Off Subject Theads

[MrEarl]

The issue of Off Subject discussion has been brought to my attention. My thoughts on this is that that there is no harm in some occasional drifting away from the main subject of this forum which is BUICKS. I have been watching the increasing new types of social media slowly drawing some of our members away. IE Facebook, Instagram, blogs, other forums etc. While I am not suggesting we become more like those I do think a bit more liberal discussion of other automotive related subjects could be of some help in attracting and retaining members. Of course I may be 180* wrong. I am open to your thoughts. I do not however wish to even consider a separate "Off Subject" sub-forum.  

In the mean time, if you have an Off Subject but automotive related discussion you think would be of great interest and benefit to the group please add a prefix of "Off Subject" to the beginning of the thread title. That way if someone does not wish to participate in the discussion they merely move on to the next  thread.

Thanks!!

[NC-car-guy]

I think as long as they stay automotive this could be a good idea. I just don't want too see political, religious, and other personal rant things.  I also don't want to see this forum succumb to social media. I don't even have Facebook!

[JohnD1956]

I'm sure Facebook is just a fad! 

[buick5563]

I DO have Facebook and I come here to escape when political rantings exceed my tolerance on any given day. Like I said in Jason's thread. I don't personally care if it is somehow related to cool or fast motoring programs or slightly OT (off topic) non-Buick items of interest. We are family here and I like seeing other folks interests RELATED to motoring.

Hell, my last Great Race thread didn't involve Buicks at all, so I am guilty of it too. But since I am such an interesting cat and totally beloved here on the forum, I naturally shared my experiences crossing the country here. I seem to recall asking permission, and if I didn't... I apologize to anybody who had to read about how cool I was this past summer.

Cheers, Buick family!

Edited September 14, 2016 by buick5563 (see edit history)

[rivgs]

2 hours ago, JohnD1956 said:

I'm sure Facebook is just a fad! 

That's a fad I wish I started, I would have a Buick collection that would make Mr. Bulgari's look like nothing.

[retirednow]

I belong to a BBQ thread that was very active 'til facebook took off. Now, there's been maybe 1 post in the last 2 months. This (Buick) forum still does very well IMHO http://www.barbecuenews.com/forum2/

[Restorer32]

Better off topic posts than no posts at all.

[60FlatTop]

A group of us meet on Saturday mornings and I can tell you for sure, anyone who makes an off topic comment is quickly ostracized from the group. We just won't tolerate such things.

Bernie

[smithbrother]

I peek in to view Facebook now and then, mostly to read about family, friends.

 

Facebook has a net worth of 190 Billion, and WON'T be going away anytime soon.

 

It used to be PERSONAL, now BUSINESS has moved in, THAT has to tell you SOMETHING, IMO

 

A lot of forum's toooooooooo, have joined, and given them a ton more viewers/posters.

 

Just yesterday Mark's wealth jumped over 1-billion dollars with stock gaining value. 

 

Dale in Indy

[JZRIV]

I will preface by saying honestly I didn't take time to give it much thought before posting the CannonBall post as I was in a hurry. It was not intended to cause any controversy. If I thought about it for 10 more minutes, I probably wouldn't have posted it. I may have incorrectly assumed many others share a historical interest. The early 1900s was a very dynamic time in the history of motorized vehicles for transportation, farming and earth movers . Because of that I felt a historical event of this nature would be of interest to the Buick community. 

But now that its open for conversation......

 

Since I am generally conservative when it comes to changes in a functioning process, I'd never want to sacrifice integrity or class just because I feel like I need to keep in the mainstream. After all, we drive Buicks which in itself clearly indicates straying from the masses.

 

I offer Exhibit A as an example; I look at the success of V8buick.com's Bench forum where people can talk about and get advice on anything from the best way to butcher a hog, installing a heated concrete floor in their garage, or even financial advice. Aside from the wide range of topics, a large percentage of the posts are still automotive/transportation related. There are 777,000 posts just in the Bench forum (vs 137,000 in Buick General here) which is about 3/4 the amount on the total AACA forum including all sub forums combined. Of course the value of quantity vs quality can be argued, however in the end people naturally return to what they feel is a comfortable and friendly environment.

With that many posts there is an occasional thread that can get out of line but it is rare and gets addressed quickly. Percentage wise I'd guess its under .1% of posts that have to be moderated. NOT saying we should allow expansion of off-topics as wide ranging as V8Buicks Bench forum but its hard to argue with the massive traffic flow at V8buick and in my opinion the open Bench forum is one of the main reasons.

 

When people share what they did over the weekend or other hobbies and interests it can bring an online community of people closer together who share a common interest. People go there because they like Buicks, once there, they can share their life's experiences good and bad as they wish and like minded people can add to it thereby making members want to come back. Its not unlike going to a national Buick meet. You go because of Buicks but lasting friendships are created because you talk about other things besides cars and share other common interests and values.

Peace

 

[Bhigdog]

2 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

A group of us meet on Saturday mornings and I can tell you for sure, anyone who makes an off topic comment is quickly ostracized from the group. We just won't tolerate such things.

Bernie

 

A group of us meet on Sat evenings but we can never remember what for. So we just drink beer and goof off. Seems to work OK and we NEVER worry about being OT or pissing someone off...........Bob

[60FlatTop]

We don't really throw guys out of the restaurant. It was just an exaggeration of some of the things I have seen on the forum. It is easy for me to keep the forum up in a browser while I work.  So I look about as often as some workers take a smoke break.

 

If I didn't like it I wouldn't look. But sometimes the stuff I see written compels me to comment. This topic is fine and legitimate to discuss. I don't always stick to a topic. It's a hobby and supposed to be fun.

 

As a Buick guy, I just sit back and observe, but when the time comes to pile up the boxes I ain't sharing that banana with anyone. Now, that's off topic... maybe.

Bernie

 

[MrEarl]

5 hours ago, JZRIV said:

I will preface by saying honestly I didn't take time to give it much thought before posting the CannonBall post as I was in a hurry. It was not intended to cause any controversy.

 

Nor did you cause any controversy. There have been others......, I saw some possible controversy brewing so I just thought it best to bring it up before it became one.

 

5 hours ago, JZRIV said:

I look at the success of V8buick.com's Bench forum

 

and hence my reference to

 

21 hours ago, MrEarl said:

I have been watching the increasing new types of social media slowly drawing some of our members away. IE Facebook, Instagram, blogs, other forums etc.

   

5 hours ago, JZRIV said:

When people share what they did over the weekend or other hobbies and interests it can bring an online community of people closer together who share a common interest. People go there because they like Buicks, once there, they can share their life's experiences good and bad as they wish and like minded people can add to it thereby making members want to come back. Its not unlike going to a national Buick meet. You go because of Buicks but lasting friendships are created because you talk about other things besides cars and share other common interests and values.

 

and Jason,  man I wish this forum could be more like that!!! The statement I made about not even wanting to consider a separate "Free Parking" forum comes from the fact the AACA once had such and it became rather nasty, so I doubt seriously if they would ever entertain the thought of another. Plus the fact that although Roberta and I are the BCA Forum moderators, threads and posts are strangely edited and deleted without my knowledge or even the courtesy of notification. I have been pretty much relegated to moving threads to their proper places, helping folks with tech issues when I can and trying to keep the forum alive and well. So even if we did have a "Free Parking" forum it would likely get moderated to death. BUT HEY, we are guests here, they pay the lawyer fees, so we play by their rules. 

Hopefully a more relaxed attitude toward "off subject" threads can help in bringing about more of a social and conversational atmosphere. 

 

Peace

 

 

[Guest Apollo]

One thing that is nice with all the AACA seperate broken down marque forums is you can go to the section and enjoy just what the forum title says - Buick, Oldsmobile, Packard, etc etc.. You can read posts that generally have nothing to do with anything but that particular marque or issues pertaining to it.  With there being so many forums on the interweb, Facebook, Twitter and so on for people to "express themselves" it's nice not haveing to roll your eyes and put up with hearing about or wading through posts about everything and anything but what the forum is intended.  Wading though alot of extra posts on non-marque related topics gets even more cumbersome for those that do much of their perusing via mobile devices.   

 

[JohnD1956]

The off topic posts are often just as enjoyable as the on topic ones.  No one has to respond to any thread, but I like reading about what interests others.  IMO the folks I've met here have been friendly, and I consider most of you to be a good friend.  As your  friend, I am interested in your experiences that you want to share.  I just wish I could remember much more about all those experiences. 

 

 

[RivNut]

Since Jason brought up the Cannonball Century Run, I've been going to their website daily to see what's been happening.  At the end of the latest stage, there were 24 guys who still had a perfect score.  This takes considerable knowledge, conditioning, and fortitude just to attempt this feat let alone pursue it.  

 

We have our own forum asking something like where did you drive your Buick today.  I'm not knocking anyone but some guys think that because they drove their 60 year old car 15 miles to the local Sonic for an ice cream cone they've really accomplished something.  If we were as gutsy as the motorcycle guys we'd be driving cross country in our 100 year old cars. And doing it in a rally type format.

 

I can only dream about having the gumption and courage to attempt such a feat.  Buicks or bikes, they deserve to be recognized for what they're attempting.

 

Ed

[old-tank]

As long as the subject line says 'off topic' and then the topic, I am ok with it.  Then I can just ignore it if not interested just like most of the posts in the buy-sell, pre-war, opel and riv forums.