Future of the JPSC

[jeffw]

I read you post Jeff but did not like to comment as I am a tourist these days on the site

Go on Si, you know you want to

So what is your view then?

[dopdog]

So we have had 2 replys one is all doom and gloom about the industry and the other just goes to show how much interest there really is in this forum.

I have been driving kit cars since I was 18 years old and have always been enthusiastic about them and right from the start been to as many shows and track days as we could put on and get together. Gone are the days of mad macs european tours, track days at Abingdon and goodwood, drinking and just getting together and all with a common interest.
It seems such a shame that we have ended up here. So many people have sylva or Raw cars and yet there is so little interest in chatting about them or even just getting together? I think the harsh reality is that it is basically doomed to just drift away into nothingness.

This could potentialy be the end and as Jeff has pointed out apart from the committee members who else has replied? If we all agree to make a difference and come up with loads of ideas how many will turn up?

Is it time for a dedicated Sprinting forum?

[RobMsport]

I have to agree with just about everything already said , especially the idea of it being a dedicated motorsport forum --- BUT someone will still have to run the show. It is strange though that the JPSC covers probably around 2000 Sylva kits ever designed/built/sold by JP and other manufacturers , yet we have this lack of interest from most of them. Even more so , when you consider that the clubstylus dedicated forum for the Stylus only covers 160 absolute maximum kits ever sold , with a hell of a lot never having been completed , yet use is quite good on occasions and sometimes very active. It's also totally dead for periods too to be fair but without a manufacturer to support , clubstylus forum is the only port of call for buyers of part built cars to find answers to various problems of build. Perhaps that's why it still gets used mainly , plus , like Jeff , I'm the major poster on clubstylus.
The website is run for us by a previous Stylus builder/owner at his own cost , even though he no longer owns a Stylus (he has a Striker now) . There are no personel to organise days out or trackdays etc etc , plus no shows where we need to be represented or a magazine to be produced which is a huge burden for the JPSC team. On occasions I've organised dedicted Stylus events which have been enjoyed but also found it really difficult to get money in on time , so that my personal bank balance doesn't get too low for too long. On one occasion I shelled out £1300 in May for an event in August but struggled to get much of it back to me by July and one or two on the day. I've done other less costly events too but have almost had to bully owners into taking part ie. phoned them , emailed them , text them --- always struggling to get numbers. Now I sit back to await others to come up with something and do little myself.
Having said all that , I still like to use this forum to keep contact with like minded people

[dopdog]

I think you have hit the nail on the head Rob. I think most of us want the forum for the information and feedback but how many users do contribute. I think it is fantastic that we do have people that put their own time and effort into keeping it going but it must be demoralising for them not to get the feedback and support from the other 98% of owners.

well done to the committee for getting us this far and lets hope some more opinions will be forthcoming from other members on here.

I await this with with great interest.

[MaRkStar]

Some of it comes down to cost and purpose.
I have no idea what it costs to run the forum and the chat list.
However regards purpose it is a fount of information and it would be a shame to loose the archive.
The lessening of posts reflects the market for building kits, IIRC the Chat list in it's days often had 600+ posts a month, yet that coincides with a good number of builds going on. As said already that is no longer the case. Also we all know when we first got the car we're all over it, it's all we talk about 5 years on you don't need to know that I still aint got the roof made, the wiring faults fixed etc, but I will update the Star thread as and when I get something done . . . promise
I for one am more of a lurker than an active poster, although somehow am on the first page of top posters of 75, soon to be 76 over 5 years, humm
As regards a lack of posting that is more due to my narrow experience of the Star, and their ain't too many of them around, on here or the planet, if that is anything to go by there may be a resistance to post simply because we all know there are some on here who really know their stuff - massively thankful for that! - and so I tend to let you guys who know what you're talking about do so, and I have learnt loads simply reading the posts.
There are pro's and cons of having both the chat list and the forum, the chat list pops into my mail box as and when and I generally check the forum daily, having two also thins us out a bit, and maybe having has two served their purpose and now it's time to combine, if there was a way to migrate the two into one.
Regards the meets, when in North London there was a core of three of us who draw in 6 or so others and we did meet up regularly and I dare say come dryer weather that'll continue. Now living in Kent we are spoilt with the SKCC which is very active, and that may be the way to go, keep the Forum and Chat List - bearing the previous comment in mind - for us as enthusiasts of the mark for specific info research (as those parts get harder to find) and banta, but regards the active element of meets, shows etc. look to the local broader based clubs.
Regards 'dormant' forums, I'm sure most of us are members of some simply for convenience and that has become something of the norm, I am a member of the VVOC for no other reason than spares. Pistonheads just in case I get spotted - like that's going to happen - and Locostbuilders again knowing there are a few Leader and Star owners on there - most are here too
Just a few thoughts off the top of my head
Mark

[kdempsie]

I like the forum and don't use the chat list anymore but agree that the traffic levels have really dropped off nowadays. I have always intended to start posting my J15 build but have not yet got round to it (the posts not the build), so I guess I am as guilty as anyone else for the lack of forum traffic.

My view of what I would get from the club is perhaps a bit different from others because I am up in Aberdeen so didn't really expect to meet up on any regular basis. I have met up with one local Riot owner that I wouldn't otherwise have known about, so that is positive for me. I do also like the club site at Stoneleigh as a place to meet up and look at the cars which appeal to me most. Before I sold my Mojo I did enjoy the adventure of the trip down.

I would like to meet up for tours if members fancied heading to the roads up this way on longer trips and will plan a European trip once the car is complete. In fact if we had enough members here in the Aberdeenshire area I would be interested in meeting on a more regular basis, work is always an issue with that though as I have to travel quite regularly at short notice.

The Proper Job is a really welcome read, a couple of these a year would be enough for me and I would be happy to write something for it on that sort of frequency. So for my part to make the forum a bit more lively I will post some build progress in the next few days.

Keith.

[RobMsport]

I like the forum and don't use the chat list anymore but agree that the traffic levels have really dropped off nowadays. I have always intended to start posting my J15 build but have not yet got round to it (the posts not the build), so I guess I am as guilty as anyone else for the lack of forum traffic.

My view of what I would get from the club is perhaps a bit different from others because I am up in Aberdeen so didn't really expect to meet up on any regular basis. I have met up with one local Riot owner that I wouldn't otherwise have known about, so that is positive for me. I do also like the club site at Stoneleigh as a place to meet up and look at the cars which appeal to me most. Before I sold my Mojo I did enjoy the adventure of the trip down.

I would like to meet up for tours if members fancied heading to the roads up this way on longer trips and will plan a European trip once the car is complete. In fact if we had enough members here in the Aberdeenshire area I would be interested in meeting on a more regular basis, work is always an issue with that though as I have to travel quite regularly at short notice.

The Proper Job is a really welcome read, a couple of these a year would be enough for me and I would be happy to write something for it on that sort of frequency. So for my part to make the forum a bit more lively I will post some build progress in the next few days.

Keith.

Hello Keith ,
There is a guy called George Andison who has a Stylus V8 and posts under the forum name '' hearbear '' on www.clubstylus.be . He is just West of Edinburgh according to his profile. He's a long way up from me in BUCKS but he's been to our Llandow trackday and visited me too in the past . Might be another guy to chat with plus actually meet Rob

[Edd]

Hi Guys,
Whilst your comments on the usefullness of the Forum/Chatlist are very welcome and Valid, we are trying to discuss the JPSC and it's future overall, not just the Forum.
Edd

[dopdog]

could you please remind me Edd what does the JPSC club do?

[The Baron]

Hi all
I have enjoyed reading all the useful stuff posted on the forum and I have been motivated by all the sprinting banter enough to enter a few hillclimbs when I get a few things sorted. Seeing all the cars at Stoneleigh on the stand has been great over the years and I have really looked forward to reading The Proper Job. I do think that most of us (myself included) need to more active although I do wonder what I could post of interest as I bought my car ready built and it just needed some TLC. Would a Twitter account for the group be useful to flag up new posts/information/events/pictures? It could be a quick, easy and free way to get everybody interacting?