XTreme

The bumblebee colour scheme is too manufacturer specific.

So @Buckster should still be responsible for customer services then?

You, @Sofia, and @Slowlycatchymonkey are the only ones with any sense of style here.....so I need your input. Otherwise I'll probably fuck it up even worse than I've fucked it up so far.

Who was it that always got stuck on a ghost board for days?

Yes......because we've restricted our potential target market! My fault entirely......I should have done more research at the time!

That is a fair point Keith......but do we really want to have this place full of pathetic people who get offended by everything? Look at Facebutt or Twitter......we're not allowing anything that they wouldn't. And in fact, the race hate and gore that's permitted on there wouldn't be tolerated here. So in reality we're actually stricter than those places.

Get a shot outside and it could be a BOTM contender!

I can confirm that there will be no changes......which means no Mods!

Get your submissions in!

You'll put in the old domain name and be sent to the new one.

The Lockdown getting to people?

Never been any different as you know Dave......they're too old to change now! But FWIW I can't see anything in this thread that could possibly be seen as said in malice or even in bad taste. That's what makes it so bewildering.

Oh yeh.....and I could navigate between the two! DNS propagation is a lot quicker now.....an hour or so normally. Plus the new domain will have propagated already and it'll just be a simple 301 redirect between the two.

The world has changed now Phil......that name is no use in terms of exact match keywords. And as you know we always used "bikes" in the domains.......but doing searches on "bikes" now just brings up bicycles. "Motorcycle" and "Forum" are the key terms!

I want to run this past you to see what you think. Now we know that we need to bring in new members to survive......every forum does. And this isn't as easy as it was 20 years ago before Social Media existed. And we also know that that there are only two sites (both corporates) ahead of us on Google, which is a great result after only being in existence a year. But the problem is that Google search results are not bringing in new members! The new ones who've signed up either came through Facebook, or they came over because they knew me from another forum. So I've been doing some research on Google Trends to identify why we get nothing from their search results. Here's the worldwide data from the last 12 months on searches made for "Adventure Motorcycle Forum". As you can see, there wasn't enough data recorded to generate any stats. And any variations of search terms using "Adventure" deliver the same nil result. The upshot of this is that the "Adventure" word doesn't help us one bit.......because nobody is searching for that criteria. So I then did an analysis of searches for the term "Motorcycle Forum"......and look at the difference! Essentially this demonstrates that the words "Motorcycle" and "Forum" are both critical.......and any other descriptor around them that would put them into a niche area of motorcycling are actually a negative. If we want to bring in new members (and we won't survive unless we do)........we need to appeal to all motorcyclists - irrespective of what they ride. So......are you thinking what I'm thinking? And for the hard of thinking here (of which there are many).......I'm talking about a rebranding! What does a rebranding involve? Different domain name and revised colour scheme. Do you we start again from nothing? No......every thread, post, image, avatar, and all your account info is copied over exactly as it is now. You'll just sign into the new domain using the same password as you have here. If you've forgotten your password, then you have the option to reset it on the sign in screen. Will the site be offline for a while? It'll take me a few days to do all the preparation beforehand, and at the end of it I would only expect the site to be offline for about an hour while the switch occurs. Will things be different on the new site? No difference whatsoever apart from the domain name and colour scheme. If any of you have suggestions on colours then let us know cos I'm not very artistic and I have no sense of style whatsoever. I like this place as it is......why change? This is a lot of work for me, and I can really do without it. But look at the stats......they show conclusively why we need to do this. If we don't, this forum will go the way of it's predecessors. It's as simple as that! I'll listen to you guys.......if the majority don't want the rebrand then it won't happen. I'm only suggesting this initiative based on those stats, not on gut feelings or personal preferences.... and AFAIC it's a no brainer! Tell me what you think?

Excellent Sofia! You have unlimited mobility throughout Portugal then?

He is......and a Covid survivor too! I used to check how he was every day on the other forum......around this time last year it was. When he didn't show up some days it was cause for concern.

You better had......or I'll flounce!

They look great don't they?

If my knees finally make it impossible for me to get on a bike, or be able to hold the weight of a larger machine, then this will be my solution.

Bruce......on page 2 of this thread! You need to spend more time here Lionel. Yes.....I know you'll miss one or two DIY tips in other places! But that's better than missing out on a Live Flounce for reasons that nobody can even understand! Tell him @Tym

The thing is, there'll always be the odd misunderstanding between members from time to time on any forum. But that can usually be defused and smoothed over and it's all forgotten. And that's how I see my role here. You'll never see situations where Mods and Admins actually get abusive, and sometimes even threatening to members, on here. That's just unacceptable. Yes......people will take the piss, and use profanities some other forums censor out. But it's not the words themselves, it's the intent behind them. And there's never any malice.