Results of the Survey

Here are the results of the survey I posted a week or so ago. There were 17 responses (so far) with plenty of comments. The survey was anonymous but several people included some personal comments to me so I have lightly edited them to preserve privacy. I will post these results here but then I will lock the topic to prevent direct replies. There are many different topics that can go in a lot of directions so please respond to each topic as an independent thread so we can organize them. The comments are numbered so you can reference them that way. I will respond with my thoughts below as well. 

Thanks to all of you who took the time to send your thoughts and ideas. 

Jerry

 

 

Content Suggestions - 6 responses

1. Electronic versions of the Sidecarist magazine. The newer editions not just the old digitized ones.
2. Maybe a sticky message somewhere requesting submissions for the library.
3. Haven't been there. [Library] I'll take a look later. I know Hal Kindal's book is most likely there.
4. Can't think of anything additional. As you said, there is A LOT of stuff there.
5. I don't. Probably because I'm a "newb" so don't know what all there is yet.
6. No I wasn't aware of the library.

Forum Suggestions - 9 responses

1. The forum is a simple basic software. That is not a bad thing but hard for new visitors to get used to.
2. Too many area headers.
3. I'm prejudiced but I like more pictures. I'm tired of my own and want to see other peoples pictures but they are usually uploaded to the website and small. That kind of gives the website a 90's feel.
4. This forum used to be much more active years ago than it is now. And it's not due to the change in webmasters. The change was a good thing. It was past time for Al to retire. He wanted to give it up long before he did.
5. I am not a forums programmer or webmaster, so I have no idea what it takes to run forums. But the USCA forums seem dated and minimalist as compared to other forums I frequent. Also I keep getting logged out of the forums every few days, even though I always check the "keep me logged in" box. This happens randomly and without warning. Not a big deal, but an annoyance. Finally, I have never been able to get a profile picture uploaded. Not sure if this is strictly a forum issue, or if it is website wide.
6. * "Copy navigation hotlinks to bottom of page (same set as up top)
7. * Speed up posting function. Currently it takes approximately 53 seconds from the time I hit submit, until it is posted, both from the laptop on a fast network, and on 4G cell phone. In comparison commercial sites take about 5-10 seconds depending on the volume of pictures.
8. * Signature line would be great.
9. * Emoticon menu to insert in posts
10. * Emoticon rating/response to other's posts rather than just the "like" feature
11. I frequent several forums but spend most of my time over on ADV Rider. Probably mainly because there is so much activity over there.. I find it way easier to post my ride reports over there as it is more user friendly. Way bigger so have way more resources. I do pop in here and into the MOA forum on occasion and I post a bit on my local forum. Every one seems to have their quirks but once you learn your way around things it becomes easier. One thing that would make things easier is a link or button at the bottom of each thread that would take you either back to the top or back to the main forum list. Instead of having to use the back button or scrolling up and hit the main Forum link.
12. It'd be better to have recent activity by thread rather than individual post.

General Comments - 10 responses

1. Troublesome it has been for a few years to get locked out often and find back.
2. I access the website mainly from my laptop because it is a lot easier than navigating with my android smart phone. 
3. Posting pictures inline is overly complicated. Picture upload speeds are so slow it's discouraging people from posting
4. Go watch the latest Oregon BDR movie on YouTube. The photographer is Sterling Noren. Now go watch Sterling's (Motorcycle Travel Channel) Arizona to British Colombia series. Same photographer but the difference is the same as the difference between ADVrider and Sidecar.com
5. It's always good to see sidecar friends here. Some I know personally and a few of those I've known for years. Although many early sidecar friends have passed on now. But some I know only through the computer. 
6. I think I covered this in my comments about the forums above. Like the forums, the website seems dated in appearance as compared to most other sites I frequent. But I have no idea about the costs or efforts that go into running the show, so I do not mean to criticize. Y'all are doing a way better job than I would! Thanks for all your efforts!!
7. I'm just glad we have an excellent resource and I tend to do my best to work around things.
8. No need for a personal response to any of my comments. A huge THANK YOU! for all the work and effort you put in to make this a great place.
9. * Current "message" feature works great
10. * Cancel Post feature is better than commercial sites too
11. * lack of advertising is awesome!
12. * Posting pictures directly off the laptop or phone has been super easy.
13. I would like to post more of my rides and such over here but just find the picture loading procedure a bit cumbersome. Lately it has been my laptop software as Apple has changed their picture search format so you can't pluck pictures from Albums easily. You have to go and create a saved album on the desktop and tag the photos you want to show on top to be able to find them. Several extra steps. I have tens of thousands of pictures all organized into albums which can be a pain to go and build new ones. I think it has to do with their cloud more than anything else. It changed across the board when Apple updated things. I reverted to my old laptop with old software for a while until I figured out a new procedure. I just sent the Editor a big file for him to use in the magazine and it took me a bit to put it all together. I muddle through. That actually has nothing to do with the forum but it is a point on how us old guys struggle as the world changes around us. My real struggle with the forum and probably my number one complaint is the speed. It takes forever for a post to load and show up. Probably the real reason I don't post more. I think my internet speed is fine as no other forum that I go on has this issue.
14. Upload speeds seem slower than they should be.
15. Emoticons would be nice to supplement the text.
16. Posting pics from online sources works well, and the option to adjust size is good.