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Post by Richard DAF Webmeister on Jul 27, 2019 21:57:46 GMT
I don't know what's going on, but there is very little DAF owners activity going on, on here.
Actually, I do know - the blessed Facebook is doing what it is doing to most other clubs and groups - basically taking over and gradually destroying them.
No one seems interested in the club magazine anymore, very few people put anything on here, despite there being 15-odd years' worth of messages and advice, whereas on the Facebook, you get a few minutes of "likes and comments" then it all disappears. But people see addicted to that life now.
Still, if that's the way the world is going... We might be saving lots of paper and I may not need to make so much of my typing and editing "skills".
Maybe it's me.
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Post by swissdave on Jul 27, 2019 22:43:46 GMT
Yes, it is, deadly quiet. To be honest I’ve now decided to put more effort into reports for the magazine as it is the most enduring format. I do post regular updates on here about my 66 but I feel as though I am talking to myself most of the time as no one replies or can even be bothered to like most posts. I wanted to share my progress with the little car, hoping that others might benefit from my various experiments in furthering the abilities of the variomatic “brand” but it does get a bit boring without any feedback. I guess that’s the draw of Facebook, lots of instant gratification but as you say Richard gone without a trace and nigh on impossible to refer back to after a couple of days once it has become old news. I believe the magazine still has an important role to fill, the future of this forum is down to every member, use it or lose it! I will continue to post on here, I have an alloy wheels update and a video to post once the relevant report in the club magazine has been published but I have to admit my enthusiasm is waning. But please Richard do not give up on the magazine, I for one thoroughly enjoy it and look forward to it popping through the letterbox.
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Post by bobdisk on Jul 28, 2019 7:20:32 GMT
I agree, a lot of forums seem to be "drying up", not a lot of new posts. Some time ago I thought everyone seems to be joining FBook, but to get an account, the personal questions were too much, so I didnt. I enjoy Belting Along, so please dont give up on it! I am not a good writer, but I do try to put the occasional comment or question if I think it might be read. As Swissdave says, what someone has put on the forum, it is then always there to refer back to. It is usually the first place I look for information.
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andrew
Likes DAFs
Posts: 1,104
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Post by andrew on Jul 28, 2019 8:13:57 GMT
Richard, Don't give up on the magazine! I'll do my best to send you as many Daf-related articles as I can lay my hands on, most of which have not been seen in the magazine before. We could look upon this as the Forum's "darkest hour", with Fakebook biting at our heels, but as a certain Prime Minister said "we will fight them on the beaches" although perhaps it ought now to be ".....on the keyboards".... Nevertheless, one thing is certain (to continue the quotation) "we will never surrender" to Fakebook! (Well, I won't anyway!)
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Post by andrejuan on Jul 28, 2019 17:06:11 GMT
Quiet but not dead, Users Online in the Last 24 Hours 2 Staff, 5 Members, 138 Guests. Many of the guests will be members like me who are too idle to logon :-)
I am pretty sure all the posts on here are well read, even if comments are a little thin on the ground? and of course warm summer evenings stop keyboard tappers more than a long winter nights.
With hindsight being 20/20 vision, it is obvious now that the club would have benefitted from starting a DAF Owners Club F/book page from the beginning? This I think (given the scarcity of owners) would have been the only UK page and it could have been guided by the committee or enthusiastic members. Given that choice back then though, I would have said "no thank you" I prefer our little forum.
So, moving forward.
Is it too late/preferable/useful/ or desirable to do like other car clubs and have our own page? Recently I posted a question on the Renault owners forum, eventually a member told me not to post on the forum as it had now moved onto Facebook.
Lets see what happens.
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Post by Richard DAF Webmeister on Jul 28, 2019 21:08:08 GMT
Thank you! Don't worry, I don't really plan to give up the mag or any DAF life. It just disappoints me that the whole world and his wife seems to be taken in, and taken over, by Fakebook (I do like that change of name!)
AndreJuan makes a good point re the visitor numbers and perhaps people not bothering to log in - I hadn't really thought of that, although there are more messages on Fakebook being put up nowadays.
I have said before that unfortunately, these Proboards are a bit clunky to operate, especially when wanting to show photos, but that is beyond my control, so I understand why people might prefer to put photos on Fakebook. They still all disappear though after a short while on there.
Part of me also thinks that sooner or later, things will go wrong with FB - perhaps there will be a bust up between contributors, and they might come back to this friendly place! Or FB may get so embroiled in its own issues of personal info/data issues etc that people might walk away. Or not.
Anyway, not to worry, we'll keep belting along, one way or another.
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Post by bobdisk on Jul 29, 2019 5:08:43 GMT
There is no excuse for members not logging in when visiting a site. For my example, this forum is a bookmark (I use Firefox) with the password stored, so all I have to do is click on the bookmark to automatically log on. The same goes for Windows users.
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Post by andrejuan on Jul 29, 2019 10:23:53 GMT
Let us not forget also, the difference between a Facebook post and a forum post.
Typically, as Richard points out, there are more posts on the DAF pages of facebook than on here. However, on Facebook most are one, two, or five words long, mainly indicating agree/disagree, or yes/no. Our "grown up" forum tends to have meaningful conversations, non of the instant gratification and move on to the next new post. I have never seen anyone on Facebook take the time to explain how to do a task in detail or show themselves doing anything step by step as we see on here.
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mattsdafs
Likes DAFs
Yolanda, 55 estate
Posts: 374
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Post by mattsdafs on Jul 30, 2019 6:18:27 GMT
Quiet...this is active compared to the Essex Dafs forum..I'm afraid very little gets posted on there now.. The thought of starting a Facebook page had crossed my mind but being very limited on the technology side of things,it will probably only be a thought.. As for the magazine,this must not die out,have thought about a time or 2 of adding to its contents,maybe I will get my act together 1 day and figure out how to get something sorted..
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Post by zonker on Jul 31, 2019 9:27:55 GMT
Well, for what it's worth, you have a new forum member. Hi! I've just recently taken interest in these fun little cars and hope to find a nice running example to dole some wrenching on. FB pages are nice but for true reference materials and solid advice, I find the forums are WAY more the better way to communicate. Anyways, nice to find you and look forward to participating here.
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Post by andrejuan on Jul 31, 2019 12:50:42 GMT
Welcome Zonker.
Hope you find the ideal car. The DAF club is terrific, and the members are very generous with knowledge and tips. Parts are cheap and plenty-full for most models and the engines are generally bulletproof. Sales tend to come in waves, it's not unusual to have a six month dry spell and then two or three come up for sale. All models are now rare but the really rare models are seldom sold. Post any questions and someone always answers :-) John
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Post by dafdaffer on Jul 31, 2019 20:41:53 GMT
Im still here bumbling about, i don't tend to post much on the Fb page as most of the users are Dutch anyway and the translation makes no sense ie, " i use the DAF for washing machine when the brakes Don't like to work! " im just Mega busy trying to rush about with an 19 month old and an half finished house. i do look on here most days but don't manage log on with being at work ETC, its lovely to see all posts on here and i do enjoy pictures although most of the photo sharing ones have deleted mine. also most questions have been answered by the time i get back on here, the light is at the end of the tunnel for me and i hope to get back Daffing asap, i am also hoping to get to holland next year.
dont give up matey as i know that there are alot of people moving away from FB now and using other platforms, i remember making the first Post on here with you when you started up!!!
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Post by Richard DAF Webmeister on Aug 1, 2019 13:13:33 GMT
Yes, our Dutch friends do seem to monopolise on there - hardly surprising really! It's ironic that that page was set up by a Brit.
Don't worry - I'm not giving up - and I know how busy you have been - and obviously very pleased of your potential future DAF plans!
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Post by joe on Aug 6, 2019 11:41:30 GMT
It isn't really that quiet when you consider how many members the club has. I imagine (and purely speculation) that the percentage of members using this is way higher than most other clubs!
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Post by dafman50 on Aug 6, 2019 20:52:35 GMT
Still a very good bed of info and help to all . Even with fb and other sites there are a growing number of new owners yet to join our club.but I'm working on them all.
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Post by starider on Aug 11, 2019 22:33:23 GMT
Hi,thought I ought to put in my 'two penneth" I personally detest FB. It can and does ruin lives,causes all sorts of problems with young and old and seems to rule thousands of lives.I'm sure there are many good things on FB,but the negatives are causing untold problems.I would love to know the effect FB has on productivity in all spheres of business.I have a younger friend whose health is very poor because they read and believe all the rubbish comments about diet on FB, I've tried to get them to take real medical advice but they are hooked on the anonymous "experts" on FB. It doesn't matter where you look there are folks clutching mobiles,or in a restaurant ignoring their children whilst using their phone. I realise that little can be done because IT rules the world, so as everyone has said, the forum needs to continue.Richard,I'll try to send in more for the mag. Regards to all...................starider
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Post by starider on Aug 13, 2019 21:40:30 GMT
Hi,on reflection anyone with any sense should go to owner's clubs pro boards, because advice given is usually from very experienced owners and folks who have worked on and used the vehicles owned by enthusiasts,not some self confessed "expert".A while back I bought a rather battered David Brown tractor because I needed a tractor with a front loader.Every problem I found was immediately dealt with by folks on the club forum,same with the BSA Bantam and the Greeves,all advice freely and expertly given.So as far as I'm concerned they can"stuff" FB............starider
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Post by newwy66 on Aug 14, 2019 14:22:11 GMT
New member here. Hi everyone. Semi-retirement in my mid 50's has brought a fair amount of spare time and thoughts turned to having a little car to 'play' about with. DAF's were a part of my childhood and I remember them fondly. My sisters first car, circa 1980 was a green DAF 33. It's funny how everyone seems to remember this little car. We used to laugh so much whenever we went anywhere in that funny car...it was quite an oddity even back then. Much loved. My Dad had a brief flirtation with a brown (hearing aid brown!) 44 sometime in the 1990's but he had a long term Morris Minor Traveller as his main 'pottering' car and sadly the DAF didn't get that much attention and was moved on after about 18 months. So, DAF's are definitely in the family way. Unfortunately, as everyone will already know, they are as rare as hen's teeth. I have been looking to buy one for a short while and I am either not quick enough or they are too expensive. I know I will have to be patient. In the meantime if anyone is looking to sell a running example of any model then do please get in touch. A couple of questions if I may... I do not have garage facilities, only a large drive in...would this be a problem with an old DAF? Do they need to be under cover? Would I be able to get a fairly decent running car for upto about £2k ?
Best regards Dave
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Post by andrejuan on Aug 14, 2019 14:48:28 GMT
Newwy66
You will find a car for that budget, one will come along as they do now n then. DAF's are no different to any old car, it is not ideal to have them standing outside. Perhaps a good quality and breathable cover would help to some extent? Everything else you need to know is right here. :-)
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andrew
Likes DAFs
Posts: 1,104
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Post by andrew on Aug 14, 2019 15:15:24 GMT
Any Daf will be 40+ years old by now, so bodywork wise it might not appreciate being parked in the open. That said, my 33 spends most days in the open, on my driveway, as it's used most days! Dafs, along with all older cars, benefit from regular use and in this way any "gremlins" can be shaken out. As to advice, joining the Daf Owners Club is a must & this Forum is a superb source of information, too. Dafs do come up for sale every now and then, so keep your internet eyes and ears open!
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Post by newwy66 on Aug 14, 2019 23:02:06 GMT
Thanks both for your replies. Yes, slightly worried over having no garage facilities but I do have a decent cover. I converted our garage to a room about 15 years ago...not sure the wife would appreciate me converting it back into a garage for an old DAF...lol. I will be keeping an eye out and hopefully be able to get one. Thanks again for the messages. Regards Dave
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