@HGV8 Thanks for posting this thread. I think you raise a good question.

The current forum engine has served us well for many years, but as you point out, in comparison to more modern engines it lacks features. As such it may well be time to consider an overhaul of some type.

To answer your question though, what I would like to do is to gain a wider understanding of what our forum members want. So I pose the following;
1. What features would forum members like to see added to the Fastlane forums?
2. What do members think is required to make Fastlane more attractive to new forum users? To draw more knowledge in.

ATM we are tossing up between carrying out a general refresh of the site, vs. doing a complete overhaul. Your input will help us decide our way forward.
I have stuck this thread and look forward to what people have to say, so please feel free to chime in.

Kind regards,

David

*Please note: You may notice some changes soon, though this is not indicative of any decision being reached.

I dissagree, the image uploading is clumsy & outdated. Currently, you can only do it from an image hosting site. Image posting should be as easily done as facebook & ebay make it. Simply post it from your PC/pad/phone.
You'll get plenty of complaints whatever you do, (or don't do).
It needs updating regardless.

I think it does come down to the ease of posting photos. There are plenty of Holden groups on Facebook where every post has a photo to look at. They make it easy, so people do it more regularly and the result is a better experience even if the knowledge base may not be as good as it is on here.

I'd settle for being able to upload pics directly, rather than from a 3rd party website.

Only change I'd make. The xxxxwits seem to have gone from here.

Rares own this forum/site, so they wouldn't be merging with any other forum.

And the problem of "ownership" and moderation of forums is a big issue that nobody in business would want to associate with unless they maintained control of it - like this one.

I think Rares do a damn good job with this forum as far as behaviour - we don't really see many idiots, the moderating team don't go overboard or have personal agendas, and Rares has never stepped in to over-ride anyone's comment - good or bad, about their business. The only deleted comments have been derogatory remarks containing total slander or foul language (or both), personal attacks, and spamming.

But you're right, the software is well out of date, and long overdue for an overhaul. There's a huge range of choices - both good & bad, but they aren't all that expensive (for the good paid ones) - it's more the labour time to get it up & running - that's where all the cost to Rares would be. Privately run forums are normally created by enthusiasts who are willing to donate their time to it - and maybe make some money back out of advertising when it becomes popular.

I haven't visited here for a while, and I couldn't resist dropping in on this post.

Some of the oldstagers might remember me as Gary. I ran Fastlane from its launch in March 1996 until 2002, when I sold the domain to Rares and went back to print journalism.

I don't know when the SNITZ platform was adopted, but the forums were originally created using Microsoft Frontpage, a web authoring program that was pretty good for its time. It was great for the regular motorsport updates, industry news and vehicle reviews that were part of Fastlane, but moderating and keeping the posts clean was a nightmare!
I was occasionally lucky enough to download/upload at 28kbps, which meant many long waits.

Anyhow, I'm glad it's still going.

Jeez, it's almost 20 years old!

Cheers - Gary (aka Cog Swapper)

quote:

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Originally posted by RigPig
I think we should merge with the Torana forum I like their setup.
http://www.gmh-torana.com.au/forums/
This forum is toy compared to the Torana forum.
I like the way it has separate tabs for questions and info relating to engine, electrical, paint, drive line, interior, fabrication etc.

Or keep the two forums separate but have a logo on the top right of the Torana page allowing you to go from the Torana forum straight to a new Monaro forum.
You could have a section for Comodores but theres already several good comodore forums anyway.
Theres even a Jemini forum . . . but no Monaro forum.
Always amazes me that there is no actual Monaro forum.
As for everything else Holden and Ford, continue to use the FastLane forum but I think you'd find 90% of the users would follow the new forum.

Torana forum software is available from here - http://www.invisionpower.com/apps/board/

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+1 the torana forum is slick,a specific monaro forum would be good especially for parts,or even hktg forum

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