The end

[Fat Cat]

where are we currently on active members?

Less than 100.

There have been 52 registered users logged in today.

The most was 251 on Wed Nov 22, 2006

[32coupe]

You might find a few new registrations today, I posted about your impending closure on Ozrodders, and many are finding out about RRT for the first time and want to join.

I hope some new blood will change your minds

[Carnut]

Heh, heh, no offense Fat Cat, but I think the trying to be all things to all people gambit might be a tough nut to crack.

From what I've been seeing lately most all the active posters are generally hard core old car Hot Rodders in their 60's.

So that all things to all people deal would be a double edge sword type deal. Possibly broadening the discussions while at the same time losing those interested in just the Rodding type discussions.

I really don't think anyone posting actually thinks they can't post whatever they want here, it's just that folks are just trying to be considerate of the general interests and discussions that the forum has pretty much stayed with.

Kinda like the furor that NSRA is trying to get thru with some folks.

I know we aren't quite as rabid as the Model A or Model T type folks but we are pretty close in our desire for topical discussions.

Now that V12 GMC has been a great discussion thread for historical interest and don't think anyone has complained, but there might be some folks less than interested in it.

It's just life, either you keep you current clientel happy or you go an look for a different clientel I guess.

I know everyone claims to be open to younger folks and later model discussions, but in reality I think the it just becomes understood that folks are here for Rodder type discussion in the old car sense.

I've also seen several folks mention other forums they frequent, when someone asks a question on info that folks here can't answer there is always some other forum link posted that the questioner can go to.

So I actually think most folks here frequent other forums for specific reasons and come here for specific reasons, most generally Rodder type stuff from an experienced and layed back point of view.

heh, heh, looks like I'm really into helping the post count here today.

I actually have a lot of stuff I'd like to post here, but most of it would be viewed as shameless self promotion or trying to steal viewers from here.

Right now I have a couple pics from a local car show in 1960 that I think are so cool for bringing back memories from 'The Day' for us oldsters, but I haven't posted them because I didn't want to look like I was just showing off my site.

We all have our individual reasons for posting or not posting I guess.

[Fat Cat]

Heh, heh, no offense Fat Cat, but I think the trying to be all things to all people gambit might be a tough nut to crack.

From what I've been seeing lately most all the active posters are generally hard core old car Hot Rodders in their 60's.

So that all things to all people deal would be a double edge sword type deal. Possibly broadening the discussions while at the same time losing those interested in just the Rodding type discussions.

We all have our individual reasons for posting or not posting I guess.

But in so much as your comments I am offended. You have basically dismissed me(age 40) and my interests(60's, 70's and 80's cars) with your comments. Whether you like to admit it or not all the 60 -70 year old rodders will be dead or unable to drive by the time I am 60 and unless we replace them now the site will be dead any way. Because your view of the situation is your typical 60 something guy that has no interest in anything newer than when you graduated high school that tells me I should find someplace else to post where the viewers hold a similar opinion as I do.

I have said for nearly as long as this forum has been alive that unless the older people of this forum find some way to make friends with the younger crowd and find a common interest the car building hobby is also in a decline that it will not recover from. Snobbery of any kind is going to cause people to look elseware for people that will at least accept them and that I think is part of what has forced some the user base away from this site. How many users on this site spend at least a few weekends a year at a drag strip? Yet there are not too many discussions about setup and operation of a drag car. Even when we formed the group that is building a Drag/Salt car we can't drum up enough interest to warrant a viable conversation about building a drag car. In my opinion that is because there is a select number of users that consider that to be outside the scope of this site. There are several people that I consider friends that have found other sites to talk drag racing on because they were uncomfortable talking about it here. As I see it if we don't evolve with the times we will become extinct.

Another factor is that for every 10 questions asked thereis one question where someone will tell the original poster to go to another site to get the answer you need so they never come back because they find a like minded group that they share an interest with and that dilutes the user base as well.

[Dave]

Frank and Frank what can I say? I think I can understand better than many here of the frustrations that you feel. We have suffered similar problems over on our Aussie Forum (Ozrodders) in recent years with many regular members leaving or no longer posting, then followed by other members telling you how you should be running your forum, that is when they are not * and moaning about people behind their backs! Then you have those who * and moan that there are not enough posts about Hotrods and Kustoms and too much later stuff, yet those same guys with the knowledge rarely post what they preach about!

Not always very welcoming for new members without the wise old hands speaking honestly but with gentle guidance. Lets make no mistake if we don't welcome the newcomers, including the younger age group, our chosen hobby will slowly fade away. There is always a challenge there and when we opened up our board to Pre 72 we lost quite a few 'hard core' rodders in the process. There can only be one HAMB though. Always hard to get the balance right but IMO getting those young guys to build a Pre '48 Hotrod as their next car starts with welcoming them when their current car isn't what we would normally look at too much.

Us Aussies will always appreciate your help and temporary home when we lost our initial HRI Forum and you will always be welcome to come visit in the land of Oz in person or in cyberspace and we thank you for your continued input with us. I am probably one of those who has not posted here in a while myself and for that I apologize. Will get over and see you in the coming years and have a quiet few drinks. It's okay, I wont drink as much as Andrew and Scooter!

Hopefully we will be around for a while longer yet and hope to see many of our U.S. friends over on the Aussie Forum. If nothing else you still get to catch up with Enjenjo over there! Best of luck my friends.

[Carnut]

humm, so if you all can't get the new folks in here Fat Cat you would just as soon shut the forum down for us old folks who are here?

Again Fat Cat you seem to have a vision for the forum that a lot of folks here may not share.

I really don't think folks who post external links to other forums for answers to questions really results in folks leaving here permanently for the other forums.

There are reasons that the folks who remain here want to remain here and going to another forum for an answer won't really draw them away.

I've been to many other car guy type forums and I have never found one that I have enjoyed so much as this one or felt as comfortable as I have at this one.

And again I am sure everyone who has remained here has remained because they also enjoy and feel comfortable here.

The newbie feeling unwelcomed is a standard feeling at all forums actually. It's just part of socialization that a group culture causes.

Everyone who's become aquainted or familiar with what's here will post about things in a way the newbies just have to learn to understand and accept to join the crowd. It's that way on every forum. It's also that way in most all social interaction groups.

I just don't understand the thinking about closing this forum down just because a only a few old foggies want to post here.

[Carps]

I've been watching this thread unravel since Enjejo put up the first post and it has been interesting.

I was here pretty much from day one of the original forum, I was here when Frank and Fatcat took it over and it looks like I'll be here when it takes it's final breath.

However, there's many here now who I don't know and many it seems not here whom I do know, both personally and in cyberspace.  So why does it seem I'm not a regular poster?

Bloody good question and some of it comes down to Fat Cat's comments about  model years and what's acceptable.  I'm a big fan of anything automotive and I much prefer those sites that cover a wider range of my interests than those that have a narrow field of view.

Unfortunately, what stops me posting or contributing is that many of the questions are US vehicle specific, and my knowledge of that stuff is poor, even if my knowledge of other stuff is vast.  Oh, and I'm usually late to the party so the questions I can answer have been well dealt with by the time I get here.

If I may make an observation, the banter and fun that was rife during this place's heyday, somehow seems to have departed with many of the old timers.  The youngstsers see it as a place for old fogies and no fun at all, so they may look in but don't bother to return.

Maybe the solution is to search out the old members and ask what will bring them back.  Heck there's a couple I know who I'd love to have return but sadly God had other ideas for them.

I don't think restricting access is the way to keep the place open, but maybe a merger might work.  How about Ozrodders and RRT join forces and we turn the place into one big fun parlour?

Hmmm seems even if I'm not making any sense I've gotten the old RRT Rambler out of the shed and got it headed to the nearest tangent.

My major concern is how I break the news to Dolly, she will be decimated, this is afterall where she was born.

[gt28a]

Frank & Frank...sorry also for not posting here as much as I probably should. I understand your reasoning for wanting to shut down the site but if it hadnt been for RRT I would never have met you guys and gals.

To think that back in 2004 me, Choco, Reddo and our wives were invited to a RRT BBQ at the Kentucky Nationals by you guys and all we had to do was fly for 15 hours from Australia to LA, drive another 4 1/2 hours to Las Vegas then jump on another jet for 6-7 hours to Orlando, drive for a few more days to Louisville then simply walk down the road behind the trader pavillion and, bugga me, there you were ....right where you said you'd be.
How could we have ever done it without RRT?  
You guys have done more for international car enthusiast relations than any rodding magazine.
Please reconsider, or at least pass it on, so we (Aussie Rodders) can meet up with US rodders and feel welcome when we get there...and vice versa.
We may live worlds apart, and you guys tock furney, but we are all rodders......... and please dont let Andrew and his mate put you off

[53stvblt]

1. Ok, old fogie?.....guilty.

2. Newbie?....guilty. (Feb 2010)

3. Not posting?....guilty.(If I have something to add I do).

4. Want to see nothing but pre 70's posts?....innocent. (My son is an absolute 442 freak! His buddy is a camero nut.)

5. Have I felt not a part of RRT?.....innocent. (Every question I posted was answered, I have posted replys to questions & even a short story. What more from a forum could I expect?)

After analyzing my Pro/Con list above I believe if I start posting a bit more & slipping in a post occasionally for my Son or his buddy we can continue this friendship. We will try to do our part.

Is this a correct assumption?

Thanks be to all who maintain this great forum & if you decide in the end to close it we will be losing a good friend. :!:

Thanks,  Bud

[bucketmouth]

Crikey shut the place down! I would hate to see it happen,this is the only American site I visit. Like someone said earlier you can come here and not see any of the BS that you see on other other forums.
And the technical stuff is brilliant, what's gonna happen to that?
I've asked a few questions and the response has been excellent.The replies I got regarding  a couple of different things on my imported US 34 coupe have been priceless.
I've even managed to meet a few of you on my visits to the states over the last few years.
It would be a real shame to see it closed down.
Frank I hope it works out for the best in whatever you choose to do.
Thanks for your efforts.

[Carnut]

Ok, if a date certain has been established to shut the place down, I figured I needed to do something for those who want to try and continue a forum with the same theme and purpose as this one.

So, last night I surfed on over to Godaddy and oogled Danica for a bit and then purchased the domain name rrtforum.com to use just in case this place really shuts down.

I have no intention of competing with this forum and won't setup anything there until it is firm that this place is shutting down. If this place doesn't actually shutdown I won't use the name for anything.

If July 31 is definitely a date absolute for last day here, I'll most likely setup a forum under that new domain name about a week before the end just to get it sorted out.

On my current Forums link page I'll then replace the link to this place with a link to the rrtforum.com name.

Just in case any current members will be looking for a new landing place.

Again I have my doubts that this place is gonna shutdown, but if it does I would like to be prepared.

Heh, heh, I also know that it will be likely I'll be posting alone on that new site, but I'll give it a try if this place does actually go away.

[WZ JUNK]

This is very unsettling news for me.   I understand and I appreciate the problem and I have noticed the decline in the number of post and the number of members responding.  I do not respond as often because when I see that someone else has an answer that I agree with, I just let it go.   The RRT is at the top of my favorites list.  It is the first site I check in the morning and usually the last one at night.  This site has been a big part of my life for many years.  The people I have met and the information I have gained have made a great impact on my life.  

This is just one example.  Somebody posted years ago about how to do a tilt front end.  I answered and Sumner answered.   Sumner and I started to visit and we found out how much we had in common.  I made a life long friend.  In turn Sumner invited a group of us to his house and then to Bonneville.  On the way home Hooley said, "I think I will build one of them race cars".   I said, " Well Hooley, if you want to do it, I will help you."  And that opened up a whole new world to me.  I have had more experiences because of that race car than I could have every imagined.  Most of the crew of that race car are members of this board.  I can clearly say that if it were not for the RRT the # 974 would never have been built.  That is just one way the RRT has changed my life.  There are many others.  I value the friends that I make and I have made many here.    

I feel comfortable on the RRT.  I often do not express myself clearly in the typed word but I know that the members here will figure out what I am trying to say.  If they do not agree with me or take a statement the wrong way, they will tell me about it.  I feel I am among friends.

This is not good news.

I have more to say but I just can not say it now.

John

[kb426]

I agree with John. there's alot of us that are like minded. This has been a great place to be. Frank sr. mentioned the "post closer". I have been one of those. Does that mean we answer completely so that no other info is needed or do people think it's hopeless and turn away? I don't have any answers at this point. All I know is that I have enjoyed the companionship from all the regulars.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Jon (admin guy)  at Hotrodders.com  has offered to cache the tech section here when the RRT is shut down

[enjenjo]

Ok, due to input here, and in messages I have received, we are no longer planning to shut it down at the end of the month. We'll keep it going, at least to the end of the year, and reevaluate then. In the meantime We will be shutting down new registrations, so Fatcat does not have to spend the time he does now dealing with it. I am thinking about another method of registering, but don't have all of it worked out.

I agonised about posting the announcement to begin with for several weeks, because this place means as much to me as it is now evident that it does to many of you. If I caused strife in your life, I  apologize.

If you have any ideas on registration, send me a PM, and we'll see if it will work for us. If you have any buddies, who might like this place, let us know, we'll figure a way to ge them in. As we have done on the Aussie board, vouching a mate in will still get them in.

For the last year or so, we have been setting on new software for the board, some changes, but for the most part, same as we have, only better. We are sill waiting on final updates, that's the reason that it has not been done yet. If it comes together we will install it.