Time Warp

I know what you mean, Micky. Other forums have Factsheets or Technical sections where answers can be found to the old chestnuts such as winterisation or best bike carriers. CT doesn’t even have a decent search function and all the valuable member input gets lost.

There is obviously much adrift with the IT function and there seems no will to improve things. As for our wish list, as I recall, nothing much came of our suggestions last time around. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I recall some months ago there was talk of updating T&Cs, don’t think this has been carried out yet. Wonder if a full overhaul is planned, and any improvements part of that🤷‍♀️

And because CT does not have an efficient search engine or a sensible archive facility, the forum is becoming boring simply because the same old topics are posted as "new" especially by folk who are new to CT/caravanning/MH's, and the old timers are slowly drifting away, perhaps that is what the club want to happen so they can consigne CT to the unaccessible archives.

In the early days it was novel and vibrant and attracted many friendly contributors, some who have since ‘moved on’ but a few remain. These days we don’t seem to see that many new folk joining our ranks and fewer remaining to become regular members, I wonder why? CT has seen several changes over the years, remember those coloured stars, but, yes, I do think a radical upgrade or a new product is now probably required? May be it’s run it’s course.

Don’t forget, Micky, that in the early days there were also a number of unfriendly contributors and CT was quite vitriolic at times. It wasn’t all a bed of roses but those days are long gone.

Over the years, CT has become rather restrictive by way of Guidelines, T&Cs and somewhat haphazard enforcement of them at times. Perhaps that has a bearing on deterring new posters? 

TDA reminded us about the proposed new guidelines and, indeed, this has been ongoing for months. There were some tweaks made to the GLs a while back but that’s as far as it’s gone.

I know CAMC see things differently but it’s always been my contention that T&Cs are the rules we must follow while the GLs should be just that, a guide on how to use the forum. I think the duplication of rules set out under both headings in CAMC's way makes for a far too lengthy reading process and unduly complicates matters with the result that folk may not bother to read them at all. Simple is best.

Oh, yes, I do remember that vociferous minority, they did cause upset and discourse amongst us but they were few in number. In a perverse way they were quite entertaining in their ‘misguided habits’! Things did became a bit boring without them but a happier place to be..

A few points I would make:-

This is naturally a quiet time of year for contributions of any kind. Even the number of reviews have dwindled to not much more than a page full. All the forums I visit on a regular basis are equally quiet, UK Campsites, Caravan and Motorhome Talk being the main two. Touring and Tenting closed its forum a few years ago now. Even if this was the slickest forum out there are we convinced it would be busy?

This forum has always been at its busiest when there are problems with systems, ie the new booking system or when contributors get a bee in their bonnet, the name change would be a good example. Perhaps we should be glad that its quiet as it suggests there are no burning issues for members to discuss? 

The elephant in the room is of course Social Media, particularly Facebook. There are any number of Facebook Groups out there that provide quick answers to questions. Because they are more specific, say brand of motorhome, you tend to get authoritative information almost in an instant. It is also much easier to post photos on Facebook without the need to resize them before posting here. It would be interesting to know the age profile of people using forums like this and I would be willing to bet that it is 50 plus in the main.

At the end of the day I feel this is a useful forum and contributions will ebb and flow depending what the issues of the day are. It would be nice to have better software but whether that would mean more posters, who can tell?

David 

Rufs, that has been my opinion for a  couple of years now. There is just not the appetite for it in HO's great scheme of things. They are no longer interested in the forum, regardless of the spin that Rowena  and DK, puts on it, IMO of course.

You make some valid points, David, there has always been a seasonal variation in postings but in my experience this has fallen significantly across all 4 seasons in the last few years compared to the early days. In fact it currently appears to be particularly lacking in support with fewer contributors engaging with it as time goes on.

Yes, during periods when contentious issues abound then up involvement goes but even the recent issues have not generated anything like as much interest as the ‘name change’, rebrand or CotY did in the past.

The elephant in the room, as you say, has I’m sure, seen folk migrate to newer, more fashionable SM platforms. Maybe it’s had it’s day.

The almost daily occurrence of ‘server errors’ or ‘planned maintenance’ events all add to the frustration and possible loss of contributors and even, as others have suggested, may lead to the loss of CT itself.

I hope not!

Repetition breeds boredom