Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 at 04:36
Rick,
As Vice President of the
Bushtracker owners Group Inc and as one of the group which planned the transition from the MSN
Forum to the current structure, I would like to respond to your posting.
The MSN
Forum flourished beyond our expectations in the 18 months it operated. However, it was a good news/bad news story. The good news was the amazing growth in membership and bothy the quality and quantity of the postings. I, like many others, drew an amazing amount of knowledge from the site which has certainly enhanced the experience of owning a
Bushtracker and “going bush”.
The bad news was that "free" forums like MSN forums come at a price. In our case the price was paid in a number of areas:
- The need for constant vigilance to moderate unscrupulous postings, usually of a pornographic nature
- The problems caused by the lack of a search facility. There was so much valuable information, but as time went on the effort to find specific information increased.
- The increased amount of advertising appearing on MSN
Forum pages which was starting to impact the time and cost of downloads which was a consideration for people travelling and access the Internet via mobile phones.
Perhaps the biggest drawback was the fact that because the
forum was an open
forum,
Bushtracker were reluctant to participate because there was no control over the “bona fides” of the postings.
The decision to move to our own site was taken to address the problems highlighted above. In order to fund the move, we needed funding. There were two sources identified – membership fees and sponsorship. If we were to charge membership, we needed to provide some value.
Bushtracker and others agreed to sponsor the site and participate once they learned that the main
forum would be moderated and accessible by members only.
This meant that if members had a genuine concern about some aspect of their Van, be it a
Bushtracker issue or that of a component supplier, then a
forum discussion could take place without the information necessarily being in the Public Domain.
I understand your frustration but the decision of the members at Copeton was to limit access the Private
Forum to those who had ordered, owned, or previously owned a
Bushtracker.
Having said that, there is a wealth of experience available to anyone genuinely considering the purchase of a
Bushtracker. I am sure if you post any questions you have in the Open
Forum, you will receive prompt and genuine advice and answers. If you wish, feel free to contact me directly and I would be happy to chat to you about my
Bushtracker experience. I am also sure that there are many others who will quite willingly help you directly with any questions you have.
The new structure has had its "growing pains" but we now have over 260 registered participants sharing information on Bushtrackers. Anyone considering purchasing a
Bushtracker today has over 100 owners who actively read the Open
Forum, who can help make that purchase. Hell, if we can help you spend your money, only to happy to help!!
Hope this helps
Pete (aka Motley)
AnswerID:
565634
Follow Up By: jandm - Wednesday, Jan 12, 2005 at 09:29
Wednesday, Jan 12, 2005 at 09:29
Pete (and other BOGGERS)
Like Calm Water, I too am sorry that we can not get to the inner sanctum without passing the ultimate test. I also fully appreciate the reason why there needs to be the demarcation between true BOGGERS and window shoppers.
Before the move from MSN, I nightly soaked up the current and past wealth of information that was on the BT site. I have been in love with BT’s since seeing my first one in Tamworth circa 1997. I have visited the factory twice over the last 4 years (the old one under Steve's wing) and the second time at the current factory under Tracey (Peter both times did a fantastic job). I have gone out and sold my LC 80 series (pre 3,500 kg towbar model - spent 9 months unsuccessfully attempting to gain a legal upgrade in NSW) and have purchased a longer wheel base vehicle (but not a Ford!) yet still has the 6.5 L turbo diesel donk. Having had Toyota LC’s continuously since 1978, that was a biggie but it is something I had to do to fit in with the BT dream. The new lady in my life (over the last three years) also loves BT’s and visited the factory on my second time. I work overseas and have the floor of my house in central PNG marked to a floor plan of our future BT 20 footer!!
It will be another two years before we are in a position to take delivery of a BT. I miss the info that used to flow from the older site. It is a pity that those of us converted to the cause but not yet in a position to buy or place an order for a BT are not able to benefit from all of the great hints / tips / etc that used to be available on the old site. While I get back to Oz a number of times a year, unfortunately it has not been able to co-incide with Copeton.
So, while I accept the ruling, it is a great shame that we, and others like us who are committed to a future BT, can not benefit until after we have made the commitment. In some respects, that is a bit late to utilise the experience and advice that BOGGERs continue (I assume) to post to the private
forum. It is this aspect that I regret most. While I greatly respect Steve's opinion regarding what could / should go into a BT (from the time that I have met him and the occasional postings that he has made into the public
forum - keep up the recent supply
Bushtracker) nonetheless there is a very certain enjoyment and excitement in planning the dream over time and being able to draw on the experience of a wider range of others out there enjoying their BT. This wealth of information has, for the most part, dried up in the public
forum since the move to the new site.
So, if there was a facility to be able to bring potential future BOGGERs into the fold, even if it was a matter of becoming a financial member (and therefore having to demonstrate a commitment which would probably steer window shoppers away) then count us in.
Regards
Jim - JandM
FollowupID:
844207
