PCGB Cayman Register - New Facebook page

Buddy · Nov 13, 2018

If you have a Facebook account then you just apply to PCGB Cayman Register and await being approved, I check the club Cayman Register members list, accept applicants into the page and from then you can place photos or start a thread as normal on social media, if you get some conversation going then the thread progresses and if you wish to raise a new topic then you begin a new thread, it's not difficult and many people just use the special interest pages such as Region pages, several club regions do run a social page. Or other interests such as sports clubs or sports information trading and other things. I know that many are put off social media because of horror stories in the media but it's just a case of being careful which links/threads and groups you join.

Ray · Nov 13, 2018

Will your Facebook posts and threads be visible on the Porsche Club web site?

Ray

AndrewCS · Nov 13, 2018

^ ... from experience elsewhere ... No ... and that Forum is now ruined, hope that this site works out OK.

I also do not subscribe to FB and the like or use a phone to access the internet [8|] [

] ; log in here is no trouble ... am only logged out if I power down the laptop.

One reason for not renewing my membership recently was down to `poor` communication ... too many `cooks` ?

Ray · Nov 13, 2018

Andrew_CS said:
^ ... from experience elsewhere ... No ... and that Forum is now ruined, hope that this site works out OK.

I also do not subscribe to FB and the like or use a phone to access the internet [8|] [] ; log in here is no trouble ... am only logged out if I power down the laptop.

One reason for not renewing my membership recently was down to `poor` communication ... too many `cooks` ?

Andrew,

I am on the same page as yourself when it comes to Facebook and also accessing the internet using my phone.

Seems pointless having a Facebook link if it does not link to the main PCGB web page.

Ray

Buddy · Nov 15, 2018

Membership of the new FB page is growing slowly given the small amount of publicity so far but I have put out a Mailchimp which should be circulated soon as it is currently with the Media organiser at HQ, not everyone uses the forum and not everyone reads the magazine which is one argument for moving it to being an electronic online magazine, saves on publishing costs, Chris Seaward club HQ manager has joined and been accepted even though he isn't in my members list but I could prove it was the real Chris Seaward by his connections, only one other applicant has failed to answer the questions and is not listed in the register and so his application is pending, awaiting his correction of the situation, as I have said many times members need to check their online profile and confirm their details, you can be registered in more than one register but I can't confirm if you do show up in the Cayman list if you are also in another, I'm sure that admin would wish to know if there is a problem in this regard.

Contraband · Nov 15, 2018

I’m not understanding how someone who says they are not a PCGB member feels they have the right to comment on a PCGB forum and a PCGB Facebook forum?

I’ve never understood how non members are allowed access to comment..

Ray · Nov 15, 2018

Contraband said:
I’m not understanding how someone who says they are not a PCGB member feels they have the right to comment on a PCGB forum and a PCGB Facebook forum?

I’ve never understood how non members are allowed access to comment..

Archie,

I agree entirely. Normal practice is: You can look but make no comment.

I for one certainly hope that the club does not create a Facebook forum. If it does I may have to reconsider my membership.

Ray

Contraband · Nov 16, 2018

I don’t see any problem having a Facebook forum. I think it’s a great idea.

It will not stop me checking this forum or posting here any less.

I like the fact that on Facebook we can post photos easily and get almost instant feedback and replies.

The fact it will be members only on the Facebook forum is a plus point. I think anyone that does not renew their subscription should be instantly removed from this forum. It should be members only at all times.

ralphmusic · Nov 16, 2018

Whilst I am not a great supporter of a Facebook page, I think it is wrong to make the forum member only. There are a number of people I know who contribute to the forum but do not sufficient other value from their subscription. I value their posts equally with those of members.

I do feel however that the forum 'members' list needs culling because there is a large number of non-member posters with low number ancient posts that really should be removed, and I have made that point to the headshed at "Workers Conferences"

Buddy · Nov 16, 2018

I agree with Archie on membership being a criteria for entering on either this or the Facebook forum, none members can at times be a nuisance although I do not mind the occasional guest asking a question but that should not be possible. They can after all ask direct questions to any register secretary or regional organiser/club officer by getting the contact details off the website, no need to expose the membership to them or them to any objections by members, such things can happen and it is one thing that puts some off using forums.

It is a member's club and so the forum is for the club members, whereas we can comment on other registers and regions and I do look at the Boxster pages from time to time due to the similarity of the drop head version.

The Facebook page is now linked to the PCGB Facebook page so there is a way there for more members to see it, the Mailchimp I posted to HQ has not come into my email as yet but Chris Seaward who is not in our members list has been accepted as he is GM of the club but he probably connects to any new register page on FB. If there are a number of ex members who still have access to the forum then that does need to be addressed, I don't know if Ralph's list is as on ours there are a small number of duplicate entries but most of those seem to be from Obergine who run the system for the club.

tscaptain · Nov 16, 2018

I disagree. I don't think the forum should be for use exclusively for Club members. There are a good number of non members who have, and still do, bring useful knowledge and experience to this forum and, as Ralph mentions above, their posts are equally valid. Indeed, as a result of the general good behaviour and courtesy on here we have gained members as a result.

This is a discussion which has come and gone for a long time. I prefer to have an open door policy, with a view to persuading non members to join when they see the benefits, rather than pulling up the drawbridge and making faces at those on the outside.[

]

ralphmusic · Nov 16, 2018

Kevan,

I assume you'll be at one of the two Club Conference events being held this month and you should raise your point about not allowing full or any access to non-members. The Club policy so far as I understand it is to allow guest access. I don't have a list of such individuals, I just know some who contribute.

Ralph

tscaptain · Nov 16, 2018

Forum rule 1.1

1.1 This Forum is provided by Porsche Club GB for the enjoyment of Club members. Non-members are welcome to enjoy open areas of the forum but should appreciate they are guests of the Club. Forum users are of all ages and backgrounds – please respect their sensibilities.

[

]

There are "Member only" areas for those who wish and when the subject matter is best kept to the membership only.

AndrewCS · Nov 16, 2018

Contraband said:
I’m not understanding how someone who says they are not a PCGB member feels they have the right to comment on a PCGB forum and a PCGB Facebook forum? I’ve never understood how non members are allowed access to comment..

.....

I think anyone that does not renew their subscription should be instantly removed from this forum. It should be members only at all times.

Hi Archie ... as the only non member commenting in this topic, I guess that you are referring to me

Please feel free to draft the necessary submission to ... 1. have me removed ... 2. to `send the boys around` ... 3. or to even consider why I did not renew [8|]

John Sims · Nov 17, 2018

Personally I fail to see the advantage of Farcebook over the forum.

I agree that FB is convenient and immediate, if you are a user. However, the transient nature of the posts means any technical help provided today might be gone in a week. A search on this forum will provide technical solutions going back over 13 years.

I do use FB, and am subscribed to a number of automotive groups, but aside "Here is a picture of my car which I washed/knocked/bought/sold/fitted a roof rack" type threads I'm not seeing much else.

I also agree that this forum is a bit clunky and has a few annoying idiosyncrasies but , as a repository for technical information I can't see Farcebook as being in the same league. And to segway into another point raised - a great deal of the sound technical content available in this forum was actually provided by non Club Members.

If you want to look at pictures of people's washed cars then FB is the business. If you need something more meaningful then I suspected in 6 months you will be returning to the forum.

Andy Fagan · Nov 17, 2018

John Sims said:
Personally I fail to see the advantage of Farcebook over the forum.

I agree that FB is convenient and immediate, if you are a user. However, the transient nature of the posts means any technical help provided today might be gone in a week. A search on this forum will provide technical solutions going back over 13 years.

I do use FB, and am subscribed to a number of automotive groups, but aside "Here is a picture of my car which I washed/knocked/bought/sold/fitted a roof rack" type threads I'm not seeing much else.

I also agree that this forum is a bit clunky and has a few annoying idiosyncrasies but , as a repository for technical information I can't see Farcebook as being in the same league. And to segway into another point raised - a great deal of the sound technical content available in this forum was actually provided by non Club Members.

If you want to look at pictures of people's washed cars then FB is the business. If you need something more meaningful then I suspected in 6 months you will be returning to the forum.

It's more about networking

John Sims · Nov 17, 2018

And to further expound on Guests of The Club - I look at the forum like a Pub or a Party. If you were at such a place you wouldn't exclude interesting or knowledgeable people from a conversion just because they aren't wearing the correct tie. You could but I suspect, over time, there will be less and less people wearing that tie as they would rather talk to the knowledgeable interesting people in the other Pub/Party etc.

Obviously as a guest at a party it is expected you respect the sensibilities of the host, they are paying for the venue after all. But, if it is a good party with a good host, this shouldn't be an issue and perhaps the guest will enjoy the company and ultimately buy a matching tie as well. They certainly wont if they are made to feel like a leper.

roblaurie · Nov 17, 2018

I understand the benefits of the forum and I do subscribe to threads, although I don't enter into technical debates. I also see the need to keep a history.

But I think FB is better suited to hearing about social events, meetings etc. and as such doesn't require history.

I am grateful to Kevan for setting up the FB group and I feel he's getting a bit of stick for trying to improve the registers' effectiveness and enjoyment.

I'll continue to use both mediums.

Rob

pauljmcnulty · Nov 18, 2018

Gosh, what a lot of different things being brought up on one simple thread! [&:] Some comments about using Facebook groups, from people who don't use Facebook....not all that helpful really. The 944 Register saw a lot of traffic move from the froums (Tipec, PCGB etc.) a few years ago. It's lost an awful lot: the groups are full of Americans recommending US suppliers for everything despite UK Porsche Centres or specialists being far more useful and cheaper. The banter has become lost, as humour doesn't translate well and people get very vocal when you criticise their culture. Technical advice is lost in the multitude of idiots giving poor advice, and there's very little archive or search facility so it's endlessly repetitive. Good for Regions and social events, very poor for technical fora.

This forum is open to non-members for many reasons, that have been done to death in my 15 years. It costs a few hundred a year, but when researched, it brings in and retains many hundreds of members: it makes the Club a massive amount of easy income. Unless the world changes it will remain open, with member-only areas for sensitive discussions. Close the forum to non-members and you close the Club's shop window to new members, shut out people who've moved on but still share their knowledge, and make the Club appear un-welcoming and cliquey. I'd suggest that Facebook groups need to consider being open as well, for those reasons, unless they share confidential info.

Regarding forum useability, this is up to us admins to deal with so PLEASE bring issues to us? The timeout thing where you can only reply so often was set to 1 minute, unless that's been changed? Surely that is time to open, compose, check and post something?? There has to be a time limit on posts in order to prevent the sort of auto-post attack we've suffered in the past, but a 1-minute limit seemed acceptable.

AndrewT · Nov 18, 2018

Paul, you've made some good points there, I have been thinking along similar lines.

pauljmcnulty said:
Some comments about using Facebook groups, from people who don't use Facebook....not all that helpful really.

I've never had a Facebook account and am not currently planning on getting one. As a paid up PCGB member I have an account on porscheclubgb.com which enables me to use all the club website facilities including making purchases from the club shop, buying tickets for club events, and viewing/contributing to the club forums. As a club member I also receive Porsche Post and have the option to attend regional meetings.

Because I don't have a Facebook account I feel excluded from part of the club because I'm not able to see the Cayman Register Facebook page (and other PCGB Facebook pages), this could easily be resolved by opening up all PCGB pages to public viewing but not public posting.

pauljmcnulty said:
This forum is open to non-members for many reasons, that have been done to death in my 15 years. It costs a few hundred a year, but when researched, it brings in and retains many hundreds of members: it makes the Club a massive amount of easy income. Unless the world changes it will remain open, with member-only areas for sensitive discussions. Close the forum to non-members and you close the Club's shop window to new members, shut out people who've moved on but still share their knowledge, and make the Club appear un-welcoming and cliquey. I'd suggest that Facebook groups need to consider being open as well, for those reasons, unless they share confidential info.

I'm happy for most of the forums to be open to non-members but perhaps for viewing only. I've organised a couple of informal events for the Cayman Register via this forum and being an open forum has meant any non-member could read about the event and just turn up. Maybe there's a need for members only Cayman Register Events forum?

pauljmcnulty said:
Regarding forum useability, this is up to us admins to deal with so PLEASE bring issues to us? The timeout thing where you can only reply so often was set to 1 minute, unless that's been changed? Surely that is time to open, compose, check and post something?? There has to be a time limit on posts in order to prevent the sort of auto-post attack we've suffered in the past, but a 1-minute limit seemed acceptable.

With the events I organised I asked all those interested to post on the thread I created. I had intended to send a PM to each of them with event information but the timeout thing made it quite virtually impossible, I asked Mandy to send a MailChimp instead.

So for me improvements would be:

[ul][*]Enable PMs to be sent to groups.[*]Reduce the multiple posts limit to something like 15 seconds - if only members can make posts or send PMs it may not even be necessary to have the timeout thing.[*]I've been caught out a few times because the PM system doesn't by default keep a copy of sent messages, which leaves me wondering whether or not the message was actually sent.[*]Allow more than one attachment in each post.[*]New forum users have to tick the 'use signature' option on each post, it would be useful to be able to permanently set this in my forum profile.[*]When using an iPad/Safari to view the forum I'm not able to select/cut text if I'm quoting a previous post - no such problems when using Firefox on a Windows 10 PC.[/ul]Andrew.