Just wanted to say....

[onthames]

Its nice to see these forums more active. Was browsing earlier this year and was dead almost every day.

[steve_k]

it's getting there slowly, a lot of the problem is the likes of facebook, because folk want an answer in an instant & aren't prepared to wait.

this place has been a god send at times when i've had a problem with the car & i've come close to either scrapping it or burning it down, the info in here is invaluable at times.

[Cloggy Saint]

You think? Compared with 5 years ago, it's dead. There are some days where there are no more than 5 posts. I'd almost go as far to say (almost) that I miss Pacerpete and his cronies banging on about pedos 24/7.

[flybynite]

It is certainly quieter than before, but facefook is so full of wise-crack idiots it gets thin real quick

The beauty of this place is the resource of the WIKI (although it is not perfect) and the back catalogue of posts where most problems have been done to death before.

The 'new' zone is an improvement but the one huge loss for me are links in 'old' zone posts which are completely broken and unfixable.

I think PacerPete has given up talking to anyone these days. The thing I think is a shame is some of the people who are current 'mods' don't post anymore.

[Cloggy Saint]

Agreed, if you're not going to post then give up mod' status to someone who actually uses the place, although are moderators really necessary when there's not an awful lot to moderate?

[flybynite]

Agreed, if you're not going to post then give up mod' status to someone who actually uses the place, although are moderators really necessary when there's not an awful lot to moderate?

It is just the people who can do things like reset old passwords are not on here unless someone pokes them on Faceache. The 502 error is not a problem if you know the tricks but how may are just put off or don't bother.

'New zone' did have its highest online number just after first lockdown so there is something bottled up!

[Cloggy Saint]

And what was that online number?

[martauto]

Agreed, if you're not going to post then give up mod' status to someone who actually uses the place, although are moderators really necessary when there's not an awful lot to moderate?

You would be surprised at the amount of "dodgy" stuff that can get through and needs taking down before it fills the place with "stuff" nobody likes.
I cant speak for the other Mod`s as they have their own lives but I do come on each day just to help it flow and make sure people are "playing nicely"
If anyone has any ideas then please fire away, it is a public forum after all and the time we give is our own and all for nowt

Mart.

[onthames]

I really see no need for more moderation. Also I think the level of activity is good. Stuff like the facebook pages have too much absolute shite on them whereas here every post tends to be something good.

[martauto]

I really see no need for more moderation. Also I think the level of activity is good. Stuff like the facebook pages have too much absolute shite on them whereas here every post tends to be something good.

We have a very good and active team who are very knowledgeable (I will exclude myself) and all do it because we like to
Lets not forget Steve (who founded the zone) who looks after the main server at his own exspence AND ..........................................we have no AD`s at all
Sadly sites such as the E46 zone (nothing to do with us) are just a matter of months away from folding as they have a very small amount of traffic each month which saddens meas I have an e46 cab.

Mart.

[flybynite]

And what was that online number?

It's down the bottom of the main forum page (you have to be logged in)

"Most users ever online was 741 on 12 Mar 2020 10:12"

[onthames]

And what was that online number?

It's down the bottom of the main forum page (you have to be logged in)

"Most users ever online was 741 on 12 Mar 2020 10:12"

That was probably spam bots or crawlers.

[Be30]

Could always restart the 318is v 325i argument

[flybynite]

That was probably spam bots or crawlers.

No that was the weekend that lockdown was announced and everyone was looking at what they could do with their time off. I was online then and could not believe the number of users listed at the bottom.

Steve even put a post up about it and he had the exact stats. Other forums were the same.

[Cloggy Saint]

.....and now there are 18 users on line and apparently 17 of them are guests.

[spannerrash]

Super quiet compared to back in the day, but glad its still rolling along. Will be a sad day if it ever stops. Long live the zone

[ocde30]

I really see no need for more moderation. Also I think the level of activity is good. Stuff like the facebook pages have too much absolute shite on them whereas here every post tends to be something good.

Couldn't agree more. FB is such a "shallow" media. Here on the Zone the posts are usually interesting and some of the builds / info / pics are quite brilliant. I'd liken the Zone to BBC breakfast compared to FB as Good Morning Britain.
As a relative newcomer I can't compare to "back in the day" but this is the only forum that holds my attention. Well done you guys that run it!
Something I think might be a slight improvement would be to ask for all posts requesting prices / availability from Cotswold to make it clear in "subject" what model and what part(s) - obviously not a long list but just something that makes it easy to spot if you are looking for something similar or are just interested in knowing the cost/availability of something you may wish to get in the future.

[flybynite]

.....and now there are 18 users on line and apparently 17 of them are guests.

To be fair the 'old' Zone you couldn't access much information unless you logged in. 'New zone you can look at most things so no point in logging in.

In fact I spend most of my time here logged out because of the 502 Gateway problem, I only log in to post or PM.

[Blanca]

I like 'the zone', as a forum manager myself foe the Eagle owners Club, (cars not birds), I get a couple of posts a day if I am lucky, On our sister forum, euro-nova it is average 4 a day. so no one is that busy.

Farebook is a waste of time unless you want some clever arsed crack head giving you stress., adverts by the ton and unrelated post by the score. I have a face book page for the Eagle Owners Club and spent most of the time removing post that do not relate to Eagle cars, I don't want posts about holidays, parties, family stuff.

Keep it coming, as long as it's E30 related.

[martauto]

Something I think might be a slight improvement would be to ask for all posts requesting prices / availability from Cotswold to make it clear in "subject" what model and what part(s) - obviously not a long list but just something that makes it easy to spot if you are looking for something similar or are just interested in knowing the cost/availability of something you may wish to get in the future.

Great idea Trevor, I`ve popped a sticky at the head of the section , I hope this is OK ??

Mart.