Why is it.........................??

[russosborne]

Steve,

How many (% )of the old customers quit shopping with that place after the change occurred?

I would think there would always be a worry (here, at that place, everywhere) about losing existing customers by making changes. If you get more new than you lost, that is I guess a plus. But if you lose more than you gain, definitely a negative.

Russ

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Steve,

How many (% )of the old customers quit shopping with that place after the change occurred?

I would think there would always be a worry (here, at that place, everywhere) about losing existing customers by making changes. If you get more new than you lost, that is I guess a plus. But if you lose more than you gain, definitely a negative.

Russ

 

We lost a bunch!

But, we probably gained at least as many.

The biggest advantage was breaking out into the Facebook & Twitter world.

Summer is our slowest season. I suspect things will really go gangbusters when the snow flies!

 

Steve

[russosborne]

Thanks for the reply.

Sounds like you guys broke even at least and will probably do better yet soon.

Russ

[StevenGuthmiller]

Thanks for the reply.

Sounds like you guys broke even at least and will probably do better yet soon.

Russ

I'm almost certain of it.

With our old system we had very little opportunity in the way of advertising our service.

With the new system branching out to Twitter & Facebook, word is getting out & new customers are coming in every day.

 

Steve

[Badluck 13]

..........Hey Anthony any luck on the AARP modelers forum yet???? I have my membership card ready to use!!! ...............as far as the "train wreck" thread thing is I think the truck end seems to be over looked a lot ....

 

[tbill]

Ok, I gotta throw this out here for conversation sake. A few of you fellas are not happy with the changes here, I understand that. 

 

Some have indicated they think people will leave due to changes, because people don't like change.

 

what did all you guys do when hand writing letters fell victim to e-mail? Heck, you all have computers, and ya dove head first into them, and we all know what a learning curve that was. I say roll with it, embrace it, and we can revisit this topic in a couple years when we say how much we hate that new update, lol.

[Guest]

I am slowly getting used to it. My biggest problem is I find it a bit harder to read, and not as bright as the old one. To those younger, it is not a big thing, most have good eyes, but to those of us getting older, our eyes just are not what they used to be. I have ssen worse, and would rather have it like this than SA, as theirs is quite garish. I guess you could say our forum is like a new release of a older kit, new artwork, which you may or may not like, and the same trustworthy contents.

[Brett Barrow]

We're preparing to switch to a new format on our website at work.  I  am not looking forward to it...    We know we will lose customers, that's just part of the deal, but with better SEO and other benefits of the new design it should be a net positive in the long run. 

I will say that the new mobile version here looks like it has total functionality just like the desktop version, which wasn't the case with the old mobile version, there were things you couldn't do on the mobile site.  It will take some getting used to, but more and more people are using mobile devices to browse the web now, and it will only continue to rise.    

[Ace-Garageguy]

And research has proven conclusively that learning new things as we age helps to keep our brains sharp, and may even help delay the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's.

Think of the site change as a free opportunity to get mentally younger and fitter, while perusing something you enjoy.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[Guest]

And research has proven conclusively that learning new things as we age helps to keep our brains sharp, and may even help delay the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's.

Think of the site change a free opportunity to get mentally younger and fitter, while perusing something you enjoy.

Ya know, I think Bill has a good point. When things are the same, things can be done out of habit, but mix it up, and ya gotta use your head a bit and think before doing something. Thanks Bill for a new way to look at changes.

[vettecote]

In 6 months or less, this thread will be forgotten!...No big deal!...Joe

[Cato]

The fact of the matter is that many of us have posed legitimate, civil questions about features or lack there of, that have gone unanswered. I don't mean server or phone or 'web reception' issues. Instead we get another, newer, smash-mouth warning:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/104030-no-nonsense-approach/

I agree with Anthony's point; some small notice ahead of going live would have eliminated a lot of the 'I can't do this' and 'how do you do that?' confusion. A pinned 'instruction sheet' of feature changes, like our models, would have been a thoughtful way to get everyone acclimated and up to speed. And stem the tide of confusion and resistance. We get it; 'Deal with it or get out'.

Motivation for change given as attracting younger members is a farcical idea. The kids are on a thousand social sites and crave only what they call 'entertainment'. And if they stumbled upon this site, they would die laughing at the 1954 look and feel of it. They're not into nostalgia. Graphics, navigation and use buttons were far superior on the previous version.

The functionality of the previous version was also far superior for contributors; those of us who show and tell our work for the enlightenment and entertainment of all of us. I recognize that it's early in the cycle and things may be improved. But that would mean being attentive to the questions and needs raised by we users. We make the site what it is. It is not just a clubhouse for old guys. It's a showcase for skilled craftsmen and a learning ground for those with interest of any age.

Hopefully the time can be found to address and implement those legitimate questions raised to give us the great functionality we used to have.

Wish I could preview my remarks with the button we used to have. But I'll just reread them several times.

 

 

 

[Casey]

some small notice ahead of going live would have eliminated a lot of the 'I can't do this' and 'how do you do that?' confusion. A pinned 'instruction sheet' of feature changes, like our models, would have been a thoughtful way to get everyone acclimated and up to speed.

Perhaps you'd be willing to volunteer your time so you can implement your ideas, Cato, instead of expecting someone else to take the time and effort to explain everything to each individual member in a way that suits each of them best? Think the time that would take, and even if you drafted just one post to explain all of the changes, would you be willing to take the time to answer each member's questions and address their concerns until they're each satisfied?

IIRC, Gregg let it be known publicly that the forum would be down and there would be a server changeover last Thanksgiving-ish, and there was still complaining. People complain when they don't get help quickly enough, when their questions aren't directly answered, and when they feel their concerns aren't being addresses to their satisfaction, but who's going to volunteer their own personal time to help Gregg, Harry, Dave Ambrose, etc. take care of it all?

[bobthehobbyguy]

Amen Casey.

Guys the site has changed. DEAL WITH IT.  Invest a little time and try things out. 

 

[Cato]

some small notice ahead of going live would have eliminated a lot of the 'I can't do this' and 'how do you do that?' confusion. A pinned 'instruction sheet' of feature changes, like our models, would have been a thoughtful way to get everyone acclimated and up to speed.

Perhaps you'd be willing to volunteer your time so you can implement your ideas, Cato, instead of expecting someone else to take the time and effort to explain everything to each individual member in a way that suits each of them best? Think the time that would take, and even if you drafted just one post to explain all of the changes, would you be willing to take the time to answer each member's questions and address their concerns until they're each satisfied?

IIRC, Gregg let it be known publicly that the forum would be down and there would be a server changeover last Thanksgiving-ish, and there was still complaining. People complain when they don't get help quickly enough, when their questions aren't directly answered, and when they feel their concerns aren't being addresses to their satisfaction, but who's going to volunteer their own personal time to help Gregg, Harry, Dave Ambrose, etc. take care of it all?

 

Grow up Casey. I didn't advocate a personal reply to each member by greeting card. A simple aggregation of questions into the several problem areas could be addressed quite compactly and quickly. That's not beyond the skills of Dave who has the tech chops to manage all the web side. Lose your temptation to distort others words to make them seem dumb and unsophisticated.

Spare me the lecture of how hard it is to monitor a site such as this. We all give homage to Gregg and recognition to Harry. Amazingly, Harry has figured out a way to donate his time to moderate AND contribute copious amounts of actual model-building content. Informative, entertaining and a referee all at the same time. Doesn't seem too self-sacrificing for him to do eh? The best change Gregg ever made was making him sole Mod and taking the bang-stick out of your hand. There were other bad Mod choices in the past; you were just the most recent.

You also picked the wrong guy to lecture about effort spent on this site. As a contributor of a WIP with 37+ pages, spanning 1 1/2 years, with 900+ replies I know the efforts involved. Uploading 550 pictures, composing explanatory text plus building the actual thing is not an armchair effort. 400+ of those replies are mine which shows responsiveness to comments and questions. That does not encompass the other 1500 meaningful ( as opposed to 'Looks great!') contributory posts I've made since 2009. And many well-received builds. Study whom you choose to attack before displaying customary ignorance.

 

 

[blunc]

I guess this needs repeating AGAIN.

This is a free site that Gregg is paying for with time and his funds.

Who are we to make demands regarding something that is supplied to us gratis?

Gregg has given us fair warning in fairly plain words that he is manning the "Ban Hammer" and how he plans to use it.

Posting content to a free site doesn't give you any right to make demands of the site owner (unless otherwise specified in the Terms of Use).

If anyone thinks this is a personal attack, they can take it up with my trash folder.

[slusher]

Gregg said we had problems and this was a step up. I like the new format not hard to get the hang of it. Great free forum and so much better then the other mag forum....

Edited July 18, 2015 by slusher

[Guest]

I understand that there's a lot of people upset about the change to the forum. But, please take a moment to look at this thread...http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/104042-a-couple-of-my-builds/    That's a positive no matter how you look at it IMO. Who knows how many other members this change may have helped. Yeah, there's things I don't like about the new format. But, I'm sure Gregg and the team are working on it. I would rather them spend the time tweaking the forum than spending it here trying to answer each and every question. Be patient and allow them the time to get the bugs worked out.

[Old Buckaroo]

Finding the new format was quite a surprise after being away on vacation.  The look is different but I am already use to it. My biggest obstacle to overcome is not hitting the "sign up" button when I go to log in

This forum even with the new format surpasses "fsm" and "sa" a million times over.  

[Jeepxj]

First a whole new SAE forum,and now this site?Come on fellas,if it ain't broken,don't fix it..

[StevenGuthmiller]

In 6 months or less, this thread will be forgotten!...No big deal!...Joe

I disagree.

2 weeks, at best.

 

Steve

[Tom Geiger]

On the old software, I had to be really bored to look at the board on my iPhone... now I will do so all the time!  Just what I needed, another bad habit!  

[Dave Ambrose]

I understand your frustrations. It took me a while to get used to the new site. If you think things have changed here, you should see the admin pages.

We upgrade for two reasons, useful functionality, and most importantly, security. Do you all remember when we got hacked? We were off the air for something like 5 days. The root cause was some software that hadn't been updated. Hackers got into our server, and started serving up malware. It took a lot of late nights to clean up after that.

If you're in the web site business, you know that your site is under attack virtually all the time. Security is important.

Sometimes, our upgrades include/require a new default theme. That was the case here. In exchange for having to learn a new layout, you get better rendering on tablets and phones. These, days, that's important. Ultimately, we'll reach a wider audience. Whether that turns into more new or returning builders will depend on how well we treat the noobies. 

The picture upload facilities have improved. I haven't tried them yet, but they look a lot easier to use. Drag and drop beats using Photobucket.

Notifications should be working now. If they aren't for you, please PM me.

[Cato]

I understand your frustrations. It took me a while to get used to the new site. If you think things have changed here, you should see the admin pages.

We upgrade for two reasons, useful functionality, and most importantly, security. Do you all remember when we got hacked? We were off the air for something like 5 days. The root cause was some software that hadn't been updated. Hackers got into our server, and started serving up malware. It took a lot of late nights to clean up after that.

If you're in the web site business, you know that your site is under attack virtually all the time. Security is important.

Sometimes, our upgrades include/require a new default theme. That was the case here. In exchange for having to learn a new layout, you get better rendering on tablets and phones. These, days, that's important. Ultimately, we'll reach a wider audience. Whether that turns into more new or returning builders will depend on how well we treat the noobies. 

The picture upload facilities have improved. I haven't tried them yet, but they look a lot easier to use. Drag and drop beats using Photobucket.

Notifications should be working now. If they aren't for you, please PM me.

Thanks for taking time to look at our questions and respond Dave. The clear explanation of purpose was for security upgrades, tablets and phones. Some of us highlighted features we feel are functionally useful which the old site had. When your workload relents, hopefully you can consider restoring them.

No one, including me, is making demands.  We all seem to have a clear vision of the facts of technical life around here.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Cato

[Ace-Garageguy]

Seems to me that over the past couple days, the appearance and functionality of the new look has improved significantly. I'm favorably impressed by all of it.