Latest Changes & Registration

[Chris]

Okay, after playing around with the additional features of the forum software I have decided to run this forum the way it used to be w/o the extra "stuff" that you may or may not have noticed, liked or disliked.

A registration link has been added to simplify the registration for anyone interested in joining before it's cut off at 200 members.

[Chris]

All changes are complete and registration process changed from yesterday after receiving lots of spam registrations.

[Rusty]

Cut off at 200 members..the Elite haha

[Chris]

The elite is all of us, good thing others convinced me not to stop at 100. ;)

[MelloYello]

Why the magic number of 200?
That is a huge number of folks to have in a club and probably a problem to manage.
Just wanted to know.

[Chris]

That's a good question. Originally I was aiming at 100 but people prodded me to open it up more and I agreed. The fact is people come and go and it really ends up being a much smaller number than 200. For example you're number 597 which shows we've had a lot more sign up and end up getting deleted for not participating. I think we're at 190 or so today so more than 400 have vanished in our short period of existence. You'll see that there's a much smaller core that actually show up for runs and volunteer events and you'll notice the same people over and over with some people popping in and out.

During the winter more people are web wheeling and it gives us a chance to get more people who may be active which is what we want. The 200 will decrease over the next few months and we'll eventually settle in with a good solid group. If 200 people showed up for anything we'd have a mess but it never happens so it's working out well.

Hope that kind of makes sense.

[Haku]

Why the magic number of 200?
That is a huge number of folks to have in a club and probably a problem to manage.
Just wanted to know.

I'd say of the actual number of 200 people registered.....less then 1/3 will actually participate on the forum regularly or go on a run or two. Less then a quarter will go on trips regularly and be on the forum a couple times a day.

Its another factor of having this "club" not really be a club. No membership fees, no application process really, no required meetings or attendance of any sort. The only restriction being that if you don't sign on every once in a while, then you account gets deleted. I think its working great, and really provides a place for people who don't really like the exclusionary and often stuffy "club" atmosphere that a lot of them have. In reality, 200 registered forum members is ultra tiny for most forums. Most of the other forums I peruse and participate on have upwards of 100,000 registered members, and can have up to 10,000 people signed on at a given time on rare occasions. Pirate 4x4 has 154,000 members and NASIOC (a subaru owners forum) has 248,000 members, a quarter of which are actually active frequently. Both of those are run by people as it being their only income, and they are doing pretty well off. I know Pirate has a bunch of adds, and then charges $20 a year for stuff that most other forums provide for free, like an avatar, gallery space, being able to search without waiting for a couple minutes in between, etc. On top of that, its $250 a year to be a certified vendor on there, not including add space. We'll just say that Mr. Lance and Mr. Camo are doing pretty well off via Pirate. They had enough to pay for a KOH buggy for a lucky Pirate premium member to win a drive in this year, so that says something.

I think Chris wanted this to stay a hobby site for him, and isn't looking to make a buck, even though he probably could. I really like the low key feeling in here, even though it can sometimes get heated, just like anywhere. I like the close nit feel of it here, and its pretty cool that I have met most of the members in person on trail runs (at least the guys who were around last summer, and even some of the new members too). Not something you can say about any of the other forums I go to.

JH

[MelloYello]

I'd say of the actual number of 200 people registered.....less then 1/3 will actually participate on the forum regularly or go on a run or two. Less then a quarter will go on trips regularly and be on the forum a couple times a day.

Its another factor of having this "club" not really be a club. No membership fees, no application process really, no required meetings or attendance of any sort. The only restriction being that if you don't sign on every once in a while, then you account gets deleted. I think its working great, and really provides a place for people who don't really like the exclusionary and often stuffy "club" atmosphere that a lot of them have. In reality, 200 registered forum members is ultra tiny for most forums. Most of the other forums I peruse and participate on have upwards of 100,000 registered members, and can have up to 10,000 people signed on at a given time on rare occasions. Pirate 4x4 has 154,000 members and NASIOC (a subaru owners forum) has 248,000 members, a quarter of which are actually active frequently. Both of those are run by people as it being their only income, and they are doing pretty well off. I know Pirate has a bunch of adds, and then charges $20 a year for stuff that most other forums provide for free, like an avatar, gallery space, being able to search without waiting for a couple minutes in between, etc. On top of that, its $250 a year to be a certified vendor on there, not including add space. We'll just say that Mr. Lance and Mr. Camo are doing pretty well off via Pirate. They had enough to pay for a KOH buggy for a lucky Pirate premium member to win a drive in this year, so that says something.

I think Chris wanted this to stay a hobby site for him, and isn't looking to make a buck, even though he probably could. I really like the low key feeling in here, even though it can sometimes get heated, just like anywhere. I like the close nit feel of it here, and its pretty cool that I have met most of the members in person on trail runs (at least the guys who were around last summer, and even some of the new members too). Not something you can say about any of the other forums I go to.

JH


Well Said! That makes total sense. Thx.

[Chris]

Yeah, I could turn this into another wide open forum with tons of "members" but those also turn generally unpleasant because people know they'll never meet face-to-face and can say anything they want. The number these forum throw out are absolutely absurd. Take a look at Pirate's member list - 1st page shows 30 "members" though only 2 have posted anything at all which shows how phony those large numbers are. Even small local club forums like Rising Sun have a small (40%) percent ever post. CO4X4 is the same, first page of their "members" show people that haven't been on in years and years. I'm a member of IH8MUD and their numbers are similar. I just don't see any sense to those "member" numbers and won't do that. If someone doesn't post within a few months here they're automatically deleted.

I could sell advertising, charge membership dues and that crap but I see no value in running a business and cluttering the forum with ads that slow down page loading, distract from the posts and have no relevance to us. Look at any of the big forums and you'll really appreciate the small forums we have. Unlike most forums I leave all areas of this open to anyone that visits so they don't have to register to read a post and never come back.

[Red Rhino]

I joined this group because it is a small group that actually hits the trails on a very regular basis. Lets keep it small but very active on the forum and and even more active on the trail. We live in the best place (Moab is really part of Colorado :smile:) on earth and should enjoy it as much as possible. Thanks for all the hard work to keep FR 4x4 up and running.

Bryan

[Chris]

I joined this group because it is a small group that actually hits the trails on a very regular basis.

Looks like I forgot to mention that! :redface:

Yeah, we do a lot of runs and have a great time when we do, I can't wait myself!