AMCA Forum is a backwater of the internet

[exeric]

This was an active site years ago, and I don't think it's current 'backwater' status is due to the site itself. Quite the opposite in that it's now much better technically, offers new options to explore, and is well maintained. I believe it's the membership that has changed the dynamics of this tool. The brain trust is aging and dying off, and getting crankier, which can intimidate neophytes, and possibly older members are just getting bored with old bikes. Also, the influx of big money collectors has diminished the inventory of old bikes, combined with their greed, fear, and paranoia has made them go into hiding and not share the bikes, or their knowledge with the very people they have tried to impress. Cynical; yes, but inevitable with a club that has grown so large, and has a focus on objects that have become so desirable. My biggest regret about the new face of the AMCA is the true antique motorcycles are becoming invisible. Even though Pioneer era motorcycles are rare, expensive, and basically un-obtainable, their history is at the nucleus of this club.

Having said all this, I still love the AMCA, this Forum, and can't wait for the Florida meet.

[T. Cotten]

..I nominate ... Tom Cotten for his shared carb expertise...

What if I ignore it, Tom!

There is no way I can be declared an 'expert' when dozens of my questions go unanswered.

(Undoubtedly there are members who had the answers, but kept it to themselves. Egos are already a problem, and the last thing we want to do when encouraging new participation is to become even more elitist.)

The format needs to be thinned out to be friendly. Who bothers with 'trending', or the 'tag cloud', or "Groups", or 'Recent Blog Posts"? Visitors don't need Department of Redundancy Departments.

....Cotten

[joe fxs fxr]

I'm new here, but still an old rider. There are so many marque-specific forums competing for our screen time, it's not surprising this one gets the short shrift. However, what we do have here, are a some really good experts in their field, and I enjoy reading their posts, even if they don't pertain to me. CAIMAG got a lot of traffic in its day, but most of it was worthless to me, so I didn't bother to read much there.

I agree, the organization could be better, but then you are going down that business rabbit hole, horizontal or vertical organization? i.e. organize by marque or by parts of the bike? I think parts of the bike would be better, because sometimes technique is more important than specific parts. I would read about someone's Indian transmission rebuild, even though I'm a Harley guy, just to see how the person approaches certain tasks that are universal.

IDK if this is allowed, but here's a Harley forum that gets a lot of traffic, and is organized differently. Thank goodness for the 'New Topics' tab! https://f88773fdccdd-004278.vbulletin.net/

Finally, thanks for the work you moderators put into this site, I do appreciate it, and will be contributing my 82 FXR rebuild when it gets started. It won't be AMCA Judged level, but I will strive for originality. Maybe that's what stops people from posting? Intimidation?

Joe

[tfburke3]

Tom,I think all the experts in any technology have unanswered questions,but like you,share their expertise.
I suggest the club send you a tee shirt,then you will have to make an effort to return it.
BTW doesnt it make you smile when you see your search result time in milliseconds?A subscribe button that takes a whole page line and doesnt work anyway.
I understand the "what you see is what you get".We bought it and now were stuck with it.Its not like a site with an owner who has a financial incentive to increase traffic or subscribitions
The photos are better and thank god no pop up adds.
Thanks to all the posters and moderators.

Tom

[HDSmitty]

I look at this forum everyday lunchtime when I'm at work, (ok....sometimes a lil longer) and enjoy it very much. I read EVERY post and reply that has been put up since my last visit, no matter the subject. I'm also somewhat technically challenged, not doing facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. and having NO desire to do so. I , like Lyle, use my old computer and flip phone , (what is a "G" anyway?) and don't even have internet at my house. Some ask me how I get by without it and some say they wish they weren't a slave to their damn computers. I'd rather DO things than type my fingers or thumbs all the time. There is such a wealth of knowledge on this site , it's amazing. I don't even know all the stuff I don't know, but I can always find something good here. Many thanks to all the contributors previously mentioned in this thread , as well as the many others that make this site so enjoyable. Just watching Cotten and Exeric go back and forth is worth the price of admission alone I also miss the CAI mag site and wish it hadn't been cut off so abruptly. So much good information lost, a real pity. Mike is to be commended for the excellent moderating duties he performs so well ,helping us navigate the new site, etc There's things I dont like about the new site also but I'm glad to just HAVE it. Rest assured there's many of us reading but not always having something to say. Thank you all.......Smitty

[chuckthebeatertruck]

I've been thinking about this topic on and off -- and carefully reading everyone's replies.

Like several others on here; I also moderate a couple of marque/model specific sites.Those sites get a lot more traffic than the AMCA forum -- but I couldn't truly tell you why the sites are or are not popular. One is totally private and moderated with stark impunity; yet guys get mad when we kick them out and bombard us with messages to get back in. On the other site; we're very open and it gets less than 1/8th the traffic. It makes no sense -- but that's what appears on the ground.

What I have seen in trends analysis is that things don't break down so much by age group as they do proclivity and desire for information. A lot of folks want to assume it is an age thing - younger folks will be on facebook and just prefer that easy interaction. What I've observed is that there are three or four "types" of people that show up on forums. They sift out to folks looking for fast answers, to folks who just like to BS about bikes, to the folks who are really seeking clear information. The AMCA tends to roll towards that later group.

With something like the AMCA; it's a bit of a journey to get here. First, we all remember when we were new to bikes. For those of us more than half way to the grave -- it wasn't unusual to start out riding before you were 18. Today; it's a bit different. Unless one of your parents is a rider -- chances are you don't start until later in life. And, unless someone introduces you to old bikes first --- chances are you're not really thinking of diving head first into the AMCA until you've gotten through a few bikes. My point is that by the time someone finds the AMCA Forum -- they are likely hunting for more information than the average forum visitor. This means there is less likely to be general conversation and less fast sharing like can be seen on the AMCA Facebook page.

And, we have to admit some guys just don't want to spend the money to join the club just so they can post here.

Another potential challenge is that even though we don't want it to be; it's darn intimidating for people to share their work on a site like this. You have "known individuals" who are as close to celebrity as we have in the old bike world. And, you have folks who are fiercely proud of their 30, 40, 50 year friendships through the AMCA. It can be hard for someone without prior AMCA contact to not only join the club; but also to then take the extra step to come here and participate.

I only offer these as observations. I have no solutions. We keep trying different things on the sites I moderate just to get guys to talk so we can figure out what type of content to share . . . and it is often like pulling teeth out of an angry crocodile.

[jim d]

I always thought that it would be a good idea to have access to all of the technical articles from the AMCA magazine at one place. Could be on here somewhere or a disc that you could purchase and play on your PC. That way you would not have to go through all of the old issues looking for that special technical article.

[PaulCDF]

I don't know "backwater" "bathwater" . . . The water is fine for me. I am getting used to the new forum. Numbers? Membership?? Again I don't know. thinking something about QUALITY over
quantity. I do not post a lot because I am sure there are MANY folks here with a lot more knowledge and experience than me. "Better to keep your mouth shut and thought ignorant than speak
and remove all doubt".

[JoJo357]

Call me cRazY and 2 cents worth...but in my opinion, this whole Darn Forum went to the dogs when Bob Luland was placed on M.I.A.--hahaha. Now--Do You have a better explanation?

*M.A.D.*

[gitguy]

I am a member of another forum related to my job. It was also recently upgraded and one of the best functions to come along with that upgrade is that when logging on, the software recalls what was last viewed on a particular topic. So when opening a thread it brings you to the latest post that I had NOT seen. This is extremely handy when a topic goes on for many pages. It eliminates the requirement to start from the beginning and try to locate the last entry that was viewed. I no longer view “vintage pics of the day” on the AMCA forum for that very reason. It brings me to the first entry each time I try to see what is new.

Am I missing something or is this the way it is designed to work?

Also, if I recall CAIMAG did not require a fee to join. With many competing forums most aren't willing to cough up some bux to be able to post or view pics.

My 2¢

[PRG]

Howdy sir,

Look to right of the thread and under the latest poster’s name click the two rightward facing arrows.

[gitguy]

Howdy sir,

Look to right of the thread and under the latest poster’s name click the two rightward facing arrows.

Well, that was certainly not obvious - at least to this neanderthal. . .

[gitguy]

Clicking the double arrows displays "todays" posts but doesn't pick up where it was last viewed by the user. It appears that if I hadn't viewed a particular topic in a while it would still require me to go back and search where I had last left off.

Again, maybe I am missing something.

[joe fxs fxr]

Click the two down arrows to the left of the topic title to get to the first unread post

[gitguy]

Wow, so cryptic. Thanks for the gouge!