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thebishbus

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There are three choices in a forum-member’s Profile (accessed through the Forums Control Panel) that may affect how forum information is displayed. These are

 

Default forum viewing method

 

Default thread viewing method

 

Sort threads by creation or last post?

 

and I suggest people set these to (respectively)

 

Default

 

Default

 

Forum Default

 

Regarding Brian B’s enquiry, I’ve noticed that - despite always having had those choices set as I’ve just recommended - the way in which threads display does occasionally alter and then revert later to what I’m accustomed to see.

 

This phenomenon is not recent and I’ve no explanation for why it happens, nor wheher it is provoked by something I’ve done or is an effect of the forum’s software. The alteration does not affect the postings themselves, it just makes a minor difference to how the postings ‘list’ within the thread. Basically, I normally see a thread displayed with every posting having the same ‘left margin’ (ie. each posting is directly beneath its predecessor) but when the change happens the left margin shifts so that postings are ‘stepped’. Its not something that concerns me and it does not impact on my forum usage.

 

The Out&AboutLive forums are free to join and have no posting usage limits. Although the software is 16 years old and shows its age in many respects, the Motorhome Matters forum probably remains the best place to obtain informed ’technical’ advice without too much digression. Plenty of O&AL forum-members participate on other forums, but presumably still find it worthwhile to involve themselves with the Warners website or they wouldn’t bother.

 

For another free-to-join ‘no limits’ forum (but one that runs on modern software) there’s a “Motorhome Discussions” section on the Practical Caravan website.

 

https://forums.practicalcaravan.com/

 

Try it, you might like it...

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Facebook fans may well like and feel at home with the Xenforo platform used for the. Practical Caravan/Motorhome forum. However, if for informed advice/discussion on motorhome-related subjects, forget it...

 

Earlier comments about Xenforo and Practical Caravan/Motorhome forums here

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Emails/57590/

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Charles - 2021-03-13 5:48 PM

 

An update would be nice. It's 20 years behind MHFun :D

Maybe, but MHFun is not a free forum for contributors.

 

During the time that I have been a member of this forum, I can only recall have started one thread, in which I sought to draw on the experience of others. The remainder of my posts represent my time, knowledge and experience freely given, in many attempts to assist others. If I was asked to pay for this privilege, I would probably decline.

 

Alan

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Alanb - 2021-03-14 3:39 PM

The remainder of my posts represent my time, knowledge and experience freely given, in many attempts to assist others. If I was asked to pay for this privilege, I would probably decline.

 

Alan

 

I agree with Alan no way would I pay to be a forum member. It is interesting to note that an online motorhome magazine that was started several years ago now here in AU initially was free to readers. Then it was decided to charge to read. In just over a year it went back to “free to read” again. I assume that the drop off in reader numbers coupled with the lower charge out rate for advertisers (due to that drop in reader numbers) did not offset the income when “free to view”. Maybe there is a message there for pay to read forums! Cheers,

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The Motorhome Facts (MHFacts) website started life in 2003, was initially free to use and a fair number of people who had been long-term members of the old MMM motorhome forum decamped to MHFacts. Then MHFacts became a ‘subscription to fully participate’ website and a lot of folk who had joined MHFacts sneaked back to MMM appalled that they were now being asked to pay for the invaluable contributions they had made to the MHFacts site. :D The MHFacts annual subscription is currently £12.50

 

The Motorhome Fun (MHFun) website was created in 2007, was pretty crappy to begin with but was free to use. Like MHFacts it evolved into a ‘subscription to fully participate’ website, with a current annual subscription of £15.00 (more details are here)

 

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/support/knowledge-base/subscribing-to-motorhomefun/

 

The concept behind the Out&AboutLive (O&AL) forums that succeeded the MMM forum is completely different to MHfacts and MHFun with the O&AL forums mirroring the hardcopy leisure magazines that Warners were publishing in 2005 and the MHFacts/MHFun websites offer much more of an immersive ‘lifestyle’ experience. It’s not too difficult to justify paying the MHFacts or MHFun subscription if the intention is to make extensive use of those websites’ facilities, but, for anyone wishing merely to participate on motorhome forums, paying to do this is likely to be dissuasive.

 

Of course, if one charges a subscription and people are willing to pay it, there’s the opportunity to plough some of the money into development and that’s certainly happened with the MHFun website.

 

Regarding developing the O&AL forums, Warners would first need to decide whether or not to keep the original structure based on their magazines and what to do about the 15-years-worth of data currently held. Much of the old data could be junked, but that would still leave a lot of historical information that would be worth holding on to. The Motorhome Matters forum alone comprises over 33 thousand threads and ‘vetting’ these for potential usefulness and removing the dross would be a Herculean task. Might be preferable to take a ‘cruel to be kind’ decision, write off the O&AL forums and let Facebook take the strain.

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Alanb - 2021-03-14 5:39 PM

 

Charles - 2021-03-13 5:48 PM

 

An update would be nice. It's 20 years behind MHFun :D

Maybe, but MHFun is not a free forum for contributors.

 

During the time that I have been a member of this forum, I can only recall have started one thread, in which I sought to draw on the experience of others. The remainder of my posts represent my time, knowledge and experience freely given, in many attempts to assist others. If I was asked to pay for this privilege, I would probably decline.

 

Alan

That's why I didn't join for years, but then I joined to say something and really liked it, it's interesting because it's so much busier with all topics covered, they're even discussing shemima Bagum this morning... I'm staying out of that one ;-)

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Alanb - 2021-03-14 5:39 PM

The remainder of my posts represent my time, knowledge and experience freely given, in many attempts to assist others. If I was asked to pay for this privilege, I would probably decline.

 

Alan

Same here, no way I'm going to pay to give assistance.

It's frustrating because I frequently see posts on Fun, Facts etc. asking questions to which I know the answer but I'm unable to pitch in and help.

Sometimes the frustration is just too much and I create yet another user profile (one of my email accounts allows email aliases) to get 4 or 5 free posts. I must have had 40 or 50 Fun and Facts user accounts over the years.

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