owners' groups really a good idea?

[mattttt25]

i waited a bit to post this until i saw what i feared.... i always thought the boating section was the best here at iboats. good general boat questions, lots of good info and discussion. when the 800 new forums showed up, i wondered how it would all work. would people go there first to post a question about their boat? would the boat section even get used?<br /><br />i just noticed a transom rot question that got moved to the grady section. sure, the topic says grady, but now he'll get probably a handful of views and not the attention he would have months ago when it would sit in the single boating section.<br /><br />if everyone used the owners' sections for only specific questions related to that boat, it would probably be a good idea. but that's a perfect world and we can't expect that to happen.<br /><br />in this case, i think more isn't better.

 

[Pony]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

I tend to agree......How many people actually would think to look down there to post a question? Better yet how many of us look down there to answere one?<br /><br />I think what has been discovered is that there are just too many boat manufactures out there to cover them all.

 

[coleman kayak1]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

I agree with both of you. Where should you post a question? The repair or the manufacturer forum? I strongly advise iboats to close the manufacturer forums.

 

[Navigator]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

I tend to agree with everyone else. Ever since Iboats started splitting everything out into individual places, the collective knowledge that made up Iboats was, to a degree, lost. Many problems described in the individual forums are universal. Example, fuel system problems.<br /><br />What Iboats should have done was to categorize the problems and not the manufacturers. How about categorys like:<br />Fuel Systems - Carbs<br />Fuel Systems - EFI<br />Electrical - Magneto Ignitions<br />Electrical - Electronic Ignitions<br />Lower Units <br />Mechanical - Powerheads<br />Mechanical - Drive Train<br />Mechanical - Tilt and Trim<br />Performance - Hard Starting<br />Performance - Lack of Power<br />Etc...<br /><br />You can still keep the Engine MFG forums to handle any engine specific questions.<br /><br />This way, the collective can once again be brought together. How many times do you think the same question is asked on the individual forums????<br /><br />This would also make it easier to research a specific problem.<br /><br />Nav

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

 

[alden135]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

I like the boat forums. I'm hoping that when they catch on, we can have a place to discuss boat specific issues.

 

[Pony]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

Originally posted by SBN:<br /> If you have a question about a certain boat, then post it that vboat forum.<br />If you have a general question about a boat, then post it in the boat question, non engine forum.

SBN you have completely missed mattttt's poiny I think. We arent dumb, we know where to post our questions.......The idea was that new people who need help may be being looked over due to iboats over classification. Just an example, Would a Lund guy be just as able to help an Alumacraft guy repair a crack or rivet? Sure.....but he wont look in the other forum because he doesnt want to sift through it.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

If you have a question about a certain boat, then post it that vboat forum.<br />If you have a general question about a boat, then post it in the boat question, non engine forum.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

exactly. and like i said before, if all 38,000+ members used the forums the same way, it would be a perfect world and work. it just won't happen and i think others agree.<br /><br />no knock on iboats or what they were trying to accomplish, but i think it just doesn't work.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

Ok, I see what you mean.<br />If a guy with a Grady has a question and someone that don't own one could help, he won't cause he won't see the question unless he looks at the Grady forum.<br /><br />I think that is the point.

 

[gewf631]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

You've got my vote (to rid iBoats of all those extra forums).<br /><br />I did a search the other day, and because I couldn't narrow it down to one specific forum, it went through ALL of them - man did that take awhile.<br /><br />There will always be topics specific to one make/model, but isn't that what the mfg's sites are for (or other groups like at Yahoo!)? Don't get me wrong, I like iBoats, but I think all those extra forums are just overkill.

 

[tommays]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

well if someone wants to do a hull repiar they should post in the Boat Restoration and Building<br /><br />it was put in the worng place for a hull repiar and it was moved to <br /><br />Boat Restoration and Building <br /><br />and now he has answers<br /><br />if they want to ask something that is unique to that brand they post there<br /><br />tommays

 

[KaGee]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

This new and exciting area in the iboats forums is for boat owners to get together with other owners that have a boat from the same manufacturer

It was never a place for technical questions in the first place.

 

[QC]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

Originally posted by KaGee:<br />It was never a place for technical questions in the first place.

Then it will just require a lot of attention from the Mod Squad to move stuff in and out depending on the topic . . . My .02

 

[alden135]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

There are very good business reasons for adding the manufacturer forums. If you take the time to read the link you will get a better idea of how iboats has become so sucessful in such a short time.<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/aboutus_history.html <br /><br /><br />For example, I googled "sunbird boat forum" and guess what was #1, that's right, iboats. The new forums are a great way for non members to find iboats. Getting rid of this new internet exposure would be stupid. <br /><br />I'll say again that I like the new forums. It's a smart way to make money, and I think when they catch on they will be a wealth of info, especially for us owners of out of production brands.

 

[Pony]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

Originally posted by tommays:<br /> well if someone wants to do a hull repiar they should post in the Boat Restoration and Building<br /><br />it was put in the worng place for a hull repiar and it was moved to <br /><br />Boat Restoration and Building <br /><br />and now he has answers<br /><br />if they want to ask something that is unique to that brand they post there<br /><br />tommays

This assumes that people use the forum the way its intended to..........I agree with QC, it will require extensive moderation. Look how many people post merc questions in the DC or Non-outboard repair etc............thats as clear cut as it can get.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

Originally posted by .Pony.:<br /> This assumes that people use the forum the way its intended to..........I agree with QC, it will require extensive moderation. Look how many people post merc questions in the DC or Non-outboard repair etc............thats as clear cut as it can get.

I have however noticed that most people who cant' figure out which forum to post questions in would be better off paying someone to fix it anyway...<br /><br />Maybe a locked thread at the top of each manufacturer area saying "For general repair go to restoration section and motor repair go to specific manufacturer section"?

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

They don't have a flat bottom poor boy boat section so I just wander around. I see Matts point too and agree with him.

 

[heycods]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

thier is not a boat section for either of my bass boats and I dont wont one. They are off brands so I dont have to go through this.

 

[Mark42]

Re: owners' groups really a good idea?

I don't have time to scan each of the boat specific forums to see find the most interesting and informative posts. I think I'm missing some good advice, general or specific because of the new forums.<br /><br />Plus I liked that people would post a pic of their boat in the old forums so others would know what they were talking about. <br /><br />I could do without the new forums.