Accusations against this "dieing" BB and members

[NightOwl]

while cruising other boards, I have noticed remarks (not nasty, but certainly less than admiring or respectful ) about PUT.  They claim that the place is dieing and wont survive.  I  ALMOST BELIEVE THEM!  Only half a dozen people here spend much time and effort in keeping things going.  Sometimes these posts are frivolous, sometimes almost pointless as some former members used to claim, but  often they are posting to fill a void which others dont  fill..  

Perhaps this board has outlived its importance to some of us?  Maybe it wont matter if it dies?  Should Dave even go to the trouble to keep it going after our subscriptions expire?   The time is soon coming when we will be asked to renew IF Dave decides to continue it.

I AM NOT ASKING WHO IS STAYING AND WHO IS LEAVING!  I am trying to get a discussion going here which might enlighten the administrators as to what the board needs if it is to remian an active and interesting place JUST IN CASE they want to continue it.

People often say, "Oh, well, it's winter--a lot of us cant camp  and have no camping news so we dont post on the board."

Then in summer they say, "Oh, well, we're all too busy with camping and outdoor activites to spend time at the keyboard."

Or, "Well, I've been here since the beginning and I already know--thanks to PUT and this board--whatever I need to know about PopUps and camping."

Or, "I've gone to the Dark Side and dont have much of an interest in popup camping anymore."

(By the way, I recognize all the above remarks as legitimate.)

WHY DO WE COME TO THIS BOARD NOW?  I come mainly  because my friends are here.  Is that enough for others of you?

 If the board is slow and boring, maybe people who dont participate much  could help liven it up.

If the board is slow and boring, maybe that is just normal and doesnt have a negative impact on its future and has nothing to do with the members' feelings of support for the board?

LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS  :W

[forestwalker]

The board must be attractive to potential new members,as well as "old friends".Current members seem to do well with the "old friends" part of the equation.In my opinion,if we want to remain viable as a board,we should work on making the board more attractive to potential members.Perhaps we can ask more questions that would be of interest to
newcomers to pop up camping.Questions like,"How do you back up ?"Any tricks to setting up an awning","How can I improve the rate of water drainage out of my sink?","How would you rate your pop-up?","Which battery cable is 'Positive?".... They dont have to be posted as questions.They could be presented as advice,or in narrative form.It is my feeling that we can make the board more attractive to newcomers this way.I've tried, because I do care.This may require a modification of who has access to some parts of the board.Worth a try?

[NightOwl]

The board must be attractive to potential new members,as well as "old friends".Current members seem to do well with the "old friends" part of the equation.In my opinion,if we want to remain viable as a board,we should work on making the board more attractive to potential members.Perhaps we can ask more questions that would be of interest to
newcomers to pop up camping.Questions like,"How do you back up ?"Any tricks to setting up an awning","How can I improve the rate of water drainage out of my sink?","How would you rate your pop-up?","Which battery cable is 'Positive?".... They dont have to be posted as questions.They could be presented as advice,or in narrative form.It is my feeling that we can make the board more attractive to newcomers this way.I've tried, because I do care.This may require a modification of who has access to some parts of the board.Worth a try?

forestwalker, you have obviously given this a lot of thought, so I've repeated your post. I think you have some really good and workable ideas for us to put into action.  This board can easily die of old age and inactiveity but only if we let it.  And the "questions" or information threads you mention may just help us to wake up and  keep our newer members coming back for more information and  chat.

[NCSunshine]

I personally think that all the different sections help to make the board slow.  You might get 20 posts in one day but there could be one in each different section, therefore making it look like there is nothing going on.  I don't go to each section, because I don't get the chance to spend alot of time here.  Same reason for posting as little as I do, plus my life is pretty boring and I don't get to camp alot.  But I love camping alot!!!!

I'm sure that all the sections were made so that you would not have to sift through all the stuff you are not interested in, but then again, you might miss something that may would have been of interest to you or make you laugh

[moderator1]

I personally think that all the different sections help to make the board slow.  You might get 20 posts in one day but there could be one in each different section, therefore making it look like there is nothing going on.  I don't go to each section, because I don't get the chance to spend alot of time here.  Same reason for posting as little as I do, plus my life is pretty boring and I don't get to camp alot.  But I love camping alot!!!!

I'm sure that all the sections were made so that you would not have to sift through all the stuff you are not interested in, but then again, you might miss something that may would have been of interest to you or make you laugh

This is an interesting point because Dave & I go back and forth on this one all the time.

In the "olden days" we only had a couple of forums and everything was posted there.  As the board grew folks asked for specific forums for different interest areas.  But this begs the question, how many is too many forums?

So far I find that it works well wen I use the button in the upper right "View New Posts".  This will show only the threads which have had new activity.

We can certanly reduce the number of forums, but which ones?

[Camperroo]

I really don't think it is the board itself, I think it has to do with the paying a fee to use it.  If you notice in other forums people talk about how silly it is to expect forum members to have to pay a fee to join when there are so many other free forums out there.  I am not saying that to incite any riots, I am merely stating what it being said out in cyberspace.

This is a wonderful forum but it lost a lot of energy when people had to dig into their own pockets to continue on.

By the way does the magazine membership now include using the forum or is it still a separate fee?

I like this board because of the genteel nature of the members.  You go to some other boards and it gets kind of nasty at times.  I don't like that at all.

[NightOwl]

I really don't think it is the board itself, I think it has to do with the paying a fee to use it.

This is a wonderful forum but it lost a lot of energy when people had to dig into their own pockets to continue on.

By the way does the magazine membership now include using the forum or is it still a separate fee?

I like this board because of the genteel nature of the members.  You go to some other boards and it gets kind of nasty at times.  I don't like that at all.

Camperoo, I TOTALLY  agree with you about the board losing energy when it went to a pay site.  When we changed over, I paid willingly  for myself and for about 7 or so other people with tight budgets to continue and have never been sorry.  (Interestingly, since then, some of them have just "abandoned " the board as if  it no longer interested them.)  

Leaving aside COMPLETELY the matter of being able to afford the  fee,  I cant figure out exactly WHY  switching to a pay board has had such a "dampening effect on the vitality and spontanaeity of the place.

I'd love some members like Camperoo to jump in here  and answer some of  my "wonderings"  about this.  Do you think it is  resentment over paying for something which is usually free in other places and once was free here?   Has the smaller member group made it less varied and less interesting?  I admit, we certainly lack the "whoosh" of fresh air we used to have when someone would  jump in and breathlessly announce that they were new and getting a popup and knew NOTHING and could we tell them EVERYTHING they needed to know "in 25 words or less"   (joke)

We all asked for  more and more forums.  Maybe Steve is right to wonder if we have too many--maybe we would feel less fragmented  and feel  like the board was busier and  had more variety if we had fewer forums , but as he said, WHICH ONES would we be willing to give up?  Maybe instead of giving some up, we could combine them?


I miss the old days when it was a good-natured free for all (NOT the trolls though)  with Chubs and Suzey and  Camper Jones and  Debbie MacDougal and Miss Teri, B-Flat and  ThunderRock and RedNekRubberDuk and    some of the others just  having fun and all of us learning and sharing ideas.  Where did it all go?  Are we just too sophisticated about popups and camping for our own good?  Jaded?   Have we gotten old and dull  in our attitudes?  Is the board REALLY drab these days or do we just expect more of it than we have a right to?  

In the next few weeks, maybe we can help shape the board by giving this some thought as Dave and his crew of loyal helpers  consider what to do about the future of this website.  In a sense, it is OUR board since we now PAY for it--we are PAYING  CUSTOMERS  now and not just guests as we used to be.  Still, Dave owns it, IT IS HIS, although I am sure he wants it to be a product his customers will use and enjoy.

[deniski]

I think everyone has different expectations about what this board is to them.  For me, for the main part - it's a good place to get my questions about camping with my (new to me) popup answered.  The people here are always nice and so far very helpful.  I don't expect to come here every day to chat, I just don't have time for that.  I do check the campground reviews for my area (Montana/Wyoming/Idaho) to see if I can answer any questions about places I might know about.  I also read  most of the messages that comes out in the general, fixit and product review boards.  I pay for this board because I think it is worth the price to me.  The moderators do a good job and I like the messages being split up into forums.  If everybody wanted to have fewer forums, it would be ok with me... but it works for me as it is setup now too!

just my 2 cents and happy valentines day!

[B-flat]

Some people definitely don't like paying for the site and will leave after a while.  That might be some of the problem, but I do notice that there have been quite a few new members since Christmas and there's somewhere in a range of over 700 members.  More exposure and more sponsors should offset the costs of keeping the message board.  Many new friendships have been formed as a result of the message board and lots of camping is done and lots of information is shared.  I am not sure what the real answers are but PUT needs to continue to offer a variety of information and services if it is to remain at the top as far as Pop Up Camping is concerned.

 
Viewing the new activity posts is a convenience.  Also, you can see at first glance before hitting the "view new" which forums do have new posts because there is a yellow highlight.  I personally don't think it is that hard to figure out what to read or to post to.  The board just doesn't have as much in the way of posts that it used to.  Some of the folks have moved on up to Travel Trailers and they became more experience campers after studying and reading on this board.  After that, they must not have needed this site any longer.:eek:  Once all the info was obtained, maybe they just lost interest.  I understand that the magazine also includes the arvee club membership, but people still don't post.  Maybe there is some kind of fear associated with their not posting to the message board.  This is proably akin to what someone once said "You're gonna camp with some people you met on the internet?!"  There has been so many horror stories to do with use of the internet and maybe this is why there is a bit of fear in posting.  I think that there is enough security and privacy choices on the member's page to lay those fears to rest.  The only one that will stalk you is probably topcat when he is looking for food.   I will just abandon everyone for several days to camp at a bluegrass festival and NiteyOwl runs away for a while too.  Birol has a tendancy to disappear and to not post for a while, too.  Somehow, we all seem to return.
 
This may seem redundant, but will someone please tell us why they have not posted so far?  I'm  talking about members who have joined who just never seem to post for some reason.  Maybe they just wanted the magazine and that's all.

[Trlrboy]

I post both here and on PUX.  I also check out several of the other popup related websites.  IMHO PUX seems to have a wider reader/poster base than PUT.  It's free.  Free is always better and will get you more members and with more members there is a wider selection of opinions and thoughts about camping.   One night around our campfire at a NTPUCA campout I asked if people cared which website they got their information from.  Out of about 15 people there, none cared.  1/2 the people seldom checked out any website at all and the rest said it didn't matter.  

If you are completely honest about PUT vs PUX, why would anyone pay to be on PUT?  I've been on PUT for a long time and paid the $30 because at the time I thought it was worth the money.  Does that $30 give me more information and PUX or some other site?  I don't think so but I wanted to give it a shot and see how it progressed and what the benefits would be as Dave brought PUT around.  

As to people posting, the content of the posts is what is important to me, not the number of posts a person has.

[NightOwl]

I post both here and on PUX.  I also check out several of the other popup related websites.  IMHO PUX seems to have a wider reader/poster base than PUT.  It's free.  Free is always better and will get you more members and with more members there is a wider selection of opinions and thoughts about camping.  

If you are completely honest about PUT vs PUX, why would anyone pay to be on PUT?  Does that $30 give me more information and PUX or some other site?  I don't think so but I wanted to give it a shot and see how it progressed and what the benefits would be as Dave brought PUT around.  

 Thanks, Bob, I knew we could count on you for some  remarks worth reading and thinking about. .  And as to PUX, I notice Dean and his mods do an excellent job of  stopping  things IMMEDIATELY  when someone starts pushing any "hot button issues"  too far.  This is a great way to prevent  the build-up of  bad feelings and resentments  and retains loyal  members--always a good thing.

As to people posting, the content of the posts is what is important to me, not the number of posts a person has.

yes, thank God we have finally moved beyond the little popup icons and the numbers game!  :W

PS--are you SURE you dont work for the Texas Chamber of Commerce?  Great  pics of the Texas State Parks in your albums (My fave is the one of Ginger helping you drive, though   )

[tlhdoc]

I think things are slow here because there are very few new people on the board that stay past the free trial period.  With out the new people the board slows way down, as it slows down people that have paid don't visit as often and it slows down even more.  To get new people to join and stay PUT needs to offer something the free sites don't.  Otherwise people will not pay for what the can get for free elsewhere.  The free subscription to the magazine is a start, but there needs to be more.

[cruiserpop]

Why the biblical wailing and gnaching of teeth? Dave picked a business model for his enterprise (and it is his enterprise). He happens to be fufilling a larger social need (and thank you for that), but he needs to keep the concern going with some kind of income stream. My suggesgtion-push the magazine angle, advertise like heck, and add the board as an afterthought. another option, consider what the biggest draw is-the classifides. consider turning around the setup-turn the forum on fro viewing by the general publuc-require a small fee or joining to post a unit for sale. Or turn it all on, and ask for donations to keep it going. a hunting board i frequent uses this model, and goes along nicely.
another option-hit all the major manufacturers hard to put a sanctoned forum, or link to sanctioned forum on the site, etc. I'm shure dave et all have probobly hashed through all these options ad nauseum. but it is his baby to sweat. Me, i ain't goin nowheres...Pass the bottle, and the popcorn. the campfire's nice tonight, and the company is great.

[forestwalker]

I suggest combining the General Forum,Product Reviews,and Mr. Fix It under the title of, "General Forum".Then the General Forum would be enriched,and posts concerning product reviews,repairs,and modifications would probably reach many more readers.More responses are likely to follow.
PS-We love Pop Up Times,and the Board Too !

[topcat7736]

Strange how things turn out. DNO (Dean) almost never posted on the last Snitz forum but does plenty of it now on his own board. He even became a member of THIS board in October!

Folks post their ads here because it's FREE. On DNO's site, they must PAY to advertise, so very few do. I guess supporting that board with their $$ isn't worth it because there's a FREE place to go instead!

I subscribe to this board and to 'The Magazine' because I like them both....and I like Dave. I send people we meet at campgrounds and people asking about popups HERE. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't any other place I want to be. Dave, the innovator, created that which others now copy. And, ours is a troll FREE environment. Makes for less stress and more quality reading.

From my perspective, I'd much rather be with the best than the rest. Count me in on staying with Dave!