A US Club?

[slomove]

Yes, dead horses.....I do have an interest in the US Super Sevens Society (or whatever you guys will call it) and very little interest in L7CGB.

 

 

 

Gert

[slngsht]

Yes, dead horses.....I do have an interest in the US Super Sevens Society (or whatever you guys will call it) and very little interest in L7CGB.

 

 

 

Gert

 

 

 

Gert, based on this http://www.usa7s.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=179 I filed the club name as USA7s. Backup is USA Sevens.

[locostv8]

Yes, dead horses.....I do have an interest in the US Super Sevens Society (or whatever you guys will call it) and very little interest in L7CGB.

 

 

 

Gert

 

 

 

Metoo. I doubt that L7CGB would be very accepting of my car anyhow.

 

Jim

[magnusfeuer]

Magnus Feuer here...

 

 

 

I am the web admin of the California Caterham Club. We just opened a local discussion about joining a national club effort at:

 

>http://www.californiacaterhamclub.com/chat/showthread.php?p=4120

 

 

 

Please note that we haven't really started the debate yet, so anything I say at this point is my personal opionion only.

 

 

 

Are there any models for how to integrate local chapters and their web site (such as a California/Left coast one) into the motherrship site?

 

 

 

A simple link is the easiest solution, but we would then have fragmented forums and other possible overlaps. The other extreme is that we dump our website completely and simply redirect to the mothership. In this case we need to transfer all our old posts and logins to the mothership.

 

 

 

A look at NASA and their local regions shows that you can go from the central site to the regional while retaining the web design and page layot. The regional chapters seem mostly to organize the local events. Is this a model that we can adapt, or will the existing local clubs lose their identity?

 

 

 

Obviously this discussion needs to be carried out at two levels, within the local club and on a national level in this thread.

 

 

 

/Magnus F.

 

magnusfeuer2006-09-07 11:21:57

[spindr]

Have a look at Lotus Ltd and their links to local chapters.

 

This would probably be a good model for you to consider.

 

http://www.lotuscarclub.org/localgroups.htm

 

 

 

Jeremy F.

[slngsht]

Magnus Feuer here...

 

 

 

I am the web admin of the California Caterham Club. We just opened a local discussion about joining a national club effort at:

 

>http://www.californiacaterhamclub.com/chat/showthread.php?p=4120

 

 

 

Please note that we haven't really started the debate yet, so anything I say at this point is my personal opionion only.

 

 

 

Are there any models for how to integrate local chapters and their web site (such as a California/Left coast one) into the motherrship site?

 

 

 

A simple link is the easiest solution, but we would then have fragmented forums and other possible overlaps. The other extreme is that we dump our website completely and simply redirect to the mothership. In this case we need to transfer all our old posts and logins to the mothership.

 

 

 

A look at NASA and their local regions shows that you can go from the central site to the regional while retaining the web design and page layot. The regional chapters seem mostly to organize the local events. Is this a model that we can adapt, or will the existing local clubs lose their identity?

 

 

 

Obviously this discussion needs to be carried out at two levels, within the local club and on a national level in this thread.

 

 

 

/Magnus F.

 

 

 

 

Magnus, that hasn't been discussed here either, other than really early discussions you and I had several months ago.

 

 

 

Since the Seven community is relatively small, I think one common Forum would be best. It really takes all the members signing on to one place to make critical mass and have a forum where everytime you log in, there is something new.

 

 

 

I'm not sure how we do that without thriving clubs losing their identity though. Perhaps we all share the forum in one central place, but have home pages separately??? In that case, how much traffic would the non-forum sites get?

 

 

 

For the record, vbulletin is the top dog in forum software, which is what you guys are using. Can you let me know offline what the cost structure for hosting is?

 

 

 

How many other US based 7 forums are there? locostusa.com is one, but that site has traditional 7 builds as well as other types of cars such as mid-engined cars.

 

 

[No_6]

Check out how the motorcycle club I belong to handled things: www.r1-forum.com.

 

 

 

The local clubs are called "Squadrons," each of which has it's own home on the larger site. That way local business/gatherings don't clutter up the general discussion areas. Works pretty well. Many of the local chapters have their own dedicated forums as well (ours is www.r1wolfpack.com). Yes, I know the names are a little on the corny side, but it does make for some cool looking logos/patches. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

[magnusfeuer]

Hmm.

 

 

 

We can do two different things, depending on the level of integration. We in the CA club can retain our local site (after migrating the forum to the national server), which means that there would be a link from www.whateversevens.com to www.californiacaterhamclub.com and our local content.

 

 

 

Another solution would be a subdomain (www.california.whateversevens.com) or a subdirectory (www.whateversevens.com/california) which is hosted on the national site and also has a design that is compatible with the main one. This would push more system administration work to the maintainer of the central site, but would also give the entire club, chapters and all, a more streamlined appearance on the web.

 

 

 

Compare >www.nasaproracing.com, having completely integrated regions, with SCCA where >www.scca.com has a completely different feel than its SoPAC region at >http://www.scca-sopac.org/

 

 

 

I am trying to list our alternatives here, not push one option in front of the other.

 

 

 

/Magnus F.

 

magnusfeuer2006-09-07 15:26:03

[slngsht]

Check out how the motorcycle club I belong to handled things: www.r1-forum.com.

 

 

 

The local clubs are called "Squadrons," each of which has it's own home on the larger site. That way local business/gatherings don't clutter up the general discussion areas. Works pretty well. Many of the local chapters have their own dedicated forums as well (ours is www.r1wolfpack.com). Yes, I know the names are a little on the corny side, but it does make for some cool looking logos/patches. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

 

 

 

The reason why local forums can be supported is that r1-forum has 62,492 members. At that kind of scale, even if 1% of the membership participates on the main forum daily, you have a pretty good flow of posts.

 

 

 

 

[roll a 7]

The CA site is four years old this month. It has taken most of that time to evolve into the active website that it has become. Most of us left coasters now use it regularly, especially those most committed to using their 7s. I am all for a national website and can see many possible advantages to all of us. My one concern is that I don't want the CA group to find a national site less useful than our present site, and thereby see the users drift off into the netherworld of..... The present site has become very useful for communicating with 7ers that I know and those I have not (yet) met.

 

 

 

Meeting even more 7ers on a national site is a good reason to move ahead. It will enable those who travel around the USA to meet up with fellow nutcase 7 owners in the other regions. If we can find a way that satisfies the various needs and desires of 7 owners and groupies across the USA it is the logical next step.

[slngsht]

The CA site is four years old this month. It has taken most of that time to evolve into the active website that it has become. Most of us left coasters now use it regularly, especially those most committed to using their 7s. I am all for a national website and can see many possible advantages to all of us. My one concern is that I don't want the CA group to find a national site less useful than our present site, and thereby see the users drift off into the netherworld of..... The present site has become very useful for communicating with 7ers that I know and those I have not (yet) met.

 

 

 

Meeting even more 7ers on a national site is a good reason to move ahead. It will enable those who travel around the USA to meet up with fellow nutcase 7 owners in the other regions. If we can find a way that satisfies the various needs and desires of 7 owners and groupies across the USA it is the logical next step.

 

 

 

So, roll a 7, are you in favor of having one forum? The way to keep the regional relationships going is through the regional sub sections of the forum, in my opinion. So you have technical sections, regional sections, general section (this is mostly non-technical car stuff), and off topic, for non-car stuff or other cars (not 7 related).

[slngsht]

Hmm.

 

 

 

We can do two different things, depending on the level of integration. We in the CA club can retain our local site (after migrating the forum to the national server), which means that there would be a link from www.whateversevens.com to www.californiacaterhamclub.com and our local content.

 

 

 

Another solution would be a subdomain (www.california.whateversevens.com) or a subdirectory (www.whateversevens.com/california) which is hosted on the national site and also has a design that is compatible with the main one. This would push more system administration work to the maintainer of the central site, but would also give the entire club, chapters and all, a more streamlined appearance on the web.

 

 

 

Compare >www.nasaproracing.com, having completely integrated regions, with SCCA where >www.scca.com has a completely different feel than its SoPAC region at >http://www.scca-sopac.org/

 

 

 

I am trying to list our alternatives here, not push one option in front of the other.

 

 

 

/Magnus F.

 

 

 

 

Magnus, missed your post. what I said in my post above is similar to nasaproracing (integrated regional) you mention.

 

 

 

Personally I find the familiarity amongst the sections (even down to color schemes) makes the site easier to use.

[xflow7]

I think it's worth noting that some regional sub-fora already exist here in the form of the event forums here.

 

 

 

Roll a 7's concern about CCC losing its identity is very valid, but as far I can see the primary advantage a regional forum has over a national forum is reduced thread clutter re: small-scale local events and that is clearly covered by the existing regional event forums. For most other needs (tech. questions, tips, anecdotes, general BS-ing) a national site would seem to be to be preferable for exactly the critical mass reason Mazda cited. Plus, occasionally a regional event blossoms into a national affair (as Al and Gert know only too well!) and in that case having the event originally covered in a sub-forum of the national forum may make it easier to "promote" to national attention if warranted.

 

 

 

The regional event planning stuff could in principle be on a regional sub-site as opposed to sub-forum, but the point stands.

 

 

 

As for whether regional sites are sub-sites or just linked I think the pros and cons have been pretty well laid out and I don't think there's a clear winner, although I personally kind of like the notion of all the sites having the same look-and-feel with maybe a little provision for regional flair to keep it fun.

 

 

 

Davexflow72006-09-07 17:20:07

[slomove]

For purposes of a stronger overall presence I would prefer a single web site as long as we West-Coasters maintain a regional sub-forum that contains all the sections which have become so valuable for us (events, local racing, chatter, local for sale). Then I don't see any disadvantage but one site less to check.

 

 

 

Gert

 

 

 

 

[slngsht]

by chatter do you mean Idle talk section? If so, that's the type of section that becomes so much more entertaining if there is 10X the number of people contributing.

 

I can definitely see events and racing being regional for most part (there should still be a national events section for a couple of the bigger events).

 

Parts for sale is another one where IMO national would be better than regional. Alot more parts to find as a buyer, or views to get as a seller.

 

 

[roll a 7]

I am in ageement with Gert. A national site is fine with me and a good idea which I have previously endorsed.

 

 

 

At this point I get a lot from our CCC site and don't want to lose any of that. The users now have a sort of ESPRIT d' Corps. Hopefully a national site will be similar.

[slomove]

by chatter do you mean Idle talk section? If so, that's the type of section that becomes so much more entertaining if there is 10X the number of people contributing.

 

I can definitely see events and racing being regional for most part (there should still be a national events section for a couple of the bigger events).

 

Parts for sale is another one where IMO national would be better than regional. Alot more parts to find as a buyer, or views to get as a seller.

 

 

 

 

I guess I kind of agree....but I think there is also a place for the regional idle talk of people who know and meet each other personally and which may be completely meaningless for others. I had thought a local "For Sale" might be meaningful for similar reasons but on second thought I agree a central place is better. After all, with UPS/FedEx something of value is just as easy to get from coast to coast as from LA to San Diego.

 

 

 

Gert

[magnusfeuer]

So the forum layout would be something like:

 

 

 

For Sale

 

 

 

Idle talk

 

 

 

Technical Questions

 

 

 

National events

 

 

 

Left Coast

 

--Events

 

--Local talk

 

--Joints, Bongs and Sevens

 

 

 

East Coast

 

--Local talk

 

--Manhattan pot hole slalom

 

--Events

 

--Snow chain racing

 

 

 

South

 

--...

 

 

 

CCC would migrate all posts and logins to the new national site and its software (which can be vBulletin if we transfer our license to you). We would redirect all traffic to www.californiacaterhamclub.com/chat to the national site's california forum.

 

 

 

The CCC site would then be redesigned to contain photos, videos, documents and articles from our local events.

 

 

 

We have at least one member (Clark) who is a good writer and sometimes publishes his work in Low Flying. Have we thought about a blog/newsletter section on the national site?

 

 

 

/Magnus F.

 

 

[locostv8]

You might want to fashion somewhat after http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/index.php or http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/index.php

 

 

 

The mech/builder/help possibly being a link to special interest groups or forums with a search that would look at each. Also a search that would allow enough qualifying to not bring back 4000 hits.

 

 

[slngsht]

So the forum layout would be something like:

 

 

 

For Sale

 

 

 

Idle talk

 

 

 

Technical Questions

 

 

 

National events

 

 

 

Left Coast

 

--Events

 

--Local talk

 

--Joints, Bongs and Sevens

 

 

 

East Coast

 

--Local talk

 

--Manhattan pot hole slalom

 

--Events

 

--Snow chain racing

 

 

 

South

 

--...

 

 

 

CCC would migrate all posts and logins to the new national site and its software (which can be vBulletin if we transfer our license to you). We would redirect all traffic to www.californiacaterhamclub.com/chat to the national site's california forum.

 

 

 

The CCC site would then be redesigned to contain photos, videos, documents and articles from our local events.

 

 

 

We have at least one member (Clark) who is a good writer and sometimes publishes his work in Low Flying. Have we thought about a blog/newsletter section on the national site?

 

 

 

/Magnus F.

 

 

 

 

This looks like a good plan to build on. I still have doubts about having too many idle talk forums - CCC has something like 200 members, USA7s has 115 - probably 20 overlap. Having a general,east,west,south idle talk section will leave us with alot of idle talk sections that may have just a couple of posts a day.

 

 

 

We do need to add sections that are club member only, and club officer only, for conducting club business, and presenting club finances, votes, etc... to club members.

 

 

 

I'm in agreement with everything else.