CSC Club/Group adjustments? (1 Viewer)

[Saddletramp]

It can be done cheaper, probably half or less. Same reasoning behind purchasing OEM parts

I spend a couple hours daily on other sites related to the forum software, the various addons, forums geared towards forum admins, etc....ensuring the setup here is updated and secure, plus researching additional features that might be useful. THEN researching those developers to ensure they aren't flakes (there are a bunch, and I've screwed that up more than once).

7TB+ of monthly data transfer
The server spec as of Sept 2018 (our last major move)

32 Cores @ 2.6 Ghz (2 x E5-2640 V3)
128 GB of DDR4 ECC RAM
120 GB of Redundant SSD (2 x 120 GB in RAID 1)
1.6 TB of NVMe Flash
20Gbps Bonded Network

I think we've upgraded the server since then....FYI, that server "move" was from Dallas to SLC and not one user noticed that it even happened We DID have one user report a split-second of downtime 10ish years ago when we moved from NV to TX, but considering I was on the lakebed for KOH, I guess that was understandable I know major software updates/changes have caused down time, but always scheduled as best it can.

I have a sysadmin in Kansas City that does the hard labor for this stuff, and he's been good for the 10ish years I've had him under contract.

I DO appreciate the concern for site security, longevity, etc....but MUD ain't goin' nowheres

Thank you Woody for chiming in and adding your official MUD perspective. I for one can appreciate the challenges you and your team go through to keep this fun going.

Cheers to you. Keep up the terrific work

 

[Saddletramp]

@Abigail, I know we are planning to discuss Instagram next month. We appreciate the input shared here and the renewed enthusiasm for making improvements in 2020 to our club.

 

[mtn biker]

See I am a Facebook addict, and i have to remind myself to get on mud to see what is going on. I only started doing IG thanks to @LandCruiserPhil

 

[medtro]

Keep it simple..who's got time to be clicking here and there. There is no such thing as security. If they want it they will get it.

Do you lock your cars?

 

[Rudster]

Not in the garage

 

[woody]

See I am a Facebook addict, and i have to remind myself to get on mud to see what is going on. I only started doing IG thanks to @LandCruiserPhil

so, "watch" the clubhouse and get daily email notifications of updates

 

[medtro]

Not in the garage

You should not lock them at all because if they want it they will get it and you end up with broken window.

 

[DSRTRDR]

Mud is functional but definitely behind the times. Facebook is absolutely better even more so with the ability to create events now on Facebook. You don’t see major manufacturers advertising on Mud like they do on Facebook daily. That should tell you all you need to know... the world is on Facebook and Instagram, not Mud. Look at Casa Grande Four Wheelers Facebook page or any of the other clubs.

I think you have it very much backwards:

first of all, we want to support the vendors specific to our vehicles, not some "major manufacturer" - and keep in mind, many of us have vehicles that are so old that "major manufacturer"-vendors don't exist anymore - we rely on specialized knowledge, not some Smittybuilt bolt-ons (disclaimer: I have bought parts from them and might continue to do so in the future, nothing against the company, but they have nothing specific to the 40, for example)

secondly, I'd much rather hang out on a forum owned by a person I know and want to support in their endeavors, rather than one of the biggest and uncontrollable corporations in the world, that doesn't even respect minimal privacy concerns - as proven multiple times over the past decade (and I won't even bring up the election interference stuff they allowed to happen, and probably will again in the near future)

thirdly, nobody needs to see advertisements on their web browser if they don't want to, plenty of free blockers available in all shapes and forms - and if you can't figure those out, eliminating them from MUD can easily be done by paying $20/year to woody - has the advantage that you can post unlimited pics as well

fourthly, I really don't care much for "events on Facebook", I care for events in real life - nothing against y'all or the tech forums (and I like to visit Chat, too), but in the end it all boils down to this: the less screen time I have to spend to keep driving my cruisers on the trail the better

fifthly, . . . it's getting late tonight . . . time for another discussion on another ay . . .

 

[DSRTRDR]

In IH8MUD's case, it's about $30,000 yearly....servers, data transfer, on-site backups, off-site backups, software, etc. Time is free.

thanks for piping in

and should you need some more IT support, I know someone who lives in Kanab (and currently works for our research institute from remote but probably wouldn't mind some back-up gig)

 

[Ken in AZ]

I think you have it very much backwards:

first of all, we want to support the vendors specific to our vehicles, not some "major manufacturer" - and keep in mind, many of us have vehicles that are so old that "major manufacturer"-vendors don't exist anymore - we rely on specialized knowledge, not some Smittybuilt bolt-ons (disclaimer: I have bought parts from them and might continue to do so in the future, nothing against the company, but they have nothing specific to the 40, for example)

secondly, I'd much rather hang out on a forum owned by a person I know and want to support in their endeavors, rather than one of the biggest and uncontrollable corporations in the world, that doesn't even respect minimal privacy concerns - as proven multiple times over the past decade (and I won't even bring up the election interference stuff they allowed to happen, and probably will again in the near future)

thirdly, nobody needs to see advertisements on their web browser if they don't want to, plenty of free blockers available in all shapes and forms - and if you can't figure those out, eliminating them from MUD can easily be done by paying $20/year to woody - has the advantage that you can post unlimited pics as well

fourthly, I really don't care much for "events on Facebook", I care for events in real life - nothing against y'all or the tech forums (and I like to visit Chat, too), but in the end it all boils down to this: the less screen time I have to spend to keep driving my cruisers on the trail the better

fifthly, . . . it's getting late tonight . . . time for another discussion on another ay . . .

you are so far off the mark it’s almost funny! You honestly think people use mud over instagram or Fb??? You also have no idea what I am talking about in respect it FB events.
Here is the short answer - get with the times or watch it dry up and die.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

you are so far off the mark it’s almost funny! You honestly think people use mud over instagram or Fb??? You also have no idea what I am talking about in respect it FB events.
Here is the short answer - get with the times or watch it dry up and die.

FB and IG are definitely better for passively appealing to folks scrolling through looking at photos. For example "We released these new bumpers, here are some pics" or "here are some pics of xyz in action in beautiful colorado"... great marketing tools...

But say you want to do a write up on an install... IG and FB don't accommodate that, the search functions aren't conducive to finding what you need, the tagging is sporadic (people # dump to get the views, a 4runner with #FZJ80?), and the discussions typically just degrade into downright name calling (ask me how I know).

Mud has too much history and information, passively categorized in the tech sections, most of which is indexed in the FAQ section, and it's search functions are more robust... mud won't die because of IG and FB, but we could definitely make it strive by embracing them.

I think to have a solid presence, you need it all... I go on IG and FB when I am bored... I go on mud when I need something specific and want real discussions (not just to be name called).

so, "watch" the clubhouse and get daily email notifications of updates

You've got my support (speaking of which, I need to renew my membership!)

 

[Saddletramp]

While I too may fall in to the old and dried up for not embracing more fully the breadth of social media I’m thinking there is room to expand and we are looking in to a few ideas to test the water. The reality, just my 40 odd years in technology/business development, many of the new tools are more like advertising with a cool picture and catchy tag line. Tag line- All hat no cattle comes to mind. Who doesn’t like to look at pictures or ideas? MUD will be our preferred space no matter what we test or adopt to enhance user/member experience.

Next meeting maybe Ken could share with us the merits of Facebook events. Maybe that’s where @woody banished “how hot is your chick” to......

 

[Saddletramp]

Inside joke for those of us who delved in to s-chat

 

[Stepmurr]

There are 10 types of people in this world . . . those who get 'Mud & those who don't

 

[Somebodyelse5]

Maybe that’s where @woody banished “how hot is your chick” to......

Me thinks this could be another good use of waybackmachine....if it goes back far enough...

Chit-Chat | Page 2 | IH8MUD Forum

For those items which are not Tech related but you just wanna yak about anyways!

web.archive.org

 

[Saddletramp]

Me thinks this could be another good use of waybackmachine....if it goes back far enough...

Chit-Chat | Page 2 | IH8MUD Forum

For those items which are not Tech related but you just wanna yak about anyways!

web.archive.org

Maybe just a little over a year ago. There are many things that go way back, so funny you would spit your favorite beverage all over your mobile device. Once they get out of hand, the black hand dealt swift justice. 15 years of entertainment, we just need to not take anything too seriously. Now back to my way back machine.

 

[Ken in AZ]

Maybe just a little over a year ago. There are many things that go way back, so funny you would spit your favorite beverage all over your mobile device. Once they get out of hand, the black hand dealt swift justice. 15 years of entertainment, we just need to not take anything too seriously. Now back to my way back machine.

Check out Coffee and Crawlers FB and IG events by Desert Rat, King of the Hammers KOH, Johnson Valley Crawlers, Cruise Moab, Rising Suns annual Swap Mart, and all the Arizona Based 4x4 club’s events. CG Wheelers, Mesa 4 Wheelers and Tucson Club have 2 runs per month this time of year and their clubs continue to successfully grow and are very active. They use social media well. Recently there was a huge clean up by Keep our deserts clean and State 48 all advertised in FB events and IG, they had a tremendous turn out. Mud might be great to look up how to fix something or find a used part but that’s JUST for people that know about it. I was President of the ASA4WDC many years ago as well as the Region 4 rep for both The ASA and United. I have been President of a club with over 100 members and until I joined this club never even heard of MUD. That’s 25 plus years of being Very involved and owning Toyota vehicles.
I wheel a lot and attend all kinds of fun events - not one of which I have ever found on Mud. Is the Overland Expo on Mud like it is on FB and IG? You think new people getting into our sport start by looking on Mud??? You think people looking to find events go on Mud??? You think people look for sales and new products from folks like All-Pro, 4WP, Desert Rat, TG, and all the other local and national companies too many to even name that make the parts we buy are only going on Mud???
. It’s a big world out there and Mud is one very little part of it. If we want to grow the club and have better attended events and help grow our sport we need to do something different. Also in respect to the TLCA and the ASA4WDC neither of which we are members of now (and while I am on my soap box LOL) those State and National organizations do a ton to improve our image and keep trials open and attract new people to our lifestyle and sport. Without them we would be lucky to have a few dirt roads to enjoy. It’s easy to walk around wondering only what’s best for me... yet the ability to keep four wheeling and over landing a reality often requires money, lawyers, and a United voice! That’s what being part of the larger picture means not just to us in Arizona but to every 4 wheel drive enthusiast in every State. What’s the last thing we have done as a club to improve our sport? Do we have trail runs for all levels of interest? Do we host workshops for new members. Do we partner with local groups that support our lifestyle or organizations that further our sport like AZGFDs Off Road safety programs. How about partnering with local law enforcement or fire and rescue to support them in times of need like search and rescue operations.
What does our club stand for and represent to people outside of our club and outside of our sport...and I guess at the end of the day to the very members in our club.

 

[Funner]

It can be done cheaper, probably half or less. Same reasoning behind purchasing OEM parts

I spend a couple hours daily on other sites related to the forum software, the various addons, forums geared towards forum admins, etc....ensuring the setup here is updated and secure, plus researching additional features that might be useful. THEN researching those developers to ensure they aren't flakes (there are a bunch, and I've screwed that up more than once).

7TB+ of monthly data transfer
The server spec as of Sept 2018 (our last major move)

32 Cores @ 2.6 Ghz (2 x E5-2640 V3)
128 GB of DDR4 ECC RAM
120 GB of Redundant SSD (2 x 120 GB in RAID 1)
1.6 TB of NVMe Flash
20Gbps Bonded Network

I think we've upgraded the server since then....FYI, that server "move" was from Dallas to SLC and not one user noticed that it even happened We DID have one user report a split-second of downtime 10ish years ago when we moved from NV to TX, but considering I was on the lakebed for KOH, I guess that was understandable I know major software updates/changes have caused down time, but always scheduled as best it can.

I have a sysadmin in Kansas City that does the hard labor for this stuff, and he's been good for the 10ish years I've had him under contract.

I DO appreciate the concern for site security, longevity, etc....but MUD ain't goin' nowheres

Just out of curiosity, is there a succession plan in place if you drive off a cliff, retire, have health issue or run away with some crazy stripper?

 

[woody]

Just out of curiosity, is there a succession plan in place if you drive off a cliff, retire, have health issue or run away with some crazy stripper?

Of course there is

 

[Funner]

Check out Coffee and Crawlers FB and IG events by Desert Rat, King of the Hammers KOH, Johnson Valley Crawlers, Cruise Moab, Rising Suns annual Swap Mart, and all the Arizona Based 4x4 club’s events. CG Wheelers, Mesa 4 Wheelers and Tucson Club have 2 runs per month this time of year and their clubs continue to successfully grow and are very active. They use social media well. Recently there was a huge clean up by Keep our deserts clean and State 48 all advertised in FB events and IG, they had a tremendous turn out. Mud might be great to look up how to fix something or find a used part but that’s JUST for people that know about it. I was President of the ASA4WDC many years ago as well as the Region 4 rep for both The ASA and United. I have been President of a club with over 100 members and until I joined this club never even heard of MUD. That’s 25 plus years of being Very involved and owning Toyota vehicles.
I wheel a lot and attend all kinds of fun events - not one of which I have ever found on Mud. Is the Overland Expo on Mud like it is on FB and IG? You think new people getting into our sport start by looking on Mud??? You think people looking to find events go on Mud??? You think people look for sales and new products from folks like All-Pro, 4WP, Desert Rat, TG, and all the other local and national companies too many to even name that make the parts we buy are only going on Mud???
. It’s a big world out there and Mud is one very little part of it. If we want to grow the club and have better attended events and help grow our sport we need to do something different. Also in respect to the TLCA and the ASA4WDC neither of which we are members of now (and while I am on my soap box LOL) those State and National organizations do a ton to improve our image and keep trials open and attract new people to our lifestyle and sport. Without them we would be lucky to have a few dirt roads to enjoy. It’s easy to walk around wondering only what’s best for me... yet the ability to keep four wheeling and over landing a reality often requires money, lawyers, and a United voice! That’s what being part of the larger picture means not just to us in Arizona but to every 4 wheel drive enthusiast in every State. What’s the last thing we have done as a club to improve our sport? Do we have trail runs for all levels of interest? Do we host workshops for new members. Do we partner with local groups that support our lifestyle or organizations that further our sport like AZGFDs Off Road safety programs. How about partnering with local law enforcement or fire and rescue to support them in times of need like search and rescue operations.
What does our club stand for and represent to people outside of our club and outside of our sport...and I guess at the end of the day to the very members in our club.

A lot of good points in this comment. Oddly, the only club you mentioned above that I have ever heard of is the TLCA. I was part of some other clubs, but I found Mud and CSC to be more in line with my personality, morals, ethics, off-road interests than any other. I know there is a dedicated group that does a lot of work with Tonto forest (RIP KP). As far of the rest of it goes, I don’t give a rip about FB or IG, others do. There is no limit on any member starting threads about supporting initiatives, post up and see if there is interest.