|
|
Post Reply 
|
Page 123 12> |
| Author |
 Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search  Topic Options
|
|
techntrek 
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
 Topic: An open discussion about links to the other forumPosted: 01 Sep 2010 at 9:04pm |
|
|
rpod-owners.com was created to ensure an open and balanced discussion forum would exist for people who love their 'pods. This has included the open invitation to post links to dealerships, competing campers/manufacturers, and anywhere else. This kind of open discussion (and links to any competition) is not possible on the other 'pod forum - bottom line, it is owned by a dealership and they think that is bad for business. Threads and posts have been deleted, links have been removed. Several of us were publicly flogged for fighting against that policy; as a result we do not post there anymore and do not wish to support them. Which brings us to the crux of this discussion.
Links here to the other forum are currently allowed, as part of the "open to all" policy. Unfortunately those links directly and indirectly support that site. Internet search engines (like Google) partly rank the position of each link in search results based on how many links to a site exist on other sites. With more links on our site, the other site appears higher when you do a search; that is indirect support from us. Links here to the other site drives our users to the other site, which is direct support from us. We want open discussion, and expected some discussion and occasional links for the other forum. Unfortunately our expectation was wrong and links appear almost daily - to events, discussions, pictures, etc. We would prefer that information to be posted here, instead of a link, for the reasons stated above. The mods here have had a very long and tortured discussion about what to do. The easy solution would be to just ban links to the other forum, but that brings us to their level: heavy-handed forum operators that don't care what you want and edit/delete posts at will. We haven't done that once (except to help fix links, fix formatting, or move posts to more appropriate areas of the forum). And we do care what you think. 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. Sincerely, the Mods |
||
 |
||
|
Outbound
podders Helping podders - pHp 
Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767 |
Posted: 01 Sep 2010 at 10:25pm |
|
I disagree. Draconian rules will only drive away users. I think that the idea of link-banning, or even obfuscating links (for example, replacing all rpodnation links with indirect links through tinyurl) is the wrong approach. Looking at both forums from a broad view, they currently offer the same thing. Both forums offer a place for discussion and sharing of ideas. Both offer a mish-mash of posts with only the broadest of organization. Hell, they both use the same forum software with slightly different colour schemes. The way to draw users is to offer something different and unique.
|
||
|
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
|
||
|
||
|
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 |
||
|
Still a work in progress, lots of pictures.
http://podterfly.blogspot.com/ |
||
|
||
|
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.
|
||
|
||
|
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.
|
||
|
||
|
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. |
||
|
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
|
||
|
||
|
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).
|
||
|
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
|
||
|
||
|
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
|
||
|
||
|
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!
|
||
|
||
|
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?
|
||
|
R171 2010
Frontier 2009 Site 40 Eastern Rally 2010 |
||
|
||
|
Post Reply
|
Page 123 12> |
| Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |
An open discussion about links to the other forum