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What's with the lack of content now days?


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Hi guys,

I've been a bit distracted with non car related projects, so I haven't been a contributor in a while.

But I still pop in now and again and..................

It's pretty quite here now days, all the usual suspects appear to be missing.

 

And the content seems to have lost all technicality.

I mean, a tutorial to change gearbox oil........... really? ??? (No offence Sam)

There's no hardcore mods being done anymore, but the usual "whats the difference between a 240 & 260" or "I want to buy a good straight rust free project for a daily" (ohhhh how we laugh)

I'll be back later and I want a dramatic improvement from you guys!

peace out

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I'm trying...but I'm only 1 guy. We need more technical how-to's and fancy stuff with pictures I agree.

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,4300.msg151150.html#msg151150

 

Are you not entertained?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs

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Have been busy doing a big cam install and taking pics . Was planning on doing a tutorial on how to check wipe patterns and order the correct lash pads for reground cams.

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Its like every forum after a while the content gets repetive with the same generic questions being asked, or new users just posting useless shit or as above stated asking for topics on how to change oils...... common you never though to youtube it or check your manual if you have one?

 

but seriously we all ask stupid questions now nd again but if you can do simple tasks maybe a zed car isnt the best car to play with. you gotta walk before you can crawl

 

the only main posts these days that are some what interesting or worth while are the ebay parts discussions where Gav never seems to sleep and posts up pars from yahoo japan which makes me sad i cant afford some of the goodies or or the common build posts.......

 

or maybe people have been driving their cars more now thanks to the help and feed back on the forums ??

 

End of rant  :-\

 

 

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I think it's a combination of things.

 

1. Seasonality - I notice certain times of the year the forum has more traffic and activity.

2. Same old content - same old question. This can be addressed (see below).

3. People are just busy working on their cars. Which comes back to #1

4. Technology - people are using mobile devices more.

 

#2 - We can address this by better structuring the website, I've considered if we should start pruning old forum topics or merge similar topics into the same thread. But also creating a set of F.A.Qs (Frequently Asked Questions for those that don't know the lingo). Admittedly I've started this a few times but never finished it.

 

#4 - My main concern is that right now the site is not optimised for mobile from a user experience perspective, I need to find the time to move the site to another platform, but I'm selfishly using my spare time to work on my own Z and trying to make an effort for more downtime of my own. I know I know I post links to car parts 24/7 but I really should stop or build a tool that does it automatically. The problem is how do you teach a computer to know what is an interesting or unique car part for an S30Z? That was a rhetorical question btw.

 

If we make mobile easier and image upload / sharing easier then I think people will share more content.

 

Unfortunately lots of people watch but don't share or don't contribute to the forum. Either because of time or because they would rather view from a distance than get directly involved in creating how-to's etc..

 

Overall traffic seems to have remained the same year on year, if not dipped a little lately.

 

But here's a curveball question, how would you guys feel about more Classic Datsun or even Classic Japanese content on the site? I mean I love my Z's but sometimes I'd like a bit of variety like discussions on 240k's, Roasters, Honda S600's, Early Mazda Rotary's, Early Celica's and Corolla's etc..

 

Do you think the site needs to evolve? Do we need to start covering 300zx's or even 350's and 370's?

 

 

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I think it's a combination of things.

 

1. Seasonality - I notice certain times of the year the forum has more traffic and activity.

2. Same old content - same old question. This can be addressed (see below).

3. People are just busy working on their cars. Which comes back to #1

4. Technology - people are using mobile devices more.

 

#2 - We can address this by better structuring the website, I've considered if we should start pruning old forum topics or merge similar topics into the same thread. But also creating a set of F.A.Qs (Frequently Asked Questions for those that don't know the lingo). Admittedly I've started this a few times but never finished it.

 

#4 - My main concern is that right now the site is not optimised for mobile from a user experience perspective, I need to find the time to move the site to another platform, but I'm selfishly using my spare time to work on my own Z and trying to make an effort for more downtime of my own. I know I know I post links to car parts 24/7 but I really should stop or build a tool that does it automatically. The problem is how do you teach a computer to know what is an interesting or unique car part for an S30Z? That was a rhetorical question btw.

 

If we make mobile easier and image upload / sharing easier then I think people will share more content.

 

Unfortunately lots of people watch but don't share or don't contribute to the forum. Either because of time or because they would rather view from a distance than get directly involved in creating how-to's etc..

 

Overall traffic seems to have remained the same year on year, if not dipped a little lately.

 

But here's a curveball question, how would you guys feel about more Classic Datsun or even Classic Japanese content on the site? I mean I love my Z's but sometimes I'd like a bit of variety like discussions on 240k's, Roasters, Honda S600's, Early Mazda Rotary's, Early Celica's and Corolla's etc..

 

Do you think the site needs to evolve? Do we need to start covering 300zx's or even 350's and 370's?

 

 

 

 

Gav, its been the same conversation for the last 5 years... yet its still all the same!! Some interesting well documented builds would be refreshing

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Id be happy with something classic weather it be datsuns or other vintage jap metal. cant hurt to have a look at something different now and again,

 

The mobile app side of things would most probably benifit alot of people but in saying that we cant expect one man or a few to get that together and many may not want to pay for extra content for a mobile version if need be, i might be rambing but long story short mobile app would be good but i dont think its needed yet.

 

personally gav i dont think we would need to cover the 300zx and onwards as they have there own forum pages as we all know, if any thing maybe expand it out to the c110 skylines and 240/260/280 c sedans, basically any thing with a L series six might be a worth while shot to be intergrated to the forum??

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I am on my phone more often these days and it's too difficult to post. And I am waiting on more expensive and bigger parts that are all foreign so I have to wait longer for funds and postage.

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Hey Gav, I just spent 15 minuted dicking around in Chrome's Web Inspector (see pics)

 

Don't think a mobile-specific override stylesheet would be too hard to knock up.

 

 

15dxwyh.jpg

 

j5wetv.jpg

 

2wgyzog.jpg

 

f0t7nn.jpg

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I don't find it any harder to use on my iPhone than I do on my PC.

Most forums that use mobile apps I usually opt for the full version because the mobile app seems limiting

Such as skylines Australia

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^

Damn! not bad Thriller!

 

Gav, i agree on the diversification side of things; and would be great to see but that would have downsides, namely....Aus...Z..car, its in the name lol

If diversification was planned, could i recommend to have the core structure around the L6/ L4 then subsections on body style, how to section, and then if you wish, other marks.

Basic engine specs, user observations on local and export model variations and years, small things like decal placement, mirror location, sound deadening? standard colour selections with links to see that colour on a painted car not just a colour tab...yadda yadda yadda

I personally believe that the classic chrome bumber japanese cars dont have stout coverage in Australia, except say 1200, 1600, zed's, celica's rotors and so on.

Lesser models tend to get pushed to the wayside, end even once proud cars such as the prince and 240k's get minimal coverage.

Having an Australian site much like japanesenostalgic.com may well have a positive effect (if it has the user base) on local enthusiasts to build and share their experiences and bolster the ranks and keep our old cars on the road.

The F.A.Q is a really good idea, and would be a good go to for nubes.

Maybe having a "initiation" for nubes, if thats at all possible to funnel them through the F.A.Q list, and basic site introductory thing (much like a workplace induction) may save from asking repetitive questions. Im guessing this must be in the form of a mandatory checklist...didnt tick box here, here, and here, so potentially doesnt understand site. dunno.

 

ZZZZED totally agree, am a big fan of full sites, even on mob, but more mobile compatible photo upload would help in that regards for this particular site and this particular user  ::)

 

My 2 cents.

 

Darius

 

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Damn! not bad Thriller!

 

Thanks champ. Part of the parcel I guess when you spend 30 hours a week knocking up websites at work, and full time computer science study on the side (needless to say that progress on the Z has slowed down a little recently...)

 

 

Content-wise, I like the site as is really (though find it frustrating having to zoom around when I'm on my phone). Build threads seem a little slow lately, but that's life.

Design wise, it looks quite dated & that might be pushing away potential new users. I'm not sure what this forum is built on, but I guess porting posts and stats over to a totally new system would be a nightmare.

 

I like the front-page articles, especially when there are pretty photos.

Maybe whenever there's someone taking nice photos of a meet or whatever, that + a short article could be converted to a front page article?

Same goes with whenever a member with a particularly nice build gets their car completed (ala mossy). Nice bit of eye-candy on the front page is always a treat.

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I don't find it any harder to use on my iPhone than I do on my PC.

Most forums that use mobile apps I usually opt for the full version because the mobile app seems limiting

Such as skylines Australia

 

I find the same thing. I like to be able to scan the right side of the screen for the date or times and even thread title of the latest post in the sub forum, so that I can decide if I want to go into that sub forum. Every mobile version of a site I have seen lacks this.

 

While I do like looking at other cars for inspiration, and just plain enjoyment, the site is called "AusZcar", so if the change is wanted to expand to other platforms is there I would say open up newer Z car forums. The issue I see with this though, is that this site might just become an Australian version of HybridZ, which may not be a bad thing per se, I did start frequenting this site as a way to not have to go to HybridZ for interesting content (too many egos there). That being said I have noticed that even HybridZ has been lacking on new post frequency, and anything thing with any real substance to it. If someone posts a new thread about the "Ultimate/new/different/OhMyGawdChickenSticksAmazing new item/technique" then the thread gets flooded with discussion, much of it goes off topic and becomes a battle of wits. I'd rather have no new content than that.

 

I like how this site is, I know my experience is a bit different than the majority here, since I live half way around the world in that weird place called Canada. Where we say aboot and eh, playing with our funny coloured money and such, so I get to see what people are doing not only in another country but a completely different continent, this can have some interesting ideas and discussion. For the majority here, I can see it being similar to when I go to some of the (more) local sites to me, where the content is almost boring because I'm actually close to it physically.

 

There's another site I used to frequent, for a completely different car than a Z, ok, it's a Z, but not from Nissan, lol. Anyway, For the longest while the site had dozens of new posts and threads posted daily, because the car was cheap, and accessible to younger people, and pretty inexpensive to modify especially when people would keep finding junkyard solutions to modifications. In the last couple years though the frequency of posts has gone from several dozen a day, to several a day, or sometimes less. It's the fact that the cars are getting older and less common, and were really not desirable even when new has caused the contributors to be the same old contributors. You can only repeat yourself so many times.

 

I don't think there's an issue with the site, in layout or type of content, I just think it's a point in time where not a whole lot new will be discussed.

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I won't mention any names but i do know several former regular Victorian members aswell as other new Z owners that do not feel welcome here because of the fact they get flamed/shot down/humiliated by certain members on their high horse just because they don't like the way somebody is doing/going to do/done/or how they ask a question...so i don't think its the forum format at all. Most of the time these egotistical members don't add any sort of value to the forum and are simply just 'trolls'.

 

I think forum etiquette is the key if we want to expand and invite new members etc. Just saying.

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I won't mention any names but i do know several former regular Victorian members aswell as other new Z owners that do not feel welcome here because of the fact they get flamed/shot down/humiliated by certain members on their high horse just because they don't like the way somebody is doing/going to do/done/or how they ask a question...so i don't think its the forum format at all. Most of the time these egotistical members don't add any sort of value to the forum and are simply just 'trolls'.

 

I think forum etiquette is the key if we want to expand and invite new members etc. Just saying.

 

^ I know of a few people in the same position.

 

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This is a problem on lots of forums. Facebook has replaced a lot of the need for a forum.

 

I think reddit has a decent setup, ie 1 big list of threads. Take all the tech sections on here, they should be rolled up into 1 big tech section, and prefixes added to the thread for body,engine,etc. Currently people may only want to read the engine section, and dont look at the others. If you roll them all into 1 section, they will still see the engine threads, plus others that they may then participate in.

 

Also get a facebook account for the forum, and set it up so that everyday a top-5 thread list gets posted to facebook. People will be more likely to like the facebook page, see the threads list and then visit the forum. Same thing with the front page stories if they are kept, post links on facebook to generate traffic.

 

And a mobile-orientated CSS setup will do wonders for the site, no need for an app.

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I think upgrading to V-Bulletin would do wonders, this forum software is no where near as good.

 

 

The search is totally pathetic and it's easier to use Google to search the forum than use the search function.

 

 

Also pic uploading on this site is crappy. I am a web dev too so i know what i'm doing there is just better stuff out there. The reason i only post my build on facebook is that by the time i finish editing the photos and write a big run down i dont want to spend even more time uploading the same photos to photo bucket and then re inserting them one by one. Again modern versions of V-Bulletin you can upload mass photos straight to the BB and caption them in one go. If you want a really good example of an excellent V-Bulletin install check out rcgroups.com that forum is mmmaasssiiivvveee.

 

 

Also due to the age of the cars, most things have already been documented on this and other forums. So i guess people think, why bother putting the same content up again. Not many people do wild modifications to them anymore either. Most would be cam, triples and exhaust and that's about it.

 

 

Another thing that will help is having forum events. They dont have to be official (to get around liability) but it looks like the Z club Q is struggling these days and traditionally that would have been the more active social scene for QLDers anyway. Look at Skyline Australia for that kind of model.

 

 

A vast majority of people are over-sensitive too.

 

.

 

 

Exactly harden the fuck up. You didnt have to buy a 260z 2+2 or a 280zx hahaha.

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