During White Roof Radio Woofcast # 450 at about the 16 minute mark after some discussion on a possible MTTS route there was a bit about the three people that are left on NAM that are not bots turning off the lights on the way over to M/A. There is a bit more discussion at the 26 minute mark too. This lead to the following message sent on the M/A Facebook page. Now I'm not one to speak for White Roof Radio as that is where the comment came from, not from MotoringFile but I'm at a loss for words for once. How would you reply to the person that posted the above?
He may Have have said MotoringFile because he believes them to be the same group, don't know. I speak for only myself. I came here because it got very old listening to rude answers to peoples question. I hated when I would see that the first answer to a question would be "do a search". The search does not always work. Also I did not like the immature disputes. It became very unwelcoming. By contrast this site is friendly and welcoming. Everyone is ready to help. Only once have I see someone say do a search and you stepped in with a answer. I also like that you keep a close eye on the site and keep it civil. maybe the best thing to say is "Your a bunch of meanie pants and we don't like you nana boo boo!" :biggrin5: just kidding
^ Very true. Help is readily available here, more than anywhere else. In MA, you find a real sense of fun camaraderie/brotherhood & absence of egotism. This just feels very much like home.
I've been thinking about this since early this morning. From my perspective, there isn't any competition between the sites. One site is a large corporate entity that caters to every brand of auto and just like most large retail stores, couldn't give a rats arse about the communities that use their sites. The other site, is a small business, dedicated to a single brand and owned by a person who is actually a member of the community served, living the brand with a passion for its success. It's much like the difference between a small ski shop and a big box store that sells skis. The big box store is driven by sales and a return on investement for the owners and stock holders. Financial performance is king and those that buy skis are just customers that patronize the store. Customers are known generally just by their credit card number. On the other hand, the small ski shop is owned by an avid skier that has a passion for the sport, understands the the skier personality, and strives to strengthen the skiing experience for his/her supporting friends. They know what it takes at all levels to enjoy the sport. They too, based on the customer's experience and comradery, do not compete head to head with the big box store for the true skier. That's why I conclude that there is no competition between MA and the Sewing Site. As phrased by the sitcom Cheers, "you want to go where everybody knows your name"
^^^ This Very well said sir. :cornut: Sort of like shopping at Wally World vs shopping with Mom & Pop. Now back on topic MINI's on small skis feeling the love.
I think the question is valid.....why would they talk about the small site and not the big one? Could there be a corporate tie-in they're trying to avoid? Could there be an unspoken prejudice? Could there be a negative agenda towards NAM? I agree with all the reasons posted by others in this thread to be here and not there, it's certainly why I'm here. But then, why is the other site still as popular as it it? Does the corporate backing ensure pride of place on search engines and such? Does it just have momentum? Are dealers sending new owners/people there? Enquiring minds want to know! (For our younger and less worldly readers, that is the tag line from the (In-)famous National Enquirer (mis-spelled on purpose) Newspaper and former TV show.) Some further thoughts and questions.... Seems to me there's a distinct difference in the age and maturity of the posters here vs there, and I mean this is the best/nicest possible way. The "younger crowd" has a different agenda when it comes to social media sites, just as the comment posted in Nathan's first post indicate - the poster wants to hang out with the "bigger crowd', a statement that I would never make about the sites I belong too - for me, it's hanging out with those whose company I enjoy, and not being in the most popular place in terms of numbers. I also see a difference in the way people here own their cars, we bought them and kept them because we LIKE them, not because it's the cool thing to have and all the kids are driving them now. Maybe I just have a different perspective because I'm an old fart......
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxCWmA8rbts]Car ski jump - YouTube[/ame] Sorry -- couldn't help myself -- now back to the topic at hand.
I think Nathan's quandary stems from the question's implication of favoritism on the part of White Roof Radio. I.e., NAM is the larger site with the larger number of MINI fans, so why is WRR so focused on M/A? Subtle implication there's some anti-NAM collusion in favor of M/A. So (I think) the question boils down to something like "There's something fishy going on here, why the WRR favoritism toward M/A?" How do you reply to that?
There might be 'conspiracy theory' angles behind how search engines work. Remember, it's biz-driven. We can't deny the vast archived info over there for its age & size. Newbs simply flock to where they're directed initially. But, like many of us here who are driven by growing/endless passion & enthusiasm, the natural course would be to search further, band & bond. Yes, MA is no NAM in size, it's growing, but has remained very connected. You can't say the same of The sewing site, big ski shops, giant fast food chains, nor popular garment brands. I'm over there mostly to pay it forward, offer help as I've been helped & lure them here, m|u & MT. Unfortunately, any MA link or even 'M/A' posted would just read********& couldn't be logged.:frown5: That says a lot of their character, I mean, rather, lack of.
Size matters, for many reasons. There's a good analogy here with eBay and Facebook vs their smaller competitors.
It's simple the NAMless site is now owned by corporate a-holes and they care nothing about the MINI community. Also the NAMless site has a bias towards its vendors so you can not say anything against them or you will be banned by a bunch of idiot "buddy club" moderators. The NAMless site is only good for two things. 1. The Markets place, because everyone will see what you are trying to sell and you can find other stuff for sale. It's like MINI eBay. 2. Searching for older info that is not on M/A. (Yet) Now M/A is a MINI owner owned website. M/A is a much closer community and most members on here know Nathan and how the site started. This is a site where everyone's opinion is heard and people are much more friendly. M/A has a presence at events like MOTD and others. And last but not least M/A is he FUN MINI site.
Believe it or not...... Dave.0 phrased it way more PC than I would. The entire time I was on NAM every question I ever had was answered with belittlement, mockery and sarcasm. And every MINI I owned was the wrong one :mad5: I have a hatred of NAM. They can all go &$@# themselves.
It is true about the Nam. Ask any question and in less then 5 replies someone will tell you to "Search". Search this!
Yeah. I really hate the "use search" reply. I'm an IT/IS guy and I'm probably in the 1% of being able to write a proper Internet search query. And more often than not I will not get the results I'm looking for without digging deeper, or at least trying a few times to eliminate the useless. A lot of it is based on the indexing of the content. All I see with the "use search" EXPERTS is the "I don't know, but I'll try to make you feel stupid while I try to increase my post count and make myself look relevant". And speaking from the management side. M/A just has a better class of members. Being a Super Mod since the inception has mostly been about talking to Nathan regarding how his day is going. Even when I did have to put the hat on it was like asking a friend to pass the ketchup. NAM has always been like a High Shcool cafeteria. I even look back at my own behavior with distain and regret. The place just got the better of me, for whatever reason.
:cornut: Best(publicly printable) answer that I've heard. Don't be drawn in to another person's controversy or argument as ulterior motives are probably hiding and just waiting to attack. :cornuton't candy coat it like that Kitty.:lol::lol: Tell us how you really feel.:devil::wink::eek6: Personally, I agree with you 100%.:lol::lol: Jason