Are we doomed?

Thats a good idea TD,as i think it also is where can be found the club sites that are being "worked" on which if had been more prominent,would maybe have stopped some negative comments on here when some were trying to book

TW...I have liked your OP as it is a good post but it did set me thinking.....

My thoughts are that we have very much the same issues being raised in perpetuity, often by us same old contributors,  site prices, membership fees, arrival/departure times, bookings/deposits, dogs, kids on bikes, speeding on site blah blah blah.

How often does the club need to state it's position on these matters, for example possibly the most frequent moan is pricing, but it is what it is.....if you are prepared to pay the stated site fee then stay on a club site, if not, don't, there are another 350,000 minus one who will. Likewise any of the rules.  It would need a staff member permanently deployed, at an obvious expense, to answer every question, moan & grumble. And experience in a previous career teaches me that the more you attempt to answer them, the more moans etc you will generate. My bank has a call centre with staff I can't understand and never resolve any issue, so I don't bother ringing them, a big cost saving for the bank no doubt.  I'm sure the Club could say the same.....and probably does...!

I don’t expect staff to answer every point, TT,  but I’m comparing the input here with that on FB and wondering why so many staff were introduced to us and then virtually vanished into thin air. 

Whilst we 'more mature people' don't like Facebook, there is no doubt that a lot of much younger people like it very much, and presumably it is those people that the C&MC is trying to attract by having a presence there.

There is obviously a pressure to attract 'new blood' and whilst this forum is a good resource for older members, I doubt that my son and his friends would think it worth even having a look in here, never mind offering contributions.

I agree the club cannot answer every point, but Cyberyacht started an extremely well drafted thread on CT functionality problems nearly a year ago.

Almost none of the issues raised have been fixed.

No details of what the club IT department agree are problems has been published.

Hundreds of good suggestions have apparently just been ignored.

They could get MUCH better value for money by outsourcing the forum software.

To take a year and make no significant improvement should be P45 time for whoever controls the systems.

Mike

And as an example how dire the CT forum software is it tells me this thread is NEW and there are 35 posts I have not read AFTER I have just posted to it.

It is just broken.

Why would they need to look anywhere when you are probably more accessable

So where do 'young' members get their information from, Facebook is hardly laid out in a logical manner to extract important info for up and coming caravanners/motorhomers.

I use Facebook but try finding a post or subject, and it makes this forums 'search' look top notch. CT or any other like forum where logic is built in is where youngsters need to be brought online, to obtain the important info needed for the pastime.

This forum needs to have a complete makeover and make it enjoyable, inviting to look at and a pleasure to use to attract all ages.

I think the club have encouraged discussions on here, some more relevant than others, impossible to do on FB so CT does offer a different experience on social media. However improved responses would be useful, certainly news and updates are as valid on here as FB and would be appreciated. This is a unique part of the club where social interaction takes place, just a bit more input from the club would be good and probably liven up some sections.

AND NOW FOR AN IRKSOME LOSS OF FUNCTION! 

Any chance I can get rid of these pumpkins soon please, what has happened to the profile picture function....!? 

People ask questions, and  people ask for advice .

We collectively have a lot of travel experience between us and answer as best we can. Some of us know about the ins and outs of the Scottish islands and some know about over wintering in Spain. If Head Office staff have similar experience and have time to help then I don't mind them answering too - but I don't mind if they stay quiet. Not a problem to me at all. 

Agree with all of the posts made already. I can only echo that while this forum is largely (wholly) for members and perhaps the club sees us as a sort of a captive audience that they have already, well captured, while facebook is perhaps seen by the club as a greater audience and those it wishes to entice to join the club?