The forum is in decline; why?

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Re-member?
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
934
Location
Georgetown
Aircraft
Kitfox IV / F1 Rocket / Magni M-16 / Beech 18 / Aviomania G2sA-2
Total Flight Time
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Cammie opines (https://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/r...ons/1139915-chris-lord-october-31-2018/page11) something I've noted previously:
This online forum is in decline.

I'm asking "why?" and what can be done about it?

I'll start off with the "circular firing squad" observation; one poster takes issue with another and then adds fuel to the fire by making it overly personal.
There is currently a "dueling pair" who oppose something about every post the other makes. Sometimes entertaining, most times not.
Yes, a discussion of accidents (seems to be our favorite topic of late) is useful if (" IF " ) it leads to better understanding, ADM, designs, and makes us safer.
Unfortunately, facts be damned, speculation or ignorant supposition occurs way too frequently and much more often than useful dialogue.
Do a quick self-evaluation; if your comment is not useful in furthering the discussion and instead is only further underlining your well-known opinion that the other person is an idiot, then keep it to yourself.

I'll have to place some of the blame on the 'moderators' for not enforcing a 'civility' rule.

The new format also caused a major drop-off, but I understand the technological reasons it had to be done. I do miss the old format.
Many VERY useful, VERY knowledgeable people are no longer showing up here; maybe they're gone forever.

Can we maybe tie a knot, instead of a noose, at the end of our rope and turn this forum around?

I think it might be useful to post some POSITIVE ways that the forum could be improved and point out when (see above) is happening to the moderators.

TO THE MODERATORS: you have the contact information of everyone who has ever registered to this forum; perhaps send out an e-mail asking them to return (with simple how-to instructions)?
If not, perhaps an anonymous poll as to what the problems are/were ?

Trying to point us in the right direction; this COULD be such a useful forum again.

Brian
 
That is the first post I have agreed with 100%.
I sort of understand reason for upgrade but the implementation has been badly managed , there is no going back but am sure a lot of the problems could be ironed out.
None of us really like change especially if it does not deliver better results.
The number of posts are down where have the posters gone other sites or just not posting anywhere ? so much knowledge going to waste.
Positive ways to improve
If some one (me numerous times) contacts the site with a problem it would be nice to receive a reply, or at least an acknowledgement.
There are still strange glitches some you cant quite put your finger on, my previous post for example sat there with a banner saying working for 2 minutes! lost patience closed it down it then posted had this happen before,
Still cant log in on my original account
 
forum upgrade: I wish that it were "backward compatible" with the old forum links. Why such a huge loss of function and information?

I post on average only 0.84 posts/day, and have since January explicitly been trying maintain a civil tone in the face of snarky antagonism.

I've owned/moderated a large forum before, and thus empathize with our mods. Thank you for doing what is largely a thankless behind-the-scenes job!
 
1) I agree with the comments made above as valid reasons the forum has declined.


2) Another reason for the site's decline is failure to implement "HTTPS". Anyone using the Chrome browser (most popular browser with 65% market share) gets a scary warning the following message with red banners -

++++++++++++++++++

The site isn't using a private connection. Someone might be able to see or change the information you send or get through this site.

On some sites, you can visit a more secure version of the page:
  1. Select the address bar.
  2. Delete http://, and enter https:// instead.
If that doesn't work, contact the site owner to ask that they secure the site and your data with HTTPS.

+++++++++++++++++

To get around this message, one must click "Advance" and then gets prompted with additional warnings but allows one to proceed to the site at your own risk.
 
I myself, being involved with this forum since its inception, I find the new format extremely difficult to use, navigate and keep up with what is new, I know the old forum format is not coming back, but if you want people to get involved it needs to be easy to use. The search function does not work, and all the programmer hacks just to be able to use the forum does not appeal to me any longer.
I am still active actually doing 2 builds, but with as busy as I am with other things in life, spending the time being frustrated using this forum is just something I tend to ignore more than I used to.
There are always going to be people that stir up crap and create drama, that is life, you can either choose to let them get under your skin or not. Sometimes people are just too sensitive, other times people are just buttheads, just ignore the comments that are negative.
I do wish this forum was easier to use and had more activity.
One other reason is that the store bought factory gyros are starting to dominate the market and us old dinosaur homebuilders are dropping in numbers due to medical issues, financial issue or just other issues.
Just my $0.02
 
No Title

rotaryforumNotSecure.jpg Yes Scott and written in order of importance too..... Warnings about being a unsecure site and recommending I leave? If I was searching and didn't know better....I would leave....And on first point...all that scrolling up and down just to see main headers. All the spaces and large font requiring a lot of scrolling..... One heck of a long Main page.....
 

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The forum is in decline because the new upgrade sucks. One cannot see new messages posted to lder topics easily. The site goes down for weeks at a time sometimes. Search does not work properly. It has a SSL certificate from a blacklisted certificate authority and its subsidiaries (Symantec)
https://hackernoon.com/google-distrust-of-symantec-ssl-certificates-why-is-it-important-9a5bb35a35f5
https://www.digicert.com/replace-your-symantec-ssl-tls-certificates/

And well ... Kolibri is here. What else could be wrong. Of course it is dying
 
I actually started a new gyro forum site some months back when this site had disappeared for several weeks because it was never communicated that any moderators even knew about or took interest in the problems. Cost me $500 to set up but before I went live with it, the RWF was back up, albeit crippled. I shelved the plan to host a new site simply because I didn't want to compete with RWF, and chalked up the loss to poor timing. Was just glad to have RWF back on the air. But it does bother me that with talented people here willing to step up and help, most of the issues never got addressed. It is a gift horse so I don't like to harp.
 
"Thanks" fara.
 
I miss birthdays on the new Rotary Wing Forum.

It seems to function just fine for me.

I do an advanced search and put in a beginning date and it finds the new posts.

Pictures and text seems to work fine.

I am unconcerned than they don’t have the correct paperwork filed.

People insulting me or being combative is just part of life.

Tolerating this behavior is a price I pay for posting.

I have to admit sometimes I don’t post things because I don’t want to give ammunition to the combative people that will try to turn it into a debate or blame somebody for something.

I have learned a lot here about how to be a better communicator.

I feel I get more customer service than I pay for.

There are more posts every day than I can keep up with.

I find it disquieting when someone suggests a theory or a technique that if people believed in it they might get hurt.

Fortunately most of the people proposing such things have already lost their credibility.

Unfortunately new people coming in might not have a good BS detector.

I am off to Sun N Fun and when I get back I have a couple of Federal Aviation Regulations that I found were misunderstood at Bensen Days that I will write about when I get back.

I have a client with a week booked when I get back so it may be a couple of weeks.
 
Aw, the Good Ol' Days weren't that good. We had vicious conflicts on the old forum, ones that spilled out of the virtual world into the real one. Several years ago, at Bensen Days, I was sure I was going to witness a fistfight among a few of the more belligerent posters and lurkers.

I sense that the sport of gyroing is in a multi-decade decline. There are a host of influences (demographic, cultural, historic and economic), that happen all to be moving our society in a certain direction. It's a direction AWAY from risk-taking, big spending on bulky possessions, physical activity, rural living and delayed gratification. To simplify ridiculously, blame the Internet and 9/11.
 
I got into the sport about 20yrs ago and got to meet a good number of the pioneers of the sport at bensen days and mentone. Everyone was made to feel welcome and encouraged to become a part of the gyro family and that was what it was a family affair. A trip to Wachula from NC cost me about $1000 but it was money well spent. Now if you don't show up in a half million dollar motor coach pulling a toy hauler with a hundred thousand dollar gyro and Harley then you are not part of the in crowd. I quit coming as its just not worth it anymore. I have fond memories of buzzing the cow pastures down there and still fly but not interested in the flyins here or Wachula or Mentone.
 
gyrodude;n1143363 said:
I got into the sport about 20yrs ago and got to meet a good number of the pioneers of the sport at bensen days and mentone. Everyone was made to feel welcome and encouraged to become a part of the gyro family and that was what it was a family affair. A trip to Wachula from NC cost me about $1000 but it was money well spent. Now if you don't show up in a half million dollar motor coach pulling a toy hauler with a hundred thousand dollar gyro and Harley then you are not part of the in crowd. I quit coming as its just not worth it anymore. I have fond memories of buzzing the cow pastures down there and still fly but not interested in the flyins here or Wachula or Mentone.

I just returned from Bensen Days. I showed up with a rental Prius and no gyroplane and was treated as an old friend.

The Grand Champion single place Dominator was built by an enthusiast and the Grand Champion two place was a very custom built gyroplane that showed a lot of love.

I had a great time visiting with old friends and meeting new ones.

I have been coming to Bensen Days for many years and for as long as I remember there were motor homes I could not afford.

This year one of couples driving one of the motor homes I could not afford was responsible for a wonderful eating experience for anyone who came by. The couple didn't have a gyroplane either.
 
Vance wrote:

"I have to admit sometimes I don’t post things because I don’t want to give ammunition to the combative people that will try to turn it into a debate or blame somebody for something."

This is the problem! I won't name names but my new circle of friends, some with thousands of hours of experience will not post on this site for the reason Vance posted. They stay far away from this forum and that is a shame. So much knowledge lost. Just look at the manufacturer's section. It is dead. Fara is the only manufacturer that bravely posts here once in awhile.

To the lurkers out there I can only say to walk away from the keyboard and go meet some actual gyro pilots! I have a dozen new friends in Texas and beyond. They own Autogyro, TAG, Tango, Magni, Hummingbird, Dominator, etc with all sorts of engines. It was a thrill to meet each one of them and talk about gyros. Yeah, I just bought an RV to travel with my gyro. So what? My last rv was used to travel with out three kids. It was a blast. My wife and I are empty nesters and we worked our butts off so why not get and rv and have some fun again?

Some of the silly BS comments made here in the past are so obviously wrong that a student pilot with only one flight under his or her belt could see through it. That's a good thing. I for one wouldn't want to be the moderator keeping the site pure so it goes on without a moderator at all. Heck, I couldn't even DONATE to the forum. The PRA website is also an embarrassment and I welcome the move to facebook. The facebook posts are instructive and positive. Why? Because you have to use your real name! The people here that stir shit for the fun of it would never come out of their basement and post their crap on facebook if their true identities were known.

BTW - In case you can't put two and two together, my name is Tim Treat and I live in Mesquite Nevada. I just built a MTOsport 2017 and tow it with an rv. I was trained by Vance and Craig. I was able to work through the govt shutdown mess and get mine registed, inspected, and through Phase 1. I do know that REAL gyro pilots couldn't care less what I fly or what I tow it with. Life is way too short to waste it when the sun is shining. I've met more than a dozen real pilots so far and I hope to meet many more. I'll see you in OSH KOSH and Mentone!
 
Welcome to the forum Tim..

May you many hours of enjoyment with the new machine and continue to meet a variety of individuals
 
HighAltitude, I don't care which gyro people fly, except that I hope it is a model without significant weaknesses.

You should have been here in the early 2000s when Chuck Ellsworth and several others were severely railing against RAF in Canada.
Because of those outspoken individuals, RAF owners became aware of many problems with their machines, and gradually abated them.
Imagine if Ellsworth et al never voiced strong contrary opinions, because Vance and others had bullied them into silence.

If I didn't care about your skin, I'd clam up about, for example, AutoGyro's mast and rotor blades.
You have carefully read the Cranfield University study of September 2010, haven't you?
("
Investigation of Crack in Gyroplane Main Rotor Blade")

I am not the "Will Rogers" of gyros, never meeting one I didn't like.
They are not all equal in safety and service life.
To imagine otherwise is foolish, and possibly perilous.

I'm all for civil discourse, but Kumbaya Kills.

Regards,
Kolibri


View attachment Cranfield rotorsportuk_report_v2_compressed.pdf
 
Kolibri;n1143401 said:
HighAltitude, I don't care which gyro people fly, except that I hope it is a model without significant weaknesses.

You should have been here in the early 2000s when Chuck Ellsworth and several others were severely railing against RAF in Canada.
Because of those outspoken individuals, RAF owners became aware of many problems with their machines, and gradually abated them.
Imagine if Ellsworth et al never voiced strong contrary opinions, because Vance and others had bullied them into silence.

If I didn't care about your skin, I'd clam up about, for example, AutoGyro's mast and rotor blades.
You have carefully read the Cranfield University study of September 2010, haven't you?
("
Investigation of Crack in Gyroplane Main Rotor Blade")

I am not the "Will Rogers" of gyros, never meeting one I didn't like.
They are not all equal in safety and service life.
To imagine otherwise is foolish, and possibly perilous.

I'm all for civil discourse, but Kumbaya Kills.

Regards,
Kolibri



So, what kinda text tech trickery ya got going on now ?
I used to see your text in Green , now it's black, but when I scroll the thread, it turns Green !!
I thought it was the dope at first but my nurse confirmed my visual .
This site will be my entertainment for awhile, so let's spice this crap up.
 
Usually when the product or service begins to lose its luster can be traced to stale product. It peaked. Time for a reinvention. Kinda like the Rolling Stones. Rolling with the times.
A product has to stimulate the senses. If it doesn't, irrelevancy ensues. Corrected by some fresh, new ideas.
 
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