RE: Some ideas to help spark interest in Arvee Club

[JonesFamilyJayco]

 
To start with, I am very happy to be a member of this board.  Along with ebay & gopack.com (NC State University site), PUT is a part of my daily internet time.
 
 I joined soon after this became a pay site, so I do not know much about the history before that.  It does seem that the posts are a bit slower now than they were then.  I still find most of my useful information on this wonderful site.
 
 My suggestions include the following:
 
 1.) Updated home page
 
      -It would be nice to see something different on this page.  Maybe a new daily   photograph of a member s camper/campground/or outdoor scene.  Some type of pop-up or camping news would be nice.  This would show an active nature to this board & I think would attract more members (good first & repeated []impression).
 
 2.)  More information/advice/even editorial comments from the PUT staff
 
      -I consider your magazine an excellent resource & your advice very helpful.  If you or an experienced moderator would participate more, it would stimulate more activity from our members.
 
 3.)  More activity from pop-up manufactures & venders
 
      -I would welcome even adversitement from these folks.  I actively search for such info & it most often turns into a sale.  I and many others want to buy useful items that would make our camping better, I just have trouble finding it.  
 
 4.)  Contest
 
       -How about some simple & fun contests?  I would like a contest for the best modification, best camper picture, uglest camper, oldest camper, most unique camper, etc.  The prize is not even important, just having some fun compitetion would help build more friendships.
 
 5.)  Allow us to have a logo or picture under our name
 
       -Kind of like they do at some of the other sites.  Just adds personality to the use of the board.
 
 I am certian there are many more & better ideas out there.  I really like this site & I want it to grow.  I am too often guilty of reading & not posting, but I hope to change this.  I think a few of these changes would ignite a fire under many of us (and many new members) to make this a really fun site.[]
 
 
 
 
 

[tlhdoc]

 JonesFamilyJayco
You have some good ideas.  I bet other people have even more.[]

[angelsmom10]

 JonesFamilyJayco
I love all the ideas
 
 Also, how about people writing bios on themselves and adding a link.  I know several people have websites, but something for those who haven g gotten to it, or just those who want to add info.  It would be nice to know people better.  (oh, I forgot, I learn that from everyone s " fluff"  posts[])
 
 Seriously, I would love to see some of the above ideas implemented[]

[slowpez]

 JonesFamilyJayco
Great ideas.  I have to admit that I m beginning to get frustrated when access to the message boards is denied because of a problem.  This could be reduced by figuring out a way to notify us that there is a problem and it is being dealt with.  With the current troubles most of us were able to read the home page so a banner placed there would resolve our anxieties.  
 The home page does need changing more frequently.  Maybe this is in the works; if so, it would be nice (and good for customer relations) to let the members know.  
 Admin also needs to respond to queries that it receives via email.  What good is it to have the capability to ask for help if no one is listening.
 I have enjoyed the board and have learned much.  The members are great.  Long may it reign!

[jstaddwtr]

 JonesFamilyJayco
There ahve been talk of brochures before, somthing we can download would be great!  As I understand business, the more folks we get to join, the more information we share, the more ideas are created and the more PUT should be able to afford to provide.  
 
 Most importantly, there have been more issues regarding problems encountered by poor product quality or poor service.  I have been in advocate type groups that knock down doors and we should not be that ....rather we should be the calm moderate voice for folks so that when an organization sees a problem being posted on PUT, they understand that this is important and could effect their bottom line.
 
 For example, sooner or later Coleman/Fleetwood (yes I understand the split) will have to be responsible for those roofs.  As late as a year ago when we purchased ours, we were specifically told by the dealer that there were no problems.  This was wrong and they know it.  This roof issue is clearly a candidate for a class action.   And it could happen causing only more misery to a small market.  At the same time PUTs position could be a moderate one in trying to provide manufacturers a positive forum to address these issues before they become exacerbated.  FOlks here seem to have fun but know what they like and are willing to share their expertise.
 
 The expertise I have seen on this board is a manufacturers dream.  I know this thread was talking about items that would be good to have on line, but as a business person the bottom line is everything costs money.  Sorry if my response took it too far afield.
 
 In our opinion, PUT has only begun to scrape its potential.  Things don t occur overnight.   We certainly are willing to assist in anyway we can.

[Wayfarer]

 JonesFamilyJayco
I thought it interesting that when I logged in this morning the first unread post in the General forum asked for some ideas to spark interest in the forum and when I clicked on that all I got was  blank windows.  Of course, too much of the time, when there actually is something in the windows it had just as soon be blank for all it really had to do with camping.
 
 Like some of those comments above, I think some new stuff on PUT s homepage would be nice.  It takes about 30-45 minutes tops to read the articles and then that s it for maybe another 6 months or so.  And the magazine - two hours tops and it s read for another two months, unless you read all the advertisements which take up about 50% of the magazine s pages.  And then the many posts that are nothing more than senseless chatter or just posts to increase the " number of posts"  in two or three members race to be number one.

[Flacamper]

 JonesFamilyJayco

 

ORIGINAL:  JonesFamilyJayco
 
 To start with, I am very happy to be a member of this board.  Along with ebay & gopack.com (NC State University site), PUT is a part of my daily internet time.
 
 I joined soon after this became a pay site, so I do not know much about the history before that.  It does seem that the posts are a bit slower now than they were then.  I still find most of my useful information on this wonderful site.
 
 My suggestions include the following:
 
 1.) Updated home page
 
      -It would be nice to see something different on this page.  Maybe a new daily   photograph of a member s camper/campground/or outdoor scene.  Some type of pop-up or camping news would be nice.  This would show an active nature to this board & I think would attract more members (good first & repeated []impression).
 
 2.)  More information/advice/even editorial comments from the PUT staff
 
      -I consider your magazine an excellent resource & your advice very helpful.  If you or an experienced moderator would participate more, it would stimulate more activity from our members.
 
 3.)  More activity from pop-up manufactures & venders
 
      -I would welcome even adversitement from these folks.  I actively search for such info & it most often turns into a sale.  I and many others want to buy useful items that would make our camping better, I just have trouble finding it.  
 
 4.)  Contest
 
       -How about some simple & fun contests?  I would like a contest for the best modification, best camper picture, uglest camper, oldest camper, most unique camper, etc.  The prize is not even important, just having some fun compitetion would help build more friendships.
 
 5.)  Allow us to have a logo or picture under our name
 
       -Kind of like they do at some of the other sites.  Just adds personality to the use of the board.
 
 I am certian there are many more & better ideas out there.  I really like this site & I want it to grow.  I am too often guilty of reading & not posting, but I hope to change this.  I think a few of these changes would ignite a fire under many of us (and many new members) to make this a really fun site.[]
 

 Great ideas.  Only thing I would change is your gopack site.  You need to change it to www.gatorzone.com    [][]
 

[forestwalker]

 JonesFamilyJayco
We are happy with the board(except for the technical problems-which are by no means isolated to this board alone).Regarding the level of interest;membership has doubled since the first of the year.WE LOVE POP UP TIMES AND THE ARVEE CLUB !

[Gone-Camping]

 JonesFamilyJayco

Some ideas to help spark interest in Arvee Club

 No one else is willing to say it, so I will.... Make it free again! That way it might even catch-up with Popup Explorer and be #1 again!!! []

[wiininkwe]

 JonesFamilyJayco
Last year at about this same time, there were a lot of folks worried about what was happening to the board because it got so slow.   And the year before last, too.   What is happening is that all of us who had lots of free time during the summer months have gone back to our fall schedules, which require a little bit of adjustment every year.   We re back to school, sports, band, church groups, choir, cheerleading,  and homework and all the things that September brings.  And, if we re the adults, and not the schoolkids, then we are busy transporting and supervising all these activities.   It has nothing to do with PopUpTimes not offering us enough to keep us going.   PopUpTimes is a magazine that just happened to get a message board going to help the readers a bit more.    It has everything to do with us using our own resources to keep the message board going.  I have to admit that there are days when I log on, and read every forum and don t reply to a single thread, because they ve all had their questions answered already.  Or it s something that I am not knowledgeable about.   But, if I don t answer any posts, then I have only myself to blame when I feel there is no movement on the board.  We have to stimulate the board ourselves.   If you feel no one is saying what you want to hear, then bring up those topics.   It s hard to rate one message board or another as number 1 or number 2 because there is a fine line between quality and quantity.   Another board may have more members or their threads may move faster, but PUT still seems to me to be number 1 in terms of quality and member commitment to one another.    Next month we ll start to see a rise in posts again, and we ll wonder what this was all about.
 T
 []

[angelsmom10]

 wiininkwe

 

ORIGINAL:  wiininkwe
 
 Last year at about this same time, there were a lot of folks worried about what was happening to the board because it got so slow.   And the year before last, too.   What is happening is that all of us who had lots of free time during the summer months have gone back to our fall schedules, which require a little bit of adjustment every year.   We re back to school, sports, band, church groups, choir, cheerleading,  and homework and all the things that September brings.  And, if we re the adults, and not the schoolkids, then we are busy transporting and supervising all these activities.   It has nothing to do with PopUpTimes not offering us enough to keep us going.   PopUpTimes is a magazine that just happened to get a message board going to help the readers a bit more.    It has everything to do with us using our own resources to keep the message board going.  I have to admit that there are days when I log on, and read every forum and don t reply to a single thread, because they ve all had their questions answered already.  Or it s something that I am not knowledgeable about.   But, if I don t answer any posts, then I have only myself to blame when I feel there is no movement on the board.  We have to stimulate the board ourselves.   If you feel no one is saying what you want to hear, then bring up those topics.   It s hard to rate one message board or another as number 1 or number 2 because there is a fine line between quality and quantity.   Another board may have more members or their threads may move faster, but PUT still seems to me to be number 1 in terms of quality and member commitment to one another.    Next month we ll start to see a rise in posts again, and we ll wonder what this was all about.
 T
 []
 

[][][]
 
 and with the questions that do arise, someone will comment " do a search to find your answer"   how many times have we heard it.
 
 I am starting a thread about winterizing -- I know it s been hit many times, but #1 the archives are not available, and we do have many people who do not know anything about it.