MCR website

[mk1]

I have always tried my hardest to keep both the MK1 site & forum a simple as possible.

I appreciate that techie types love to see all sorts of bells & whistles whirring away giving all sorts of "added value" but speaking as someone who knows bugger all about computers all that extra wizzy stuff just complicates the whole thing & makes the site hard to maintain & difficult to navigate.

As a great man once said;

"KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!

[northern monkey]

Of the multitude of specialist forums that I use (oh er sounds bad ) the plain simple and functional ones all seem to be busier ,they are all content driven and as such if they are easy to use tend to garner more browsers = more content=more browsers and so on.
I also think that the right atmosphere if that's the right way to describe it,on a forum counts for a lot...friendly and informative with banter between posters = more posters = more info = more content=more browsers and so on,this is exactly what makes this forum so good......unfortunately the M.C.R. forum is having all sorts of teething problems and this is killing it off,its had a very marked decline in users (according to the who's online widget)but this would pick up as and when all of the issues are resolved...if it does not happen soon though more people will lose interest and turn to other forums.

[JC T ONE]

And its down again

[Pete]

What was so very wrong with the previous format that it had to be ditched ? I know it was attacked but yes the old format was very good, albeit under used by the club membership as a whole to put it mildly. In a similar way Autosport's 'Nostalgia' forum recently changed format for one reason or another and has nosedived as a result of complex technical issues, photo posting issues etc. A real shame as that was also a very useful source of help and information.

[JC T ONE]

What was so very wrong with the previous format that it had to be ditched ? I know it was attacked but yes the old format was very good, albeit under used by the club membership as a whole to put it mildly. In a similar way Autosport's 'Nostalgia' forum recently changed format for one reason or another and has nosedived as a result of complex technical issues, photo posting issues etc. A real shame as that was also a very useful source of help and information.

There is an old saying = "if it aint broke - dont try to fix it"

[pad4]

Haven't been on it in 3 or 4 weeks now - its not iPhone. iPad or anything friendly and i used to be on it all the time.

Maybe it just needs sacking and a plain and simple version sorting out

Pad

[northern monkey]

well after hours of being offline again......nothings different,still cant post pictures....

[Andrew1967]

Think I've only been on it maybe half a dozen times since its relaunch and I was the highest poster on the old forum.

I have to agree that the new format just seems too complicated and requires too much scrolling to find anything.

Its a real shame as it used to be a bloody good forum and brightened up many a dull evening.

This forum design and format, for me, is just right.

[pad4]

The sad thing is despite being told by everyone and the obvious drop in use they still wont just turn round and say - yup , this is crap, lets sack it and start again, its like flogging a dead horse.

still never got a straight answer to whether the mcr were paying for a pro to do the forum or they were doing it in house so to speak - well i tell a lie, i got a politicians answer ...

Really MCR comittee , its shit , please sort it out or it will die a death

pad

[mk1]

In all fairness I think most of the problems on the MCR forum stem from them trying to transfer all the old posts over to the new forum. This is something that admins are told is easy by web developers, but it is in fact far from easy & usually imports old bugs as well as creating new ones in the new forum.

I have had to change the provider of the forum 2 times over the last 10 years to ensure a stable platform that works most of the time, on the first occasion I desperately tried to transfer the posts over, only to give up due to over complications & problems. I therefore opted to leave the old versions of the forum as archives & start from scratch. This option is far from ideal as it means the loss of masses of useful info, but it is certainly the easiest option.

I still suspect that in the end this is going to have to be the approach the MCR will have to take, start from scratch & take the flack for all those lost or archived posts.

I sincerely hope that they do get the problems fixed very soon as the amount of down time time taken so far is only proving to kill the whole project off once & far all.

[Old English White]

I can only agree. I've only visited the MCR forum a few times this year having, at one time been a regular. The number of postings is TINY now. It's very sad but like most of my generation I'm not very computer literate so don't want complicated stuff. This forum is simple and easy to use. So was the old MCR one although there were too many sections. I have no idea why it has suffered so many problems having been well managed in the past. Perhaps it is not deemed important enough to the committee to get it sorted? Maybe that's unfair but it has been problematic for a long time now and many members have given up looking at it. It was always much used albeit by a minority of members. It would be a great shame for the forum to fall by the wayside.

What is really scary of course is that it was only fairly recently that the MCR were talking about taking over THIS forum Think about THAT for a minute I can only say again - well done Mark. Keep it up. We DO appreciate all your hard work and dedication here.

[youngres]

The problems we've experienced with the MCR forum is important to The Committee. We have invested a great deal of time and a good chunk of cash on this new system, which as people point out, is still not working correctly. I, in common with you and probably most users, are not great with computers, so we have to leave it to the experts. Our Webmaster is doing his utmost to iron out these problem.

We are very much aware that we are well down on numbers because of the long period the forum was down and also because users are having difficulty with the new server. All I can do is apologize and ask that users stay with us and try and make the forum as active as it once was.

Robert Young

[foxy52]

Think I've only been on it maybe half a dozen times since its relaunch and I was the highest poster on the old forum.

I have to agree that the new format just seems too complicated and requires too much scrolling to find anything.

Its a real shame as it used to be a bloody good forum and brightened up many a dull evening.

This forum design and format, for me, is just right.

...Totally agree Andrew ,.ps as a Norfolk ,man r u going to Blyton ?? if so pm me for a chat ?.. tks foxy52

[swifty]

I for one hope the mcr get it sorted but I also see it as flogging a dead horse . It may be me , I don't know , but I get the vibe from the forum that it's all old school, all prim and proper , rules and regs , don't say this or that or you'll get caned etc. it's strange how a forum can have a friendly atmosphere , like a family , but this has it . The mag is a great read but most of it is dedicated to rallying , articles of what went on in the past , who said what and when etc . It needs an injection of relative youth or it will die out like the dinosaurs . Sorry Robert , just my opinion and I know I'm not the only one thinking it. It's a pity the mcr web is so bad and yet they can organise one of the best meets of the year for me . Mini Cooper day at beaulieu . . ... Ken

[foxy52]

The problems we've experienced with the MCR forum is important to The Committee. We have invested a great deal of time and a good chunk of cash on this new system, which as people point out, is still not working correctly. I, in common with you and probably most users, are not great with computers, so we have to leave it to the experts. Our Webmaster is doing his utmost to iron out these problem.

We are very much aware that we are well down on numbers because of the long period the forum was down and also because users are having difficulty with the new server. All I can do is apologize and ask that users stay with us and try and make the forum as active as it once was.

Robert Young

...Robert,.there is no doubt that MCR members of which this forum is full of will stay with you...its been a long time since I enjoyed the forum..i am just getting to grips with how it all works but as many have stated its woefull !!!..navigation/format is wholly confusing...perhaps its not possible to log on and view the various sections as it used to be any longer ?? but to a man I guess all would say the same...let alone all the other glitches posters here keep pointing out.. ??!..meanwhile the best thing about the MCR is the mag !!! superb always was and always will be... foxy52

[Pete]

The mag is a great read but most of it is dedicated to rallying , articles of what went on in the past , who said what and when etc . It needs an injection of relative youth or it will die out like the dinosaurs .

Most of the stuff I've ever written for the mag hasn't been about rallying , but yes it's all been history concerning the cars whether that's about Radfords, race teams or tuning companies. To be fair though you can only print what people send in.

[cookie1071]

With the Cooper's pedigree, there's always going to be an emphasis towards motorsport, ironic really as most club members aren't involved in it nowadays, but then maybe it's the ones that are/have been in the past who are sending in articles/providing a lot of the content for the mag?

Anyway, i think we're getting a bit off topic now!

Niall.