C. Charles Hahn said:
The more I think about this whole issue, it seems to me that there's another possible contributor to the lack of content being generated in this section; that being the name itself.
The concept of "Click & Brag" puts a certain connotation into the minds of those posting and reading threads. It says "Look at me, I'm such a bad-@ss! My work rocks and I'm here to blow my own horn!"
We all know that in the vast majority of cases, that connotation does not accurately represent why people post threads, and it's also not why people come to read threads.
I can't help but wonder if it would be advantageous to simply re-name the section to something more neutral such as "Detailer's Showcase" or "d'Elegance of Detailing" in an effort to promote a different atmosphere. Who knows, that alone might make a dent in all of the "ego stroking" comments people like Bob/Jimmy/Richie/Jeff (to name a few) have been targeted with.
This place is about showcasing hours of hard work, not "bragging" about how good a detailer is or that they got to work on a high-dollar exotic. THAT seems to be what people have lost sight of here. We've seen this thread go through stages of debating the format of threads, to what sort of content is "worthy" of being posted, to what motives/agendas people who post threads have. Now the question is, what does Autopia want to be? Who is Autopia targeting?
Historically speaking, the Autopia community at large has seemed to go through a number of cycles. From a base of predominantly enthusiasts, to a mix of hobbyists and pros, to mostly professionals. At different times, the attitudes have been anywhere from one of open sharing and collaboration to carefully guarded restraint, and sometimes even standoffish elitism. Yes, a lot of this comes from the members, but the management has to also take responsibility for it as well.
While I largely agree with and appreciate an open and hands-off approach to managing a forum, it is also necessary to change and react organically to the needs of the community as it evolves. That's not something I've seen happening lately. Instead of an 18 page debate spanning a period of 3 months, there should have been a reaction and change in an effort to turn things around much, much sooner when it became evident that the community's needs and desires have become refocused. Being slow to react to issues creates more damage which will ultimately take much longer to recover from. I'm willing to bet the traffic statistics and reports reflect that if we were to view trends over time.
