What car threads - give them a separate forum?
What car threads - give them a separate forum?

Poll: What car threads - give them a separate forum?

Total Members Polled: 240

Good idea: 117
Bad idea: 46
I have £12,000 but I have no opinion: 21
MX5: 58
Good idea presented with excessive sarcasm: 26
Author
Discussion

Captain Muppet

Original Poster:

8,540 posts

288 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
We have dedicated forums for lots of minority interests (like the 93 posts in the "Belgium" forum) so why no dedicated forum to house* all the "what car?"** threads?

That way I could go straight to the forum for people who want to spend money on something (often knowing exactly how much they want to spend on something) yet don't know what the something is that they want to spend a specific amount of money on. I find the whole process fascinating as I work the other way round - I want cars, so many cars, then discount the ones I can't afford to buy or run.

Anyway, it'd be nice if I didn't have to wade through all the tedious news, angry rants and funny stories General Gassing to get to the threads about people who inexplicably don't know what they want, and even more inexplicably think the uninformed opinions of other people will in some way help them decide.

Maybe we could also have a "test drive" sub-area of the forum, with a sticky about how car dealers offer this service for free, and then no other posts.

Sarcasm aside - why not have a "what car?" forum? The answers are so often M5, some tedious VAG diesel or MX5 that a simple search would save everyone involved a lot of time. Lets list cars that are PHy by price, mpg and monthly maintenance and then any one with any budget will be able to pick a car they like/fit in/wanted aready but were too insecure to buy/have already/want from the list knowing that the internet approves. It may be that a forum of just "what car?" threads would be really dull, in which case please reflect on the affect they have on the dullness of General Gassing.

Or the whole thing is a st idea, in which case please insult me using an anagram of my forum alias, or reply with a spelling correction or grammatical error from this post.

* or mansion, with acres of rolling woodland and a lake, if you are a well built company director.
** I realise there may be some prior claim on that particular title so it may need some work.

Papa Hotel

12,760 posts

205 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
Been done to death, bad idea.

McSam

6,753 posts

198 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
doogz said:
Don't know about you, but if there was a seperate forum for it, i'd never look in it.

Whereas, in general gassing, i'll occasionally click on one for a nosy.
Exactly this.

wolves_wanderer

12,921 posts

260 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
McSam said:
doogz said:
Don't know about you, but if there was a seperate forum for it, i'd never look in it.

Whereas, in general gassing, i'll occasionally click on one for a nosy.
Exactly this.
yep

Captain Muppet

Original Poster:

8,540 posts

288 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
Papa Hotel said:
Been done to death, bad idea.
Excellent use of irony.

Captain Muppet

Original Poster:

8,540 posts

288 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
wolves_wanderer said:
McSam said:
doogz said:
Don't know about you, but if there was a seperate forum for it, i'd never look in it.

Whereas, in general gassing, i'll occasionally click on one for a nosy.
Exactly this.
yep
So they are dull threads that people only read when they are bored?
Or they are vital threads that would die out and be a huge loss to the internet community if hidden away?

Kind of hard for me to tell which opinion you have. Unless I just read the poll results, obviously.

V8mate

45,899 posts

212 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
wolves_wanderer said:
McSam said:
doogz said:
Don't know about you, but if there was a seperate forum for it, i'd never look in it.

Whereas, in general gassing, i'll occasionally click on one for a nosy.
Exactly this.
yep
Yep +1

Keep 'em in here so GG's a mixed bag.

wolves_wanderer

12,921 posts

260 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
Captain Muppet said:
So they are dull threads that people only read when they are bored?
Or they are vital threads that would die out and be a huge loss to the internet community if hidden away?

Kind of hard for me to tell which opinion you have. Unless I just read the poll results, obviously.
Neither of those 2 is my opinion. I think that the general "car" section of a motoring website is the best place for questions about cars.

BorkFactor

7,278 posts

181 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
I posted this in Website Feedback, buried after 1 post frown

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

McSam

6,753 posts

198 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
Captain Muppet said:
wolves_wanderer said:
McSam said:
doogz said:
Don't know about you, but if there was a seperate forum for it, i'd never look in it.

Whereas, in general gassing, i'll occasionally click on one for a nosy.
Exactly this.
yep
So they are dull threads that people only read when they are bored?
Or they are vital threads that would die out and be a huge loss to the internet community if hidden away?

Kind of hard for me to tell which opinion you have. Unless I just read the poll results, obviously.
Well, neither - I find some dull and some interesting, so I read the interesting ones and contribute if I know anything useful. I'm sure plenty of other people read the ones I find dull and contribute to those.

However, I only see them because they're in GG with all of the other, you know, general stuff.. So there they should stay.

Captain Muppet

Original Poster:

8,540 posts

288 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
doogz said:
I'll click on one if it's reasonably new, so not too many posts to read, or if it's absolutely huge, to see what all the fuss is about.

But i wouldn't bother clicking on another sub-forum, knowing all i was going to find was 'what car' threads.

I appreciate that's not really rational, just how I am.
That is exactly my behaviour too. I'm just not sure if I'd lose anything of value if I never read them.

Mostly my reaction to them is either "How did you earn £40k when yuo are too stupid to know what cars you like?" or "No you aren't going to get a convertible estate that does 60mpg, 0-60 in under 4 seconds, has a neutral yet aspirational image, never breaks down yet has character and is under £2000 for a two year old ex-demo in the colour you want, you idiot"

Actually I am sure that I'd lose nothing from not reading them. I'm also pretty sure the OPs will lose nothing from me not posting in them (except the one about the daily driver Elise, where I was helpful, but that was tucked away in a sub forum).

PumpkinSteve

4,232 posts

179 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
We need a separate forum for polls too, and a sub-forum for polls about what car threads.

Captain Muppet

Original Poster:

8,540 posts

288 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
wolves_wanderer said:
Captain Muppet said:
So they are dull threads that people only read when they are bored?
Or they are vital threads that would die out and be a huge loss to the internet community if hidden away?

Kind of hard for me to tell which opinion you have. Unless I just read the poll results, obviously.
Neither of those 2 is my opinion. I think that the general "car" section of a motoring website is the best place for questions about cars.
I suppose my problem is that I kind of feel that this place is for car people, enthusuiasts, petrolheads, etc. And as such I'd like to think they know enough about cars to know which ones they like.

I hadn't considered that it might be for people who don't know anything about cars, but want to learn. Good point.

Captain Muppet

Original Poster:

8,540 posts

288 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
PumpkinSteve said:
We need a separate forum for polls too, and a sub-forum for polls about what car threads.
And definely a seperate forum for the entire country of Belgium. That tiny niche. 93 posts. Shocking.

fozzymandeus

1,085 posts

169 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
Can I change my vote?

Eighteeteewhy

7,259 posts

191 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
fozzymandeus said:
Can I change my vote?
O yes

O no

Captain Muppet

Original Poster:

8,540 posts

288 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
Eighteeteewhy said:
fozzymandeus said:
Can I change my vote?
O yes

O no
rofl

anonymous-user

77 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
99% of people posting "what car?" threads have already made up their mind though and just want some random strangers on an internet site to approve of their decision... the remaining 1% shouldnt be allowed to buy a car in the first place if the decision is beyond their capability...

Captain Muppet

Original Poster:

8,540 posts

288 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
hora said:
My mind changes like the wind so I need multiple what car threads.
So your experience is that they don't help?

fozzymandeus

1,085 posts

169 months

Monday 12th March 2012
quotequote all
I changed my mind. I don't need to change my vote.