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Just to add to my thoughts; I've always found it odd that there isn't a dedicated show thread section on the forum; this means they tend to go into the general section and then get drowned by pages and pages of day-to-day stuff. Maybe giving them their own section would make them stand out more and attract people in when they have a bit of time to kill The general section should have less curse word in it to be honest, but people get all teary when we delete or move their boring thread. Another thing I've noticed is definitive first posts that leave you no option to interact, basically your only possible responses are a Like, a reply saying "nice". Guilty! I used to post quite a bit in the General forum and although I threw my toys out when my posts were moved,I now realise why it is done,as for lack of show post's,for me it's an old computer that takes ages to load photo's and nearly always freeze's just as I am about to post..... Maybe that's a good thing if my post's are boring you all.... Will try harder.....
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meltdown
South West
Isn't letting old age get the better of him, still making the same bad decisions with vehicles.
Posts: 687
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I've gone to a couple of shows and am always forgetting to take photo's - must try harder! I'm no arty expert though, just a point n clicker.
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Powered by biscuits
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I think pointy shooty pics are better than no pics at all - that's all I manage, especially since I started leaving my camera at home and just use my phone. I do go to the trouble of getting down on the deck to get some perspective shots sometimes
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THE_Liam
Yorkshire and The Humber
If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS.
Posts: 1,363
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To be honest for the most part on here I tend to comment on other peoples threads rather than start them. Been on here a few years but only got 500ish posts, and that's partly because a few of the threads I've started have seen results like "That's not really retro", "Obvious question", "What does driving music have to do with cars?" and "Well, this will get locked pretty quick". I'm a staff member on another car forum and have nearly 6000 posts on there, because I feel I can post without just getting hit with instant critisism.
I'm trying not to be negative here, but I do see a hell of a lot of negativity and pettyness that just isn't warranted. At the end of a day, the subject is in the title; if it doesn't interest you, why open it?
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cianha
Part of things
aka VDubbin
Posts: 923
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Show reports take a lot of time to construct. While some of us are utter car mentals with plenty of free time we're willing to devote to constructing awesome threads - you know who you are, I don't think I need to name names here - many people simple have too many responsibilities and, shockingly, cars don't come first. This means any quick 'lazy' way of uploading show pictures is going to win out and forums are a bit of a dinosaur now. Forums are practically retro.
I would like to share some of what I've learned gives me the best feedback on a show thread, people seem to enjoy them when I make them so I must be getting something right.
Sort your content before you post. If you just dump a whole pile of pictures into one post chances are people will find it very, very dull. Organise by era, by modification type/style or by manufacturer but never by model. Grouping like cars together seems to be a turn off for most readers unless of course it's a one-car event or there's a serious comparison point to be made.
Restrict each post to about 10 images. More than this and the post becomes that picture dump again. It also allows people to pick out items they like. Try and keep the 10 in the images themed in some way if you can.
Take your time. Leave about 2 hours to a day between posts in your thread. This increases the chance of people finding the thread and commenting on it. Don't be afraid to delay the next update if you've got a decent bit of commenting and debate trundling along. Get involved with people commenting too, especially if you learned something about the vehicles that the commenter would like to know.
Variety in the pictures is important. We know the three-quarter low-angle front view of a car is often one of the best, but do it with every picture and it's tedious. Look for those interesting shapes, details and angles on a car. You can do this with a point and shoot, you don't need to get too arty-farty. Have a go at capturing cars in motion too, even moving slowly a car can be more interesting than static. Don't be worried about people being in the pictures, sometimes it can give a decent atmosphere to see the show as more than just a few specimen vehicles.
Don't worry! Your pictures needn't be perfect, they can be a bit flawed, badly framed or lit. Try to at least get the picture in focus and try not to use a camera that makes it look like you were actually weilding a potato to capture the event, but don't worry if you're not a professional.
Have fun. You must get some enjoyment out of making your thread. If you don't then chances are readers won't either. If you're excited about something then tell us! Never be afraid to say what you like when it comes to modified cars, people makes changes for themselves just like you will so why be embarrassed to say you like something? I like all sorts of strange stuff and even some fairly ordinary stuff, and I try to say so as often as possible.
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I did put up a small selection of action shots from last weekends classic and retro event at Castle Combe which I had great fun taking, which is the point of taking snaps for me really. I'm not bothered about comments but I am curious to figure out why they only attracted a 100 or so views, perhaps once someone has already posting images of an event people get bored of repeat shots?
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fred
Posted a lot
WTF has happened to all the Vennies?
Posts: 2,957
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Like a lot of comments - Folk just look at them, then move on as is there isnt a requirement for them to say anything unlike a 'what do you think?' or 'help needed here' post Just one of those things, It does take a hell of a lot of time uploading commenting and describing everything for not a lot of converse. And I applaud everyone who does it.
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'79 Cossie ran Cortina - Sold
2000 Fozzer 2.0 turbo snow beast
'85 Opel Manta GSI - Sold
03 A class Mercedes
Looking for a FD Ventora - Anyone?
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reallyloud and dbizzle ... I think in both your cases there was another thread about the same event that already had a conversation going by the time you posted up your own take on the events in your own threads. This used to be a common problem, particularly around the time of larger events, we'd end up with three or four threads with a few replies each. Eventually I'd start threads that would be home to all the action around a particular event in order to keep conversation going in one place. @volksangyl that was a great little selection. I'm working on some new 'Pages' for the site to explain the groups things (got a bit sidetracked by Classic Le Mans visit so not finished those yet) and I was going to tidy up the Modus Operandi and add a nice posting guidelines for more awesomer posts and how to post pictures etc. I may paraphrase some of your advice Loving the forum at the moment, great selection of content, some interesting show stuff floating around and there are certainly some more cars to delve into further when the summer season has gone...
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carltonx
Part of things
yardie in brum
Posts: 645
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sorry if someone has already said this (only skimmed through treads) but how about an events gallery , i went to a show and have some pics to put up , but in witch section ?
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Last Edit: Jul 8, 2014 16:03:32 GMT by carltonx
Potentially offensive comment deleted. You are welcome to remove this text, but not replace it with more bigotry. If the need to express that opinion is particularly important, please let me know and I'll delete your account for you. Maximum signature image height: 80 pixels.
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Stick them up in General Section, it is the place for them
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It took me 4 hours to upload pics for my post about the imp club and the NSRA,400+ people have viewed the thread but only one person has left a message, sort of sums things up really eh, I am not a glory hunter but it is nice to get a few comments, makes all the work worthwhile don't you think?
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g40jon
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,569
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It took me 4 hours to upload pics for my post about the imp club and the NSRA,400+ people have viewed the thread but only one person has left a message, sort of sums things up really eh, I am not a glory hunter but it is nice to get a few comments, makes all the work worthwhile don't you think? This is bang on. I used to waste 10s of hours editing, then uploading pics. I still take lots of pics, but I rarely post them anymore as I don't feel it is a worthwhile use of my time any longer. The problem is that a forum is only as good as the people using and contributing to it.
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Colonelk
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,742
Club RR Member Number: 83
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Where are the show threads??Colonelk
@colonelk
Club Retro Rides Member 83
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I think I'm guilty of posting to facebook purely out of lazyness. My house is upside down, my PC is barely functional, as is my laptop, and so my main means of sharing are my phone and tablet. So quickest route to share is photo->share to facebook->go. Lazyness indeed. I pledge to be a better man and take my camera out more. I'm also mildly crushed by how curse word most of my Japan trip photos were. Poor selection of lenses is probably the main reason, that and lack of talent! Hmmmm wonder how hard it would be to code an RRG image share app........ take photos, select photos to post few words describing show..... post.
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That is a good point Elk ... I'm not sure how much of an available API Proboards have ... but there must be something there for Tapatalk to work,.. I'll speak to Patrick about it when I get a spare moment. Sucks about your Japan photo... no doubt Andy will be sharing some of his,... right after he has uploaded the photos from his America trip with Dan.................................... @gurnersimp1963 : I think there were two issues with your photos, one we've establish they were showing as thumbnails which I think you are sorting out and two the title of the thread didn't make me want to click it. g40jon : That is understandable when you share something like this : retrorides.proboards.com/thread/154575/silverstone-classic-track-loads-added#.U-S_gRGpqfY ... and get zero responses (!!!!!). The only thing I can say is that often threads don't invite a response of any kind (now I do quite like a default "Thanks for sharing" type response even if it is just some photos and no text). I don't know that there is a 'fix' for this, luckyseven gets responses but as I found with the Classic Le Mans thread it can take a long time to put something like that together and a lot of text. However just a couple of photos with questions or comments you may have about them, or even a little bit of intro spiel helps I think. Something for me to have a think on.
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,941
Club RR Member Number: 71
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Where are the show threads??bstardchild
@bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member 71
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Luckyseven gets responses but as I found with the Classic Le Mans thread it can take a long time to put something like that together and a lot of text. However just a couple of photos with questions or comments you may have about them, or even a little bit of intro spiel helps I think. Something for me to have a think on. I'm betting the reason L7 gets good responses to his threads is because he captions them with humour and really pulls you into the picture/moment I also reckon he spends a lot of time putting the thread together You know when you see he's the op it's going to be of a high std and worth viewing No offence intended to anyone else.
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i now see why the like button has gone, the only down side to this is in the spotted and abandoned threads where you don't want too much chit-chat, but now as said, you don't even get a thumbs up for anything you have posted. also i wish photos from shows wouldn't be posted in spotted, what did they expect to see at the shows, like wise scrapyards in the abandoned thread, but that might just be me.
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Please don't throw litter, take it home.
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g40jon
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,569
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That is a good point Elk ... I'm not sure how much of an available API Proboards have ... but there must be something there for Tapatalk to work,.. I'll speak to Patrick about it when I get a spare moment. Sucks about your Japan photo... no doubt Andy will be sharing some of his,... right after he has uploaded the photos from his America trip with Dan.................................... @gurnersimp1963 : I think there were two issues with your photos, one we've establish they were showing as thumbnails which I think you are sorting out and two the title of the thread didn't make me want to click it. g40jon : That is understandable when you share something like this : retrorides.proboards.com/thread/154575/silverstone-classic-track-loads-added#.U-S_gRGpqfY ... and get zero responses (!!!!!). The only thing I can say is that often threads don't invite a response of any kind (now I do quite like a default "Thanks for sharing" type response even if it is just some photos and no text). I don't know that there is a 'fix' for this, luckyseven gets responses but as I found with the Classic Le Mans thread it can take a long time to put something like that together and a lot of text. However just a couple of photos with questions or comments you may have about them, or even a little bit of intro spiel helps I think. Something for me to have a think on. It's a fair point about having some text to go with the pictures and looking back at my marginally more successful pic posts, the ones with some text fumbled into the equation did do slightly better in terms of replies. Personally I am not much of a creative writer. I wouldn't really say I was a photographer either. It is more of a case of being someone who likes cars, likes pics and has a couple of cameras to take some on. If I was any good, I wouldn't need to spend 15 to 20 mins per image trying to make them look half decent, then I might have some time to write an inept spiel to go with the pics!! All pretty irrelevant given my current circumstances, as all of my spare time (well most of it) is being taken up by new family members and prepping for an imminent house move. (perhaps this is also another reason for the lack/reduction of show threads, a generation of snappers are currently too busy to be snapping and posting!)
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That is a good point Elk ... I'm not sure how much of an available API Proboards have ... but there must be something there for Tapatalk to work,.. I'll speak to Patrick about it when I get a spare moment. Sucks about your Japan photo... no doubt Andy will be sharing some of his,... right after he has uploaded the photos from his America trip with Dan.................................... I have to agree with him; it's the ease of posting. I'm a proper die-hard camera guy, I was raised on B&W film and a 35mm Minerva (or Minolta, one of them) and started freelancing still using film, but now even the DSLR only comes out for stuff like RRG to use the different lenses, and the phone does the rest. The camera in my stupidphone is as good as most of the average digital cameras on the market, and if I get a bit of wifi I can just click and they're on social media. Uploading to a forum takes aaages. So it's the fact that photos are on phones that means they need to be easy to upload; rather than facebook* being the guilty party so much. *other IQ-draining experiences available.
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@gurnersimp1963 : I think there were two issues with your photos, one we've establish they were showing as thumbnails which I think you are sorting out and two the title of the thread didn't make me want to click it. Yes the photo's were small but the title? really?
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