why does this forum cost to post?

[tolf]

1 hour ago, andyj007 said:

how many posts does this get a day.. it seems to me to be very few...  

perhaps i did not set it up correctly..  yes i pay the £100 upgraded from the standard, on the lotus forum  but the forum is thriving, is linked with the manufactures and has other benifits, and lost of freebies on joining the gold.. but at the end of the day it comes down to content.. 

some posts on here  go un answered  for days on here , i imagine like me there are a number of browsers that could  offer some great advice, but to pay £30 to help someone is odd.. and theres the rub, the more people that contribute , the better the content, the more people involved and likely to pay.. 

"otherwise we would end up with all sorts of junk on the threads"  i doubt it very much owners  a westfield is not like a chavtastic clio forum full of kids, which has some hillarious posts i can assure you..  BTW i have a track race clio too and so are a member on their, and guess what its free to post     not  problem , thought id ask the reason  

Thanks 

Andy

 

I am one of the moderators on this forum and I can Assure  you there is an awful lot of spam and crap that we have to remove

[Captain Colonial]

15 minutes ago, Ian Tolfree (tolf) - WSCC AO Rep said:

I am one of the moderators on this forum and I can Assure  you there is an awful lot of spam and crap that we have to remove

I was wondering where my posts were going...

[stephenh]

I don't own a Westfield any more, but I still remain a member of the Club. I personally think it is excellent value for money. The magazine is a very professionally put together item, which I enjoy reading through, and I still like browsing through the forum although these days for obvious reasons I don't post so often now.

The area meetings can be a fun way to meet up with like minded petrol heads from time to time, and they don't seem to mind an old fart in a Jaguar (or whatever fun vehicle you may be driving at the time) tagging on for an occasional run out into the countryside!

Oh, and for anyone interested in a bit of very competitive but also very friendly motor sport, the WSCC Speed Series is a fantastic championship which visits most parts of the Country in the course of the season.

[Trevor Little (Trevturtle) - Treasurer]

If you have a problem with your car, want to know about upgrades   and get unbiased advice the forum pays for itself and more each year with this alone.

That excludes the benefits of club trackdays, local meets and days out and a great event each year at stoneleigh,  and no idiots posting noise like other forums

 

Have a look around,  its all there,, just join in,.....you  will be welcomed 

 

Great club and great  value for money

[andyj007]

the fact that my post has generated 2 pages of replies within a few hours proves me completely wrong 😂, have given myself some disciplinary measures..  i actually have quite a few questions now im an actual owner, so once im onboard and a paid member again.. i will do a full introduction thing..

 

[Rob Hunter - Club Secretary]

1 hour ago, andyj007 said:

the fact that my post has generated 2 pages of replies within a few hours proves me completely wrong 😂, have given myself some disciplinary measures..  i actually have quite a few questions now im an actual owner, so once im onboard and a paid member again.. i will do a full introduction thing..

 

Haha, great response @andyj007!! 😂😂

 

Looking forward to seeing a picture of the new car! 😁

 

[tolf]

2 hours ago, andyj007 said:

the fact that my post has generated 2 pages of replies within a few hours proves me completely wrong 😂, have given myself some disciplinary measures..  i actually have quite a few questions now im an actual owner, so once im onboard and a paid member again.. i will do a full introduction thing..

 

Be good to see you at your local area meetings. Check out the Forum for details and Tim is your local AO

Dont forget to visit Stoneleigh, where the club has a large presence and great food& drink 

[Andy Banks]

4 hours ago, Ian Tolfree (tolf) - WSCC AO Rep said:

 

Dont forget to visit Stoneleigh, where the club has a large presence and great food& drink 

...which post AGM is free for members; free hog roast and free beer, well worth £30.00 on it's own. 😉

[Marcus Barlow - Show and Events Co-ordinator]

39 minutes ago, Andy Banks - Chairman said:

...which post AGM is free for members; free hog roast and free beer, well worth £30.00 on it's own. 😉

OOh yes 

...........  and free entry and free camping for helpers 

[tolf]

Dont forget the FREE BBQ on the Stoneleigh Saturday lunch, cooked by our resident chef

 

£27.50 for all this and more??

 

Too bl**** right!

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

23 hours ago, Captain Colonial said:

When the forums were free to post:

 

It had good information but you often had to wade through a sea of rubbish, sniping, sarcasm, abuse and idiots to find it.

Fine people were put off by the boorish, childish behaviour of a few keyboard warriors who thought they had the right to say anything because they were “entertaining “.

Genuine requests for assistance were met with unhelpful replies like “do a search”, putting them off from every asking or contributing anything again.

It was less about Westfields and more like a boys locker room.

There was a lot of posting - and at least 50% of it was unrelated tripe.
The club was losing money hand over fist paying to run a forum full of people and non-members with little or no interest in anything but being irresponsible children in a sandbox.

Forum moderators were kept busy every day.
The forums were littered with spam and scam.
 

After the forum was for paid club members:

 

Not only was the good information there, the rubbish stopped contaminating it, making it easier to get answers.

Many more people felt able to post questions and give answers without fear of being abused.

The idjit factor dropped continuously until we had the finest, nicest, friendliest bunch of petrolheads I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.

Nobody brushes your question off with “do a search” - quite the opposite, they’re eager to help.

It’s a forum first and foremost about Westfields with a bit of fun.

Gentlemen, ladies and children can safely use the forums.

Club membership doubled within 18 months and it’s finances improved drastically.

Forum moderators rarely need to intervene.

Scam and spam has been wiped out.

 

I’m the first to accept pay to post isn’t for everyone.  I was sceptical when it was first proposed.  I’m happy to say I was wrong and my scepticism was misplaced.  It was absolutely the right thing to do,

 

Clubs aren’t for everyone.  There aren’t one size fits all solutions.  But the WSCC comes pretty damn close.  Yes, membership costs £27.50 to renew every year, but I’ve saved that a dozen times over with insurance discounts, special offers, discounted parts, fixing the car myself instead of paying for garages and many other things.  Membership is pretty much like putting money back in your pocket if you use it as intended.

 

I’d also point out that the forums (apart from Members Only section) are searchable and viewable via Google or other search engines.  The club didn’t have to do that... but it did.

 

There will always be those who think everything on the Internet should be free.  I’ve found that things that are free usually come at a cost, one way or another, or are free because they’re worthless.

 

It is said that a sceptic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.  I always try to do my best to prove sceptics of the WSCC wrong, and the actions of my fellow members do that loud and clear every day and in millions of ways.

 

Excellent reminder to everyone of what a bad place the Club was in. Drastic action was needed and the right action was taken, which massively turned this club around. I was one of those pushing for pay to post and I'm pleased to see that it did work. Mind there was a lot of hard work by Volunteer members in the background @Captain Colonial being key to that. 

 

Also don;t run away that this is the only club with Pay to Post rules, there are others I am a member of and they had similar problems that drove them to having to go down that route. Again it has been very successfull. 

[Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO]

You're not joining the forum, it's the whole club. I joined 6 years ago and knew no one or anything about Westfields. I joined in, went to meetings got involved met some great people and somehow ended up being an AO! I still blame Martin van Zeller @Rory's Dad. 

[Rory's Dad]

Correct! 

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

On 27/12/2019 at 11:17, BigSkyBrad said:

Defo an active forum - has anyone on your Lotus forum posted 32,600 times?! ( @Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary )

Blatchat used to be free to post but it changed to paid members only ten or more years ago and hasn't reverted to my knowledge.