An open discussion about links to the other forum |
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KSinclair
Newbie Joined: 08 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Topic: An open discussion about links to the other forum Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 8:27pm |
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Also, I notice they have a "Follow us on Twitter" badge. Might want to add something like that, and also consider a Rpod Owner's Forum Facebook for more visibility?
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KSinclair
Newbie Joined: 08 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 8:22pm | |
I like the idea of pod-o-pedia. Another thing you might do is go over and look at the Casita Club forums, they have a good organization and some great topics.
One thing one of the members there did was list the changes made to Casitas year by year, flagging in red the features that were eliminated and in green the new features. Thus at a glance you can see what changes were made to Casitas over time. Something like this would be very handy for the Rpod forum, with the recent introduction of new models and the addition of the spoiler thingy on the 173T . . . and going forward, there are certain to be other changes as well. Also, on that forum, they have a pdf copy of the owner's manual, which might be a handy thing to have in a sticky post here. Maybe some of these ideas are already on this forum and I just haven't made it there yet. I really did get a bad taste in my mouth over at the other forum over the deletion of the link to the California RV dealership. I still look over there, but I prefer this forum. But, you say there are 26 links in this forum to the other forum? Is that really enough to pull them ahead of this forum on Google? I suspect it may have to do with other factors. . . . such as the numbers of people who buy their pods from Couch's, they are probably referred to the forum at the point of sale. I don't think it's productive to sink to their level on this forum. We still haven't bought a TT. After seeing the Casita, I can't really get DH to consider the Rpod. It's less expensive though, and I still think it's a viable option. . . . so we'll see. |
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popgoesweasel
Groupie Joined: 22 Jan 2010 Location: Costa Rica Online Status: Offline Posts: 49 |
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 5:54pm | |
As soon as I found out that the other forum was run by a dealer and was not independent, I quit posting and quit reading the info on that site.
Is is not possible to take the info linked to the other site and simply move the info here as a new post without the link? Are there copyright issues? Other legal issues? Is there some form of legal exposure from taking the info from the link and just posting the info here? Is it too much trouble? Is it more trouble than removing the link?
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R171 2010
Frontier 2009 Site 40 Eastern Rally 2010 |
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Bigbit
Groupie Joined: 27 Feb 2010 Location: USA Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 4:50pm | |
I know about that first hand. When the split first occured, I was indifferent - "what's the big deal?".
Then a link was removed from my post - one to a California-based RV dealer who was trying to sell my old R-Pod. The guy isn't an R-Pod dealer - he sells Trailmanors, and was offering an OK price on my old Pod that I had traded in. It was a one-time situation, and I was trying to help him and maybe get someone on the West Coast a good deal on a gently used Pod. The moderators removed the link, which made no sense at all. The chance of someone buying from Couch's in OH and hauling an R-Pod out to CA are not great, and shipping charges from OH to CA were several thousand dollars, making buying from Couch's here on the West Coast highly unlikely. So it isn't like I was cutting into Couch's livelihood. But the link was gone as "policy". Well, to heck with them!
You certainly feel the effect more when it is your good deed that gets censored!
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rpodcamper.com
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 26 Nov 2009 Location: Reading, Pa Online Status: Offline Posts: 3990 |
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 3:45pm | |
True about items getting lost and sometimes searching does not get you what you are looking for. I like the idea of the wiki for r-pods
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Outbound
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767 |
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 2:15pm | |
I think that the open discussion/forum aspect is established and healthy at rpod-owners.com. But, a forum is only as good as its 20-50 current topics. Members only look at 'updated' posts. Older posts drift down into oblivion, burying the wealth of good information with the misinformation, the speculation and the chatter. I think that there's a lot of good information buried on this forum that can be leveraged. But, a 'search' button isn't good enough - it doesn't separate the wheat from the chaff, the good from the bad. For example, doing a search on 'winterize' brings up lots of posts about camping in cold weather, using your water heater, fridges, camping trips, etc. Too much irrelevant information, and in the end, not very useful when I want to know how to winterize my r-pod. One thought may be creating a companion to the forum: a wiki on r-pods. A pod-o-pedia. An organized, community-built, community-edited knowledge base. Forum discussions could be used as a source for wiki articles. Broad topics (chapters) could include: - Maintenance - Modifications - RV Product Reviews - Campground Reviews In addition to text, the community could also be encouraged to produce videos (e.g. how to put up an r-dome or how to grease your bearings).
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Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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Outbound
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767 |
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 1:24pm | |
I think its a matter of perspective. Unless someone personally encounters censoring, unless a post that they have written has been edited and a link removed, the issue doesn't carry as much weight. Its also a matter of frequency: the forum members rarely post links to dealerships - I don't think its a conscious choice not to, but rather it simply doesn't come up often. The number of posts with dealer links has been quite small, less than one a month. Although there is always community criticism when links are removed, the length of time between 'offenses' is so great that there is little cumulative effect. Personally, I think that a rule against posting links to other dealerships is counterproductive and ridiculous. But, because of the friends I've made there and the interaction with other 'podders, I go back to that forum. I know that if I want to play in the rpodnation sandbox, I have to play by their rules. |
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Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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rpodcamper.com
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 26 Nov 2009 Location: Reading, Pa Online Status: Offline Posts: 3990 |
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 11:21am | |
What could we do to make things different? Is there more information users are looking for? Do we try reaching out to the "Small" Camper Market like the MPG, Teardrops, I-Camps, Tab, and others? I know I'm looking around to see what other mods I can make to the Camper and have a few in mind like a bike rack, solar power, lighting (Both inside and outside) , and trying to figure a way to carry the Kayaks on or in the r-pod.
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 at 10:27am | |
Outbound, yes, things are very similar. We've tried to differentiate, by doing things like interviewing the FR manager, and passing along suggestions and questions so we can get "fresh from the factory" answers. Perfect example is the spoiler idea to help with mpg. FR didn't know it was an issue and they seem to be very interested in looking into the problem. Our community could end up being the spearhead for a major change to the 'pod design, not something you see often with any product. Allowing open discussion on the competition, other dealers, etc., is another way we are different. But that hasn't been a big draw and I'm at a loss for words as to why (see my response below to Butterfly Lee for more on this). Trying out new forum software would be nice, but exporting the messages would be a major problem and likely impossible (w/o custom programming).
It would be nice if both communities could coexist happily. I think we've taken the high road, I just searched and there are 26 links here to the other site. I'm positive if I posted a link over there pointing here it would be deleted and my account would probably be banned. We DID do that and we received open hostility from members and warnings from the mods. Hard to coexist with that, or want to support it in any way. The links here support them, as mentioned above.
Butterfly Lee, if all the content, like event details, mod details, is posted there and there are just links over here, members will just go over there and stay there. Its like trying to run a non-profit credit union, and every time someone comes in to become a member there's someone standing in front of the tellers handing out a flyer. The flyer says "Come to Bank of America, we have 5,000 locations nationwide and lower loan rates. $100 bonus for signing up. Call 555-1212. (p.s. don't mention the credit union or any other bank when you are in our bank or we'll hit you on the head with a steel pipe)"
You've posted links to this forum over there and they haven't been removed?
The biggest way this forum can survive will be for members to come here to enjoy the freedom we offer and stay here (as in, only post here). I fully expected this would happen quickly, "build it and they will come". Instead, the bulk of the community stayed there, not caring about the censoring and and some even openly supported it. I don't know why.
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Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Butterfly_Lee
Senior Member Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Corpus Christi Online Status: Offline Posts: 131 |
Posted: 01 Sep 2010 at 11:26pm | |
""So, what should we do about these links? If they stay it could lead to the end of this forum. If they go we can become a stronger community.""
Why would it lead to the end of the forum? What does it matter where is shows up in Google Search? Does this forum need backing? Who is backing it now? Do we as a group need pitch in? I believe the littletraveltrailer asks for donations. Yes the are differences in each of the forums personalities. Owners tends to be a little more technical, matter of fact (no kidding), organized a little different and a little more male favor. Nation is a little more FUN loving, how can I help you (no matter how many times the same question comes up) social orientated with a little more female favor (or at least there are a lot of vocal females) . I do post links to each forum when the information one asks is on the other forum and to me events like ROUNDUP's should be listed on both forums. So my bottom line is I would have like to see it stay one forum (maybe it should have become independent from the start), but people have different ideas and philosophies thats the way of life. So if I need to reach into my pocket to help owners stay alive so be it. Because there is that bit of freedom, to post the links I want to (which is kind of being a veteran paid my dues and like my freedom of speech) . WOW that got long, little more then two cents Lee (BTW the reason I like the clap smiley is because to the sneaking eyes)LOL |
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Still a work in progress, lots of pictures.
http://podterfly.blogspot.com/ |
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