Reputation

[JonE]

Facebook people seem to have limited attention span and look for quick fixes- forums are for a proper exchange of information . 

I agree, but ironically the very positiveness of the original forum incarnarnation IS facebook-like... it encouraged regular discussion of the same old things, much like being in a goldfish bowl, as you couldn't easily return to them from any form of structure beyond the first page. Some occasionally would search to reinvigorate an older thread. We have the same thing now in the revised forum and its simplicity I'm sure brings many users in who don't otherwise do too much on computers if they don't have to. It's like picking up an old Readers Digest whilst on the loo - easy, informative and pleasureable.

The considerable discussion about forum functions is as Timothy has shown us how powerful and flexible it is, over the months, with this and that. And I'm sure because we are able to intelligently start to think about things, rather than just accept. It's just like debating changing a master controller box thingamybob on a big community trainset. Not actually needed, but then are any of these thing actually "important"? We just can. (To think what we could do with a proper information filing system, if we actually wanted to, which we don't!)

However, I think we do all seem to like tweaking this and that on a Seven to see if it results in an improvement, with the healthy debates that ensue and the back stop of "keep it standard and if it aint broke don't fix it". Thus "the forum" just seems to be an adjunct to all that... but when you are back inside and wearing clean clothes. But there is no real standard spec here, and the factors of retaining - and extending of - the heart of an ageing Austin 7 community - the reason for the forum - is much, much more important.