Separate technical forums for TJ/YJ/XJ...etc?

[Joe West]

Question to the group...

Should we make separate technical forums for each type of Jeep (YJ, TJ, CJ, XJ, ZJ, etc) in addition to having a general forum or should we just keep one large general forum?

Joe

PS... I'm trying to test the poll feature as well with this post.

[gonzodave]

I have mixed feelings about this. I voted "no" since the BBS is so new. Perhaps we can rethink it in the future, if there is a lot of activity in the tech forum.

On one hand, I'm in favor of separate forums because then people who have one type of Jeep don't have to wade through all the irrelevant stuff to find the nuggets they're looking for.

OTOH, I have a '61 CJ-5 witha hodgepodge of parts from wherever, and I frequently find that I can use (or adapt) something from another kind of Jeep to make mine better.

Gonzo

[JamesT]

ditto as above

[RokkCrawler]

I had to vote yes primarily for the reason that a number of VJC'ers have publicly stated in the past that the VJC is for the most part TJ oriented. I dont know if I would totally agree on that but you cant argue the fact that many and perhaps the majority of members are TJ owners. As the owner of a "real" :-) Jeep, a CJ, I and others like me and even the less experienced member doesnt want to have to sort through hundreds of TJ posts to one big forum just for something CJ, or YJ or XJ or SJ or KJ or ZJ or MB...........Ok you get my point.......lets keep them separate. If I need to look up something for another model because of my using other parts then I can easily do that.......perhaps a 4x4 in general forum too for the members that have another 4x4 that is not a Jeep.

[JamesT]

maybe SWB & LWB sections

everything bigger than Wrangler/CJ is LWB

[lpennock]

Things like lifts are really pretty specific to the model. I.E. a body lift is pretty hard to do on a XJ. The main problem with separting is for people to realize that some things are general even though they are talking about a particular model. Still it is nice for the new people to have a place to start on items specific to their jeep.

[Rioshilo]

Although it is true that a CJ owner wouldn't want to dig through lots of posts to find relevant material, it's also likely that a tech post or question that is put on a low traffic forum is not as likely to get answered. So it kind of works both ways.

[RokkCrawler]

Who ever accused the VJC of being a low traffic club/forum? 100+ emails on a typical day, some days 150+ I do not think it is low traffic anymore. My vote still remains for separate tech listings by model. There would be few TJ owners that would have knowledge or interest in the older models tech stuff (plus some newer Jeep owners are going to get confused for sure and ask if they can put revolver shackles on their TJ or a 2" body lift on their XJ) and little info about TJs that would be useful to the classic Jeeps. Does this constitute my 3 cents :-)

[Brian Luse]

No.
Why? I currently don't have my WJ anymore but I may still may be able to help someone with a problem. If I don't happen to check that forum, the knowlege is wasted. I may need help or suggestions from someone else that may not know to share it. So many items are interesting to review and may later provide ideas for me. We are not JU so we can sift through a few threads that are not directly related to our jeeps. Additioanlly, it is nice to stay aprised of what others are upgrading or modifying.

I like being a tight-knit group and there is no reason to segregate us.
We all know the saying. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. It will be an easier transition and promote better communication amongst the group.
JMHO


Brian Luse

[Stu Olson]

I believe what Rio might have met by a "low traffic forum" is that if you have seperate forums for each model of Jeep, it is possible you won't have nearly as much CJ activity as you will have TJ activity, thus you will have a low traffic forum on the BBS.

It is very probably that I won't read the CJ forum because I don't have a CJ. However, I might very well know the answer to the CJ question....and since I am not scanning that forum, the person posting the question doesn't get the benefit of my answer. On the flip side, since there are lots of TJ owners, there would be much more traffic in the TJ forum and as such, a much better chance of an answer being given to someone's question.

Rio, if I am wrong, please correct me. :)

[Rioshilo]

You are absolutely correct Stu.

I also agree with what Brian said about being a close group.

[Pat Sutter]

I agree with Stu...even though it might be related to a CJ, others that may own a TJ may have some good advice for a CJ problem or help the person go down the right path.

[Ohmboy]

I also say lets just leave it as a single forum for now. If the need arises it can always be done later.

[rolled1]

Originally posted by Pat Sutter
I agree with Stu...even though it might be related to a CJ, others that may own a TJ may have some good advice for a CJ problem or help the person go down the right path.

Me too

[Steve Campbell]

Originally posted by Pat Sutter
I agree with Stu...even though it might be related to a CJ, others that may own a TJ may have some good advice for a CJ problem or help the person go down the right path.

Me three. :D

[RokkCrawler]

I guess it wont matter one way or another as long as there is a separate tech forum and tech doesnt get mixed up with the "General" Jeep stuff.........look at all the threads in just one day......it would also be nice if we could have the icons like JU uses in the posts that have a big red YJ, XJ, TJ, CJ etc in front of the post to maybe help some of us weed out what we dont want to read or what we might not be quite as knowledgable in. Would work for me if we had one big tech thingy

[AZJeepdad]

CJ forum, because real Jeeps have LEAF springs:p

[blooddrive]

I'd probably have to say no. If you look at JU their forum is more or less segregated between the different type of jeep owners. The TJ people don't talk to the CJ/YJ and vice versa. It's also not like the old e-mail format so even if all tech is specified in one forum it would be easier to sort through since you don't have 50 posts for the same topic.

On a side note I think the TJ, XJ, YJ, KJ .. icons that JU has would be a great implementation for a single tech form. How come I couldn't vote until after I posted? that's strange

[Linda]

How many diesel Willys wagons are there? :)

[NVRSTUKXJ]

Originally posted by AZJeepdad
CJ forum, because real Jeeps have LEAF springs:p

Damn.....I've got half a real jeep then......:D

[azrubyman]

I vote seperate and just to add to the fun....i wonder if there are enough Rubicon owners to support a Rubicon section as well?
And thanks for all the hard work put into this site!
azrubyman
:D

[John in AZ]

I voted for 1 big one because most all of us have owned several Jeeps & have good knowelege from our past Jeeps that could help someone. In otherwords I agree with Stu & Brian Luse
John

[XJames]

I say General and Tech specific models.

[KURT]

I am for at least two forums....



Those with round headlights,...and then the rest!:D

[Antman]

I say for the time being, just one big forum until we see where it goes



Antman

[Griswold]

Why not one large tech forum with a keyword search option. Is that possible? BTW I am enjoying the new format.

[John DeRuiter]

I voted yes. I thought it might be convenient for those folks that do not want to wade through a lot of posts that they do not care about. i.e a ZJ owner trying to find something where most stuff may apply to his/her vehicle.

[highjeeps]

I vote no for now.

[TimFryeAZ]

I voted NO! I am new to Jeeping and I want to learn as much as possible. When I was on a trail and a YJ broke, I joined in to lend tools and help those people who knew what to do. I do not find it difficult to "scan" the thread and I skip what does not catch my eye. With a single area each post stands a better chance of getting some sort of reply, even if the reply is the name of a shop that offers good service and fair prices. We can always seperate later if this area gets too jumbled up to be useful.

[RokkCrawler]

Ok the poll is a virtual dead heat and we need to do something. Tech stuff is showing up in several forums. Lets close this poll and make a decision one way or the other and get on with it

[Joe West]

I don't mind leaving the poll open so that as (if) people's opinions change, we can watch the trend and make separate forums as necessary. I like the idea of one big forum, but I like the organization of separate forums... for now, the poll is a pretty much dead heat so I don't see it as a mandate for change.

Unless I hear a bunch of requests to close the poll... let's just leave it open and see how things progress with time.

Joe

[Hackle]

I think we should set up a pole about closing the pole:D
Jim F.

[XJames]

I think, not that it matters but, TJ/YJ's don't want to read about XJ/ZJ's and vise versa. But the topics are often closely related in the general forum, until you actually read them. Then you realize that your specific vehicle does not apply! IE (I need opinions on a bumper(insert brand name hear) you check out the thread and realize its not for your vehicle, but the (insert brand name here) sells for both types of Jeeps.
I understand that you may want to have both groups come together by reading a general forum and helping each other out! But when it comes down to Tech specific questions the forementioned does not apply. And should be sperated into model/make specific forums.
But with the general forum all topics related to local shops and recommendations to service would apply. To help each other out in that reguard! So go with Jeep model specific Tech forums and also a general forum for all to help and correspnd with each other.

BTW its kinda like the for sale forum....IE I'm not looking in the YJ section for my XJ :)

[Desertjeep]

If you ask me I don't think there are enough peoples to warrant seperate forums. I think the WJ/ZJ forum will be a pretty lonely venue. Maybe if you broke it into say... a CJ, Wrangler and a Cherokee Forum you might could break it up that way. but still I think it will be too few reading the posts to get a quick response.

My issue is that I still like the list forum that Yahoo provides. This BBS style is great but clicking here then there to keep up with posts is time consuming. Even if you just check your unread posts you still may miss something depending on your settings and how often you are online. Soooo splitting up the technical forum will just make it more cumbersome for those that would like to keep up on the club happenings.

Lastly this is a CLUB. True it is a virtual one but shouldn't we be doing more group stuff instead of splitting us up?

I'd hate to get too organized. LOL

[Scout]

Too many forums make it difficult, many people will just find the one that they are interested in and "hang out" there.

For tech, maybe 3 forums:
1. TJ/YJ (Wranglers)
2. CJ, MB's, etc
3. XJ/ZJ's

Look at the forums now that get the traffic, too many and many won't get used.

Just my .02

[Linda]

My choice would be stock, modified, and extreme since modification ideas can go across Jeep models.

[XJ Un-Limited]

I'd have to say keep a single forum. There's a lot of interchangable parts and information among the jeeps (engines, trannies, axles etc.) If the items are model specific, ie.. unibody mods, then specify that in the title. There's just too much knowledge out there to segregate into specific and individual forums. We can alll benefit from the knowledge from other model jeeps and spin off new ideas from them.

[Y2K-XJ]

Im with Xjames on this he said it perfectly...

[Joe West]

For those who don't want to read worthless posts about other people's vehicles... I have enabled two letter searching using the following keywords:

TJ
XJ
CJ
ZJ
WJ
YJ

This means you can search any forum on whatever designator (YJ, etc) and come up with hits only on your particular vehicle type.

If you'll point out any other two letter designators you'd like to be able to search by... I'll add them.

Joe West

[blooddrive]

ZJ, MJ, SJ, DJ, VJ (http://www.jeeptech.com) No I don't have them all memorized, just most of them :).

Mark

[Y2K-XJ]

Hey this keyword search works pretty good ... Now if everyone can remember to put those keywords in ther post we'll be rockin!!

Here are some Samples

Not searchable post= My Jeep has a problem what is it???

Searchable post= My CJ has a problem what is it?

[Y2K-XJ]

Well this is a bit unfair!!!! I have gathered roughly 15 LEGAL AZVJC MEMBERS THAT HAVENT VOTED YET!!!!!!
They went to go vote but its closed.

Hmmm I wonder how that happened?
Pretty cool

Oh well I guess thats just the American way! Just Get use to it huh?

[Joe West]

Hey guys... the vote is split pretty much 50-50, and it has been from the start. We've had a single forum for the past 5 months or so... it seems fair to me that we try separate forums for the same period of time and have a vote based on what people like.

I'll check with the moderator team and see what they want... and if they want to try having separate forums (in addition to the general forum) then we'll try it and see how it works out... to be followed by another poll.

Standby for results.

Joe

[ChrisK]

Do whatever you guys want. I've reopened the thread and the poll. I'm done with all this crap. I'm outta here.

[Jeepgurl]

I demand a recount!!! lol

okay..I was just kidding! :P

[jeep4offrd]

I vote yes.
Bruce

[CheroKing]

I say yes, I have dial up and it is hard enough trying to read everything anyway. If it were separated, I would not have to fish through tons of posts just to find some help for my XJ.

[ChrisK]

Why is this poll still open? We closed it weeks ago. What you see is what you get.