Is PH an outdated format?
Discussion
Things have changed a lot in the past 10 years as people's behaviour and expectations of the Internet have evolved. The rise of mobile has meant we spend every spare moment plugged into a multitude of content, most of it irrelevant but constant/relentless.There was a thread on here the other day about a generation of 'mobile zombies' marauding the streets, tripping over themselves and other people as they consume drivel and it got me thinking about PH.
I've been coming here for years and I've noticed there's definitely less engaging material on here than there used to be. Most of the talk is about leases and whilst the stronghold of amusing posters hang in there, I wonder how long it will be before the PH format and sites like it will go the way of VHS.
I've been coming here for years and I've noticed there's definitely less engaging material on here than there used to be. Most of the talk is about leases and whilst the stronghold of amusing posters hang in there, I wonder how long it will be before the PH format and sites like it will go the way of VHS.
wormus said:
I wonder how long it will be before the PH format and sites like it will go the way of VHS.
Enevitable I would think.....it's just a case of how long?Probably safe for another decade or so, as there's enough of us old duffers around that haven't/aren't likely to move over to the latest geeky 'communication fad' and will continue to use a laptop/PC etc.
Re content, I think it's fair to level the argument that today it is more of a consumers website than an enthusiasts. But that is simply a reflection of modern cars which are now packaged and sold more in line with consumable electronics to be regularly upgraded and secured on contracts.
Just imagine how immersed PH would have become in that and how more swamped out the more traditional user or enthusiast would have been if PH was using one of the more modern means of conversing?
I think that firstly by sticking to what is really a very early web format we don't have anywhere near the levels of banality that the 21st century means of social communication seem to attract. This old format, on the whole;), forces more reasoned response. Secondly, by using a small font a lot of the PAoR (Pensioner Army Of Rage) are kept out.
So, in short, it probably is an anachronistic medium but there is not denying that it still works and in some aspects much better than many more current mechanisms. Plus it filters out the most banal and the most angry of our society, who are legion.
Just imagine how immersed PH would have become in that and how more swamped out the more traditional user or enthusiast would have been if PH was using one of the more modern means of conversing?
I think that firstly by sticking to what is really a very early web format we don't have anywhere near the levels of banality that the 21st century means of social communication seem to attract. This old format, on the whole;), forces more reasoned response. Secondly, by using a small font a lot of the PAoR (Pensioner Army Of Rage) are kept out.
So, in short, it probably is an anachronistic medium but there is not denying that it still works and in some aspects much better than many more current mechanisms. Plus it filters out the most banal and the most angry of our society, who are legion.
Is it the format or the demographic? People seem a lot less interested in cars for their own sake these days, although many still see them as a status symbol. I think the rise of environmentalism, proliferation of 30mph limits and sheer quantity of traffic in parts of the country mean people are a lot less interested in performance these days.
krisdelta said:
The posting level here has been dropping for some time to my thinking, the two sub forums I spent my time in are almost graveyards now on ph.
One of them is running a poll on which key they use daily. The fun, amusement and Friday night pissed arguements have all disappeared. GG is full of which boring car out of a random list is slightly less boring
279 said:
Yes.
Forums are beginning to become a bit outdated in the world of social media.
Which I think is detrimental to "proper" forums (such as this) from purely a practical standpoint.Forums are beginning to become a bit outdated in the world of social media.
It's ordered, structured, stuff in places you expect, not just random postings in a huge FB mash up.
(How pointless is it trying to sell stuff on an FB group when there's a hundred other posts an hour after yours and you get bumped to page 4 in fairly short order. Even the car forums that exist have much the same problem. I can't help Jonny fix his intake manifold if 20 other folks have posted their stuff for sale and show dates that have bumped him off the page.)
A discussion forum cannot exist on FB/Tw'tter, etc...leave that to the Friday night pissheads and the yoof of today.
SidJames said:
279 said:
Yes.
Forums are beginning to become a bit outdated in the world of social media.
Which I think is detrimental to "proper" forums (such as this) from purely a practical standpoint.Forums are beginning to become a bit outdated in the world of social media.
It's ordered, structured, stuff in places you expect, not just random postings in a huge FB mash up.
(How pointless is it trying to sell stuff on an FB group when there's a hundred other posts an hour after yours and you get bumped to page 4 in fairly short order. Even the car forums that exist have much the same problem. I can't help Jonny fix his intake manifold if 20 other folks have posted their stuff for sale and show dates that have bumped him off the page.)
A discussion forum cannot exist on FB/Tw'tter, etc...leave that to the Friday night pissheads and the yoof of today.
STILL some move incredibly quick.
Neil1300r said:
krisdelta said:
The posting level here has been dropping for some time to my thinking, the two sub forums I spent my time in are almost graveyards now on ph.
One of them is running a poll on which key they use daily. The fun, amusement and Friday night pissed arguements have all disappeared. GG is full of which boring car out of a random list is slightly less boring
And as such the conversations have migrated from 'what spanner goes where?' to 'what brand are you using this year?', 'what features will the next upgrade have?' And 'what's the best 2 year contract?'.
It's not so much that people have changed but that the product has so vastly changed under the skin while still looking the same.
Fewer sportscar enthusiasts - more diesel/SUV owners. Today's excuse seems to be that there's nowhere you can fully utilise the latest McLaren/Ferrari/Lambo but where do people think that could be done 20 years ago? Not round my way!
Like everything, if you scan PH you can find something of interest.
The weak-minded we just have to tolerate. Oh how we laugh each time we read "remap" and "MX5" as the second or third contributions on a thread.
Like everything, if you scan PH you can find something of interest.
The weak-minded we just have to tolerate. Oh how we laugh each time we read "remap" and "MX5" as the second or third contributions on a thread.
Barkychoc said:
IMHO Haymarket should have developed a PH app long ago - I find it a bit crap using a browser on my phone.
I can't even imagine it's all that complicated as the content is hardly earth shattering.
I virtually never use a PC for social media - I use the phone pretty much all the time.
The problem, IMO, is that Haymarket should have realised they need to be a tech company, rather than a traditional publisher. You can see from the mess of development of the forums and classifieds that they're still operating as the latter.I can't even imagine it's all that complicated as the content is hardly earth shattering.
I virtually never use a PC for social media - I use the phone pretty much all the time.
I think PH just has a certain demographic that fewer young people are a part of now. Or those that are certainly dont own a car outright, and they definately wouldnt get the spanners out.
None of the people my age who own a useable selection of tools are people I could imagine looking through grammatically correct forums with well structured sentances and paragraphs. They might use the classifieds but wouldnt look through the forums.
None of the people my age who own a useable selection of tools are people I could imagine looking through grammatically correct forums with well structured sentances and paragraphs. They might use the classifieds but wouldnt look through the forums.
Edited by KM666 on Thursday 19th November 15:24
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