Michigan FBody and the Future

[meissen]

Obviously don't delete anything, but yes - some consolidation may make it cleaner and easier to deal with.

Oh yeah - no doubt. If you see the archive section at the bottom of the home page, I don't delete any forums lol

[Lucky SOB]

Don't let it die!

I still visit every day, but have a hard time reading the site on my iPhone since the last update. The formatting is all wonky and makes it difficult to read and navigate, yet alone post. Tapatalk feels clunky to me personally so I don't use it.

I really hope there is a solid future for the site. Like everyone else has said, I've met some of my best friends through this site.

[DynoDave]

Yep a single Archive forum, where old stuff can be moved. Still searchable, no data lost, threads can still be brought back if folks are so inclined. But sort of "out of the way" for daily browsing.

[MP81]

Obviously don't delete anything, but yes - some consolidation may make it cleaner and easier to deal with.

[meissen]

I think that's a great idea to get rid of the numerous forums and concentrate on just the necessities. I'll take a look at going through the site and really rethinking things over 4th of July shutdown.

[DynoDave]

I would agree with simplification. Lots of sub-sub forums that just don't get used much, if at all in the years I've been here.

[DRYSUMP]

Regardless of what the final decision is, Mifbody has had a fantastic run. Even more so when you consider the life of other forums which have came and gone over the years. The Mifbody crew will always stay strong whether its here, on facebook, the occasional woodward meet, or other car shows. You helped shape, define and build a community of fellow enthusiasts which has grown into a family. I will be forever grateful for the friendships I have made, and the knowledge I have gained through this site. You have always done an outstanding job B, so no matter what, hats off to you sir and a very heartfelt thank you as well!

[Jdseibe]

Personally, this is what I would do.

strip down the forum to the bare minimum, combine things that can be combined. i think the shoutbox is a neat idea, but seems to be rarely used.

put the focus of the site more like a large car club than a message board, so you would put more info out there for meetups, events, etc. take away all the little things on the site that don't do so well in this format and maybe offload those to the facebook page (contests, promotions, etc).

I think having the project section is a must, and should be brought front and center, it would be neat to come to the home page and of the site and see recent project car updates and a cool visual format to bring people in to read the threads.

I have a ton of ideas that I would like to potentially discuss, im also a pretty handy web developer if you needed/wanted help implementing anything.

[sman]

I think we all understand how you feel and where you are coming from.... But we all want to see it stay up and the M&G keep going. Its the show I look forward to most every year!

Maybe find some people you can trust to help out with the site and M&G to take some of the load off of you guys. Its a lot for just you and the fam to handle. I dont think anyone here would have a problem taking care of stuff if asked (myself included).

Also, is any of this cost related? Not sure what server/hosting costs are.... Again, we are here to help!

[landstuhltaylor]

I personally don't like the switch to the latest forum software and it kept me away for quite a while. Seems I wasn't alone in that so by the time I started checking it again there was very little traffic.

[meissen]

Agreed, especially remove clutter on the main page. Too many modules and scrolling. Keep to the basics, popular categories organized as such and an events section. This lends itself to less maintenance and less archaic information which is missed when updating.

For example the main page welcome message before logging in "With the birth of the 2010 Camaro, we expect well over our 250 vehicle count from 2009." . A simple welcome to mifbody could suffice.

Haha I didn't even know that existed - It's definitely long over due for a revamp. Maybe during July shutdown when I'm off for 2 weeks I can sit down and really go through the site with a fine toothpick.

[white96TA]

I have some ideas for the site that could help with stuff, typically a good practice is that if something isn't used it should be stripped away, and the things that are used the most should be promoted, there are some sections on the site that haven't been posted in for years, integration with social media is huge too, if you decide to keep the site going, I'd love to help out with some stuff.

Agreed, especially remove clutter on the main page. Too many modules and scrolling. Keep to the basics, popular categories organized as such and an events section. This lends itself to less maintenance and less archaic information which is missed when updating.

For example the main page welcome message before logging in "With the birth of the 2010 Camaro, we expect well over our 250 vehicle count from 2009." . A simple welcome to mifbody could suffice.

[Jdseibe]

I have some ideas for the site that could help with stuff, typically a good practice is that if something isn't used it should be stripped away, and the things that are used the most should be promoted, there are some sections on the site that haven't been posted in for years, integration with social media is huge too, if you decide to keep the site going, I'd love to help out with some stuff.

[MP81]

I noticed a huge drop off in posting when the new update came in

Definitely - though this is odd, because, while different, it's not like it makes posting impossible...

[farmington]

I noticed a huge drop off in posting when the new update came in