Forum Future

[Cressa 44]

Toby, what are your thoughts on all our different comments. A lot to take in, but would be good to hear your thoughts now.

All I can do is hope we stay alive

[Keyo 47]

To gain an influence over Corrado owners you need obsolete parts . Can you not get a list together of 20 parts that can realistically get manufactured, you have to have a live membership to obtain them and have a shop on the forum for members only. This would take a lot of work but would kill two birds with one stone .Just trying to think out of the box. More revenue , more members and parts available that make ownership a little more bearable . There is no way I’m going to join Facebook with posts , look at my cup with a Corrado on it my neighbour gave it me , yawn yawn.

[fendervg 33]

The problem with obsolete parts getting reproduced is the initial cost in tooling up - only the smaller stuff that can be 3D printed is relatively cost-effective. With maybe 1500-2000 cars left on the roads in the UK (here in Ireland only 15 Corrados passed the NCT last year, maybe 100 or so here in total), the market is very small and it would be tough enough to get pre-orders for even 250 units. Anyone on here who has organised a group buy or had something re-manufactured can tell you what a hard slog it is.

 

This is really the preserve of a club like CCGB that can maximise buying power and leverage influence, maybe with other clubs around the world and deal directly with the likes of VW Classic Parts, and not a user forum. I'm not sure what CCGB have done in the past in this respect, but it is how most other classic car clubs approach this issue.

 

At a minimum we would need things like bonnets, wings, slam panels, bumpers and all lights available to repair crash damage, and then everything required for a respray trim wise and also safety critical stuff like the clutch and brake masters.

 

So I think the parts problem should be addressed separately to the issue of preserving the forum and it's future.

 

I'm definitely willing to pay for membership, and more than happy to lend a hand as an extra moderator or IT specialist if needed.

[Dox 23]

 

 

So I think the parts problem should be addressed separately to the issue of preserving the forum and it's future.

 

 

 

I agree, maybe if the forum thrives members and current remanufacturers will commit to more products going forward.

 

I see the forum as the foundations to which we can build upon.

Edited August 24, 2019 by Dox

[Keyo 47]

By using the parts you could ensure membership fees by luring members who are desperate , you could snag users worldwide and also from different vag brands as they share some of the obsolete parts, otherwise people can just post on FB "anyone know how to do this or get this from". You approach a manufacturer agreement only sell to us.Market it as in house obsolete parts only open to paid members.

 

I'm afraid I expect this forum will not be here this time next year if something dynamic is not done, just like the Mustang forum UK I use to be on, people just use facebook now and the forum closed down earlier this year.

 

For now one step at a time get the pictures sorted on here as a priority.

Edited August 24, 2019 by Keyo

[spen 0]

By using the parts you could ensure membership fees by luring members who are desperate , you could snag users worldwide and also from different vag brands as they share some of the obsolete parts, otherwise people can just post on FB "anyone know how to do this or get this from". You approach a manufacturer agreement only sell to us.Market it as in house obsolete parts only open to paid members.

 

I'm afraid I expect this forum will not be here this time next year if something dynamic is not done, just like the Mustang forum UK I use to be on, people just use facebook now and the forum closed down earlier this year.

 

For now one step at a time get the pictures sorted on here as a priority.

 

Yeah that's a good idea, that way we could get enough money to get the VDO gauges reproduced again!

[Bush 10]

I'm a relatively new member, and new to vw's and corrado.

This is a great forum, I don't post much, but I spend a lot of time reading posts, and check new posts most days.

 

I'd happily pay a membership fee, as I do on a motorbike forum I'm on. The bike forum works great with plenty paid up members. Anybody has access to the general areas of the forum, but certain areas, like vendor deals, parts for sale, meets and ride outs, technicle guides are for members only.

 

It would be a shame to lose all the years and years of great info on this forum!

[g0ldf1ng3r 15]

"Anybody has access to the general areas of the forum, but certain areas, like vendor deals, parts for sale, meets and ride outs, technicle guides are for members only."

 

that sounds like a positive way to run a forum - good idea for here :)

[vw rule 19]

Toby, what are your thoughts on all our different comments. A lot to take in, but would be good to hear your thoughts now.

All I can do is hope we stay alive

 

Agreed as above.

 

Could I also please ask that you Toby,

if poss could give us some insight of your overheads, in other words how much do we need to generate to help stay afloat, so to speak.

 

For example if there are 100 members,

and 40 of these are paying £15 subscription membership for the year,

well that's £600

Then you have the Forum donators who've helped regularly each month or each year,

so we could be up to £1500 or £2000 as a guess, which in my opinion is not enough, if you've said you're swallowing most of the running costs.

 

If this Forum becomes payment membership only, then £15 X 100 members is £1500

which still isn't much different so maybe we might have to pay slightly more for membership, £50 X 100 members is £5000 for the year, then add on any donators contributions and we could be looking at £6000

 

But like I say we all need to know how much help you need financially and with running this Forum.

 

Many thanks

Si

[volksworld13 0]

Happy to pay, it needs some people to bring the forum up to speed .

The knowledge that lies on this forum is extensive. This is required for most people to keep theirs cars going.

[ben_wooduk 0]

Unfortunately I can't offer any technical assistance, can't see there being much call for a BI Developer on here :lol: however, for almost 15 years now I've found this forum invaluable, perhaps not posting frequently enough but always actively looking through all new posts.

 

Some great ideas here but first things first, get a paid membership area, it would be the least I can contribute to!

[oneohtwo 8]

I'd be happy to pay as well. Some of the suggestions above about having part free access and another part members, and a tie up with Corrado Club GB sound quite reasonable to my mind. It's such a valuable resource.

 

Have to say I don't fully understand how everyone has transferred to facebook. Whenever I've looked at the pages there's nothing on there!

[mort1414 0]

Happy to pay.

 

I have to admit that I would have been more forthcoming with donations if I understood that it was really needed. A transparent system with a financial target per year may help people see what's required.

 

Also can a percentage be charged for sale threads?

[t700bes 1]

Thanks for all your comments, I will review them and try to answer some questions when I can.

 

I like the idea or read-only (better than lock everyone out)

For Sale (I have a bit of a plan of that)

 

First things first though I need to get this forum updated to a more modern version.

 

Thanks for your comments. I'll put together the plan and get back to you all.

[Cressa 44]

Thanks for all your comments, I will review them and try to answer some questions when I can.

 

I like the idea or read-only (better than lock everyone out)

For Sale (I have a bit of a plan of that)

 

First things first though I need to get this forum updated to a more modern version.

 

Thanks for your comments. I'll put together the plan and get back to you all.

 

Cheers Toby, good luck

[Dox 23]

Imo, members only should be:-

 

The wiki

 

For sale and wanted, eBay links, traders offers etc

 

Owners build threads - as they are a wiki themselves?

[odub 0]

I have no issues paying and really value the forum. I'm keen to see the outcome, good luck

[vw rule 19]

Thanks for all your comments, I will review them and try to answer some questions when I can.

 

I like the idea or read-only (better than lock everyone out)

For Sale (I have a bit of a plan of that)

 

First things first though I need to get this forum updated to a more modern version.

 

Thanks for your comments. I'll put together the plan and get back to you all.

 

Much appreciated :salute:

 

Si

[Supersonic 10]

I agree with what has been said, I would be more than happy to pay for membership to help keep the forum going.

 

This is a huge source of invaluable Corrado information from enthusiasts.

[voo51 0]

I agree with some of the other comments....

 

Everyone should be able to read only on the forum, however, if you want to post, look at the for sale or breaking section, or view the wiki then you should be a paying member.

 

I've owned Corrados for 15 years now and this forum has been the first place I come to whenever I have had an issue or I need some information. I couldn't be without it!!!

 

However, that being said..... I do miss the original wiki with all the detailed how to guides.

[culshaw 1]

If someone can get me the wiki content I can get it back online in the next week or so

[Storm Warning 0]

Just wondering if there is any update on the next steps? More than happy to keep donating and could probably help with some technical and moderator duties if required. I'm with the majority on this that it is a priceless source of information that needs preserving however, basic functionality needs resolving and ultimately has to work financially... I'm very grateful for all the efforts of Admins, Mods and members, past and present... today I'm taking my dash out and the forum was my first stop.

 

It's a shame CCGB and this forum couldn't work together, I'm paid up on both but the CCGB forum will never be as useful or active as this one... that ship sailed a long time ago IMO.. Knowledge here is best, CCGB on the other hand has the community edge.

 

It would be useful to know the costs involved for the forum so we know what we are up against:

 

Annual hosting/support/maintenance

Any Licencing?

Upgrading platform to a current version

Getting Wiki working

Resolving Image issues

Tapatalk

 

We can then address how we can help the Admin raise it... donations, paid areas, any sponsorship possibilities or pay per view model at the extreme (view 3 threads a month then require micro payments - a few local papers do this now - 5p an article, never pay 25p a month type thing) Would be great to be as open as possible but most similar sites have found closing classifieds to paid only is a good start. It's a delicate balancing act to not drive away visitors to an extent where paid users dwindle.

 

If you are thinking about more than just forum, perhaps it's something that can be white labeled (for other Marques) to grow the platform and share costs that way - I appreciate the challenge in that would not be insignificant!

 

Corrado's owners are a small and shrinking community, but it is an enthusiastic one... who feast on brave pills and surprise bills :-) . I dearly hope this forum can stay around a very long time!

[Simeon 0]

Agree the forum needs to keep going, happy to support, however I think the first thing that needs addressing is the Wiki as this is basically what stands out against all the willy waving on facebook/instagram - on here you can get genuine assistance in fault finding / repairs etc etc [basically the best aspect of all the forums of the past] whereas this has been lost on social media platforms.

[Geeba 0]

I did ask over on the Scirocco forum as it seem close to dead in there if they were interested in joining forces before more forums and their information is lost... but they didn't seem overly interested.

[Keyo 47]

Is it worth publishing the wiki in to a book for future protection .