Well, this is all jolly depressing, isn't it? [xx(]
ACtion is of course, 'the official organ' of the ACOC, but the forum is 'useful'.
It's instant, it isn't restricted by page size (so dozens of photos can accompany a roadtrip report, for example) and it can be accessed from anywhere.
So, we want to keep all of our technical knowledge within the Club?(heaven forbid the Oiks pick up a useful hint or 2!) [|)]
If you want to share something with the poster of a particular question in the open forum. and no-one else, send them a Personal Message.
There have been a number of professionals who have offered much useful information, advice and know-how with no hint of 'peddling their wares'.
OR:
A.N. Member posts a cry for help on the 'closed' forum for how to unseize his grottle sprocket, but according to Simon B-B, no 'real' members read the forum, and 3 months later A.N has to pay mirrions to Brizzle Fixers for a job A.Non Member has been doing for years, and would have told him, with pictures, if he'd known.
Of course there should be Members Only content. There already is,(although not in the forum, it's via the Homepage) where the Model Registries, technical articles, Members' lists & Membership benefit discounts can be found (where did the regalia page go?)
Hosting photos within the forum would cost more, so why would the Club pay extra when no members use the forum anyway? [
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(I have hosted and posted hundreds of photos for dozens of members and non-members, and I'm happy to continue to do so for anyone who wants to
paint a thousand words).
Re-jigging the existing Forum categories now would be chaos.
Example: the Cobra and 428 models shared a forum until '11, when the Thames Ditton section was born, consequently pre-2011 Cobra posts are in the 428 forum.
My entire life has had ACs running through it, so if you cut a slice through my soul, it would look a bit like this:
BUT. I'm not a Club member. Dad is the member, and the AC owner, but he doesn't use the forum.
I'm the first Registered User on this forum (except for admin) and the most prolific poster by some margin, and I have literally 'seen it all' on here, and I firmly believe that keeping the Forum largely public is good for the individual Users, Club members and ultimately the Club itself.
We're here to celebrate the cars, the people who use, rescue, restore and enjoy AC's, share information, and maybe be entertained or amused along the way, and suggesting that non-ACOC members are unwelcome, have nothing of value to add and are here purely for their own selfish ends is offensive.
Nik Bagshaw. (Not hiding behind my username).