13 registered members online, 1323 elsewhere...

[2Vettes]

Originally Posted by Backyard Mechanic

I like it here even with the "special" people . They make it that much more enjoyable
__________________
Quiet , Ray is probably listening.

Ya think so? Guess we'll know shortly, huh??

[98 softtail]

"Is there anybody out there....just smile if you can hear me....is there anyone at home?"

[ynkedad]

I'm "special".

Rich,

This thread is a good start.

There's a list of reasons and it's anyone's guess as to why people aren't here.
My guess is, some joined early on, but it wasn't busy enough back then and they've since forgotten about us.
Some like the ambience of other forums...Ours = Laid back, others = controlled chaos.
Some just lost interest.
HERE'S THE BIGGIE.....Some are just Chicken Sh!zit .

Seriously..
I've talked to a few people, who've said it's hard to Navigate on this forum compared to others they've been on.
I've talked to another, who felt he didn't "fit in".

Rob and I spoke of a person while we were at the winery. Rob said he just met a guy who's been lurking around, reading threads and posts, but is a little gun shy to participate.
Apparently, this guy had a bad experience on another forum (yup, that one ) which left him weary of forums in general.
I wish I could have met this fella and just talked to him.
I know what some are thinking...

Anyway...I love this forum, it's full of.................................................










good people!

~Ray

[THOR]

Hey Rich Z, Offer a brand new vette to the one person who writes the most threads, a set of tires to 2nd place, CAI to 3rd, and so on. We know you can afford it. Them snakes are worth a fortune aren't they????? Just kidding of course. I think the ole 80-20 rule is working its angry funky head. 20% of the members are writing 80% of the threads.
I think you are doing one heck of a job running this forum. Many thanks and gratitude always. Mark

[85vette]

Originally Posted by Rich Z

So how do we get those other 1,323 registered members to hang out here regularly? Is there something that needs to be here to attract them that is not? Or is there something here that chases them away that should not be here?

This place would really be jumping if we had their daily participation.....

Hey, I'm tryin to do my part! I check in several times a day. Maybe there's not ENOUGH controversy on this site. I've had no problem navigating.

[Rich427]

Personally Rich, I really don't want this site to get like the CF. I have actually lost interest over there and spend more time (when I can) either here or at the Z16 forum. Both of these sites are much more down to earth than CF.

I joined this forum over a year ago with the anticipation of meeting fellow enthusiasts in SW Florida. I was concerned that after we move from Maryland to Florida that it would be difficult to give up our long time friends to develop new ones. Well I will tell you that it is and will be difficult to give up our Corvette friends here in Maryland, but it was through this site that my wife and I have met some great people in the Ft. Myers area. 2Vettes (Linda and Robert) and Electra (Barb and Andy) have developed into great friends that we look forward to spending Corvette time with after our move. They have introduced us to other members of the SW Florida Corvette Club and that has been a great experience for us so far. Without this site, I am convinced that these relationships would not have developed.

So, you maybe disappointed in the current activity level and I do understand your concern. But the quality of the participation has been more than I expected. Thank you for a site that has helped us during our transition to Florida.

Rich

[Rich Z]

Thank you all for the kind words.

I guess my worry stems mostly from the concern that this site could very easily just die on the vine. There were some very active regular posters here, and they just left. So it makes me feel that I am doing something wrong here to chase them off. If that can happen to them, then it can happen to others as well. Meanwhile I am clueless about what I am doing wrong as the last member fades off into the sunset.

Yes, I know what it takes to make a site like this work. Traffic. But obviously that is a catch-22. How do you get the traffic to attract the traffic?

Many sites just don't make it. A LOT, actually. It's difficult to break the ice, and then once you do, you may wind up on a small iceberg that just floats away and melts.

Heck, I don't know. That's why I started this thread. To give anyone and everyone a chance to throw suggestions at me. It may very well be that all it will take is time on the playing field, and I just have to be patient.

Or maybe as has been suggested give away a free vette to the member who makes the most posts. Like, say, the first one to hit 1 million posts. I'll be dead and gone then anyway, so by that time it would be someone else's problem.

No, I don't think this will ever become a really HUGE site. Probably can't simply because the target audience is so small. How many Corvette owners are in Florida that have an interest in participating on a message board system? Probably not all that many. So I am trying to find out why anyone who meets that criteria who knows about this site is NOT here as a regular....

[vett boy]

I belong to other forums (3) and each has a nitch.Florida is a regional ,social forum which I enjoy as my favorite because it's low key and social.For what you have it's very well run .I also wish that between jail sentences I could help more.

[sandman]

Real short Rich
I am new and have used a lot of motorcycle forums before getting my Vette(first) a couple months ago. I like it because everyone is about my age or older and it is more mature then some other sites. I navigate just fine. It's like a small family. Very cool. Keep it up corvetteflorida!

[vett boy]

Originally Posted by Rich Z

Well depending on who you really are, maybe some members here will throw you back INTO that closet..........

Krazy's alright .We shared a cell for a few days.