RE: 500 members? I doubt it....

[C. Hains]

 NightOwl
NightOwl,
 Noone could have said it better!  I knew I liked you from the first time I read about how your cat peed in the sink!
 I learned a lot from the old board (and from Dave) and expect to learn a lot from this one as well.  If the value of membership is based on how much we can contribute -- I can contribute very little because I am new to this business and have too much to learn.  In the meantime it is interesting to get a feel for who the heck these people are that love popupping!  Most of them sound like people I would like to get to know better.  
 For a short while I was a member of a board started by a disgruntled participant of the old PUT board and take my word for it -- it s more interesting and upbeat here!

[wiininkwe]

 bearbait
This is only MHO, but I was really kinda relieved when the numbers on the board went back down into the hundreds rather than the thousands.  It s great, sure to think that we are part of something that so many other people think is so neat, just like we do.   But don t you remember how confusing things got sometimes, with several identical posts all going on at the same time, or people who didn t have time to read all the posts in the thread so they just addressed the matter from the perspective in the first post, and then it had evolved to something else by then?   Do you remember how fast the thread that you really wanted everyone else to see and comment on would disappear to the next page, and you had to constantly bump things to bring them back?   For me, the world travels fast enough already, and when I want to relax with my friends and camp, I want to be able to kick back and put my feet up while I do it, not be hurrying and scurrying to cover all bases.   I like the board the way it is.  Right now, we aren t camping here in MI, and our FLA vacation turned out to be a little different than we had originally planned, so I may not be saying much about camping.  But, I m reading and watching and listening, and when spring rolls around I ll have plenty more to post on the general forum.
 T
 []

[Jeffrey]

 bearbait
Well ya can t really blame Bearbait.
 
 He is just like many of us.............
 
 Back when the boards were real busy, we all basically gave up our regular lives to read Pop Up Times. And now when things are slower it s hard to find other things to fill in the gaps. So hopefully things will be busy again someday, so we can go back to reading PUT full time again.

[Used 2B PopUPTimes]

 bearbait
You all make good points.  
 
 Here are some numbers about our membership -
 paid memberships=401
 RV makers/adverters=17
 admin/moderators = 8  
 the rest are spouses and trials.
 
 The number of posts since Jan 1 are amazing, this is a very active board.  I don t think there are as many non-sense posts and battles between members now so maybe it s not as spicy as it was. I also like the new software.  
 
 We re looking for more new products for the store. We test every product we sell for quality, availability and  general usefulness before we offer them. Some aftermarket manufacturers / distributors insist that we carry large inventories,  more than we can sell. For instance, I don t think we could sell $800 worth of little $5 stick-on levels, so we re looking for better deals on that type of stuff.  I want the club member savings and quality to be a good reason for you to join and stay.  
 
 We re always open for suggestions.
 Dave
 dave@popuptimes.com
 800-398-8893
 
 

[Gamecock Camper]

 bearbait
Bearbait / Lee,
 
 I d like to address some of the things you stated in your reply to me...
 
 

I m a little miffed as to Gamecock Camper s post as I think he was aiming that at Wayfarer more than me anyway. But somehow he said that he believe s in quality not quantity, then flames me for only making 10 posts in 10 days? Then he goes on to say how friendly this board is and how it s like family, then turns around and says " get out!"  Boy, that s pretty friendly don t you think? And exactly where in my post did I say I was upset with anyone that makes a lot of posts?

 First, I wasn t aiming at anyone in particular. I was just trying to make general observations.  
 
 Second, I think quality is in the eyes of the beholder.  I enjoy this site and think highly of most of the members here.  Quality to me includes the many senseless and entertaining non-camping posts.  The camping stuff is great, but the other topics are just as valuable and entertaining to me.  Another point I d like to make is that I was the person who initiated adding a forum for Product Reveiws.... and that is camping related.    I hope you add to that forum and learn from it.  
 
 Third,  I was not trying to " flame you"  for making only 10 posts.  If you have camping related questions, please post them as I think we can all benefit from discussions about camping, pop-up campers, etc...  I d welcome it.  
 
 Fourth, again, you didn t really say that you were upset with anyone who makes alot of posts.  I was trying to point out that I am one of the people that contributes alot to the non-camping related topics.  I don t know what I was thinking, I was just typing madly because I was not as upset with your message as I was at the tone of your message.  It did not come accross as constructive and did not offer any solutions.... it just seemed to be posted for the sole purpose of stirring things up.  I may be totally wrong, but that is how I see it.  I wouldn t be surprised if others saw it that way too.
 
 Fifth, I guess you can read whatever you want into what I said.  I think life is too short to do things you don t enjoy.  I never told you to get out.  I won t tell you what to think or post or to stay or to leave.  Heck, you have a membership and the priveledges that come with it just the same as anyone else.  You can stay, leave, just lurk, whatever.  I d much rather discuss camping and other topics at a more friendly level.  It seems difficult for me to think that you wouldn t expect to stir things up a bit when you say, " So let the flames to this thread begin... "   Because I see this type of thread as stirring the pot, I will not post any additional replies to this thread.  I d like to appologize to you if you were offended Bearbait.  Peace to you brother.
 

[MtnCamper]

 NightOwl

 

ORIGINAL:  NightOwl
 As someone pointed out, there are varied reasons for belonging here.  BARGAINS and DISCOUNTS were NOT among mine  nor was having lots of posts everyday just chock full of information.  

 Bargins, and Discounts???
 
 This board has cost me, Big time...
 
 Fridge Fan, Lynx Levelers, BAL Leveler, Better Charger, Cordless drill....
 
 I d be money ahead to stay away, But I can t.
 
 
 
 

[jdr]

 MtnCamper
..another related note:
 
 " The old board / archives"
 
 What brought me to PUT in the first place was all the information it contained.  I spent as much time searching the old board as I did reading new posts.
 
 That s where this board falls short.  It s empty.  
 
 If I was a new camper and wanted to know why my ABS cracked I d have to ask and wait (maybe for days) for answers.  And I would only get a small number of replies.  Searching wouldn t prove to be very helpful as of yet.
 
 Would I join?
 
 Now what if I did a search and received two-dozen hits?  Would I join?
 
 Things will get better here, but we may never have the wealth of information we had on the old board.
 
 I think I read 10% of our trial members decided to join.  That s not very many.
 
 What if we had the old messages available here?  Trial members would be able to have more information than they could possibly read on any topic imaginable.
 
 Would that change the 10% to 60%?
 
 What if we marketed this board as a pop-up camper research tool?  We already have all the answers - just bring questions..  Hey, I pay $40 a year just for an online hi-fi blue book.
 
 Remember, this is a business.  And the more new members we have the better for Dave, the better for the board and the better for us.
 
 Anyone have any thoughts?
 
 *****
 
 BTW Dave, if you ever take down the old board I *will* hunt you down![]

[NightOwl]

 MtnCamper
Bearbate is concerned about the small number of actual members of the board and the slowness with which it moves.   Here is some information which I hope will cheer him (and all of us) up
 
 So, Friends, TAKE HEART!  The following figures took very little time to come up with, but they give a picture of what has been happening to this new board.
 
 
 A little checking reveals
 
  we have now got slightly over
 
 ten thousand, eight hundred and thirty seven posts
 
 These were all done within the seven weeks (forty nine days) this new board has existed.
 
 This averages out to two hundred twenty one posts per day.  
 
 The General forum (dedicated to camping topics) has 328 posts, Mr Fixit has 82, and Campfire has 312. This is not a bad ratio for the dead-of-winter.
 
 
 These figures would seem to indicate that the PUT board is not exactly in danger of perishing from insufficient traffic as BB fears.
 
 I agree with Toni s remarks here--the board has actually benefited from having smaller numbers of members. We now have the time to get to know each other better and to read all the threads before they zip back 5 pages before the end of the day. THAT WAS RIDICULOUS! and it did NOT necessarily mean the board was a better place for camping info or anything else.
 
 and we need to keep in mind that the numbers of posts are scattered about through FORTY FORUMS NOW. Plus, the old board did not just suddenly acquire a whole archive of campground reviews and product critiques and other useful camping info.
 
 That plethora of useful posts all took time to build up.   I doubt seriously whether               ANY board THE AGE OF THIS ONE NOW   has offered much  more than can be found here at SEVEN WEEKS!!    []
 
 
 
 
 

[wiininkwe]

 MtnCamper
http://www.popuptimes.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=2&CAT_ID=3&Forum_Title=General
 Now, if I did this right, which all of you know is a real gamble, this should be the link to the archives.  If I didn t get it right, will someone else please post it for jdr?
 T
 []

[jdr]

 MtnCamper
You were close.  This is what I use:
 
 http://www.popuptimes.com/forum/default.asp
 
 But that wasn t my point.  Why let all that go to waste when we can use it here?  Wouldn t that entice many more new users to this forum?  Would that help the 10% sign up rate increase?
 
 Yes, we have a good number of messages here.  But please, let s be real.  Do a search here then repeat the search on the old board and you will see what I mean..  It s all there.  Why not put it here?
 
 And again, I m not saying there is a problem here but all that valuable information really is worth something.  Why not have it work for PUT?

[NightOwl]

 jdr

 

ORIGINAL:  jdr
 
 
 
   Why let all that go to waste (the archives) when we can use it here?  Wouldn t that entice many more new users to this forum?  Would that help the 10% sign up rate increase?
 
 
 
 And again, I m not saying there is a problem here but all that valuable information really is worth something.  Why not have it work for PUT?
 

 
 JDDR, you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT about having our archives available easily--there is a mountain of useful information available in them and I didnt mean to imply that what we have now is nearly as comprehensive.  Like you, I wish there would be a way to integrate them more quickly/easily into the new board but someone smarter than I am about computer stuff will have to make that decision IF it is even possible to do such a thing.
 
 
 
 

[MtnCamper]

 MtnCamper
I don t think it would be possible (integrate), you are dealing with 2 different and non-compatable software companies. It s as good as it gets now.

[jdr]

 MtnCamper

I don t think it would be possible (integrate), you are dealing with 2 different and non-compatible software companies. It s as good as it gets now.
 

 Don t confuse easy with possible.  Anything is possible - nothing is easy.
 
 Look at it from a business standpoint.  
 
 1.  How many new members would it take to pay for the integration?
 2.  With the integration in place, how many extra members would sign up?
 3.  How does #1 compare to #2?
 
 It may be a dumb idea, but it is a positive suggestion that may help increase our 10% sign up rate.

[bearbait]

 NightOwl
[]

[NightOwl]

 MtnCamper
Lee,  you poor dear, arent you getting a little touchy?  I just did what you said you are going to do to me--I stood up for a different point of view from yours and simply asked how long you had been around the old board NOT as a way of putting you down, but because I wondered if you were there when there were only a few dozen members and  so that you could recall the days when the membership was much smaller than it is now and SEE?  It grew just fine!  [][][] (And we were too dumb to worry about this at the tjme)
 
 My remarks were NOT intended to inflame you because as I said, your different point of view on this brought up some interewsting ways of looking at the new board and hopefully caused Dave and crew to consider more widely   how they want to help it grow. .  
 
 Furthermore, I dont care what the people said who sent you e-mails complaining about me--if they dont have the guts to do it in public, then their opinions dont count.
 
 I dont have a thin skin, so rave on if it makes you happy.  It will be good for the board to have a little excitement.  
 
 Also, this is the campfire forum so we dont have to stick closely to threads dedicated merely to camping....you seem to think I am complaining about something having to do with this, perhaps in your zeal to stand up for yourself you have  misread something I wrote.
 
 
 PS Someone else appointed me the den mother here--I just accepted it.
 
  And  I was not trying to psychoanylize you--I will leave that to your psychiatrist[]