Pondering internet MPG forums and needed improvements

[Matt Timion]

It has become very evident to me that there will always be more and more forums opening up for the purpose of discussing fuel economy.

It's not a bad thing, really, as more people involved means more ideas get thrown around. More ideas equals more successful ideas. That means that we all win.

The thing that concerns me, however, is that some times ideas are discussed in one place and not in another. Some ideas are unique to our site, and other ideas never make it here. With more sites popping up there is also a "competition" of sorts between the sites.

Then again people told me to never start this site as it is "reinventing the wheel." They told me that the MSN groups were adequate for this type of discussion. I disagreed and here we are.

So my question to you all is simple. What can I, we, etc. do to make this more of a primary location for people? How can it be more appealing? How can it be more user friendly? Should we seperate the forum into more specific areas? What additions would you like to see that would make this the first thing that pops in your mind when you think of fuel economy forums?

[MetroMPG]

i mentioned before that the thing i like about this forum is the people on it. very few baseless or unsubstantiated MPG claims get made. and those who occasionally make them are usually called on it - in a respectful way. that's key.

i can think of another site which regularly publishes "articles" on its front page that make unsubstantiated, untested (or poorly tested) FE claims. i don't participate in its forums.

i'll always visit the teamswift site for the specific info i can get only there. and i lurk on a few others, again primarily because of the people who post on them.

so it's a human factor, not a technological one. hard to program that in, eh matt?

on the other hand, maybe it would be good to see more of a wiki-type section where the "definitive" word on various topics can reside (linked back to the thread(s) that discuss them).

forums are excellent for hashing things out, but they generally suck as a repository for information storing/seeking.

lastly, what would make this the bestest forum in the world would be if you clicked the "new" link on multi-page threads, and it actually took you to the latest posts

(just joshin' you matt, you're doing a swell job programming the heck out of this mutha!)

oh - and e-mail notification please!

[MetroMPG]

or... how about this.

2 words:

"profit sharing"

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

i mentioned before that the thing i like about this forum is the people on it. very few baseless or unsubstantiated MPG claims get made. and those who occasionally make them are quickly called on it, usually in a respectful way. that's key.

Excellent point. I also fear that this will keep our community smaller. Everyone wants the "magic pill," and we've even had two people try to sell them to us

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

i can think of another site which regularly publishes "articles" on its front page that make unsubstantiated, untested (or poorly tested) FE claims. i don't participate in its forums.

I think I know which site you're talking about. Stuff like that scares me away as well.

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

on the other hand, maybe it would be good to see more of a wiki-type section where the "definitive" word on various topics can reside (linked back to the thread(s) that discuss them).

forums are excellent for hashing things out, but they generally suck as a repository for information storing/seeking.

I can write something up pretty quickly. It would be a simple definition dialog that users can add to, linking them back to threads, etc. This would, however, require a lot of work from the users of this site to establish and maintain. Would you volunteer?

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

lastly, what would make this the bestest forum in the world would be if you clicked the "new" link on multi-page threads, and it actually took you to the latest posts

Oddly, it works, but only for page one. The original authors of this software did some really weird things. Look forward to this being fixed sometime this spring when I rewrite the entire forum software and make it all special.

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

oh - and e-mail notification please!

I should look a little bit more into this. it honestly would be too difficult to code, especially if I didn't care about efficiency. I just had a few ideas on how to code it right now actually. It might be very doable.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

or... how about this.

2 words:

"profit sharing"

LOL...

I'll share the $100 this site has made since september with everyone. That is, of course, after I deduct the hosting fees

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

or... how about this.

2 words:

"profit sharing"

better yet... Here's the plan:

1) Charge a membership fee.
2) Offer a percentage of your friend's membership fee for referals
3) Also sell MPG-Caps :P

*the above post was a joke*

[SVOboy]

I can write something up pretty quickly. It would be a simple definition dialog that users can add to, linking them back to threads, etc. This would, however, require a lot of work from the users of this site to establish and maintain. Would you volunteer? Smiling

Do it. I'll help, y0. I think that most forums like this have 3 ways of going:

1. Plain old dead
2. Become and information repository and die (pgmfi.org)
3. Have lots and lots of users that ask the same things over and over again (honda-tech.com)

[diamondlarry]

can think of another site which regularly publishes "articles" on its front page that make unsubstantiated, untested (or poorly tested) FE claims. i don't participate in its forums.

Which site is that? I think I know what you're referring to but I want to be sure.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Matt Timion

I also fear that this will keep our community smaller.

what's to fear?

it's not the size of your community that matters, it's how you use it!

as for the volunteer question - i'll volunteer to maintain topics i'm interested in, yes. but isn't that the point of a wiki? multiple, open, editing (open to reg'd users)?

the main diff being that it's less of a "thread", and more of an "article". it's mostly a question of format i think. you could likely do it with the existing code (but with no "reply" button at the end of the post).

[SVOboy]

Which site is that? I think I know what you're referring to but I want to be sure.

It's the one you're thinking of.