Great points. But honestly, this place is not the same from a few years ago. It's not even close. It's almost slowly dying. As mentioned, it's a great place for knowledge base.

 

I sometimes get the feeling that the forum has slowed down. I don't think its dying, but the golden days have definitely passed. Maybe its just that there is nothing new going on as there was 10 years ago? You know...if you search you will find every single topic covered before, there is less reason to post a new thread today as it was back in the day. Does that make sense?

If you look at the forum statistics...today April 26th 2017 had the most user ever online...it seams that every next day breaks that record! So in a sense its not dying, according to those numbers at least. As of now 871 active users...out which 67 are registered members.

It would be interesting to see the numbers of active registered members over time...I guess that would be best indicator of forum health.

 

The proliferation of web crawlers might be pumping up those numbers. The registered number would be a better indicator. It is slower. But, then again, there are fewer and fewer FDs, and a more and more complete knowledge base.

 

There's the generation gap too. Millenials just don't have the connection to antiquated lists or forums. People don't sit in front of their computers typing out stuff on forums while chatting in ICQ and AIM while downloading on Napster. They're on their phones taking selfies and connecting to the world through social media apps which consists of pics and 80 characters or less text strings. It's a lifestyle paradigm shift.

The audience isn't growing, it's shrinking.

 

So many great observations in this thread. It's not just the US. All the Australian automotive (and other) forums are experiencing the same thing. The rate at which it has happened over the past 2 years is frightening.

As observed, users still visit forums but the level of active contribution as diminished significantly.

Forums are based on collective contribution. Without that, they aren't really forums. Their strength is in community - you gather in a place set aside for discussion and actively contribute.

Social media platforms, by contrast, are individualistic even in FB groups. You don't gather in a specific place and build up content together. You basically stand out in an open space and have content thrown at you.

It's the culture that Facebook has developed or thrived on (take your pick, chicken or the egg). Communication is ephemeral, preying on our instincts for instant gratification. Content is disorganised, leaving users vulnerable to Facebook controlling how and what we see. You don't go and search or navigate to the area you are interested in. Facebook fills your feed with you what it thinks you want.

The younger generation are now encultured with information being delivered in this way. IT shows in the way they want to be spoon fed answers without necessarily wanting to expand their knowledge to better understand how cars work. It's all about the "what" and not the "why" or "how". This is all part of a lack of or disdain for intellectual curiosity that we are seeing play out in all sorts of areas, most notably in political discourse. People don't go and search for knowledge, other than in echo chambers that reinforce pre-held beliefs. They ask the internet a question and just expect an answer.

The one main advantage forums have is that through years of indexing, if you Google any sort of rotary question, Google will usually link to the answer on a forum. That won't change so long as forum operators are willing to pay for hosting their database. Social media platforms will rarely come up as the content isn't permanent enough and can't compete. The problem is that, as noted above, many younger people don't even bother Googling anymore.

 

personally this is for two reasons, maybe three.

the first is simply time, i just don't have the free time i did a year ago.

second is that youngest of these cars is about to turn 25, so i think we should know how to work on these things by now. i do still love seeing new builds though, really i think the Rx7 world is in an ok place, everyone is really cool in person, our cars are still well respected outside the Rx7 community.

third is that there are a few things i've spent a really long time researching, and its not proprietary by any means (parts catalog is here Foxed.ca - Mazda RX-7 Manuals) just for example i have a small spreadsheet of Mazda bolt part numbers to sizes/styles/plating, its incomplete, but when done we should be able to look in the parts catalog and tell what bolt is supposed to go where. handy if you start with a car in boxes, like i seem to do...

 

what the hell are you doing here typing your life away then ? go and get collecting and finish that sheet !! add photos to it so people like me can just connect the dots lol

anyways. I agree.

 

I guess? I think people tend to confuse the disparagingly coined 'millennial' with douchebag.

I mean ****, according to the accepted belief I'm a millennial. I'm 34, I sat/sit on forums, I miss ICQ and AIM, and I hate streaming content that I don't possess (give me back napster)

Either way, I have a feeling that people that are really interested in these cars to build them and have a good mechanical understanding will always go back to a forum or some other structured community to have positive discourse. Maybe there was just a mass influx of fanboys that are now on Faceballs? I say good riddance personally.

 

I guess my point was more that forums are passé to the current crowd whose lifestyle has changed to a more mobile one where smartphones and social media dominates. That lifestyle is more conducive to pics and short texts that is more about showing oneself off as opposed to building a community. Forums grew up when people spent more time in front of a desktop PC, something we're less and less tethered to nowadays.

Why bother writing out a well constructed and technical discussion about something when you can just take a selfie in front of your ride and throw up a bunch of emoji eggplants and what not and call it a day?

 

LOL

So true but it grows old really fast. The same people posting up the same BS day after day that I basically have zero interest in.

The forum is locked in to one interest that I deeply care about. If there are only 3 others members equally devoted, well so be it LOL.

I'll take 3 quality (subject I'm passionate about) conversations over a 100 snap shots of BS any day of week.

 

emoji eggplants

 

lol! my problem at this point is that all the cars i have here have been taken apart, i need an untouched, or less touched car. which i have but its sitting in my buddies trailer

 

I think JimLab is a ***** cat compared to the vitriol spewed now-a-days... without the brains (or *****) to back it up.

I was actually thinking about Jim the other day and about how much of a visionary he really was. Kudos to him. He still pops onto norotors once in a while.

 

I mean... of course it was. Virtually everything has an LS swap kit now-a-days.

Just look at how many companies are *just* RX-7 swap companies (or at least started there)... Hinson, Samberg, Ronin, Grannys. He basically developed or at least jump started an entire market.

This is how legends are born. :P

 

There are plenty of active car forums out there for newer cars that are still very active. People still have a passion for cars, the only difference is that the RX-7 is fully-sorted at this point. There isn't any new information to be had, really. Look at how active the threads are when someone actually creates new product for the car.

If we had a new version of the RX-7, these forums would be very busy, I'm sure.

 

Yes, its quite a shame that social media has put the dagger in the heart of automotive forums.

 

The aluminum gas pedal GB is on FIRE!

 

I love this. The other day my girlfriend's brother started talking engine swaps, lowered steering racks, bumpsteer not an issue, etc. I told him to seek out JimLab and have the same conversation...

He reminded me of the trash talking clown in the dunk tank on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk. Everyone loved to watch, but few stepped up to the challenge.

Apologies for the thread derail... to get this back on track, I'm 28 now and I feel like my generation was caught right in the middle of the transition from forums to social media. I joined RX7 Club long ago, before I owned my FD, and spent most of my forum time looking at build threads and imagining what I would someday build. Nowadays, Instagram for me is like a giant collection of build threads (depending on who you follow of course). I feel I spend most of my cell phone time surfing through pictures on Instagram and dreaming up ideas for my own car, but it will never replace RX7 Club.

Like others mentioned already, this forum is a huge encyclopedia of knowledge. I couldn't have done most of the things I've done on my FD without the OG's on this forum. I have so few posts in the amount of time I've been a member simply because there are so few questions on here that haven't already been answered. Not that knowledgeable people don't have a Facebook account, but I couldn't even imagine asking a general Facebook group for technical advice about my car. *shudders*

 

I was thinking the same
Winner winner

 

Not all of us millennials are into Facebook. I'm actually really glad to be out of the 240/drift scene and into something different. Faster lap times and how to get them are more interesting, then who is the most JDM.

 

The car itself may be "fully-sorted at this point" but I'm not. I'll be staying. And there are a few new owners coming 'on line' in the new member section that need this place. You can usually tell the responsible, smart ones that are worth the time. And it's one way I use to learn more myself. They post a question in the new member tech section and if I don't know the answer I'll try looking it up myself...then post a link. You can't get that on FB.

 

yes and no. yes we've had the cars for 25 years, and pretty much know what makes them tick (or not). however there is more stuff we don't know, just as an example new manuals are still popping up regularly for the older cars, there is no list of manuals, so we don't know what was published. we have some for the FD, but since we've acquired the JDM FC books, it would be interesting to see the JDM FD books, the FC books have more content.

 

Keep in mind that technology is still progressing and old owners that are coming back learn of the brave new world of different ECUs, IGN smart ignition coils and Bosch EV14/ID fuel injectors among other things

 

I agree 100%. As the tech changes, the parts change and just look at the products developed in the past couple years. SBG, Turblown, IRP, Banzai - not to mention all the user generated stuff - they have all ready stepped up and keep this ship sailing.

I have a friend that's looking to buy a Z32 300ZX TT. When I started helping him find one, my first instinct was to jump on their forums... Wow. Talk about ghost town. We are bumpin' compared to them.