prospective new owners up to the possibility of owning one of our cars.
5,There are lots more good reasons too.
Sections ( possibly a Bit like Dan says ), how about haveing the following;
Off topics.
For sale/Wanted.
General topics.
Technical info.
News & events.
The VectraSport site has run successfully for years with this basic format, worth taking a look ??
Sorry if I have repeated any one else’s idea’s.
Ian.
Quote Dan; "perhaps a racing section where know-it-alls can give advice on track days, drag racing techniques etc"..... that'll be Me, Will & Rich then....!!..I'll get me coat
1, It has a huge presence on the net.
2, many of us have other “performance” cars so there is the crossover factor.
3, People like StevieTurbo and the corvette guys drop in with invaluable technical info.
4, From a marketing point of view it opens prospective new owners up to the possibility of owning one of our cars.
5,There are lots more good reasons too.
Sections ( possibly a Bit like Dan says ), how about haveing the following;
Off topics.
For sale/Wanted.
General topics.
Technical info.
News & events.
The VectraSport site has run successfully for years with this basic format, worth taking a look ??
Sorry if I have repeated any one else’s idea’s.
Ian.
Quote Dan; "perhaps a racing section where know-it-alls can give advice on track days, drag racing techniques etc"..... that'll be Me, Will & Rich then....!!..I'll get me coat
sjc said:
So the general consensus is there ain't a lot wrong. That is good news, but maybe we have to lighten up a bit if we see a spotted/techy/modded/HSV v VXR v CV8 type post and just choose to not read it if it doesn't interest us.
Pray tell how one knows what a post says unless one reads it?
Maybe there could be a seperate forum for those that like to spot cars...sort of I Spy My Little HSV?
I have been a member of this forum for a little while now and bought my car on the basis of it. I have enjoyed all the events and the broad range of people that I have met with similar interests
The point that I have not see raised in this thread is this.
I like the forum because it was not organised, if some one wonted to arrange a meet then they posted a thread and things just happened.
My only concern about appointing people with specific roles is this then takes us down the route of a club. Although this is not a bad thing there is a great opportunity for the club to become the focus rather than our hobby/passion.
I have been a member of a few clubs in the past with different interests and they all go through a stage of reinventing themselves. This usually involves the club dividing because of internal politics.
I would hate to see this happen to this forum.
The point that I have not see raised in this thread is this.
I like the forum because it was not organised, if some one wonted to arrange a meet then they posted a thread and things just happened.
My only concern about appointing people with specific roles is this then takes us down the route of a club. Although this is not a bad thing there is a great opportunity for the club to become the focus rather than our hobby/passion.
I have been a member of a few clubs in the past with different interests and they all go through a stage of reinventing themselves. This usually involves the club dividing because of internal politics.
I would hate to see this happen to this forum.
Couple of points to throw into the melting pot. The software on here is in need of updating and a new version has been developed which will gradually go live over the next few months. The new profile pages are an example of what's coming, along with www.pistonheads.com/gassing/mytopi
The new software has been written in a manner that will make the hosting at hsv.org.uk work better (I'm aware there are a number of functions that don't work on the hsv.org.uk version).
There will be some more bells and whistles with the software, including better management of FAQs and a knowledge base. Please bear with me on that and I should be able to deliver the new stuff over the next 2-3 months.
With regard to sub-forums, I'm happy to create whatever you guys want. The best approach with adding sub forums is to do it gradually though or you can quickly make a thriving fourm look inactive by splitting the posts across too many sub categories. If you did want to go down that route, I'd start with something like 'Social' to organise meetings etc, leaving the main forum for technical stuff, questions from buyers etc.
Please do give me feedback though. I want/need to know how to deliver what you guys want and how we can catch up with vBulletin again, and surpass it.
The new software has been written in a manner that will make the hosting at hsv.org.uk work better (I'm aware there are a number of functions that don't work on the hsv.org.uk version).
There will be some more bells and whistles with the software, including better management of FAQs and a knowledge base. Please bear with me on that and I should be able to deliver the new stuff over the next 2-3 months.
With regard to sub-forums, I'm happy to create whatever you guys want. The best approach with adding sub forums is to do it gradually though or you can quickly make a thriving fourm look inactive by splitting the posts across too many sub categories. If you did want to go down that route, I'd start with something like 'Social' to organise meetings etc, leaving the main forum for technical stuff, questions from buyers etc.
Please do give me feedback though. I want/need to know how to deliver what you guys want and how we can catch up with vBulletin again, and surpass it.
Bignige said:
So the general consensus is there ain't a lot wrong. That is good news, but maybe we have to lighten up a bit if we see a spotted/techy/modded/HSV v VXR v CV8 type post and just choose to not read it if it doesn't interest us.
Pray tell how one knows what a post says unless one reads it?
A spotted thread generally seems to have the title "spotted"
bignige said:
Maybe there could be a seperate forum for those that like to spot cars...sort of I Spy My Little HSV?
Maybe there could and then you'll know not to read it won't you.
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