BMWCCA - Until most members are content with the updated CCA website, please, please communicate with the users. A simple "ISSUES LIST" distributed to members will suffice. Let us know which problems have been documented as well as their status (noted/in-progress/complete). this list should be worked and distributed until a majority of users are satisfied with the upgrade. Remember, YOU are there for US, not the other way around.
Hello??? It would be really nice to get a response from an Admin here or was it written by an Admin?? Anyway, since you guys changed everything (supposedly for the better), could you please respond to those of us who are dissappointed with the new format??? An assurance that things will improve certainly would be a welcome response vs. the silent "finger"...
Why respond to minions? Witty but the site is an embarrassment to the Internet. Please find a 15 year old to redesign the site so it looks like it was made in 2011. Was this mess over $400k like the last mess, though it is made with free software, Drupal.
Huh?!? MY finger has been anything but silent??? Is that a crack at my posts?!? I am merely asserting that the new site is a fail in the eyes of many members and pointing out the fact that we PAY a fee to be here (is that considered flipping the finger?). I was tired of being flamed at the Bf.c site so I stopped hanging out there and only lurk when I need info. This was the place I thought would be a great compromise due to the fact that it is WAY slower (in terms of member questions) and that the posters seemed to be more mature. Now the site is just plain SLOW and it appears that the site design is by someone who is too old to understand the technology that is available to build a proper site for paying members. When I read so many posts complaining about the revamping of OUR paid club's site, it seemed appropriate to question the logic of the "upgrade". I now have to click through several slow loading pages just to get to the forum and when I go directly to the forum page and get the sign in requirement message, I have to go through even more slow loading pages just to get back to where I started. If you can call this an "upgrade" then I will be ending my membership and going back to a site that is actually there to provide info and help vs. worrying more about upselling it's paying members (I did notice how smoothly the ads seem to load and run)... Anyway, I don't deserve to be called out on the fact that I am disappointed with management's decision to go with the current site when everyone is experiencing the same problems. I also agree that the old site (at least the important info) should have been left in place until the "bugs" (and this site is infested with 'em) were exterminated. As a paying member, I personally don't appreciate the guinea pig aspect of this whole "experiment" with my membership fees...thank you very much. I'll wait a little while longer to see what happens cause I just renewed before this whole change took place and I still have hope that you guys care. Peace...
Thank you... I agree that a 15-yo might have done a better job and that you get what you pay for (we pay fees so why choose a free platform when there should be a budget for this kind of thing?!?). In this case, we didn't get what we are paying for IMO... C'mon guys...this is broken so you gotta fix it now! Thanks...
I suggest patience. . . . . . but I am rather surprised at the sense of entitlement we seem to be expressing. I could see being upset if the sole intent of your Club dues was to fund a way-cool discussion forum, but guys, I have to tell you, this is a very, very small priority in the world of the BMW CCA. How many forum users did we have? How many members are being served by this program? What percentage of the membership is that? I rather enjoy noodling around the forums, but it's hardly a major element of my life—or of my Club life. I believe these forums will evolve into something more user-friendly within a few weeks of teaking, but they were never the center of the BMW CCA IT universe to begin with. And at least now I can use an em dash without having to resort to ASCII code!
Satch, we don't have any choice but to be patient, there's nothing we can do - literally. Also, it's not exactly like it's unsolicited, this is the "Site Feedback" topic, and Frank's blurb in the news section said to offer our opinions. F. Patek: “...and let us know what you like and what you don’t like—and we know you will!†(see: http://www.bmwcca.org/node/2233) Even if the forums aren't a big priority for the club, (they never have been) and aren't a focal point for the majority of club member's club experience(s), there is an obvious value in taking advantage of the technology to allow members to exchange information and interact thusly - or else the club wouldn't bother having forums at all, right? The attitude would just be, why bother, "they" can use what else is out there. Just because it's not utilized by everybody doesn't mean it isn't of value to others - same goes for driver's schools doesn't it? Should all chapters just scrap doing driver's school's because everybody who's a club member doesn't do them? The forums are going to be of varying importance to members for varying reasons - just because they weren't used by everybody is no reason for excuses, and your personal valuation of them doesn't mean that they aren't of much greater importance to others. We've already had a few here speak up that the forums were important or very important to their membership experience for their own reasons. That's reason enough to see why those folks might feel upset about how vastly different these forums are; also, many have expressed dismay over the loss of the old forums as an information archive, although we know the plan is to make the old message forum accessible somehow (all in due time, apparently). I count myself as somewhat disappointed in certain aspects of the new site (I don't know that anyone may share my specific opinions), and disappointed in these new forums as compared to the old ones, mostly in functional aspects. I'm circumspect enough to appreciate having forums, any forums, even if they ain't great, comparatively speaking (these mighta been the bomb around, oh, the mid-90's, perhaps). I think the club typically sets a high bar - is there anyone at the national or chapter level that says "Well.... let's not bother trying to put on the best Oktoberfest we can, let's just see what we can do to scrape by"? The BMWCCA hasn 't become the club of low expectations, has it? There are a few reasons there has been such visceral response to these forums. One is that we were left completely out of the loop through the entire process. Not that I or anyone else had any desire to be directly involved, but relaying some news about the project here and there as it progressed could have shaped our expectations, at least potentially. I don't recall any mention of a new website at O'fest last year.... do you? Previous O'fests, if the site was being re-done, there was typically some presentation about what was going on, sometime. This time? Virtually, zip (the adage "what are we, chopped liver?" comes to mind...). So, at best, only knowing that something was coming and not knowing what, everyone's expectations at a minimum are going to be based on what we HAD. The other reasons, as I see it, are that this message forum (or this forum software), is such a radical departure from what we've had, and hardly like anything anyone's seen for years, if ever. Feels like a real throwback, compared to what most folks are familiar with, for about the last decade. Add in all the loss of convenience, functionality, and ease of use, and, when prompted for feedback, guess what? It'll be forthcoming, even if from just the few of us opting to speak up here. I don't think it's so much about a sense of entitlement, it's just that what we have now is vastly out of sync with our expectations based on what we had, and nobody involved in the project anywhere along the line apparenty thought to try to give us anything different to expect, other than a few words here and there. Maybe I should spend more time reading my Roundel than reading the forums - was there any article in the last year discussing the new website project, what was coming, the "why" for the project, what it would do, what it's benefits would be to the membership, a few pics of screenshot mockups? What did I miss? Was a review of the new website on the old site, and I didn't see it? As I mentioned in my first long feedback post, where was a member's survey, even if only on the website, of what we might like to see on a new website and/or message forums? The fact that club members at large were apparently completely ignored as a resource for any considerations about what was to come strikes me as somewhat one-sided, or at least, not wholly encompassing. Reminds me of the types of issues pointed out in Harvard Business Review information technology case studies... of the late eighties and early 90's! Considering the progress of the last 20 years, and generally having both high regard and high expectations of our club leadership, I would expect the club, in this type of fairly substantial I.T. project, to not be showing evidence of the types of issues that might have been expected 2 decades ago, or more. High expectations are why we're seeing comments about glacial login time and all the other site and forum issues & comparisons. In 2011... really? Drupal... (droop all?) ...generally considered slow... was this the best choice in 2010 out of all available? Really? Perhaps so, I don't know, I'm not a website designer - as has been mentioned, time will tell (that's where the patience comes in - we have no choice but to wait and see). Would be nice if login could be made as near instantaneous as it was on the old site, or as fast as just about any other website I ever use... (even cutting login time in half would be less patience-stretching). Plus all the other things mentioned in various posts. In any case, I'm not damping down my expectations for the club's website or the message forums, even if statistically they're an insignificant part of the membership experience. I see no reason why the website and the forums shouldn't be all that they can. I'm glad you can use an em dash... but I suspect if you polled all the club's forum participants, you'd be lucky to find 2 or 3 others who were English majors that might even remotely prioritize em dashes. ;-D Perhaps you should start your own candy company: Em & En's. Sounds like a dashing proposition, eh?
Bookmark http://bmwcca.org/forum and you'll go straight to the forum page; or, from the main forum list, save the page (or tab) as a bookmark in your favorites or bookmark list. You can scroll the topics list and scope out what's new by seeing the the time of the last reply without logging in (I'm going to start calling it lagging-in). You still have to lag-in to see replies, but if you click the lag-in button on the forums-list page, it'll start you off there.
ABSOLUTELY!! You tell 'em... Double thumb's up... Personally, as a paid member, I resent being told that my "experience" here is "insignificant" because the forums are a "minor" part of the club. If one belongs to the club, then even that lowly "forums only" individual deserves to be heard and respected for their POV IMHO. This is a far cry from the "silent" finger as mentioned in a previous post and borders on plain 'ole FU!! Is that truely your position Satch?!? Whatever happened to customer service and "the customer is always right"? Sheeeesh...
Thanks for the suggestion but.. I really want to see the other replies to the posts and not just the OP (already read that) so I still have to be redirected through the multiple page routine after I "lag-in"...RPITA!
Given that there has been a fair amount of windage in Roundel in the past about trying attract younger BMW owners to the club, I am surprised at that comment. These young people live and breath technology, forums, newsgroups, etc... A cumbersome forum such as this new one won't do anything but chase them to other places such as bimmerforums, E46fanatics, M3forum and others along with the money they may have spent on yearly dues.
You know... comments like the ones directed to you (us) make you wonder if your (our) yearly dues are just as "insignificant" as your "experience".
BMWCCA Website Value Speaking for myself only, the main reason I am a member is to have the ability to interact with other BMW owners via this website, mainly through "Tech Talk" I'm very dissapointed with this new site and may not renew my membership this fall.
I feel your pain, every day. Every single day. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are working on a new forum. I just ask for patience. It's not going to be overnight but it is progressing. http://www.bmwcca.org/node/2689 Steven BMW CCA
Website and Forum I gave it a couple weeks and have tried not to blow into a full blown rant but seriously this is ridiculous. The previous forum had very little traffic and this one will be worse. That said, I think the club needs an online forum. Please consider buying into one of the many very successful BMW forum sites and seriously reconsider the current club website altogether. Why does this club try to re-invent the wheel with technology. A website do-over is in order. Come on, this is a car club we are not trying to launch missles here.
I disagree I disagreeSatch, I have to disagree. The forum is (was) very important to me. I just renewed at the end of May so I'll be checking back periodically for signs of life. If nothing materializes SEE YA!
