Making this the LOCI site?

Hello Richard, welcome aboard. I did wonder if you'd pop in at some point.

Now then, you're opening a bit of a can of worms with your question, and raising some significant issues about the demographic of 'Crab owners.

A chap known as RichardH started this forum on the 9th of December 2010. He had a 'Crab for a while and felt that there was no-one to talk to. As a consequence, he started this free forum. It has some interest and a small but steady flow of posts, which has gradually built up into a very comprehensive library of technical and restoration threads covering almost all aspects of 'Crab ownership. It's something which the membership has built over a few years and I'm rather proud of that and them.

The trouble is, due to the nature of 'Crab owners, relatively few of the world-wide band of owners actually use the internet and many, even with postions of responsibility, don't use email. As a consequence, many of the older members just don't post anything, anywhere. In the fullness of time, their knowledge will be lost. I'm 56, and a bit of a whippersnapper by LOCI standards. I've owned my second 'Crab for 11 years now, and I'm still rather a "blow-in".

LOCI aren't daft, they've been aware of this forum from its inception. From a club point of view, it's not perfect as I don't care if you're a LOCI member or not. If you're interested in the cars, you're more than welcome to join in. By using the facilities offered on the Wolseley Forum, they can have a private club area for club business and activities, which is absolultely fair enough, without the management hassles of owning, managing and maintaining the forum themselves. The Wolseley Forum is due a huge upgrade within the next three months, which will resolve many of the issues which have gradually arisen.

However, it still doesn't solve the basic problem. 'Crab owners don't do the internet. You will have noticed on the Wolseley Forum that the posters you have corresponded with are Mark, me, Ahctog (Barry), NickRS and occasionally Mrs Nishka. That's it, for five years of work. On here, we have some 180 members, 73 of whom have never posted and the core group who actually keep the forum "alive" is probably about 12. One member is known to have died, so he has a valid excuse for not posting, although I miss his (often very funny) input greatly. As for the rest? I don't know. There are a large number of readers and visitors every day according to my stat logs, so there is interest, yet nobody says anything. There's even a non-member in Rugby who spends two hours a day on here, everyday, and doesn't join. What are you supposed to do?

I can see no point in LOCI making this their home, as nothing will really change. Mark is "Foursquare" on here and does an excellent job of keeping the LOCI area up to date. I suppose the ultimate statement of where things have got to is that LOCA, the Oz club has closed down.

There are a number of groups on the internet where you can do 'Crabby stuff:



The Oz google group hasn't had a post in over a month. Most of the rest are read only. Your other choice is the group on Facebook, which, like here, ticks over gently. Personally, I consider Facebook to be a disorganised shambles. You couldn't run a restoration blog on there and the technical posts would just slip further and further down the list until they're effectively lost.

So, you are very welcome to join in here, I'd love to see pics of your car coming back together and you will get some support, encouragement, help and even praise for your efforts. There just won't be hundreds though.

Cheers,

Chris.

Chris, you've highlighted one of the most significant characteristics of Austin 1800 ownership. A lot of people like to read the news, but very few want to make the news. With the demise of the Australian club, I thought I would carry on in a different way with the 1800 Australia web site. Having done this for about three years now, I am amazed that Daryl Stephens last 20 years as editor of the old LOCA newsletter with one every month. Now that I have produced only 12 newsletters (one every quarter), I can count the total number of contributors on three fingers, yet I have 150 or so signed up as readers!

I think the Landcrab proboards forum is excellent as it is and should not be associated with a particular club. It makes it more open and available to anyone who wants to either enjoy the excellent posts, or contribute if they want to. The forum layout is quite good, and it is fairly easy to find and read past articles, plus the never ending rust work in your part of the world is a source of constant amazement and inspiration for us in Australia. Keep up the good work all of you. 

Tony

I started posting a reply to the many helpful suggestions, went away (kids!) and when I came back the reply was gone.  Maybe there's a timeout.

In summary:
 - the Wolseley Forum can't handle IPv6.  I use Three 4G which uses IPv6.
 - I'd like to know of a mechanic who can replace the gasket on my autobox.  It leaks.  A mechanic who has non-metric tools.  It's an engine-out job.  I don't have an engine hoist.
 - the twins prefer the Wolseley 18/85 over the Rolls Royces.
 - I didn't say: I have an adblocker, Adlock Plus, I think this is now integrated into Firefox.  I'll support your forum by buying you a pint when we meet at a rally.

I can only concur with what Penguin and the other long-standing Forum members have posted on this thread.

We have a lot of communications channels open to us to keep in touch - so let's use the lot!

There's still a lot to be said for picking up the phone and actually talking.

Another stat for the pile, more than 90% of the membership prefer to receive a hard copy of the club magazine.

A sizeable cast of 'Crabs is indeed a rare sight these days, although were are hopeful for a big turnout at the National in July for the Golden Jubilee of the Morris 1800. If you can help swell the ranks, please get there.

Cheers,

Mark

From my 13 years in Yorkshire, I seem to recall that your family had to have lived there for three generations before you were let into Headingley as a spectator, and as for playing -- Domesday Book entry I believe.

David