Forum Suggestion
 

Just a humble suggestion from this noob-

I've been hitting car forums since 1999, and one thing I've noticed is that forums with multiple subforums get WAY less traffic than forums with fewer subforums. I think that this is due to easier navigation for most users- instead of having to check 12 different subforums, all of your information can be found in 2 or three.

For example, I think that consolidating this site into something similar to the following would be highly beneficial and would generate more traffic:

Off-Topic
Powertrain/Drivetrain/Tuning Tech
Suspension & Braking
Exterior (Washing, Detaling, Body Modifications)
Multimedia (Pictures and Video)
Racing Your Monte Carlo
Professional Racing (NASCAR)
Automotive Classifieds
General Classifieds

You've got a great forum here with awesome information, but I think that the current configuration leads to information being too scattered and makes it sometimes difficult to locate/respond to.

Just my most humbe 2 cents!

-Shawn

Hi Shawn!

Thanks for your suggestions. You make a valid point about sites with too many sub-forums.

I've been a member on a number of different forums over the past 10 years, and noticed what you mentioned on many of them. I've also noticed that a standard format doesn't always work for every forum.

For example, on the Grand Am forum I used to be on, they had two different sections for modding. "All Show" for non-performance mods. "All Go" strictly for performance mods.

Some forums have sub-sections for groups from different areas of the country, or for different generations of the car. But I've noticed that those sub-sections on a lot of other sites get very little traffic. So each forum has to go with a formula that will work for them.

This site started out really small about 5 years ago. Various admins added sections for various reasons over the years. Some of the sub-sections here were requested when we changed over to our new forum in March.

I am willing to make or combine sections if the members feel it would be better. I'm all for making things better here.

i haven't been on too many forums for too long but from what i have seen so far i think this is the best forum and seems easy to navigate around to me

I think it's just enough sub-forums to keep a problem specific.

If we were to group them all some more, then there may be too many "new" posts and some people won't get an answer to a specific problem.

Thanks for considering my suggestion, nice to see open admins here!

IMHO, i think its set up just right. Imagine the sub-forums were Engine/Drivetrain/Tuning and you have a Trans question and everyone else has an Engine question. It will be lost or even pushed on the the next page and not a lot of people will see it.

The way it is now, it has it own place and can be seen right away and hopefully a helping answer can be given.

But thanks for the suggestion. Were always on the look out for good ones. Keep them coming.

Good point JJ. When you have only a few general subforums, it gets hard to keep track of your topics and posts. A general subforum fills up too quick IMO to get any detailed responses on one thread. I like the way the forum is set up now. It works well to keep peoples threads in view for more than just a day or two.

That was basically my point. Every forum has to find a setup that works for them. Right now, I think this setup is working for us.

Members who have been here for a while will notice that I've actually added a couple new sub-sections since we changed over to the new forum.

A case in point, is the Meets, Gatherings, & Shows subsection. On the old forum, threads about meets got lost in subsections all over the site. The addition of the new sub-section eliminated that problem.

I didn't have the ability to change things on the old forum. But I can change SOME things on the new forum (the techs have restricted access to some areas to help reduce vulnerability to viruses). The new sub-sections added since March were all suggestions by the MCF members. So suggestions by the members do get considered.

The moderators and admins are always open to ideas and suggestions!

Like JJ said, Keep 'em coming!