I opinion was the site was working fine the way it was. I knew their was many different catagorys but I just ignored them ALL and went straight to the Gem Fourm I had no idea how much traffic the outher sub forums had.
I think all the sub forums Kill the site. Example don’t make a sub Fourm for batterys and charging or Tires and wheels or body and paint. People don’t want to click threw 2-3 different sub forums to find out what’s new. Just have one Fourm that relates to all gem related issues. The only other Fourm we would need is a gem parts and cars For Sale sub Fourm. I’m into gems and Intrested in gem parts and acessories not other parts it would be nice to have a Fourm just for gem stuff.
Hello and thank you for your feedback. Let me address your statements:
You are correct. The old site was not “broken” but it does have lots of unorganized content and too many drill down paths.
Can you provide with with a direct link of where you posted the majority of your Gem stuff? I will go take a look and make sure that when the content is transferred over that it falls where it needs to fall. If there is enough content, we make decide to make its own category…(?) Is this the main link you use? http://www.electricforum.com/cars/gem-nevs-forum/
Thank you for being an early adaptor!..a benefit of getting on this platform early is that we’ll build the forum around what is popular TO THOSE WHO ARE USING IT!
Thank you again and please continue to provide us with feedback.
The old forum covered a lot of ground and provided a broad spectrum of opportunity for all individuals interested in almost all categories of electric vehicles available. Grant is one of our “power users” in the GEM forum but doesn’t participate in the other categories. The GEM is in the NEV/LSV section and is only one of several current NEV/LSV makes available. Lately we are starting to get postings in Ruff&Tuff , Ford Think .and a smattering of random posts concerning other Brands.
I realize the intent of the business model is to engage in the broad electric automotive theme. Reality is, at this point in time, only one Forum is getting the bulk of the hits. IMHO it would be detrimental, to the entity as a whole, to reduce the prominence and scope of the NEV/LSV forum group (of which GEM is only a part.)
Keeping it in much of it’s present form until the desired sections of the Forum mature, IMHO, would make good sense for the near future.
An alternative could be to break off the NEV/LSV forum into its own entity and let each stand on its own.
I am on it. Moving categories around, promoting new categories, and adding topics to each is the easy part. All I need from you is your continued feedback and I’ll work at adding any category that is missing, etc.
I will send you a private message to learn more about what is missing. I am using the master database to guide the categories I’ve created but that may or may not be reflective of which categories are the most popular.
I agree with Rodney… although we do seem to have some threads that start up over and over… like the Lithium battery subject… maybe there is a way to put that into a category of its own… that is one that comes to mind there are probably more
Perfect, and I for the record, using “tags” on this system is super easy and they are searchable. We don’t need subcategories to organize content if the post are properly tagged.
@Laslonimne - Thank you for your comment, for posting, and for being engaged.
This was not just a “cute” move. The old platform (vBulletin) isn’t supported or developed as much as it has been in the past. It is already consider obsolete, by most standards. They are no longer keeping up with newer technologies and advances in forum software.
What matters most in the end is not the platform but the quality of the content found here.
But the platform must be able to scale with our community. The largest forum migration, happening now, is in fact the migration from vBulletin to newer platforms such as this.
We researched this platform (and others) very aggressively.
We found that a high percent of the most successful online forums around today have opted for a platform such as this. I say all this to say that the platform is tested, its robust, and it interacts well with the every growing social platforms we see in Facebook and Twitter.
We are an electric forum!, and as such, we must keep up with, embrace, and master newer technology…that holds true in the vehicles we drive, and it holds true with the platform we’ve chosen to grow our community on.
The new platform meets the criteria of being compatible with the currently available entities where it may be viewed. How ever you have to recognize the fact, that from a first time users perspective it is nowhere as friendly as the old.
The ElectricForum covers more ground than most. There are multiple categories with subsets that cover multiple industries and many product brands. In the old format this was intuitive to the user as soon as he signed in. The new version, “not so much”
I too wish the look and feel of the old version could have been retained in the new platform.
Coming from the old platform I understand the navigation of the new. If I am a newbie I will have to be more computer literate to get in the groove. I would have considered V bulliton format friendlier and closer to the old forum. Much easier for Newbies and older users.
The irony is this, so many are looking at the electric vehicles in the same way…so many “prefer” a combustion engine. And while that may hold true for many, it doesn’t change the fact that the future has arrived and that electric vehicles will become the norm, soon.
I remain confident that:
I am in the presence of masterminds. The members of this forum, will make light work of learning the new platform.
The established users will master the platform and prosper. New users will find the platform far more familiar with other platforms they already traffic in.
Mobile is also here. vBulletin didn’t translate well to the mobile world. This platform is responsive on any device/screen. That will matter a whole lot as more and more people take to their handhelds to communicate.
I AM HERE TO HELP. While I, myself, am still learning the platform, I have already figured out many of the key functionalities and I will exhaust myself in helping each user get around on this site.
@Old_Houseboater - You for one have the credentials and security clearance to create subcategories. If you feel strongly that one should be there, have at it, create it. If you prefer, send me a message - I will set it up for you. Put me to work.
This platform continues to belong to those members who have invested so much of their time to it. I am a mere facilitator to the site and the platform. You are the architects.
PS - I have set the “opening” page to “LASTEST”, I can change that too and make “CATEGORIES” the home page. We can discuss this further if you think this may be a good idea.
Seriously though The content of this forum really requires a laptop or at
least an I pad to work comfortably.
I grew up with Lap Tops. The first was an I believe an HP110 with a 2 1/2"
display and a blazing 300 baud modem. Cost over 4000 dollars in the early
80s. Carried it all over Japan for General Motors…
(http://community.electricforum.com/users/emiliofcastillo) Head Of Community
December 15
The irony is this, so many are looking at the electric vehicles in the
same way…so many “prefer” a combustion engine. And while that may true for
many, it doesn’t change the fact that the future has arrived and that
electric vehicles will become the norm, soon.
I remain confident that:
I am in the presence of masterminds. The members of this forum, will
make light work of learning the new platform.
The established users will master the platform and prosper. New users
will find the platform far more familiar with other platforms they already
traffic in.
Mobile is also here. vBulletin didn’t translate well to the mobile
world. This platform is responsive on any device/screen. That will matter a
whole lot as more and more people take to their handhelds to communicate.
I AM HERE TO HELP. While I, myself, am still learning the platform, I
have already figured out many of the key functionalities and I will exhaust
myself in helping each user get around on this site. @Old_Houseboater
(http://community.electricforum.com/users/old_houseboater) - You for one have the credentials and security clearance to create
subcategories. If you feel strongly that one should be there, have at it,
create it. If you prefer, send me a message - I will set it up for you. Put me
to work.
This platform continues to belong to those members who have invested so
much of their time to it. I am a mere facilitator to the site and the
platform. You are the architects.
PS - I have set the “opening” page to “LASTEST”, I can change that too and
make “CATEGORIES” the home page. We can discuss this further if you think
this may be a good idea.
I long switched to apple devices…the whole “anti-virus” thing did me in. Of course, one might argue that back in the 80’s, apple left much to be desired.
Did you see the piece on the WSJ today on EV’s?
Thank you for the laugh! (below)…
Have you tried looking at this platform through a mobile device?
Yeah - tedious. At my age I tend not to give a “Rats Ass” Your young
enough to live thru the transition. At my age i’m still young enough to
report current events.
However I can make predictions. In the next 20 years electric cars will
be a maximum of 22% of production The balance will be Hybrids with an
unknown amount of Petrol cars.
Reasons: You can transfer 300 miles of energy in 5 minutes for a petrol or
hybrid car. No matter how fast you charge your batteries it takes many
times that to get 200 miles. The electrical infrastructure doesn’t exist at
present nor will it in the near future to support the 22% in the next 20
years. We also have a lot of cheap petroleum in the ground. The government
hasn’t yet figured how to tax electric fueled vehicles yet. I think that when
they do it will be a shock to the industry.
Just picture in your own mind the size of the electrical capable fueling
station to equal an ESSO gas station in energy transfer capability that
exists on a major freeway today. My money’s on HyBrids. 20 years from now ,
Remember this conversation.
VIDEO: The biggest disruption is the automotive industry in recent history
is here. This piece from the Wall Street Journal: At the center of this
discussion is timing. When will this technology break away from the pack and
become mainstream? The video above articulates nicely the article below
out of the WSJ this morning. It made for a good read. [image]
(https://global.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/electricforum/original/1X/caeb7076b5db78f460a1
3bddcde44b89cf25e464.jpg)
Thank you for the laugh! (below)…
Have you tried looking at this platform through a mobile device?
* Take Care
