Post by: RIDEMYST on April 09, 2014, 08:02:48 PM
Hope we keep growing!!!! 8) -JEP-
Post by: doug mcpeek on April 09, 2014, 08:29:37 PM
Seems a little livelier than it had become. Give it some time.
Post by: OldButNotDead on April 10, 2014, 06:58:49 AM
Seems a little livelier than it had become. Give it some time.There was (is) an old Marine Corps saying, "it takes a hundred atta boys, to overcome one aw s--t." IMO, this new format forum is infinitely better than what we had in the past, but it will take some time until our long time members discover that, and even more time until the word gets out to new members. As you say Doug, "give it some time." IMO, this site and our club itself is not the usual MC organization. With a non-brand/model kind of organization the forum can drive membership where ours seems to be the other way around, members participate in the forum because of their association with the organization.
Post by: Brick on April 10, 2014, 08:30:41 AM
Brick
Post by: STDocLizard1 on April 18, 2014, 05:12:45 PM
I've talked to quite a few who have given up... since it has gone down so much. I've tried to convince them this time it's right. We will see.
Brick
Too many "nosedives" have soured a few over the years. I still believe that there are quite a few members who are unaware of the board. I see that Our MSTA Facebook page is fairly active of late.
Doc
Post by: touringman on April 19, 2014, 06:21:50 PM
Some time ago I mentioned a class at Star about using the GPS, and I believe it was-or is well attended. I think that now is the time to offer such an introductory course for the use of the forum. Such things as printing registration forms, or, Heaven forbid, registering online are totally foreign to many. Many also are totally unaware or the communications and opportunities they are missing. We need to make them aware! JMHO, Syd :)
Post by: RIDEMYST on April 19, 2014, 07:25:55 PM
Sent by using these little bitty keys on my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: HawkGTRider on April 20, 2014, 12:35:04 AM
Post by: Brick on April 21, 2014, 08:15:31 AM
Brick
Post by: VersysRider on April 21, 2014, 01:19:35 PM
1. I am currently going through the home buying process, so I most likely will not be at STAR this year as the closing date will be close to that time. With that said, who would teach said class?
2. We tried this at Johnson City, and about 8 people showed up, all of who regularly used the forum. The ones that suggested the class are the very ones who are suggesting it this time around. Are you going to show up? Past experience says no.
3. Has anyone ever thought about clicking that button next to the Home button that says "Help"? The is plenty of useful information there that will help you along with understanding how different functions of the forum work.
Really, I'm not trying to be an ass in my response, but understand, the webmaster cannot teach everyone how to use the forum or explain why they can't access the forum on their 20 year old computer. I do the best I can and their are resources that allow you to educate yourself. Yes, I would love for this forum to be successful and it is well on it's way there. Unfortunately, I do not have the resources to teach each and every MSTA member how to use it.
Post by: RIDEMYST on April 21, 2014, 01:22:43 PM
Sent by using these little bitty keys on my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: stevegrab on April 21, 2014, 01:34:52 PM
I think you are correct that there are a lot of people who are not very experienced with computers who are not and will not use the forum, at least not without a lot of extra effort.
However there are also people are fairly computer literate and just don't have the time or desire to get on the forum. I know several people that fit into that category. I had plans to do an MSTA forum/website and other internet type tutorial session with my local group and have not gotten around to it. I would still like to do that, but my experience tells me the off season is the best time (too many other activities including riding going on during good weather).
I think with some effort we could attract more people and get more activity, but the old expression about leading a horse to water comes to me. A comedian I was watching the other day talked about older people and them not being able to figure things out like Facebook or Skype, that is until they become grandparents, then suddenly they can figure it out to keep up with their grand kids.
So the key to getting some to participate is what value they get out of it.
As far as a session at STAR, that may work or maybe not. I'm not one that attends a lot of seminars and know quite a few who are the same. If my schedule permits and I'm interested I'll go. But first comes riding the great routes, second comes taking care of meals and then any other planning required. Which often makes attending a seminar difficult. (No I am not complaining about the schedules, just that seminars are a very low priority to me and possibly others, even one that I am interested in.)
Post by: OldButNotDead on April 22, 2014, 06:31:11 AM
Ok guys, some of you will take this the wrong way but understand I am trying to make you see the situation clearly...Jon,
1. I am currently going through the home buying process, so I most likely will not be at STAR this year as the closing date will be close to that time. With that said, who would teach said class?
2. We tried this at Johnson City, and about 8 people showed up, all of who regularly used the forum. The ones that suggested the class are the very ones who are suggesting it this time around. Are you going to show up? Past experience says no.
3. Has anyone ever thought about clicking that button next to the Home button that says "Help"? The is plenty of useful information there that will help you along with understanding how different functions of the forum work.
Really, I'm not trying to be an ass in my response, but understand, the webmaster cannot teach everyone how to use the forum or explain why they can't access the forum on their 20 year old computer. I do the best I can and their are resources that allow you to educate yourself. Yes, I would love for this forum to be successful and it is well on it's way there. Unfortunately, I do not have the resources to teach each and every MSTA member how to use it.
You are dead on and just being realistic. Take a look at other sites and see how many moderators pretty much run topics in the forum. You have way too many duties for a modern full service forum. Another thing on the training, this club as way too many Old Dogs who do not understand that a computer user has to learn software by trying it, applying intuition and not worrying about crashing the site on their browser a few times. A familiarity class at STAR might not be a bad idea but I doubt very much it will cure the problem.
Post by: brider on April 22, 2014, 07:57:59 PM
I am deeeply offended. :'(
Ok guys, some of you will take this the wrong way but understand I am trying to make you see the situation clearly...
Post by: VersysRider on April 22, 2014, 08:50:53 PM
I know better than to ask, but why is Bill offended? ???
I am deeeply offended. :'(Ok guys, some of you will take this the wrong way but understand I am trying to make you see the situation clearly...
Post by: brider on April 22, 2014, 10:13:06 PM
Just to give you grief. ;D No other reason.I know better than to ask, but why is Bill offended? ???
I am deeeply offended. :'(Ok guys, some of you will take this the wrong way but understand I am trying to make you see the situation clearly...
Post by: Patmo on April 23, 2014, 06:43:35 AM
;DJust to give you grief. ;D No other reason.I know better than to ask, but why is Bill offended? ???
I am deeeply offended. :'(Ok guys, some of you will take this the wrong way but understand I am trying to make you see the situation clearly...
Jay.....you should know better by now..... ::)
;D
Post by: Patmo on April 23, 2014, 08:44:48 AM
If I remember correctly, one of the reasons suggested for needing a forum like this was that it would help with attracting new members to the club. By making this an open forum, potential club members would be able to get to know the club via this forum, even if they had no other interaction with any club members. We've seen some people join this forum that are not club members, so that has certainly happened, even if only in a limited manner. Making this grow will not only help this forum, it will help our club.
Another reason presented for having this forum has been it's ability to enhance communication between club members, AND between the club leadership and other members. I've seen several of the state officers posting here, but I haven't seen much posting by national officers. I'm not sure that is a big problem however, since they do communicate through the STAReview to all members on a monthly basis. I would suggest that ALL state directors NEED to be ACTIVE members of this forum, AND do all they can to promote it to all of their members on a consistent basis. I don't think that it is any random chance that the states with the biggest and most active memberships have state directors that use this forum, and other means, to do a great job of communicating with the members. Looking through the BlueBook, the vast majority of current members have e-mail. I think that would indicate that the majority of our members have Internet service. I'm willing to bet that ALL of our potential members ARE Internet savvy. We have some members listed in the BlueBook that have no address or phone number listed. I doubt that we will ever get any of those members to become active forum users. But I would think that any members that have an email address ARE potential forum users. The question then becomes, how to reach them and intice them to become active members?
My suggestions.....
State directors must contact all members and INVITE THEM to become forum users, and they must keep inviting them on a regular basis.
The STAReview goes out to all members. It should be used as a way to promote forum usage.
A class on the forum should be offered at Star.
ALL forum supporters must be willing to invite other members AND potential club members to visit the forum. If you have MSTA cards you pass out, make sure they have the forum address on them.
Post by: Brick on April 23, 2014, 09:51:53 AM
Brick
Post by: Patmo on April 23, 2014, 10:33:03 AM
Pat... who is going to make it happen?
Brick
As we say here in the country.....ALL Y'ALL... ;D
Seriously, no ONE person should be expected to shoulder the burden, it will take a team effort of all.
I did take some time after posting this and sent an invitation out to all the Kentucky members, but since Ky is small in numbers, it was pretty easy for me to do this. Larger states will take more time, but perhaps more volunteers could be inticed to help out. I've found that once the initial email list is put into a computer, it's pretty easy to send out group communications.
I'm not attending STAR this year, so I can't do the class,
Post by: Woovis on April 23, 2014, 06:43:04 PM
Post by: stevegrab on April 23, 2014, 07:04:58 PM
One thing I don't plan on doing though is shutting down our current communication through a Yahoo group (primarly email about rides and other stuff). It works for what we have, and if I force that to move to the the forum I'll lose about 75% of our group in the process for a multitude of reasons.
Yes I know the forum has listserv capability now and we may be able to use that to act like an email list, but even that would probably result in some people not moving over.
Look at any other form of communication this group has had, the national or other local email lists are often dominated by a handful of people, with a small percentage of members being involved at any level. I think that is all just human nature.
PS Woovis is correct, this is a fast and easy to use forum. But again he is willing to poke around and try things. Some are too afraid, others are not interested or don't have the time to spend on it (or don't want to spend time on it).
Post by: OldButNotDead on April 24, 2014, 06:44:13 AM
Jay probably won't say it but I will... This has got to be one of (if not the) fastest, easiest to navigate forums I've ever been on and if you need a class on how to navigate it you're probably phuqued and beyond help anyway! Granted I haven't found all of it's features and settings yet, but go ahead and poke around in it and you'll find your way.+1, What he said!!! Love your way with words ;D
Post by: STDocLizard1 on April 29, 2014, 01:08:28 PM
The MSTA Facebook Page has 529 members. How many are registered on this forum?
I know that multiple shutdowns, and reincarnations have taken it toll on the number of forum users, but we need to get the word out that the forum is the place to be for information and communication between members.
Just my $0.02
Post by: DirtFlier on May 17, 2014, 07:34:04 PM
Quote
[...I know better than to ask, but why is Bill offended? ??? ...]A semi carrying Old Milwaukee to Tipp City (aka Bill's house) overturned before it reached the OH border and all the contents were lost. There is a huge brown spot on a grassy shoulder of I-70 where that caustic swill poured onto the innocent and unsuspecting grass. Thousands of blades of grass died a truly terrible death. Bill will be holding memorial services for the lost beer next week.
Post by: touringman on May 18, 2014, 09:20:39 AM
Post by: brider on May 18, 2014, 10:25:14 AM
[...I know better than to ask, but why is Bill offended? ??? ...]:'( :'( Now I'm just sad.
A semi carrying Old Milwaukee to Tipp City overturned before it reached the OH border and all the contents were lost. There is a huge brown spot on a grassy shoulder of I-70 where that swill poured onto the unsuspecting grass.
Post by: Brick on May 18, 2014, 10:19:07 PM
Brick
Post by: VersysRider on May 18, 2014, 10:37:42 PM
Tosh... Bill's beer is Keystone not Old Milwaukee.Bill considers Old Milwaukee "Premium" beer.
Brick
Post by: DirtFlier on May 19, 2014, 07:53:21 AM
Quote
[...Bill considers Old Milwaukee "Premium" beer...]
Is it 35-cents more per 12-pack?
Post by: Buckeye56 on May 20, 2014, 07:15:21 PM
Quote[...Bill considers Old Milwaukee "Premium" beer...]
Is it 35-cents more per 12-pack?
No, per truckload.
Post by: brider on May 25, 2014, 09:29:36 PM
Post by: BlueRidgeGal on June 03, 2014, 07:08:40 PM
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Post by: GSRider2Up on June 04, 2014, 01:37:55 PM
With our forum and others, most constructive criticism is taken as an assault on the club and forum.
I've seen people post and get pretty well beat up by the loyal forum members. Usually comes down to "if you aren't volunteering - then shut up!" I'm guessing these people won't be back to the forum again and maybe even leave the club or not join, whatever the case.
We always say we want to know why we have as many members leave the club as join and why more members don't use the forum.
Just saying that before loyal forum members start defending the forum or club to someone who posts some constructive criticism, take a moment to reflect:
- Does the poster have a point?
- Is this something we as a club should think about?
- Should we consider making changes?
- Should I rebuke the poster or should I thank them for their concern and point out they could have presented their idea in a better way?
People volunteer because they feel a sense of community and want to be an active part of this community. They don't want to volunteer because someone says "volunteer or shutup!"
Post by: Patmo on June 04, 2014, 03:39:58 PM
As with other forums, we have to be careful with our forum responses. Forums tend to be a "good 'ol boys" networks, with a core group of members. These loyal forum members take great "ownership" of "their" forum and club.
With our forum and others, most constructive criticism is taken as an assault on the club and forum.
I've seen people post and get pretty well beat up by the loyal forum members. Usually comes down to "if you aren't volunteering - then shut up!" I'm guessing these people won't be back to the forum again and maybe even leave the club or not join, whatever the case.
We always say we want to know why we have as many members leave the club as join and why more members don't use the forum.
Just saying that before loyal forum members start defending the forum or club to someone who posts some constructive criticism, take a moment to reflect:
- Does the poster have a point?
- Is this something we as a club should think about?
- Should we consider making changes?
- Should I rebuke the poster or should I thank them for their concern and point out they could have presented their idea in a better way?
People volunteer because they feel a sense of community and want to be an active part of this community. They don't want to volunteer because someone says "volunteer or shutup!"
Some excellent points made here!
Post by: VersysRider on June 04, 2014, 03:44:46 PM
Post by: TK on June 13, 2014, 01:23:02 PM
we have in MN. We have our own website at MN-MSTA and this is where rides, social events,
race viewings are posted. I think because our members are getting almost all the info they need
from the state site they have little incentive to check out this site. I'm guessing many other states
have their own sites.
I'm happy we have this site though. It is easy to navigate, even for this luddite.
Post by: Kenneth Gill on July 10, 2014, 09:44:50 AM
Post by: fartymarty on July 13, 2014, 04:33:06 PM
Can perhaps some of the posters that had notable trip reports or accessory installs be encouraged to resubmit their posts?
It's one thing to get people to come to a forum, and another to get them to stay and contribute.
As a newbie member (both forum and paid) I'm not sure if my view to you is more valuable (new blood, what are they thinking?) or less valuable (new blood, who cares?)
but the Main website and Membership packet I received were both (IMO) pretty impressive. The forum content, not so much, especially considering the long history of this group. I do think that this forum software is going to work well for you, it looks a lot like other forums that I'm on and they have been up for years and seem to work well. However getting back to my original thought, no matter how glossy the magazine, it's content that makes it readable, same for a forum. :)
Should I start a What's the best oil thread? :o That usually gets folks typing. (YES I"M JOKING! ;D )
Post by: Brick on July 13, 2014, 05:24:16 PM
Welcome!
Brick
Post by: RichGrab on July 16, 2014, 11:04:19 AM
Ok guys, some of you will take this the wrong way but understand I am trying to make you see the situation clearly...
1. I am currently going through the home buying process, so I most likely will not be at STAR this year as the closing date will be close to that time. With that said, who would teach said class?
2. We tried this at Johnson City, and about 8 people showed up, all of who regularly used the forum. The ones that suggested the class are the very ones who are suggesting it this time around. Are you going to show up? Past experience says no.
3. Has anyone ever thought about clicking that button next to the Home button that says "Help"? The is plenty of useful information there that will help you along with understanding how different functions of the forum work.
Really, I'm not trying to be an ass in my response, but understand, the webmaster cannot teach everyone how to use the forum or explain why they can't access the forum on their 20 year old computer. I do the best I can and their are resources that allow you to educate yourself. Yes, I would love for this forum to be successful and it is well on it's way there. Unfortunately, I do not have the resources to teach each and every MSTA member how to use it.
Well said Jay. This might be something to explore more at the local (read State) level. I remember before the last crash, we here in MI were going to have a session on the Forum at a monthly meeting. But like I said, then we had the last crash and it never materialized. Just a thought for the State directors who have more regular meetings. I know it's not as fun as riding, but the forum can be a great tool. Just my 2 pennies worth.