This forum is DEAD! Whats going on?

Garry Dean

Garry Dean

Garry Dean Quality!
Where did everyone go? Is it just me or did this forum have many more active members a couple of years ago?

Boring...

:wall:wall:wall:wall:wall
 
I returned after an extremely long hiatus and I see some names from the past who I recognize and recognize me . I agree, what happened to the days of multiple pages of threads a day? It used to be kinda hard to keep up with it all. It's that time of year again, finally and I just guess everyone's out detailing.
 
Why post on the Autogeek Online clone when you can just post on the real thing and encounter significantly more traffic and an established presence?

Autopia-Carcare/AutopiaForums aren't differentiating themselves enough from the AG/AGO model to attract new or different clientele -- eventually I hope they'll realize it, otherwise they're just wasting their brand acquisitions. A well thought out and executed acquisition would have already been making bigger strides than I've seen so far here, which surprises me when you look at the rapid evolution going on with PBMA's other brands.

Seriously... what does ACC/AutopiaForums represent from a brand imaging standpoint? A clear identity has yet to be established as far as I can discern. Until that happens and until a widespread effort to market to whatever target demographic PBMA is looking to gain access to that it doesn't already have (or feels it can't get) via its Autogeek brand occurs, I don't see any significant growth happening.
 
I am just beginning to realize the redundancy that is Palm Beach Motoring Accessories! Pinnacle, DP, Autogeek, Wolfgang's, Diamondite, Cobra Microfiber, and now Autopia? They do seem to have a fair corner on the market...which brings us back to the OP's observation...do we need an AG forum and a "DetailCity/Autopia" forum? Or is it just diluting the traffic? I have yet to check out the AG forum, but guess what my next stop is going to be?

Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem with PBMA, I just didn't realize their size until today when I received an identical invoice from Autopia Car Care and Amazon/Autogeek.
 
I think you guys are totally off on this one. I've been around a while and have recenetly become more inspired to post here because of what I perceive as positive changes.

Sometimes when you are too close to something and tend to over think things, you miss the big picture. There can only be so much difference with detailing forums but there are more similarities due to the fact that detailing is detailing no matter where you go.

I am a friend of the previous owners Troy and Dwayne and when I joined here, Troy was running the forum. It wasn't an AGO clone and I don't think it is now. If anything, I see it as more inspired by the original Autopia forums before the Autopia store and the forum split up.

I do think it is rude to post publicly in a manner that puts the forum down. Maybe I'm just old fashioned but there are a lot of keyboard cowboys that would rather complain about something than be a part of something positive. I can see that you guys have the ability to post. Why not post a product review or a how to article? If you are a profesional detailer, post something in the professional detailing section.

AGO clone huh? I just checked and they don't even have a section for professional detailing.

Also, it has been stated that this is an open forum where all detailing products can be discussed in depth, not just those sold by the sponsors store.

You can choose to be positive or you can sit at your computer and type complaints. It will be even more like the original Autopia forums after all.
 
I've been wondering also why there is so little traffic here. Back in the day I used to come to DC to keep on top of what was happening in the Poorboy's world (no pun intended ;) ), but I was just a lurker. However, I haven't been here much recently, so I'm not familiar with what the traffic level was just before the PBMA takeover. One theory I have is that the dissolution of the sponsor forums and subsequent ejection of the Poorboy's World sponsored forum took a lot of the traffic with it. Also, there are clearly some people who have a problem with PBMA and got turned off by this.

Those of you who know me know I'm more of a one-forum kind of guy, but I joined here because the rules appeared to be slightly different than at AGO. As far as differentiating ACC/AF from AG/AGO, one possibility (suggestion?) would be to make ACC/AF the definitive home for Sonus/Ultima, as (old) Autopia used to be. That might include some participation by the gentlemen at Four Star, and/or some exlcusive period on new products.
 
I would say that there is much more detailing discussion going on here now than there was in months prior. This forum used to be cliquish with much of the discussion off topic geared towards food, guns, politics etc.

The forum doesn't have to be geared towards any particular brand of products when discussion is open to virtually everything. I think it is up to the members to contribute accordingly.

For every action, there is a reaction and while a small established crowd may not have been happy with changes, I wouldn't say that it was a lot of traffic lost. The very fact that we have members like Setec Astronomy, Bill D, Pats300ZX, Shiny Lil Detlr, Bunky, wendell jarvis and others and Premium posting tells me that this forum is not dead but very much alive and it just needs to be realized.

If a core group would step and and make it a point to contribute with automotive and detailing related posts... to quote a famous movie "If you build it, they will come."
 
jammerz101 said:
I would say that there is much more detailing discussion going on here now than there was in months prior. This forum used to be cliquish with much of the discussion off topic geared towards food, guns, politics etc.

The forum doesn't have to be geared towards any particular brand of products when discussion is open to virtually everything. I think it is up to the members to contribute accordingly.

For every action, there is a reaction and while a small established crowd may not have been happy with changes, I wouldn't say that it was a lot of traffic lost. The very fact that we have members like Setec Astronomy, Bill D, Pats300ZX, Shiny Lil Detlr, Bunky, wendell jarvis and others and Premium posting tells me that this forum is not dead but very much alive and it just needs to be realized.

If a core group would step and and make it a point to contribute with automotive and detailing related posts... to quote a famous movie "If you build it, they will come."
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If some members are unhappy with this Forum, then they should step up and help Change it,by submitting topics that are important to them...Change is good, its up to that individual to accept or refuse change, we all need to contribute more to draw interest and keep this forum alive.....I submit allot to other forums also, but this place does have a homey, personal kind of feel....it's just going through some growing pains....but if we all chip in we can make it a world class forum....I am up for the challenge !!
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Seriously... what does ACC/AutopiaForums represent from a brand imaging standpoint? A clear identity has yet to be established as far as I can discern. Until that happens and until a widespread effort to market to whatever target demographic PBMA is looking to gain access to that it doesn't already have (or feels it can't get) via its Autogeek brand occurs, I don't see any significant growth happening.
Click to expand...

I just realized that ACC is carrying Prima products, which AG does not. Whether that will be temporary or permanent, and whether more brands will be exclusive to ACC remains to be seen. Of course it's difficult to find brands that AG doesn't carry...I still remember some years ago when they made a concerted effort to carry every brand that became "flavor of the month" on the forums.
 
One of the facts that everyone fails to realize is that this forum is in it's infancy stages and can be pretty much steered towards however the members want it to be. The goal of this forum is to make it a true detailing forum where folks could come and discuss all aspects of detailing whether professional or just your weekend hobbyist. The forum is not meant to be driven by a particular manufacturer or product line.

There are no limitation of products that can be discussed. It is meant to be as open as possible. The Autopia store is only one aspect of this forum and the discussion is not meant to be soley on the products carried in the store.

Instead of statements comparing this forum to "this and that" or "This Forum is _____" why not make posts as to what you would like to see on the forum or making posts to contribute to the forum etc.

A forum is only as good as it's members and the contributions they make as a whole.
 
Thanks, Pat. One of the reasons I joined here is that there didn't appear to be the restriction of posting links as they have at AGO. I'm glad to hear it reinforced that this will be an open forum.
 
One thing I think that needs to be mentioned is, from what I understand the store is a totally seperate entity from the forum. While they share the same owner, and Autopia Car Care advertises here, the forum is just that, a place for discussion.

Since the forum doesn't charge for membership and doesn't have Google ads or affiliate banners, it is not self sustaining, so the store essentially keeps the forum alive as far as paying the bills to "keep the lights on".

But don't think that products on the store dictate the discussions on the forum. They carry what they carry , it is what it is. It's their (PBMA's) job to run the store, it's our opportunity to make the forum a valuable resource of detailing information and discussion.
 
Well said everyone. I was just looking for your thoughts on the current situation. It just seems that there used to be much more traffic here. Im here to stay, and help out in any way I can.
 
The Forum isn't dead. It doesn't take a large crowd to make a Forum work. If you're impressed by a long list of members, hang out at AGO. :)

There are many discussions to access via the search bar. If you need help with something or pro advice, it's most likely been posted here in the past. A search works and most, if not all of the pro advice, doesn't change that often. In fact, some of it never changes.

Some of us work away from the computer. We can't be here 9 to 5 to keep some of you company. :D

After work, some of us have a beloved family to be with or we're busy spreading glamor on our own cars.
 
I had said this before but I did not think the forum was that active prior to the switch. It may have been the weather related but other detailing forums were not suffering. There is also a lot more forum competition these days.

Some forums are like:
1. Look what I bought - toys
2. Look what I did - wash/wax to full correction
3. Look at my collection
4. Brand x and anyone who disagrees is ignorant.
5. Flavor of the month discussions (CG Blacklight seems to be a recent one)
6. Who are the best detailers (and those that disagree)

I will be quite open: I post more reviews, etc on other forums since I got so few comments here.
 
Heres my veiw,be it wrong or right. If ACC had left th forum name alone it would difinitely have helped keep people. 2. Sponsors, such as Poorboys World, inmy opinion, now feel alienated, remember this is my opinion!!!!!!! They to have there own forum that has picked up since ACC took over here and uses autopia as the forum name. 3. The name is NOT distinguishable from the other forum. The change is/was just to much at one time. I would have kept the sponsors that were here. Kept/maybe modified, the forum name such as DETAIL CITY presented by AUTOPIA CAR CARE (not affiliated with Autopia forum). JUST MY IDEA AS FOR NOW. It could all change somewhat in the future, everything always seems to!!!!!! Even in other things that are NOT forums. RANDAL, THE IOWA BOY SITTING HERE WATCHING IT RAIN AND GET MUDDY HERE IN IOWA!!!!
 
RANDAL said:
Heres my veiw,be it wrong or right. If ACC had left th forum name alone it would difinitely have helped keep people. 2. Sponsors, such as Poorboys World, inmy opinion, now feel alienated, remember this is my opinion!!!!!!! They to have there own forum that has picked up since ACC took over here and uses autopia as the forum name. 3. The name is NOT distinguishable from the other forum. The change is/was just to much at one time. I would have kept the sponsors that were here. Kept/maybe modified, the forum name such as DETAIL CITY presented by AUTOPIA CAR CARE (not affiliated with Autopia forum). JUST MY IDEA AS FOR NOW. It could all change somewhat in the future, everything always seems to!!!!!! Even in other things that are NOT forums. RANDAL, THE IOWA BOY SITTING HERE WATCHING IT RAIN AND GET MUDDY HERE IN IOWA!!!!
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Sorry about the mud.

I do not disagree with some of your opinions if I was doing it but I was not consulted. :D

I really do not care about who the sponsors unless they create an environment of elitism or where there is an intolerance of people who do not use the sponsored products (thinking of two other detailing brand forums) or think a certain way or a certain core that want people (the self-appointed sheriffs) to think a certain way.
 
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