Ariel.Club Forum

GraemeW wrote: ↑Thu Jan 05, 2023 5:10 pm As said above, at least 80% of whats discussed on this WhatsApp group is not Atom 4 or even Ariel related. However, there are some real gems of information in there for current and waiting Atom 4 owners, and as Speedmachine says you pretty much get an instant answer if you ask a question.

It is still a pity that these gems can't be somehow included in this forum, or say discussion of the merits of various tracks included here for novice trackday drivers, or non atom 4 owners. The WhatsApp group can also drive you nuts some days with notifications for 100 plus messages a day.

We have knowledge spread over multiple social media channels now, and I wonder if there is a way to somehow streamline it? We already a small community, and chopping it up, I don't think helps anybody. I would suggest most should be members of the club, which should be a broad church covering most owner interests, and enhancing the enjoyment of their Ariel?

I do very much hope you have this appgroup on silent

What I am seeing, is people don't want to scroll through loads of pages on a forum when they can just ask a question and get instant replies. Yes you get the same question asked several times but it is so simple. In the world we live in today people want a reply instantly and on Whatsapp they get it. It is just the way things are. I love the whatsapp group, it is great fun and full of information and characters. It is more than just a information store it is also a lot of fun.

Just remember to mute it

Each to their own Mark. Both have a place.

The search facility in the forum is not the best but you can reduce the scrolling if you use it.

An example is the write up by Chris King on his My Atom 4 Journey viewtopic.php?f=17&t=18847 which can be read by new or interested entrants to the marque.

Cheers

Nick

At the moment 77 people in the group, lots of trackday gatherings and atom chat. If you want to join and have an Atom 4 (on order). Send me a pm with your (car/phonenr) details.

Little update here, we now have well over a 100 occupants in the group and a lot of active people in a wide range of interests. Some change turbo’s, some race and some just use it as a track car.
Great to see so many enjoying this cool car in their own ways and share it.
Also very handy for quick (on track) questions.

All (future) 4 owners are welcome to join.

Great whatsapp group - very active thank you.

it is a great WhatsApp group, but it and other groups have effectively killed this forum. All part of normal change etc. WhatsApp is instant and active, but a lot of information is lost, as it's not easily found, and new users can't see it. Yes, the question can be asked again on WhatsApp, but I can't be the only one who sometimes doesn't feel inclined to answer a question the 3rd or 4th time its asked, even though Ive benefited from asking such a question myself.

Suspect there needs to be a Club review of "digital" strategy going forward, and even club members info vs non members info. Just my 2p. WhatsApp becomes, or has become the daily chat, and Forum archived, and/or is only used for specific info/purposes?

Thanks for pointing this out for the 4th time.

As stated before, the whole idea why I started the group is because the forum (and many other forums) was dead and buried loooooong before and I wanted to gather atom 4 owners together because there arent too many. We now have 105 members in the group of which not even a third was active on the forum, or FB group or any different platform.

Which also is very clear is that owners see the whatsapp group as an additional medium, alongside what they always used.

So instead of mourning about a forum, be happy we have a new, much more succesfull and modern way of gathering Atom owners and get to know each other.

Since this group there have been way more outings with owners together than ever before.
We’ll find inventive ways to store important info to look into, like the sheet with trackdays or known issues. This needs to find its form

I am a 11 year forum member with over 1200 posts, so cant say I tried.

I’m not attacking the 4 WhatsApp group. Only trying to generate a review/discussion to re position the forum and maybe rationalise the number of WhatsApp groups

The forum was dead in the water before the whatsapp groups, you can go back 6 or even 12 months and see the gradual decline of posting. I agree there needs to be a rethink on what the forum is and how it should encourage better participation ..

The forum, and ariel.club for that matter, is what the members make it, or not.
Each medium has its benefits; Whatsapp/Facebook etc. with its instant appeal
Forum for history and scroll back/off-line leisurely read

These don't have to be exclusive but could be cross referenced.

If a member/participant of any medium found an item helpful and thought that it may be interesting to others in the future for an off-line read, a simple copy and paste (with credit to the OP) to the relevant section of the forum would capture the topic. This would rely on someone actually taking the time and having the presence of mind to share with others.

Anx10us "I agree there needs to be a rethink on what the forum is and how it should encourage better participation" - I'd be interested in your ideas/suggestions to take this forward.

Cheers

Nick

I said it once before, but the biggest issue I see with the Atom 4 whatsapp group is that anyone "considering" buying a 4 is excluded from joining the group, and therefore unable to research all the issues/problems etc experienced by existing owners. Only existing owners or those with an order in can join. I've owned my AA3 for 12 years, would I ever buy a 4? I honestly don't know, but I'd like to read about owner experience and ongoing issues eg the reported brake issues, cooling problems etc etc and what can/can't be fixed etc. Someone might as well start up an AA3 whatsapp group if the current "all Ariel" forum is no longer a viable option and then shut the forum, not really worth the membership fee anymore.

Maybe the Club should setup a Whatsapp Group!

markwetherall wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 1:31 pm Maybe the Club should setup a Whatsapp Group!

Yes probably should, and it has in sorts. As I suggested a review is required? Ive thought about this for a while during the long wait for my new car. In its absence, the only place for my Ariel fix would be here or other owners social media.

I fear the horse may have already bolted with the scattered groups. IMHO Ive always thought the Ariel community is too small to be this scattered, and a club or "loose federation" is the answer, covering disparate owners interests, and prospective customers searching. Centred around a coordinated digital presence. It's not WhatsApp or the Forum, but rather a clever combination of both (plus perhaps website, Facebook, instagram etc). It may be that the Forum just becomes an archive, but that should be part of a review, rather than withering on the vine and some Aerielists not knowing where to find the information or chat they require.

Toilet Duck wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 12:37 pm I said it once before, but the biggest issue I see with the Atom 4 whatsapp group is that anyone "considering" buying a 4 is excluded from joining the group, and therefore unable to research all the issues/problems etc experienced by existing owners. Only existing owners or those with an order in can join. I've owned my AA3 for 12 years, would I ever buy a 4? I honestly don't know, but I'd like to read about owner experience and ongoing issues eg the reported brake issues, cooling problems etc etc and what can/can't be fixed etc. Someone might as well start up an AA3 whatsapp group if the current "all Ariel" forum is no longer a viable option and then shut the forum, not really worth the membership fee anymore.

it is very easy, it is called the 4 owners group. To be fair, if I allowed anyone in who considers a 4, so practically everyone who wants to join should be able to do so in this case, whats the point of the group?
Than I could better have started "the big car enthusiast whatsapp group"...

dont get me wrong here, I get the point that serious buyers for the used market could benefit and people on the fence of ordering as well, but honestly, I have no idea how I should be keeping an eye on people who take " too long" to decide and throw them out...apart from the fact that throwing them out will be a nasty unthankful job and the ruleset will be very very difficult.

I give you an example:
I had let someone in who was really going to buy in the short term, so I wanted to let him in and have some tips and tricks and very possibly buy a car from one of the members (this happened multiple times before) and he decided to not buy for now and see what to do next year. So I was going to throw him out, but thats just harsh and people showed some tears and I had to let him stay.
No big deal, but if I let everyone in or repeat this too often, its not going to be an atom 4 owners group anymore and I have a lot of experience how that will kill the group. (different brands)

honestly, I started it because I had a 4 on order and couldnt wait untill delivery and I had some good experience with another brands exclusive group for owners, so I thought I start my own group...nothing more nothing less

I said it before and I say it again...the fact it is owners only will very much contribute to all these owners joining, I have had at least 20 members replying on instagram they dont join whatsappgroups etc and after explaining it is only atom 4 owners from all over the world they joined right away.

The club could open a club chat for all members, I dont see the problem. But people, please stop pretending the 4 group contributed a whole lot in killing the forum, that just isnt the case, the dead forum is the reason it started...on my 2 previous atoms I didnt need the chat as the forum sort of was sufficient