Forum Milestone…

[Graham Smith]

Today (I think) we reached over ten million (10,000,000) pages that the forum has served.

Quite an achievement.

 

[Magnetoman]

Do you have any way of distinguishing between views by real people, and those by bots and spiders? The thread I have on another site documenting my rebuild (and post-Cannonball re-rebuild) of my 1928 Ariel is on track to hit 1M views within a few weeks. There's no way even 1% of that many actual live people have looked at a thread describing arcane details of rebuilding a 92-year old motorcycle. How many of the 10M views on this forum were by bots?

 

[Graham Smith]

The figure quoted are real people.

Bots/Crawlers/Spiders don’t register using our software.

 

[Bill Cannon]

Congratulations Graham. Fantastic achievement!

 

[Jonathan Lambley]

Impressive, Graham.
Well done

 

[vibrac]

Fantastic indeed
One can only hope that when this forum closes (as looks likely) that the possible replacement reaches those heights of commitment and content.

 

[timetraveller]

Preserve this forum I say.

 

[CollingsBob]

The forum isn‘t going to close, it will just use different software. Please, get your facts straight and stop the fear mongering.

 

[timetraveller]

Speaking only for myself I am not fear mongering. The forum is an encyclopaedic container of Vincent information and folk lore. Some means should be found to ensure that information is available in the future to all who seek help. I have no competence or bias to decide which software package is best able to do that. It is just that it is an invaluable source of information and I would like to see it available for future generations. A better 'search' function would be nice.

 

[CollingsBob]

Speaking only for myself I am not fear mongering. The forum is an encyclopaedic container of Vincent information and folk lore. Some means should be found to ensure that information is available in the future to all who seek help. I have no competence or bias to decide which software package is best able to do that. It is just that it is an invaluable source of information and I would like to see it available for future generations. A better 'search' function would be nice.

I agree 100%. I think Graham has done a great job creating and maintaining the forums. Perhaps anyone who has a question or concern regarding the future of the forums should contact Phil Mahood - through the forums.

 

[Martyn Goodwin]

The forum isn‘t going to close, it will just use different software. Please, get your facts straight and stop the fear mongering.

The information available to date from Phil Mahood suggests that historical forum content may not be migrated into the proposed new system.

I have volunteered to be a tester and hope that this will be addressed.

 

[CollingsBob]

I spent quite a while video-chatting with Phil tonight, this was one of the topics we discussed. Migrating documents & photographs is going to be tackled. They will have a place (of course) in the new digital presence. I spent some time tonight looking at a mock-up of the new home page, and it is pretty impressive stuff!

 

[Graham Smith]

Sadly, I’m prevented from giving an alternative view or opinion on the proposed new web system that has been lauded by most others on the Club’s Executive Committee.

Having an alternative view or even expressing such has landed me in extremely hot water with the rest of the Executive Committee and I even stand accused of briefing against them.

Quite rightly, you may wonder why I haven’t voiced any of my concerns in my report through the pages of MPH, whilst many others on the Exec effectively write adverts in their monthly reports praising it? You should draw your own conclusions as to why I have been unable to do so.

Someone recently told me that my silence on this whole subject was deafening.

Please be assured that I continue to act in the best interests of the Club and the Members, and simply having an alternative view on the direction that the Club is taking doesn’t make me a bad person. I’ve had many (and I mean many) sleepless nights worrying over this whole thing.

 

[bmetcalf]

It would be nice to have a simple declaration that the threads (searchable form), photos, and archives not already in the VOC website would be preserved.

 

[vibrac]

The forum isn‘t going to close, it will just use different software. Please, get your facts straight and stop the fear mongering.

I hope that wasn't addressed to me Bob, expressing a hope is not fear mongering. As far as I am concerned the EXEC has spoken, My hope is that the content and the miriad previous postings remain the same, what software so long as it is just as efficent is of not a great concern. Your hope should be that you can find someone as committed to run it and such conscientious monitors

 

[timetraveller]

Referring to Graham's #13 posting above; it does not bode well for the future when someone as enthusiastic as Graham is banned from expressing views. This is meant to be a motorcycle club and not some totalitarian state. I have no doubt that the Committee has the best interests of the VOC at heart and it seems to me to be eminently sensible to put all the Clubs admin systems into a modern and well run environment. As far as I know no one has any doubts about the motives of the committee. The thing which concerns all the people that I have discussed this with, and it seems to me that there is a lack of information as to exactly what is going on, is the future of the forum and the information which is contained therein. Those of us who contribute to it do so with no thought of financial or personal gain. We try to help each other and keep social contact with people. The big advantage over MPH is its immediacy. If someone wants help they can get it within minutes or hours over the forum, not the one month turn round of MPH. If one looks at the way in which the forum has evolved and been tweaked by Graham to make it more useful then one cannot doubt that he has put more into this project than could ever have been expected. This, as well as sorting out MPH every month. I know that he has been accused of it being a 'one man band' but then when other committee members were invited to get involved no one did. To be fair to them they already do an enormous amount of work for the club.
So as an appeal to those members of the committee who think that Graham should not be able to express his personal views could I please ask you to consider where the suppression of free and open enquiry can lead. From the Inquisition to the twentieth century and now into this century we have many examples of where this can lead. Please do not discourage, or even prevent, people from expressing their views.

 

[Black Flash]

Referring to Graham's #13 posting above; it does not bode well for the future when someone as enthusiastic as Graham is banned from expressing views. This is meant to be a motorcycle club and not some totalitarian state. I have no doubt that the Committee has the best interests of the VOC at heart and it seems to me to be eminently sensible to put all the Clubs admin systems into a modern and well run environment. As far as I know no one has any doubts about the motives of the committee. The thing which concerns all the people that I have discussed this with, and it seems to me that there is a lack of information as to exactly what is going on, is the future of the forum and the information which is contained therein. Those of us who contribute to it do so with no thought of financial or personal gain. We try to help each other and keep social contact with people. The big advantage over MPH is its immediacy. If someone wants help they can get it within minutes or hours over the forum, not the one month turn round of MPH. If one looks at the way in which the forum has evolved and been tweaked by Graham to make it more useful then one cannot doubt that he has put more into this project than could ever have been expected. This, as well as sorting out MPH every month. I know that he has been accused of it being a 'one man band' but then when other committee members were invited to get involved no one did. To be fair to them they already do an enormous amount of work for the club.
So as an appeal to those members of the committee who think that Graham should not be able to express his personal views could I please ask you to consider where the suppression of free and open enquiry can lead. From the Inquisition to the twentieth century and now into this century we have many examples of where this can lead. Please do not discourage, or even prevent, people from expressing their views.

Do we have Angela Merkel in the Club exec?
Oops this should be in the humour section

 

[ray vinmad]

It is worth bearing in mind that, if you check the 'members recently online' on the home page, it is very rarely, if ever over 200 visitors! This Forum is not used by that many paid up members. And without any serious thought I know of at least three local members who don't use any electronic technology.

I only hope that whoever is responsible for the current awful Club 'other' website has no input whatsoever in any future design.

Ray

 

[CollingsBob]

I looked at a rough mock up of the new website last night...very clean, easy to navigate, 1 password for everything.. It will be a step forward

 

[vibrac]

We do need a good website no one would argue with that. It was for that reason I argued (2019?) at the AGM or GCM that we retained to long empty post of computer officer when it was suggested we removed it from the Exec list of officers it was just another post like that of regalia officer that had stood long empty. One can only hope that the new system will encourage new officers to come forward, I must confess I have my doubts. The current regalia system is completly functional as far as systems go and it hasent encouraged anyone to create new lines, advertise or comit to full rally attendance since the late lamented Ray Smith.

Once again congratulations on a fine milestone on the Forum