could LAB start a 2nd forum ?

[swooshdave]

I don't know if this is possible , but it would be nice to have a tech section , with the most relevant posts about topics that come up all the time ,
Or with generally accepted fixes for typical problems , like layshaft bearing , isolastic replacement , ignition timing , Amal tuning ..
Someone using the search function would first be directed to these threads .
Just out of curiosity , I did a search for " Boyer " and got over 900 results for last year alone .
If next week someone wants advice about troubbleshooting his analogue Boyer , and you can bet someone will , I for one am certainly NOT going to reply . (I believe we have an expert somewhere in Oregon ?..) . Neither on questions about headsteadies , wheel bearings , crankcase ventilation , valve seal replacement , fork seals , etc .. Many of these subjects have been discussed to death ..

No mattered how structured and easy to find most people will post their question anyways. It's just the way people are.

 

[grandpaul]

I don't know if this is possible , but it would be nice to have a tech section , with the most relevant posts about topics that come up all the time ,Or with generally accepted fixes for typical problems , like layshaft bearing , isolastic replacement , ignition timing , Amal tuning ...headsteadies , wheel bearings , crankcase ventilation , valve seal replacement , fork seals , etc .. Someone using the search function would first be directed to these threads

I had the admin guys at TriumphRat.Net create a "tech sticky thread" section, "Member bike photos" section, and a "Member's project" section for the classic, vintage and veteran area of the forum, so that those three major typical posts could be easily browsed. I drew the line at attempting to determine how to subdivide all the other posts, it's almost impossible.

No mattered how structured and easy to find most people will post their question anyways. It's just the way people are.

I have to move several posts a day from the "tech sticky thread" section to the general section every other day it seems, even though there is a sticky top thread saying "post general tech questions in the general section". Oh well...

 

[swooshdave]

I have to move several posts a day from the "tech sticky thread" section to the general section every other day it seems, even though there is a sticky top thread saying "post general tech questions in the general section". Oh well...

The more sub-forums you have the more work for the mods and it's actually harder to find stuff as a member. There isn't even enough traffic here to worry about it yet.

I'm on one forum with 250,000 accounts. That's when you need the hundreds of sub-forums. :mrgreen:

 

[DogT]

Since I'm an old geezer with a restoration thread, I will chime in. Seems to me the header of the thread or the poster will usually be indicative of what it is about. Like I am not interested in Racing, or heave technical stuff beyond my understanding or capabilities, so I mostly just avoid those threads, however, they don't piss me off. There are plenty of threads that get right to the point about the issue and many turn into what works best for a particular person. I find the forum fine for me. Just because there is a heavy metal station on the dial doesn't mean you have to tune it in.

Dave
69S

 

[grandpaul]

The more sub-forums you have the more work for the mods and it's actually harder to find stuff as a member. There isn't even enough traffic here to worry about it yet.

That's your opinion (about not enough traffic to worry about), but have you scrolled through the pages of old posts in the main section? That's a LOT of pages.

The search function IS a very valuable resource, but adding another subsection or two wouldn't distract (in my opinion), and would actually allow much easier navigation of the various over-arching subjects. Adding a cuople of new sub-forums still wouldn't grow the main forum section listing to more than a single screen full.

I agree that there would be a significant amount of moderator activity needed to go back and move all the appropriate threads (member projects, tech stickies, etc.). I suppose it could begine with just NEW threads, and/or those that members request be moved to the new section...

 

[marinecommando]

Reading Lynxnsu's post I only have 1 piece of advice... DONT GO THERE!!!!!! Living in England and being ruled by the EU, based in Belguim, and being totaly ruled by our new masters, with more and more, out dated imperialistic dogma from our near nieghbours who have never won anything in their history. They try and change everything that dosent fit into their perfect world. This site is Great!!! And I for one enjoy letting others see what I spend most of my money and all of my spare time on.. Keep posting guys love it..........

 

[batrider]

I also vote leaving it as-is. I am on the AudioKarma forum also and it is split into so many subgroups that overlap - totally redundant - that it becomes a real pain to read.

I guess I'm one that doesn't object that much to goat stories or kill button threads. There are some on here where I've just decided I will agree to disagree and when I see their posts I know what is coming. Sometimes I learn something though.

Other groups are much more adamant about people not using the search function before posting and it can get downright nasty. There probably could be more sub-"stickies" to help out newcomers but hey, it ain't that bad guys.

 

[ludwig]

..I'm on one forum with 250,000 accounts..

Now wait a second ...are you telling us that you are on other forums TOO ??.. not with another 3000+ posts I may hope ?
This is the only forum I am on ( apart from Alpineroads ..) and I feel I am already spending way too much time here ..
The day I reach a 1000 posts ..I'm out of here .
It's like sitting in a bar too long : at a certain moment , everything worth saying has been said ( or twice ..) .

 

[willh]

I realize that I am new here and shouldn't have much say in the way things are run. I like the way ADV does it in orange crush, (KTM big twin section on adventure rider), http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=34. They have a sticky http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137838 with links to all the technical threads that make searching as easy as reading a thread. I'm sure this may be more work for the mod but would probably satisfy most of the need to have another board and keep the character that we have and most enjoy. Personally I don't have much need for the technical aspects of the site but like being able to tap the awesome knowledge and wisdom of the members when the need arises. I come for the character. Otherwise I would only come when I needed something as would others and almost no one would be here when a question needed answers.
My 2 cents

 

[lcrken]

I'll also vote for leaving the forum pretty much as it is. I don't quite understand the distinction between "technical" threads and build threads. Some build threads have a lot of technical discussion in them, and some don't. There's no way of knowing when you start one whether other listers will post a lot of technical questions and responses, or if they will be more concerned with where you found those original Craven luggage mounts. You certainly wouldn't expect the moderators to sort through and divide them into categories.

My experience with other fourms is that if you add more categories, you'll find "technical" posts turning up in all the categories. One of the prices you have to pay on any forum for finding the info you want is spending some effort sifting through posts. Oh yeah, and learning to use the search funtion.

Forums do tend to eventually attract the fanatics, who sometimes monopolize discussions and hijack every thread with their own personal obsessions, but that's a fact of life in on-line society. You just have to learn whose posts to ignore, and let the moderators take care of the really serious offenders. It's sometimes a fine line between wanting to post about what interests you to excess, versus posting what you think others might enjoy. I suspect a lot of us are guilty of that sometimes, but as long as it doesn't get out of hand, I don't see the harm.

I suppose an FAQ section, with things like Boyers, layshaft bearings, base gaskets, and so on, might help stop seeing the same questions repeated, but then again, it might not. As someone pointed out, many people can't be bothered to do a search before posting. I assume they also wouldn't bother to look at the FAQs. And having one would also be more workload for the moderators.

Must be a slow morning here. I've rambled on way more than I planned. It's that old guy thing again.

Ken

 

[grandpaul]

I'm advocating the "Member Projects" thread for start-to-finish refurbs, restorations and custom builds because they typically have a beginning and an end, with a fixed general subject.

I feel it's a good idea because it's a clear topic that users can easily follow, or avoid, as they choose.

I suppose all possible forum sub-sections can be argued similarly; but that's my position on that matter, and it's proven to be a valuable scenario on all the other forums I'm on (and that's more than a few).

 

[marinatlas]

Hi there, it's very interesting to see all your different opinions , and for me i had learnt a lot of infos , but i am retired and have lot of time to spend in front of the screen........people of various culture , with the same passion, all that make a wonderful melting soup, too much rules could kill that spontaneity (??) , it's like travelling all over the world, most of the time the trouble is in the solution, not in the supposed problem...........the happy frog !

 

[79x100]

Reading Lynxnsu's post I only have 1 piece of advice... DONT GO THERE!!!!!! Living in England and being ruled by the EU, based in Belguim, and being totaly ruled by our new masters, with more and more, out dated imperialistic dogma from our near nieghbours who have never won anything in their history. They try and change everything that dosent fit into their perfect world. This site is Great!!! And I for one enjoy letting others see what I spend most of my money and all of my spare time on.. Keep posting guys love it..........

Belgium has some great rallies. You're missing out if you don't take the bike there, despite the crap roads. Have a search on 'John Bull Rally' on the Brit Bike forum or have a look at the Flemish NOC's 'Begonia Rally'

I think you'll find that most owners of British machinery in Europe are more Anglophile than the average native and to suggest that Belgium, which can't even govern itself is running Europe is probably stretching a point. That France and Germany chose Brussels as a neutral spot when they were dividing up the spoils of post-war Europe is not really the fault of the poor bloody Belgians.

It does seem that the waffle factor has been increasing here of late and there are a lot of not very descriptive thread titles which doesn't help when sorting the wheat from the chaff. There are one or two posters as well whose erm...creative use of the Anglo-American shared language is probably quite challenging for non-native speakers.

I'd certainly vote for some stickies. As Ludwig has implied, many of the longer-term posters are suffering from what might be called 'Boyer fatigue' and are simply not bothering to answer any more. Perhaps we have a problem as apart from the few who are trying to build their own personal version of a silk purse out of a sow's arse, most things to say about Commandos have been said. :roll:

 

[gjr]

I think everyone here likes the way this forum is as it is.

Obviously not everyone...

I don't see the problem. On the first page I have not looked at 2/3 of the postings because I don't think they look interesting. Perhaps the original poster could do the same.

Greg

 

[Brithit]

I like this forum. I think it strikes a balance between containing only technical items, and people getting too personal. Other forums I've been on have banned people, spent too much time rehashing inside jokes of a small group of members, etc. I see nothing wrong with getting to know some people who post, see some old pictures of them, and look at their projects. All part of the fellowship of living with an old vehicle. As others have pointed out, there has been no shortage of information about the Norton Commando, and it's out there on this and other sites, Norton News, rallies, and all that. But there are still new developments all the time, new products and processes, new revelations to be made. Personally, I like to search the forums so I don't have to start a new thread, and see what's out there. But, there's always going to be new people attracted to a site like this who want to buy a bike, know what one's worth, or what's correct or not correct. If we act like a bunch of elitists that don't welcome new people and answer a few questions, even though they've been answered many, many times before, we haven't served the hobby very well. Does there have to be a right or wrong on this? I don't think so. Forums like this continue to evolve over time, and the ones that don't go away. I've been on a few that ran out of things to say, and croaked. I haven't posted on this one nearly as much as I have on others , but I really enjoy a visit or two here every day. I intend to keep it that way.

 

[DonOR]

there's many things in this world to get pissed off about, but for me, anything commando or old bike blablabla isn't one of them. like almost everyone else, I click on the topics that I'm interested in. lotsa good stuff here, and many contributors who generously contribute, thanks a zillion times for that.

now, did I tell you this one: there's two fastbacks at the bar, and in rolls this highrider....

 

[Foxy]

I treat the forum like I do a news paper, read the head lines and if its not intersting move on. I dont see any problems with the site apart from members not stating which part of the world they live in, but thats only minor. I hope those are as pedantic with their bikes as they are with this issue.
Foxy

 

[dave M]

I am reluctant to suggest alterations that would entail any more work for Jerry or for L.A.B., who are already providing a free service for the benefit of fellow Norton enthusiasts. Particularly since the most recent additions of the 'wanted to sell/buy' sections have not really been well utilised. Brithit pointed out that a forum of this nature will naturally evolve and this evolution, for better or worse, is what we are currently witnessing, I agree partially with what Lynxnsu and others have said, but I think it is difficult to steer a somewhat dynamic entity in any desired direction. Ludwig's analogy to a bar where everything has already been said at least twice also strikes a chord. Having said that I have found this forum to be both a valuable resource for technical information and a place for friendly interaction. The fact that Lynxnsu is able to post what might be construed elsewhere as a purely negative comment, but have it accepted for the constructive criticism that was his intention, speaks volumes for the common sense and open approach that most members take. The newer members sometimes ask obvious and oft-repeated questions, but the only way to keep our hobby alive is to have sufficient new blood to keep the bikes on the road and the parts manufacturers in business. We do need to nurture those who will take over from us old farts or else who will buy our bikes when we need a deposit for a new wheelchair? I recall feeling particularly heart-warmed when recently a young lady was seeking assistance to get her father and his bike back on the road after a lengthy hiatus (There was an enthusiastic rush to assist particularly from those in her locale, although I'm sure the interest was entirely avuncular!). I have made good friends on this forum and will continue to participate although perhaps with more discrimination regarding what I read and respond to. Thank you jerry and L.A.B. for continuing to provide this worthwhile resource.

 

[BrianK]

Count me as in favor of retaining the present format. Breaking it up into subforums would make it a bit more work to keep current on postings, and also lead to multiple postings by folks like me who get elbow deep in projects only to run screaming from garage to computer to beg for help (frizzle, frazzle, frozzle, frome...) from folks when I run into a roadblock. Selfish, yes! Plus, I do enjoy the mix of technical/non-technical postings. If it relates to Commandos, I'm interested.

 

[DogT]

Here, here Dave M, Thanks to L.A.B and Jerry Doe, it's theirs, let them do as they wish. We are just here taking advantage of their good will.

Dave
69S