Let’s update this website a little

[RockyMtRebel]

There’s a few things that I notice that I think should be updated. For one, the random pictures that run along the top of the page have so many old and non-4x4 pictures that I find really annoying. I think the “album” needs to be cleaned out of all old pictures and should really only show 4x4 related pictures (not dogs or metal fabrication pieces and other random pix). I also think the pictures should be of newer trips and from active members only. That would help make this feel more 4x4 and active member like. Can’t be that hard to do either, I’d volunteer to help even though I’m minimally tech savvy 🤣

Happy to hop on a call or email, Jim, if that would be better. Thought I’d post up to see if anyone else (active members only in my opinion) had any ideas of how we could “update” this website. I’m not talking about the formatting even, just some of the content that is so old and out dated it doesn’t appeal to new members (maybe some of the forum subjects, definitely the pictures, etc).

Thoughts???

[Tom]

Jim was looking for some help a year or two ago from a few of us. I say pm him.

[RockyMtRebel]

Shoot, just noticed I should have posted this under Forum News…. Sorry about that ;)

Jim and I talk offline on occasion so I can certainly discuss directly with him but I posted this to see if anyone else agrees and if any other ideas for improvement are suggested. I generally like the format of this website, it works well with my iPhone or on my desktop. The picture upload process is funky but I find it user friendly for the most part. The picture at the top is the one thing that bugs me the most and that I feel could vastly improve the new visitors experience if it was updated.

[Jim]

I can get an account configured to review / manage gallery photos (delete non-4x4 photos). Interested?

To get fresh content, members would need to post photos to an album in the gallery. It's easy - the link to get started is available right next to the photos.

[RockyMtRebel]

I’m interested!! I’ve added my photos a few times but the main issue is all of the old and non-4x4 related photos. I’d be happy to go thru all of the albums and delete old and non applicable photos 😁

[Jim]

Let me work at creating a mod account...

[Java]

only show 4x4 related pictures (not dogs or metal fabrication pieces and other random pix).

Completely agree, would love to see all the memes disappear too, especially the political ones. One of my new years resolutions was to stop talking about God, Guns and 'merica online and it's been great, highly recommend it. Even though it was my idea to create it (mostly to keep it off the public page) I'd love to see the firearms subforum go away.

[Tom]

Completely agree, would love to see all the memes disappear too, especially the political ones. One of my new years resolutions was to stop talking about God, Guns and 'merica online and it's been great, highly recommend it. Even though it was my idea to create it (mostly to keep it off the public page) I'd love to see the firearms subforum go away.
I agree with Paul about the firearms subforum. While I basically have no issue with the proper use of firearms, I just do not feel that they belong in an off roading forum. That said if it went away it would need to be documented that such posts are not allowed, then someone would have to monitor and delete such posts.

[Java]

I'm cool with firearms discussions as long as they follow the wisdom of the founder, ie: no politics, which has not been the case. For me that means if you just got a reverse Kimber 1911 like John Wicks I totally want to see it, but if your post involves the second amendment there are other forums for that. I don't see any need for enforcement, we're all adults here. It's not a rule anyway, the chat parameters are a request with a "please" on top. Without politics guns could just be part of chat.

[Tom]

I'm cool with firearms discussions as long as they follow the wisdom of the founder, ie: no politics, which has not been the case. For me that means if you just got a reverse Kimber 1911 like John Wicks I totally want to see it, but if your post involves the second amendment there are other forums for that. I don't see any need for enforcement, we're all adults here. It's not a rule anyway, the chat parameters are a request with a "please" on top. Without politics guns could just be part of chat.
Very valid points Paul. I guess I really got turned off to guns here because of that former member who had a gun pointed directly into the camera with him holding it as his icon. That before and why only member rigs are now allowed.

Guess I am just showing my age.

[xaza]

This forum was more than just a wheeling forum at one time. It used to be like an extended family. Seems kinda wrong to go through and delete photos from peoples albums because you disagree with the content and does not fall within your expectations. A bit different if it violates forum policy but if it doesn't leave people alone. Why does everyone feel like they should control other people? I would rather see it removed from the top completely than to be censored.

[Tom]

This forum was more than just a wheeling forum at one time. It used to be like an extended family. Seems kinda wrong to go through and delete photos from peoples albums because you disagree with the content and does not fall within your expectations. A bit different if it violates forum policy but if it doesn't leave people alone. Why does everyone feel like they should control other people? I would rather see it removed from the top completely than to be censored.
I do not believe this discussion at all about censoring anyone. First off there are photos still here from people that accounts were deleted 10 years ago. IMO those should to be deleted. I for one would love to see what people who are current members are doing. The discussion about this seemed to me to draw in new members and promote more wheeling in the group.

I have been here over 10 years. It has never felt like family to me. I even left for about 8 months several years because of just the opposite.

That said there are a number I feel a good friendship with.

[xaza]

random pictures that run along the top of the page have so many old and non-4x4 pictures that I find really annoying.

Tom, this does not suggest just cleaning out old photos from former members. This is saying if it is not 4x4 related it would be censored. What is considered old? My albums have photos that are 15-20 years old, should they be deleted because they are old? I agree with cleaning out old stuff from members who are not here and have been gone an extended period of time. People here used to get together outside of wheeling and hang out, BBQ help each other with rigs and other things. It still happens somewhat but just not like it used to. Perhaps it is my own fault as many of my friends on here have moved on and I just have not bonded with the new blood. That is what I like about the campfire thread it is a place to hear things other than wheeling to get to know each other a bit better.

[RockyMtRebel]

I suggested updating the pictures and removing random pictures of non-4x4 stuff on the header. That doesn’t necessarily mean deleting them, the photos could still be archived for folks to look thru or whatever. Not sure where censorship came from, it’s not censoring anything or anyone. Also not sure how my suggestion means everyone want to control other people, like the current Supreme Court Clowns. I just want to suggest some ideas to update and make this more 4x4 related and visually appealing to folks who actually go off-road together or for new members who just get here so they can see images of people that are actively on the forum.
In other words I’m just trying to suggest things to make this website/group better, even if todays active group is much smaller and less active than the original. And I posted here for everyone’s input also, not just trying to change things in a sneaky way.
At the end of the day I can’t make any changes anyway, I’m just throwing some ideas out there 😎

[Jim]

I'll have to see if there's a way to move a picture or album set out of the photo rotation - to be placed on the members' account only. If not, the items would (likely) be deleted. If the member is active, a PM to them before deletion would be a good courtesy - giving them a chance to download if they don't have a master copy.

[FINOCJ]

In response to the photo header specifically....many of us now-a-days do not use the in-forum photo album feature, and instead, host our photos at a remote site. That means many of the more recent photos from active members over the last 5+ years are not part of the header rotation. At one time, the forum had limitations on the max size of a photo that could be attached, and thus resizing and saving into the forum was a few extra steps that often just gets bypassed with remote hosting. Additionally, many of us have very high resolution, large file size photos, and when sharing them with other members after a trail run (often the best pics of ourselves and our rigs are from other people), I prefer to provide them with the highest quality photo, and the forum album software/size limitations didn't allow for posting full-size photos for other members to download. I'm not sure, but it seems the file size that can be uploaded has increased at some point, but guessing its still partially limited, as well as the total album memory may run into limitations. Obviously, no solutions suggested here - just some of the issues that maybe could be looked into or at least help identify why we have lots of old photos and not many more recent photos in the header.

[xaza]

If the photos in our albums have to be 4x4 related only that is censoring someone from having other albums such as pets or camping.


like the current Supreme Court Clowns
let's keep the politics off here.

I understand you are just making a suggestion to improve the site and I am simply creating discussion of potential concerns. I want to see things other than just rigs here. I can search the internet and look at rigs all day long. I want this to feel like a more tight group that share more than just wheeling. Wheeling should be the main focus as that is why we all came here to begin, but I don't feel we do justice to ourselves as a group to limit it to that.


more recent photos from active members over the last 5+ years are not part of the header rotation
that is something to consider. Perhaps people are not aware of how to set up an album. They could post the off site pictures for trail reports but still upload a copy to an album to help improve newer stuff at the top.

[Jim]

I want this to feel like a more tight group that share more than just wheeling. Wheeling should be the main focus as that is why we all came here to begin, but I don't feel we do justice to ourselves as a group to limit it to that.

This is my feeling.

As for politics and religion. In the main rules - they are not banned. I assumed they were, but no. ...and this is original Chris rules, not something I changed. Hit the rules link (bottom of each page) and search for religion or politics -neither are listed. Religious, pertaining to no religious slurs, does exist.

Bottom line, the rules say - treat everyone nice. Most topics are fair game (there are select items called out as "dont's"). I had not noticed the chat ?guidelines? of no politics and religion.

I wish what is best for the group. We are, wonderfully, a group that gets along well. Do I wish we had more activity in the same direction, yes. If folks have recommendations for that, I'm curious.

Getting back to Cliff's comment, above, we could be "just a scheduling group" - deleting all of the other content the site offers. If we focused on that route, I know it would hurt our "let's get together for a run" aspect. Matt's recent desire to get out is one example of that - we did not have folks jumping in to say "let's go". I'd gather many of the new members have not logged in for the past two or three weeks. They're missing out on an opportunity to wheel / get together.

What might we do to have new folks (and existing folks) check in more often?

For me, I have made this URL an easy-to-click bookmark - it shows me the new/unread posts the site has to offer. I hit it multiple times per day when I'm at the computer:
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/search.php?do=getnew
.

[TDash]

I agree that a lot of the photos at the top are garbage I am not interested in. I actually do like seeing some of the old full size pics but when I click them those members are long gone and the pictures are tiny resolution.

I also agree with James, a ton of photos don't get added that are new. I wonder if instead if the random picture module only pulling from within the same host if there are newer modules that can pull and randomize from let's say a Google album. If we get in the habit of the cool new practice of having a shared album per run where everyone contributes we could also link to a kind of master Google album that includes recent 4x4 pictures and maybe doesn't include all the nice nature shots. I appreciate the nature shots per album but I think wouldn't be as valuable in a randomized picture header.

[RockyMtRebel]

My main point was that I think the pictures along the top should be reflective of the current groups active members and group trips. Current could go back a couple years if needed but at some point I think the old pictures from former group members should be deleted or archived somewhere.
I think some of the new members start looking around and see all of these old and non-4x4 relevant pictures and old subject postings from years ago and feel like maybe this isn’t the 4x4 group they were originally looking for and then never come back to participate. Having parameters for these pictures is not censorship at all, it’s just limiting pictures to relative content that people coming to an off-roading group and website can relate to. Keeping pictures up from folks that haven’t even visited this site for 5 or 10 years makes no sense at all! Putting pictures that are completely non-relevant to off-roading is also a distraction and doesn’t make sense.
I honestly think anyone that isn’t an active “wheeler”, meaning they’ve actually participated in group runs that were on the calendar and in trail planning forum, should not be allowed to post pictures to the header albums or have any say for that matter. In my opinion, if your Wheeler Badge hasn’t been updated in a couple years it should be removed and replaced with the Flat Tire mentioned in the Rules. Flat tires aren’t relevant and shouldn’t have posted pictures and probably also shouldn’t have as much influence as active members who actually use this site and help it stay active!
Sorry if this offends anyone, it’s not intended to! Things need to be cleaned up and revised every now and then or else the quality and environment will suffer — wether that’s this website, your vehicle, your house, your desk or your computers desktop! I just see way too many “cobwebs” & “dust” and I’m in the cleaning mood ;)
But again, I am just throwing ideas out there and have no power to make any changes….. I do have xtra time and would be happy to volunteer time to make changes, however :D And I have and will continue to support this website financially. Luckily I built a successful company over the last 10 years and would be happy to sponsor this website with additional funds to update any software or platforms that would improve the functionality and appeal of the site also!
just sayin’ that I’ll put my money where my mouth is also!!!!!

[xaza]

First off I would like to thank you for caring enough to bring up the subject and try to instill change. You are one of the most active members and I enjoy your trail reports. This latest statement almost feels like you are trying to say I should have no say. Seems interesting that you would try to now silence my voice because I haven't been active on the trail lately. Could it be because I have a different voice and you want to silence opposition? I have been a member here a long time and I used to be the one like you out every single weekend. I have contributed financially, helping people with their rigs and advice on general wheeling stuff. I would say I agree with you on most of what you are proposing. The issue I have is limiting people to what they can have for their albums. Can header at top be adjusted to allow people to have other types of pictures in their albums? Could we have a dedicated name for albums we want to allow on the header? Would that allow the header to only display those while allowing people freedom to have non wheeling albums also? I think we have both been pretty clear about what we would like to see for change so I am done but I am more curious how others feel. This is a large group and the decisions should be by what the majority wants. I would like to hear from others to help Jim decide a path forward.

[Jim]

Rotating photos: I believe James hit several items. Essentially the photos gallery is stagnant. Folks should upload pictures to the system to have a wider pool of photos to be pulled from.

Undesired photos: This would be a discussion. Matt wishes to keep it current 4x4 related while Cliff's perspective is wider with spice-of-life membership variety.

Limiting to current photos: A maintenance item beyond what I'm interested in tending. As-is, if that were put into effect with the current photo set, we might just turn the function off as scant few photos are current (rough seat of the pants thoughts). This gets back to the first item in the post - getting fresh photos posted. I hold this as second place to, in general, getting members involved. We have many new sign-ups but they don't (often) log in and participate. Getting activity for runs is more important.

Matt - I'm looking at a mod account that will allow you to tend what you're considering. There'd be discussion as to what would be acted upon.

[ForumAdmin]

This has come up a couple times in the thread.

I wish to reinforce - financial donations to the forum have ZERO influence of one member to another with the group. We are equal with each other as members.

[xaza]

I just went through the process of setting up an album as I have not done that in quite a while. There is a drop down setting for category while setting up album. There are 5 choices. uncategorized, member trucks, trail photos, scenic photos and misc photos. Perhaps this would allow the header at the top to only show "member trucks" category?

[Tom]

i see what Cliff is saying. The same list exists under the Gallery folder.

Jim, I am assuming there is a script that pulls from these folders for the header pics being discussed. I would be willing to look at the script to see how difficult it might be to only pull from trucks, trail photos, and perhaps scenic. We could make the decision which folders once I see the difficulty and if I can make the changes.

Former software engineer but have not done a lot of script related work.


I just went through the process of setting up an album as I have not done that in quite a while. There is a drop down setting for category while setting up album. There are 5 choices. uncategorized, member trucks, trail photos, scenic photos and misc photos. Perhaps this header would allow the header at the top to only show "member trucks" category?