Yes bring it back.
However, the fact remains that people aren't posting here much anymore. Half of the posts are just the same press releases that everyone else gets. Even long time stalwarts are just sticking with FB. I don't know what it is about the message board dynamic that doesn't work for the Delaware racing community anymore, and I'm running out of ideas.
In part it may relate to previous track policy on the message boards. In the past people who held contrary opinions to the track were occasionally hauled in for meetings with the race program. It was around that time things started to dry up a lot. There was also a time period where the track's official policy on the message boards was to pretend they did not exist. With no track interaction on the message board I think some of the interest may have lessened for a time. Neither of these things are policy anymore.
I think there were also some bannings during some particularly lively debates on these boards a few seasons back. The pot simply isn't getting stirred as much which admittedly gives track PR less to respond to, but also reduces interest. Users such as Mobil1Fan added a great deal of good commentary to the Delaware boards.
If there was ever a time Delaware could use some lively discussions it's these days. The track, along with countless others, continues to grapple with finding ways to get drivers into competition and get fans into the grandstands. These challenges are shared among most tracks. We welcome a lively and productive discussion on these issues. Our recent fan forum in the tower was a great evening, we do not shy away from discussion.
To the point, however, a few thoughts. I don't mean for them to come off as if I have all the answers on this, but they are just some that I've jotted down for discussion:
1.) Whatever software this board runs on, I don't think it's ideal for race fans. I've even heard rumours of people trying to register and being unable to. Evan's worked very hard on it, but the main page needs less stuff - not more. The homepage doesn't lend itself to discussion, because it doesn't lead with the discussion threads. VBulletin, I contend, would be more standard. Even the old GRR boards ran on a VBulletin clone (SimpleMachines). Delaware has been very tempted at times in the past to start its own board, but we continue to see value in an Ontario/Canada-wide board which has not led to our developing our own at this time. We would like to see CRO work.
2.) The homepage gets flooded, frequently, with press releases that are from series and organizations that do not even participate on these boards. The focus should be centered on series and tracks that have members who are actively participating on here.
3.) I don't know who is visiting these boards, but if the number of hits is supposed to reflect the number of users there's something going on here. I think the site stats claim millions of hits per month, but the number of replies and interest in local motor sports in Ontario simply doesn't mirror those numbers. These bots may be increasing server load and increasing Evan's operating costs. Whatever these hits are, they're not contributing to the community.
That's all I've got for now. In a related note: Delaware would love to see a restart of the Shadow report - - it has a grass roots flavour that can't be replicated by an official press release. At times it even contained critical commentary on the announcers which I've used to improve our programming, but always manages to do so in a way that doesn't seem to be tearing down the track. It's the kind of commentary that can only come from a passionate fan.
That's all I've got for now. In a related note: Delaware would love to see a restart of the Shadow report - - it has a grass roots flavour that can't be replicated by an official press release. At times it even contained critical commentary on the announcers which I've used to improve our programming, but always manages to do so in a way that doesn't seem to be tearing down the track. It's the kind of commentary that can only come from a passionate fan.
Way to open the lines of communication. I appreciate the updates from Shadow because I can only get to Delaware a few times a year and it's nice to see how all the racers are doing following the Friday races. It's also a good idea to listen to some of the input from racers, crew members, and fans to gain a better understanding of how your program is doing.
It's funny that you mentioned Shadow commenting on your announcing as I tried to do that at another track and it was met with nasty comments. My intent was to present my comments in a humorous way so as not to offend anyone but it was taken the wrong way so now, I just don't bother trying.
Yes the hits are down this season, this is due to tracks suffering too. (Bot's have never been counted in our stats as the software that tracks this can tell what a robot, Indexers and search engines are.)
We seem to get more action when fans and drivers start talking. I'm not worried as the race season has just begun.
I have mad a couple of changes to the forum last night shut of the portal page and when you hit CRO you see all the Tracks and Series we support. People that liked the recent posts. we have that still but it's off to the right hand side of the page.
I have turned off some of the registration questions so it should be easier to register. (The reason for questions is to stop from fake users registering and spelling nascar or answer how many tires are on a car should be a no brain-er)
Anything else your think can be done shoot me a pm.
Thanks
I think I may have been unclear - - the latest posts feature was one of the most important ones of the homepage. My thought was that the actual threads with potential discussion are getting bumped off it by press releases from organizations that don't have members that participate on the boards.