Opinion: 356 Registry closing their forum & classifieds

[mpribanic]

So many of the future members of the 356 Registry are members of the samba. Recently the 356 Registry has closed participation of their talk forum and classifieds to members only. Also many of the non members who participated on the 356 Registry have now migrated over to the samba for answering questions and posting 356 classifieds. I am curious what your perception of the club is and how this decision will effect you becoming a future member. After you vote please state if you are a member or not and please post any other comments you may want to share regarding this topic.

Here is the thread on the registry if you want to do some reading up on the discussion:

http://porsche356registry.org/356talk/15/29961.html

Thank you for participating

Mark Pribanic
Registry# 13617
_________________
WTB Brundage Motors - Jacksonville, Fla Plate Frame

Bulli Brigade XX
Date: 11.9.13
Location: Ft. DeSoto, Tierre Verde Florida

Bulli Brigade Spring Meet II
Date: 4.tbd.13
Location: TBD, Florida

[Glenn]

I'm against the new policy and have stated my objection in the Registry topic.

356 Registry Member #31692
_________________
Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
HBB/RW
www.DasVolks.com
Long Island's Aircooled Club

[MMW]

I am against the new policy. I think it was fine before the recent change. I have been reading a lot on the registry since I found them about 6 months ago but have never signed up as a member or a guest. I would by now have signed up as a guest to be able to post questions but can't with the recent change. I really am not interested in the magazine or other stuff. I am new to 356 ownership but not new to the cars. I have signed up here.
_________________
Mic McWilliams
1959 356 coupe
Missing the original engine 72488
Anybody have it?

[Bulli Klinik]

I think that it's a short-sighted decision, though this poll will do nothing in swaying them.

The elitist tone in some of the posts from select members over there (ironically, many of the ones in charge) is a real turn off. Many of the "seasoned vets" in the Registry believe that it's "their club" as opposed to "our club". What they fail to realize is that it's "our money" which keeps the club afloat. It's going to be a tough lesson for them in a few years when future 356 owners chose to congregate with the VW scene instead of the P-car scene. Very few of the modern Porsche, PCA types are even looking at 356's. To the new Porsche crowd, it's all about performance that's unobtainable in a 356. The VW crowd will be the ones driving the Vintage Porsche scene as they are the ones with a respect for it.

Ten year member.
_________________
Mike K
Bulli Klinik
Colorado Springs
http://www.bulliklinik.com/

[Unobtanium-inc]

The crux of this whole problem is a generational divide. The older crowd believes "membership has its privlidges" while the younger crowd (many of whom grew up with the internet) finds it offensive to pay for a forum, something that to them is akin to paying to walk down the street, in this case the virtual street. So where does this leave us?
Part of being part of the community is giving back, which we get a lot of in the Registry Brotherhood, but it is also about paying into the community, which in this case is club dues. Club dues keep the club alive, as well as community involvement, I think the fear of the older crowd is that the Registry will migrate to the forum and leave the rest behind. But by bringing it all under one umbrella we can keep the community together, not divided.
I am for keeping the community together, if that means paying my $35, I will gladly do it, as I have for years now.
I think what people who are reluctant to join to be on the forum need to see is that you aren't paying to be on the forum, you are paying to be a part of the Registry Brotherhood, one of the most active, helpful, strong Porsche clubs on the planet, a club which happens to also have a great and active forum. We will miss anyone who decides to walk away from the club over this issue, but I hope those people will realize what a great club this is and that we need them to keep it going and re-consider. We will still be here, I probably have a good 30-40 years left in me, so if anyone wants to come back, you will find a friend and Registry Brother in me.

[UZI]

[Glenn]

[Unobtanium-inc]

Glenn-
I'm not sure what effect the Registry change will have, so I didn't agree with either voting opinions, I just wanted to share my thoughts on the subject.

[Glenn]

understood...

time will tell.
_________________
Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
HBB/RW
www.DasVolks.com
Long Island's Aircooled Club

[mpribanic]

[Unobtanium-inc]

If the Registry suffers, we all suffer as a community. Having a strong Registry benefits everyone. People have to decide what is best for the community that we all rely on to keep our cars going. If they think saving $35 a year and not participating is best, so be it, but the people who want to walk away need to look beyond the forum, or paying to post, because that isn't what this is about.
Thinking that is short sighted.

[mpribanic]

I will always remain a member and also have a good 30 years left...However, they might as well remove the classifieds, I can hear the death knell now. I think Bill Waite summed it all up pretty well with his net benefit summary. By closing the forum, the trustees have decreased the benefit members receive from the forum. Jack Stenner also had a good idea to use this as a case study for analysis. I believe it is in the 356 Registry link I posted up above.

I hope I am wrong

Mark pribanic
_________________
WTB Brundage Motors - Jacksonville, Fla Plate Frame

Bulli Brigade XX
Date: 11.9.13
Location: Ft. DeSoto, Tierre Verde Florida

Bulli Brigade Spring Meet II
Date: 4.tbd.13
Location: TBD, Florida

[dawerks]

I am against closing of the Registry forum.

It violates their own principles as quoted from the 356 Registry;

[Drew Ogden]

1) it will destroy their classified section

2) it will discourage new members and limit website hits, which in todays world, makes the website "less valuable"

3) the discussion on the 356 website has brought out some ridiculous statements from longtime members, very obnoxious stuff. There are plenty of obnoxious statements here on the samba, but they dont have quite the elitist feel

4) I like the registry, and will continue to be a member, regardless of their decisions. My approach will be to change from within. This begins by voting for the next several rounds of trustees. Maybe it ends by running for trustee? I suggested that the registry have poll on their website under the main discussion forum to get a feel for the members opinions. Nothing binding, just a temperature reading. Failure for the trustees to work on behalf of the members will result in new trustees eventually.

5) I dont understand the reluctance for 356 RELATED banner ads on their site, especially if the ads are from individuals or companies that also advertise in the magazine. It gives the advertisers more exposure and could increase the amount charged for the ads since they are being displayed in two places. Its a great way to incorporate the magazine with the website, which seems to be one of their big issues

In short, I really want the registry to be successful, and I disagree with how they (we) are running it. I really like the magazine, and would hate to see it disappear, however, I am a bit shocked with the cost to produce the magazine. 356 related banner ads, an open forum, and an improved "members only" section website section will lead to a thriving club website and a financially stable club.

Drew Ogden

[DanM]

I'm a former member that let my membership lapse as I didn't really feel the expense was justified. I'm less inclined to re-join now than before.

[Black Betty]

For me it's not possible to choose between the two options mentioned in the poll, so I will not vote. Nevertheless I'm not in favour of the decision to close the Registry forum...

I’m a strong believer and advocate of the fact that a forum is an ‘open source’ for every enthusiast of a certain subject; that is what keeps a forum alive.

I’ve been –and still am- active on quite some fora and some of these fora ceased to exist after they were ‘shielded off’ by becoming part of a gated community in which only members were allowed to post. Reason for that is, that often only a certain part of the members regularly use the forum and that part will post less and less. Furthermore there is no fresh and unbiased input and no information coming from ‘potential members’ or enthusiast that are still in doubt whether to sign up or not, but who have valuable knowledge and info. Furthermore it's a known fact that potential members have the tendency to be active on a subject related forum before signing up for ‘the club’.

It's like a sports club: people that are interested in a certain sport, first will visit the local club, do some trial lessons, talk to members of the club, ask some questions (perhaps tell some doubts they have to take this particular sport on or not) and get 'a feel of the club'. Only then they would sign up for the club and would gladly pay the dues and would become a member. If they would have to pay up front the membership dues -even before they were able to ask some questions or have some trial lessons- they probably wouldn't. Would you?

This goes also for a forum...

For example: I’m planning on buying a Porsche 356, but I would like to have some important input from other enthusiasts/owners on what are points to look for in a potential car, what are pitfalls when buying a 356, et cetera. Then it is essential that I can ask my question(s) on a forum, without an obligatory ‘membership’ for which I have to pay for before I can ask these questions. If I could ask those questions 'for free' on an open forum and when I then have bought a 356 and the forum was helpful, I would more likely sign up for ‘the club’ and would be more than willing to pay a contribution/fee to become a registered member. Wouldn't you?

As I mentioned above I’m active on quite some fora and I’m a moderator on one of the biggest Peugeot forums in Europe (www.peugeotforum.nl ; my forum name there is Jeetje ) and I’m also a (paying) member of the Peugeot 404 registry of Holland (because of my 1962 Peugeot 404 Berline SuperLuxe) and I’m active on the French Peugeot J7 forum because of my 1969 Peugeot J7. Furthermore I’m (very) active on the Dutch Porscheforum and - last but not least- I’m currently building a Speedster replica so I'm active on the Dutch Speedsterclub forum. And that are only the car fora I'm active on! (yes, I do ask myself so now and then where I find the time...)

My uncle was a Porsche mechanic for years untill his pension approximately 10 years ago. Because of him I love the Porsche 356 and particularly the Speedster. Knowing I never would be able to own a real one I decided 5 years ago to build one –a replica that is- myself. I know and I am aware of the way in the Porsche 356 community these kind of ‘fakes’ are regarded and I would never proclaim that my car ‘is the real thing’. I decided –with a little help from my uncle- to build not the average 356 Speedster replica, but I am building a rare Glöckler model (unfortunately my uncle passed away 2 years ago, so he will never see the finished car, but I know he would be proud).

I have an extensive library of Porsche 356 related books and I know quite a lot about the Porsche 356. Furthermore I still can get valuable information about the 356 model. Because I’m not owning a (real) Porsche 356, but having quite some knowledge about this particular type of car made me decide to be active on the 356 Registry forum, because I thought I could provide some valuable information about the model.

I even was thinking about signing up just before the decision to block the forum for non members, but I was –and still am- in doubt because I would be by signing up only a ‘wannabe member’, because I do not own, nor will I (probably) ever own an original Porsche 356. I was, however, leaning to signing up (and pay the $55 membership dues).

By blocking the forum off to non members I've decided otherwise, because I’m doubting whether I want to be a member of a club that has a different opinion than me about what a forum is all about.

I –however- will gladly keep my knowledge and information about the Porsche 356 to myself -or share it here on the (open) TheSamba forum- and will not be forced into a membership only to be able to post on a forum. Furthermore I’m convinced that the decision to block the forum for people that are not a member will have a negative effect on the content of the forum for reasons mentioned above and I’m convinced the Registry will come to the same conclusion in the near future.

I'm also convinced that the Trustees who made this decision will not change their decision. Perhaps they will change their mind and will acknowledge that it was a bad decision but they would lose their face (is that a correct expression?) if they would openly reconsider.

[savaden]

Harry Pellow titled one of his excellent technical guides "Secrets of the Inner Circle" Well, as we all probably know, the "Inner Circle" does not mean piston rings. The inner circle in 356 lore are those guys, some of whom post on 356Talk, that have been the keepers of the 356 secrets for all these years. Harry was an outsider looking in on the secrets kept by these old timers and realized that the information was going to die with his generation unless it was published.

Some of these guys have already died. Earl McMills, Duane Spencer, others.

It seems that the governance of the 356 registry has been entrusted (even more than perhaps in the past) to these insiders. It is a club, after all, and like some other clubs, (rGruppe) they really have all the members that they need.

More money is needed, however to publish the magazine and provide seed money for the gatherings and administrative costs. How to get more money without increasing the rate? Try requiring people to pay up if they want to use the popular web tool.

What was not anticipated, however, was the backlash that would occur. Confronted with a "pay-to-post" scenario, people will just go elsewhere. You can possess all the knowledge in the world (BTW digging through long threads to get to the correct answer can be pretty daunting in itself) but it won't matter if no one asks the question.

It's funny, but my predictions of only a week ago are already coming true. The site questions are already becoming more esoteric, the postings are fewer, and someone else has already created a special section on another board to accommodate.

SV

[MoPor]

[Pat KG]

i have been a member of the 356 Registry since 95--joined it after asking a question about a problem on my then newly purchased 356 and got answers in 20 minutes. I was impressed and still am, but I think their new policy regarding no guests it is counter-productive for the registry -- no one can ask a question unless they are a member--nonsense!

I also think they spend too much on the magazine, copies of which I have back to the mid 70s. It got very slick and expensive in more recent years -- extra pages and lots of color at a time when printing and mailing costs keep going up. Eventually they will have to raise dues or cut back. PDFs would be a smart move.

I am an old fart (69) but think the internet is the way to go and that the forum and classifieds should be open to the public for participation regardless of membership.

A side note--I have been a lurker here for years, but registered yesterday because I needed advice about my KG and got a bevy of answers which helped--Thanks Samba!

Pat

[Steve Heinrichs]

Guys,

I just voted. It really is a difficult time for the Registry as the "Inner Circle" gets smaller and smaller as the Trustees do not seem to want to reach out to expand the roles over time. Worse, there is a view that all the iformation and expertise and talent is there and there is none here.

That view will prove to be wrong over time.

My interest, etc. is largely in the world of chassis numbers, motor numbers and the 4-cam cars including all the purpose built ones.

Anyway, enough from me on the Regsitry.

If I can help regarding my little areas of interest----post an inquiry and let's see what happens.

Steve Heinrichs