Defibrillator [U]STAT[/U]!!!

[Thelgord]

I discovered the FB page and this site, apparently, after the glory days. However, I am not new to online forums or FB. Such behavior is quite common. The Tacoma World forum (as an example) is full of such people and conversations like those discussed are a near daily occurrence. The point is, it happens, a lot.

One thing I have noticed about the FB page, as others have stated, there really is no way to store historical information that can only be built over time. This is something that a forum excels at. People just need to be reminded of that. So, having said that, how do you do that?

You start right here on the forum.

Locate as many of the old HOW-TO’s as you can. Yes I know most were lost a long time ago. But there is information still available spread across what is left of the forum. Consolidate or even re-write as much as we can. Start collecting information and posting it here. A good place to “store” information (at last for now) is start a build a thread for your VX and catalog as much as you can. While it would be nice to get the HOW-TO section reopened (even if it was blank and we had to start over) I really don’t see that happening anytime soon. The recent outage only demonstrates the moderators lackluster motivation for maintaining the site. So, for now anyway, we will have to do without it. I actually have a lot to add to my build thread due to the site being down for so long.

Go to the FB page. When someone requests information, point them back here to forum as often as possible for answers. I have even been going to various Isuzu forums, some are more dead than this one, and reviving old thread trying to point people back here.

But that is also were the danger lies.

When people who have no actual stake in a site (or even a FB page) do their best to help make it grow, they become emotionally invested. Right or wrong, it happens. It falsely inflates ego’s, which makes them easier to bruise. This is how keyboard ninja’s are made. It happens on every forum (and every social media platform) ever created. I recently did a class as part of a social media marketing class and we spent eight weeks studying this phenomenon. It is actually quite fascinating. In the end, only consistently fair and firm moderation of a site with strict adherence to the publicly stated rules of conduct can prevent what many see as an inevitable self-implosion. Once the moderators start making exceptions or taking sides that are not in line with the rules, it is the beginning of zombification. Sites generally take years of zero activity before they completely go away and usually live a very long time with ever smaller traffic numbers.

Can zombie sites be resurrected? Of course. With time and a lot of effort. You just have to be mindful to not let history repeat itself. In the end, it is the moderator(s) that will make or break or site.

[PK]

I discovered the FB page and this site, apparently, after the glory days. However, I am not new to online forums or FB. Such behavior is quite common. The Tacoma World forum (as an example) is full of such people and conversations like those discussed are a near daily occurrence. The point is, it happens, a lot.

One thing I have noticed about the FB page, as others have stated, there really is no way to store historical information that can only be built over time. This is something that a forum excels at. People just need to be reminded of that. So, having said that, how do you do that?

You start right here on the forum.

Locate as many of the old HOW-TO’s as you can. Yes I know most were lost a long time ago. But there is information still available spread across what is left of the forum. Consolidate or even re-write as much as we can. Start collecting information and posting it here. A good place to “store” information (at last for now) is start a build a thread for your VX and catalog as much as you can. While it would be nice to get the HOW-TO section reopened (even if it was blank and we had to start over) I really don’t see that happening anytime soon. The recent outage only demonstrates the moderators lackluster motivation for maintaining the site. So, for now anyway, we will have to do without it. I actually have a lot to add to my build thread due to the site being down for so long.

Go to the FB page. When someone requests information, point them back here to forum as often as possible for answers. I have even been going to various Isuzu forums, some are more dead than this one, and reviving old thread trying to point people back here.

But that is also were the danger lies.

When people who have no actual stake in a site (or even a FB page) do their best to help make it grow, they become emotionally invested. Right or wrong, it happens. It falsely inflates ego’s, which makes them easier to bruise. This is how keyboard ninja’s are made. It happens on every forum (and every social media platform) ever created. I recently did a class as part of a social media marketing class and we spent eight weeks studying this phenomenon. It is actually quite fascinating. In the end, only consistently fair and firm moderation of a site with strict adherence to the publicly stated rules of conduct can prevent what many see as an inevitable self-implosion. Once the moderators start making exceptions or taking sides that are not in line with the rules, it is the beginning of zombification. Sites generally take years of zero activity before they completely go away and usually live a very long time with ever smaller traffic numbers.

Can zombie sites be resurrected? Of course. With time and a lot of effort. You just have to be mindful to not let history repeat itself. In the end, it is the moderator(s) that will make or break or site.

Thelgord, I agree with a lot of the points you make, but man, the section I highlighted is so far off the mark, you need to apologise. Scott (Moncha) is the sites owner and only Admin, and for years has been battling serious (life and death) health problems. Despite his health problems and the pathetic American health benefits system, he has continued to work hard, within his limits, to keep this site going.
The only possible criticism, is that maybe he should have asked other members to help run the forum, but that is his decision to make.

I just hope Scott ignores your comments, and continues to do the best he can to allow us access to this forum.
Scotty, all the best wishes for your continued health improvement, and I hope you can give some consideration to allowing others to help out.

Regards
Peter
PK