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  1. #1
    Frank
    Administrator nordwulf's Avatar
    Join Date
    30 Jul 2010
    Location
    USA - Netherlands
    Posts
    7,901
    Saab(s)
    previous: 2006 9-3, 2001-06 9-5, 2011 9-4X

    SaabWorld online for 4 years - how are we doing?

    SaabWorld has been online for 4 years (and 3 days to be exact). Thanks to all the contributing members and many visitors, it has become a valuable resource of information and a friendly global place for discussing all things Saab. Cheers to all of you!

    Through the years, the site changed frequently with the goal of making it as user-friendly as possible. We would like to hear what you currently think of the site and, more important, what can be done to improve it even further.

    Member Blogs
    New entries for the member Blogs has been disabled for a while now as it just doesn't really seem to work. The main issue is that content is separate from the forums and it is mostly content that should be in the forums anyways. I'll be slowly moving content from the Blogs tot he forum. As it is a manual process, this is time consuming and can take a while. Some of that content was already promoted to articles on the Front page so that will not be moved to the forums.

    Articles
    Not much new content has been posted recently as there really hasn't been all that much news to report after Saab Automobile's bankruptcy. And most news has been posted in the Saab Talk forum. Is there still a need for a Saab blog on SaabWorld? If so, what would you like to read about? Most important would be adding new and fresh content that has been contributed by the members.

    Gallery, Downloads and Garage
    I think these sections work pretty good so leave them as is for now. I still wish they were a bit more integrated with the site but that's a limitation of the forum software and the need for add-ons.

    Software
    SaabWorld has been running on vBulletin 4 from the beginning. There were many bugs and need for updates in the beginning but has been stable in the last few years. There is a new version 5 of the software that was introduced last year. With the experience of using vB4, it can take a few years for all the bugs to be worked out. Upgrading to vB5 is a possibility but the main issue is our Garage version is not compatible with new version. And I really haven't found a lot of good reviews of vB5 anyways and vB4 seems to work fine for now.

    The community suite from Invision that I have been using on the MotorGearheads website has been great so far. It's a lot more modern and everything like the Forums, Gallery and Articles is much more integrated. They also will be introducing a new version of the software so that will be interesting to see. On one hand, why change software if the current vB4 works just fine? On the other hand, using better, more modern and user-friendly software with more features is progress.

    Forums
    The Workshop forums for the newer Saab models have been the most active. Other forums for the older models have been slow so far. The problem is because it is slow, not many visit and post. When nobody visits and posts, it will remain slow. How can we change this?

    So.... SaabWorld was founded on the principle that a car enthusiast site should be owned and operated by the enthusiasts like a cooperative, not some faceless corporation whose only goal is to make money from user content. Sadly, most car and other forums these days are just like that.

    What do you like and don't you like about SaabWorld? How can we (admin, moderators and the community) make it better? How can we increase traffic and member participation? Attract new members? The future of SaabWorld is up to you.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    26 Jul 2014
    Location
    Virginia Beach
    Posts
    2
    Saab(s)
    1997 9000 CSE
    Even if Saab is one for the history books there are many of us who still love the cars. A resource like this has been a godsend for me and look to it for guidance before anywhere else. Thanks to you and everyone here.

  3. #3
    Marty Jackson
    Saab Addict Finding41's Avatar
    Join Date
    17 May 2013
    Location
    London Ont. Canada
    Posts
    641
    Saab(s)
    Sadly a Volvo XC90
    I like the site the way it is. I'm not afraid of change though. Now everything that I want to work seems to work for me. The layout is easy and user friendly in my opinion.
    (Have you seen Yahoo groups? It is hell! Same for the Trailersailors - Home forum.)
    I like the fact that you haven't monetized this site.
    finding41
    Marty Jackson
    www.northchannelcharters.com

  4. #4
    mc iller
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    22 Dec 2012
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    39
    Saab(s)
    SAAB 9000 CD, SAAB 9-5 3.0 V6 TURBO 5D, SAAB 9-5 2.3 AERO SPORTCOMBI
    I like this forum, you are doing a great job.

  5. #5
    Dave T.
    Super Moderator Dave T's Avatar
    Join Date
    03 Aug 2010
    Location
    near Seattle, Washington
    Posts
    1,513
    Saab(s)
    1999 9-3SE (2013-2015), 2005 9-3 (2005-2013), 1990 900 (1990-2003)
    SaabWorld is the nicest and friendliest Saab site that I know of. Congratulations for creating it and growing it over 4 years!

    Consider renaming the blogs, "Archived blogs". That way, there's no need to transfer the blogs to the forum. Car Domain tried to do this and did an awful job. They made it hard to find previously written information. Even if there is an Archived Blogs section, certain blog entries can still be made into a post.

    As far as articles, if there are articles, it might transform from corporate news articles to occasional Saab meets and what might have gone into blogs.

  6. #6
    Saab Nut
    Join Date
    22 Aug 2013
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    387
    Saab(s)
    2012, 95 Aero
    SaabWorld - best of these types of sites I have visited / used.
    If others seek changes I would not object - neither would I object to the stays quo.
    Agree with the sentiments and comments from those above. Overall a friendly and helpful site different to SU and that is not a +ve or -ve just a comment as I think they are different sites for different users.
    Keep up the good work - and thanks for all of your time / input to make it through the last four years.
    TTFN

  7. #7
    Thanks to your site, my 95 is now more reliable than it was new. I have learned a lot of good tricks and tips. Don't change a thing!

 

 

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