mk1-forum.net

I'm a bit late to this I know Mark.... but I have only just noticed your message (06.04.22) below on the MK1 Performance Conversions web site. Totally understand but hopefully winding it up is still sometime in the future, as it will be a great loss as a unique reference on early Minis.

Quote from 'MK1's LATEST NEWS' :-
"When I started the MK1 Performance Conversions site back in 1999, there was practically no information about early Mini’s available anywhere on the Net & any archives that people held were invariably private & inaccessible to most fans. Back then, I felt that the MK1 Site & in later times the forum played a huge part in the popularisation of these early cars. They have certainly become more & more popular, sought after & sadly more valuable over the last 25 years or so. However, we are now inundated with Facebook Groups, Web sites & all sorts of other Internet & social media platforms dedicated to the subject. I no longer feel that this site has much of a role to play.
It has also become increasingly difficult to maintain the site because the software I use is now hopelessly outdated & struggles to run so many pages & so much content, add to this the fact that the supplier no longer provide updates or new versions. I have already updated the entire site once & cannot bear the thought of having to do the whole process again not to mention having to learn how to use a new program from scratch
I have therefore decided that over the next few months I am going to begin to reduce the size & scope of the MK1 Performance Conversions web site, with the ultimate aim of winding it up sometime in the future. I will be leaving the most popular sections untouched, but unless I come across anything of spectacular interest, I will not be adding new material.
I would be lying if I said that this decision has been an easy one, but I feel that the time is probably coming when the resource that I have offered here is no longer needed or relevant, and plodding on regardless seems futile to say the least."
https://mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk/whats_new.htm

This is a great pity. Whilst social media has a place, as a source of reference it is useless.

Is there anything we among the forum users can do to help out?

Gary

The fact that I posted that message & began to delete pages back in April & the first comments that have been made are in November, sort of illustrates the point I was making.

I certainly have no immediate plans to wind up the main site, but I am continuing to reduce the scope & depth to the sections that still receive some interest. In the hope that sooner or later I can get it hosted for free again. This is impossible at the moment.

I have also deleted the donation page as I don't feel that it is right me taking donations for a site that is at best static & over the next few months / years reducing in content.

Thanks for your comments,

M

I've not much of a clue when it comes to costs to update a website to new tech, but for this forum alone I am happy to continue to chip in.

mk1 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 25, 2022 8:59 am The fact that I posted that message & began to delete pages back in April & the first comments that have been made are in November, sort of illustrates the point I was making.

I thought exactly that when I was making the original post......

If it is possible I think a direct click-on link on the Mk1 forum Index page which takes you to the main site would help more people find and use the main site? (The most comprehensive resource for the early mini fan anywhere).
There is a click-on link to the Forum in the opposite direction.

I tend to use the main site as an occasional reference or post as a link to alert people who have asked an early Mini question where to find the answer or original documents. As with a reference book I don't expect there to be loads of new content but on most visits I find much that I have not seen before but then forget to come back when there is time to look in more depth.....another reason a more obvious link on the forum would remind me to return!

I don't have any control of how the forum pages look, they are just provided as part of the hosting package. I have looked into doing as you suggest, but sadly, it's not practical.

M

I have just added a link to the main web site on to the forum.

Can you see where it is?


PS I always access the forum through the main site by clicking through the initial pages.

PPS I have also noticed an increasing number of posts asking for information that is available there. It's just a pity that people are becoming more and more lazy and treating the forum like you would facebook. There are questions that are asked over and over again, but if people took the time to search the forum (or the internet), they would find the answer. It is what I do when I respond to questions. This was not meant to be a rant about how people use the forum and main site, but if you do not use it, you will lose it.

The truth is that since the search engines have been seriously selling search rankings, the MK1 site has more or less disappeared without a trace. Back in it's hey-day probably 10 years ago, we used to be getting up to 5000 individual page views a day, now it's rarely out of the 100's. TBH, I can't remember the last time I even looked to see what it was doing.

Also, other factors are my inability to find new material, & the fact that everyone expects downloads to be of the same quality as an HD TV picture now. This all requires vast amounts of band width. Without limitless bandwidth or a reliable income stream this is impossible to do. I genuinely appreciate all the donations I have received over the years, but this REALLY isn't about money, it's about relevance.

I do appreciate that some folks find it useful & informative, but with my unwillingness & to all intents & purposes inability to do any further upgrades it will at best stay still & at worst continue to reduce in size. I'm afraid it's just how it is.

M