The Jeffster Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 I was having a steak and a beer with a few long standing members recently and I mentioned that there was a lot of new users on the forums. They bemoaned the apparent fact that they join but don't participate in social events, that it's the same old suspects coming to drive days. My questions is, has OZRS changed or stayed the same and if it's stayed the same should the new members stand up and be recognised. I know I said some dumb ass stuff when I first joined, but as forums go this is a pretty jovial and safe place - what's the go, is the community stagnating even with all the new blood. troll> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pez Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 what's the go, is the community stagnating even with all the new blood. I've been involved in the site for coming up to 2 years, and at every social event I have seen a new member, myself being quite newish. Sure, members come and go quite quickly it would appear, but the influence of new members especially with the release of the 200 and 250 is only positive for the longevity of the club. Maybe the close knit nature of early days, has changed into a larger and less personal forum, which you are missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xeno182 Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 I'm in the same boat as blue182. I've been a member just over 2 years, but haven't gone to any social events, etc, mainly because I've a family and they're generally held over the other side of town. I have noticed a change in the forum, it does seem to have gone from something of a smaller community type thing to a more mainstream medium, most likely due to the 200 and 250 releases creating more interest in RS vehicles as blue182 says. Whilst this is good in terms of longevity and growth, I understand Jeffster's concerns that it's becoming less personal and in a way less "special" than it was. The new members still seem to have the same spirit and are far more controlled and reasonable than other forums I've participated in. Let's hope OzRenaultsport continues to thrive, it's a fantastic community and resource for all RS owners and enthusiasts.....still my favourite forum by far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmadrid-182 Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 I think OZRS has changed, I think in the early days there were lots of InitialD type 10/10ths drivers, now there is a more distributed type of car enthusiast, some are hardcore track drivers and others just want to share and gain knowledge about this very niche part of the Australian car industry. I think a lot of newer people may have been put off the drive days cause they think its a flat out street race, maybe they get this from bad experiences from other car club's drive days, when I find you can go with what you are comfortable within the limit, bearing in mind that we are driving sports cars. I like that after a nice spirited drive we usually find a place to eat and have a yak for lunch. I too try to make social events as they are enjoyable, however, work to pay the mortgage & family often take priorities... only if I was single and debt free.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xeno182 Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 hey rmadrid......just noticed you joined on exactly the same day I did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS-172 Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 Agree on the drive day point. If im looking to go and have a decent drive, ill either go by myself, a small group or hit the track. Dont be put off by the OZRS drives, they are an enthusiats drive but nothing that should make you feed uncomfortable or leave you ended up in someones front yard hedge... The forum has opened up to more members and in someway lost its close knit feel. I also put this down to the longer hours that i work and get the feeling the workforce as a whole is working more and spending less time on social days.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teki04 Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 Calm down Jeff. I'll be more active now with my 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 Yeah... we really should have stuck with the Yahoo group, this forum this is what started all the problems Seriously though, it is great to see a lot of new members joining up. I haven't been on a drive day in ages (aside from Nationals) mostly due to years of study committments. It is great to see the brand getting so much more exposure, and I hope to meet more new owners on a drive day soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser215 Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 I joined early in the year and think the openness and friendliness of the people on the forum has been fantastic. I joined a drive day back in September, here in Melbourne, and will be attending another one this weekend. I am fairly sure I wasn't the only newbie there either (SMC, Dev etc.). what I have noticed is a LOT of people jumping online saying they are about to by an RS (mainly Clio) and ask for advice, and then generally disappear. Perhaps the car is jumping through a price point that's making accessible to a younger generation (or cheaper generation ). In any case, a lot of the new people (myself included) have been very active, so I hope that continues What does the Melboruen crew think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dish Posted 24, November 2010 Report Share Posted 24, November 2010 I joined early in the year and think the openness and friendliness of the people on the forum has been fantastic. I joined a drive day back in September, here in Melbourne, and will be attending another one this weekend. I am fairly sure I wasn't the only newbie there either (SMC, Dev etc.). What does the Melboruen crew think? I kinda see where Jeffster's coming from. Even in Melbourne, at most social events and drive days it seems to be a small core of the usual suspects plus a handful of newbies who we rarely see/hear of thereafter. I think we scared Dev off... haven't seen him post since that drive! We are fortunate to have quite a large core group of long term, active members. I think that sets the tone and keeps things civilised. Overall, I don't think things have changed that greatly over the last 2-3 years, but there was a distinct change from the formation in 2004 to about 2007 when prices of Clios dropped to levels when more younger owners came on board with aspirations of cheap modding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aitch Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 I've been on 3 day longer than Jeffster, just noticed. He's just being funny because he hasn't got one. Teki driving a Bimmer. Chris has finally got a job. The site has changed constantly while I've been on. Nice people, good vibe. May that continue. The big change is that now there are the old cheap ones available. In come the young'ens. (I wish I'd had one when I was a kid) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teki04 Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 I'm sure older men will buy them as fun weekend toys too? New release Clios will keep it real Um... I've got a bimmer but not for long Aitch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aitch Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 Indeed, be surprised if quite a few don't pop up around here shortly. Jeff's and old man, why doesn't he get one of the cheapies to prove your point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJ Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 that's life.........things change!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkie86 Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 OZRS has definitely changed but it's still a great place to hang out. In Sydney, we've had few social events this year and I haven't made it to too many because of uni commitments but I'm keen to get back into it! Having a core group of long-term members keeps everything together and I think makes the new members feel welcome and that they're joining an established club PS. drive-day this Sunday in Sydney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffyn Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 To answer the question: Yes, but for the better. I feel the community is both stronger in number and more diverse than when I joined. Everyone here (excepting Dish) is polite and well mannered, and those that aren't don't tend to last long. Chris' spelling has improved immeasurably, the Jeffster's loved and lost and will love again, several members have moved away from the brand, but stayed within the community (storms, teki, foxman and others) and that speaks volumes for what you guys have built here. I firmly believe that we are the premier RenaultSport resource in Australia and I'm damn proud of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jeffster Posted 25, November 2010 Author Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 Indeed, be surprised if quite a few don't pop up around here shortly.Jeff's and old man, why doesn't he a get one of the cheapies to prove your point? Old man With the young ladies It came up in conversation and I did notice how busy the newbie section is and lot of new users. I am definitely getting another RS it's just a cash flow thing. I have been to every nationals bar one and really miss my car. Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dish Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 Everyone here (excepting Dish) is polite and well mannered, and those that aren't don't tend to last long. Bastard! I firmly believe that we are the premier RenaultSport resource in Australia and I'm damn proud of that. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 Yeah... we really should have stuck with the Yahoo group, this forum this is what started all the problems There wouldnt be many that get that one Deb... I joined 6minutes before you did - LOL... Back in my day when i was a boy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosey Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 I agree with most of the comments on here. Don't forget that we had our biggest National Event so far only a couple of months ago, so when members know a good thing, they make the effort to get on board. I reckon that some of the longer termers on here are just busy with life. That's 100% the case here in Sydney. Once uni students and singles, five years later it's full time work and for some of us, a family with kids. So we just don't get out as much as we used to due to other commitments. Agree particularly that it's the long termers who still set the forum tone around here, are welcoming and happy to share the knowledge, and that for me makes the site what it has been and continues to be. It's such an easy forum to manage from an admin perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benst Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 I think the forum seems to be getting more fragmented as new models are created, and people mainly post in the section that is specific to their car. I don't venture into the Megane 250 section - except occasionally to have a dig at the looks of it - coz it's completely irrelevant to me. And the guys who've upgraded to a 250 probably won't be posting in the 225 section any more, so unless new 225 owners join the forum, the 225 section will slowly die. Perhaps it's time to consider merging the 225 and 250 sections, and likewise for some of the Clio sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob 240 Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 interesting thread .. theres been exactly the same talk on 2 other forums . on a rice forum , the track / race guys have dropped off and as the cars have got cheap , theres now lots of red p platers on board and more talk of ebay based mods and stuff like that . disturbing ...... on another forum , theres 2 basic models and the some of the original model owners have felt swamped by all the new model owners who have much bigger numbers . a bit of '' isnt like it used to be '' . things evolve and change . thats good . the key is to engage , keep posting , keep stirring , keep arranging track and social events and have some fun sharing a great obsession ... RS and driving . maintain the rage . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R26DAVE Posted 25, November 2010 Report Share Posted 25, November 2010 Sure, the forum has changed. That's to be expected. Where have you been lately Jeffster, you used to be the life of the party here...... I agree with Ben, as new models are released, it can fragment the forum. It also doesn't help when new owners say things like "my new car is soooo much better in every way than the old one....." !! Maybe it is, but some folks could be a bit tactful sometimes. This helps drive the wedge. I also find that "new" owners of second hand cars (Meggys for instance) pop up with a handful of posts saying things like......My Meggy has an exhaust, intercooler,custom map etc.....what else can I do. They have never really introduced themselves, or shared their mods with the forum like people did in the early days. Feels like I don't really "know" them. I think the "facelift" to the forum changed the forum a bit (at least to me). I used to browse the board index, through the individual sections (mainly the Meggy section), but now I tend to view the active topics list. Its all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser215 Posted 26, November 2010 Report Share Posted 26, November 2010 I agree a lot with Dave. My two main (and ultimately minor) annoyances are: 1. People who join for selfish reasons, "take" the info they want, and then disappear back into the internetswamp. 2. People who post to ask questions that have been answered umpteen times in other threads (of which I am sure i am occasionally guilty.* And finally, if people think the forum is not as good now as what it used to be (long before i joined), then it must have been incredible back in the day! *Side note: Last night i tried to search for "oil", but the forum doesn't like 3 letter searches! Must hunt through tech stickies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmadrid-182 Posted 26, November 2010 Report Share Posted 26, November 2010 Everyone here (excepting Dish) is polite and well mannered, and those that aren't don't tend to last long. Bastard! I firmly believe that we are the premier RenaultSport resource in Australia and I'm damn proud of that. +1 Dish is too polite and too well mannered... sets the level of gentemanship for us all and love this site... only web-site I visit regularly. it may have changed but it still retains its nice atmosphere and values. Lets revisit this site ten years down the track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xeno182 Posted 26, November 2010 Report Share Posted 26, November 2010 And the guys who've upgraded to a 250 probably won't be posting in the 225 section any more, so unless new 225 owners join the forum, the 225 section will slowly die. Benst, I think it'll be a while before the 225 section dies. There are lots of people (like myself) who've moved from a Clio to a 225, as well as first time owners, the main reason being that the cars are now more affordable, so the cycle will continue for some time. You see lots of posts from people looking to buy a 225, and so on. Every section will eventually become smaller or one day die. For example, there wouldn't be too many Ph1 clios around these days.....it's all part of the cycle or ageing process (to sound corny) if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nisch Posted 26, November 2010 Report Share Posted 26, November 2010 xeno182, I think you are on the right track. Those who couldn't get a 225 or didn't want to pay the premium for the insurance a few years ago are slowly moving to them now that it is more affordable, as people get older. Others move to a larger car with 5 doors for family reasons and the Clio doesn't really suit. As for the forum changing, everything will change over time, there isn't much you can do about it... I think it is about time the Jeffster gets back into an RS. It's been too long mate There will always be the post whores, the lurkers, the newbies, the keyboard warriors and the ones who sign up, post one thing, then disappear. The key is we have a decent set of core members who always frequent the forums and go on the social events etc. to keep things ticking along. I agree with the earlier posts about the number of people who no longer drive an RS but are still valued members of the crew and who are still very much welcome in anything we do. It shows it's more about the people than the cars, even though the cars is what brought us together in the first place. It's all very hard to tell what will happen in the future. We're only talking about around 10 years of RS in Australia so far, which is not a lot of time. PS w00t 1111 posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robs200 Posted 26, November 2010 Report Share Posted 26, November 2010 As a relatively new member, I have to say that the main reason I joined was for the social aspect. Most of my current friends, if not all were made from my involvement in running a certain Silvia club in NSW. I don't really plan in modding my car or worrying about fixing faults so the technical information here does not really mean much to me, not that I don't think it's extremely valuable. People need to understand that people join forums/clubs for many reasons, these might not be the same as yours but they should all be respected. The Renault scene is lucky in the way we don't have a massive influx of teenage drivers that only care about how hectic their friends think they are because they have 200rwkw or can drift without spilling their tofu. So on that note, I am itching to get out to social events, track days and to positively contribute to the forums. And hopefully make some good friends along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velocitygt2 Posted 28, November 2010 Report Share Posted 28, November 2010 I must say ( as a newbie ) I had an absolute ball on a drive day today with a group of very friendly people from this forum. Drive Days was the very reason I signed up and so far I have not been disappointed, especially with how spirited the driving was! I really appreciated my car for what is was built to do today. Good forum, good cars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITHELIVING Posted 29, November 2010 Report Share Posted 29, November 2010 As far as forums go, this is one of the best, no doubt about it. I've moved on from the brand, so don't really post very often, but still check the forums every couple of days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted 30, January 2011 Report Share Posted 30, January 2011 I joined early in the year and think the openness and friendliness of the people on the forum has been fantastic. I joined a drive day back in September, here in Melbourne, and will be attending another one this weekend. I am fairly sure I wasn't the only newbie there either (SMC, Dev etc.). What does the Melboruen crew think? I kinda see where Jeffster's coming from. Even in Melbourne, at most social events and drive days it seems to be a small core of the usual suspects plus a handful of newbies who we rarely see/hear of thereafter. I think we scared Dev off... haven't seen him post since that drive! We are fortunate to have quite a large core group of long term, active members. I think that sets the tone and keeps things civilised. Overall, I don't think things have changed that greatly over the last 2-3 years, but there was a distinct change from the formation in 2004 to about 2007 when prices of Clios dropped to levels when more younger owners came on board with aspirations of cheap modding. Posts like this make me glad I'm back.. I actually couldn't leave!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weezndajuice Posted 30, January 2011 Report Share Posted 30, January 2011 well as a new member here's the rub with me... Forums (especially local ones) are a good place to check the vibe of the brand/model of new cars im looking at. They are self generating in my opinion. if the forum is added onto over years of useful information from both a technical and emotional level - they serve their purpose, one of self help and public service. i basically hate car dealers, with a passion and this Renault purchase is no exception (dont get me started). ive never bought the same brand twice.... im a car guy. love cars, alot. love motorsport. love music. love music, alot. love making my car my own through modification of whats important to me. which involves all of the above. i never really got into the vibe of the BMW 130i. it was an awesome car - but it was a bit emotionless (maybe too good generally?) and as a consequence it never became a part of me (which cars should i reckon) i feel its responsible to post to local forums when appropriate since i used them in my purchase planning, and as it seems with the RS250 i might be the first DIY stereo dude. just unsure about maintaining the RS Monitor access with a different head unit... my 2c anyway cheers, Ben. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob 240 Posted 30, January 2011 Report Share Posted 30, January 2011 The Renault scene is lucky in the way we don't have a massive influx of teenage drivers that only care about how hectic their friends think they are because they have 200rwkw or can drift without spilling their tofu. So on that note, I am itching to get out to social events, track days and to positively contribute to the forums. And hopefully make some good friends along the way. the first bit is really funny and SO true . the rice forum i'm on has gone that way as the cars get cheaper the 2nd bit .. a forum is what we make it and doing what you say there and do with the forum is what its all about . i hope jeffsters noted the massive roll up to the drive / dinner last week . jeffster , we expect you to get back on keyboard and to get out to EC on 23/2 for the twilight social event !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teki04 Posted 30, January 2011 Report Share Posted 30, January 2011 i never really got into the vibe of the BMW 130i. it was an awesome car - but it was a bit emotionless (maybe too good generally?) and as a consequence it never became a part of me (which cars should i reckon) Slightly OT, but I'm totally with you on that one Ben. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClioF1 Posted 10, February 2011 Report Share Posted 10, February 2011 jeffster , we expect you to get back on keyboard I've kept in touch with the Jeffster a bit on facebook and met up for a coffee or two, I think he's busy with his new lady We need to convince him to buy a 197 and start posting again.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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