Is this forum broken?

[Andrew Leak]

All this aside. I presume the outgoing CEO has a login and wonder if he would like to contribute to the original question?

[Nigel Hitchman]

I dont think this forum is broke, yes there arent pages and pages of discussion on lots of items like there may be on the flyer forum, but there are quite a few subjects where people ask a question and get a good answer, the forum would seem to be useful for that, but perhaps not a great gossip forum.
While it is great that Rod, JC and some others spread the word on the flyer forum, I cant see the point of a seperate LAA forum on there. Surely the flyer forum works fine as it is and people interested in LAA matters can discuss them on there if they want to- why would you want to restrict it to an LAA area?
Having that on the flyer forum does not mean that the LAA forum is broke or isnt required. An LAA member with a technical question is still far more likely to get a good answer on here than on the Flyer site.

I dont go with any conspriacy theories, the board members are very busy and spend their time working for us, I think most have more than enough to do without spending their time monitoring and contributing here. Yes it might be better if they did, but maybe not a good use of their time answering every what if general question. When I meet some of the board members at fly-ins they are always very open with nothing to hide. However I do agree that perhaps we could do better at promoting what we do on the website. We perhaps dont shout loud enough what we have achieved. Although if you read the magazine, this does cover a lot of it, but only once- thats all I need to know, but some seem to want to be reminded of it over and over again!

I read the Flyer forum thread regarding the CEO before I saw this, interesting reading and lots of posts, but most said the same thing. One guy was glad to see Peter go, several thought he did a good job but didnt publicise it enough. More of the discussion seemed to be 20 posts saying the replacement should be from an aviation background and 20 more saying this wasnt necessary. Nothing Im sure anyone involved in the selection of the new CEO hasnt heard before in many discussions. Plus a few more posts on the usual AOPA discussion.
Nothing controversial, no new ideas, lots of the usual, a good discussion for those involved, but nothing missed by anyone who didnt see it!

So keep up the good work JC and Rod, and anyone else that wants to contribute onthe flyer forum- I do occasionally.
And keep up the good work, those who make constructive posts on here particularly those providing answers to people's questions and information about things going on.

Lets hope the new website is a big improvement, although there is a lot of good information on this one for those operating and maintaining their aircraft.
And lets make one of the tasks for the new CEO to ensure they better promote the LAAand keep us informed. Perhaps an hour per week should be dedicated to keeping us informed on the website and ensuring the content is available to the wider media. But what we dont want is a new CEO who is all marketing bullshit, flashy images, tell them what they want to hear but no substance, they can go work for Loop!

[flyin'dutch']

Very good post.

Think it may require a bit more than an hour per week to make sure that the important bits are communicated.

I know how difficult it is to keep everyone informed on all the goings on as people get very busy and are so immersed in the issues that it is easy to forget not everyone is on the same page.

Maybe having someone who's specific task it is to do this would be a good idea.

[Brian Hope]

Some good and positive points, and yes we are listening. I have just got back from a board meeting and the new website was an item of discussion. It is going to be a major job because it entails a great deal of IT work to unite our Engineering and member databases and allow things like mods and permit renewals to be carried out online. It will be a huge leap forward in how we enact many of the business functions of the Association. A key factor will be the visible face of the Association, the front end, and we will be using that to bring you a great deal of new material to supplement the magazine. News stories, expansion of material that might be more appropriate on the web than filling the mag, video stories etc etc. Funds and manpower will be available to keep the website topical and current, and finally present a window to the world of the LAA that we can be proud of. As Nigel says, we already do pretty well on technical info for members, and to be fair that was the remit when the current website was created. The new website will add to that good work with the fun and promotion aspects that will be of great interest and value to both members and potential members. When is all this going to happen? Too early to be specific on all aspects because there is a lot to do software-wise on the 'back end' but there is an expectation that the front end could go live mid to late summer this year.

[ChampChump]

Interesting thread. I tend to agree with Nigel above.

One thing that I doubt I'm alone in thinking is that those of us who are subscribed to more than one forum find different uses for each. They do have different strengths and house styles, in a way, that means a question I'd ask here would not necessarily be one I'd ask elsewhere.

'Taint broke, it just isn't frequented by a significant proportion of the membership.

Many of us do what we can to promote the LAA and get the 'LAA version ' known. It is still amazing how many pilots have little or no idea about LAA aircraft, microlights or flying from anything that doesn't have lines painted on it, let alone non-pilots, who may well want to learn to fly but will head off to the nearest flashy airport without knowing there are other options. The mission is to get them into the fun end before they drift off, bored, disillusioned, unaware... One thing I do is to give them magazines in addition to and sometimes rather than web addresses; the computer-savvy will be finding their way here anyway. Visual, tangible etc.

I don't see the forum (a small part of a well-stocked website) as any better or worse than others I've seen for beekeepers, bikers, bell-ringers, horse-riders, surfing dudes, librarians or whoever.. A few people will always post more; many lurk. The LAA forum doesn't appear to be an accurate gauge of anything. That's fine. That's its raison d'etre. Those who wish can contribute.

The whole website might be flashier, if one has to chase the need to have ever flashier everything, but we've had this discussion before. Better still, just a little improvement on navigation and search functions would work wonders.

Let's worry about getting people flying and uniting the tribes of aviation, while we still can.