Modern world?

[flyingscot68]

As a fairly new member of this forum I'd like to say that I have found the people on here to be nothing but friendly, welcoming and helpful.

I bought my Evora last year as a bit of an impulse buy and haven't regretted it despite a few early problems - it was the guys in Murray's that reccomended I have a look on here and I'm very glad I did.

I was initially looking for a 911, had I bought one I doubt I would be going on the runs/trackdays/go-karts etc. that I have been. It was coming on here and reading about the fun trips etc. that everyone does that got me thinking about why I bought a car like that in the first place. SE has connected me to SIDC who I did my first two car trackdays at Knockhill with. SE also introduced me to LOT, I'm just back from their TD at Oulton - both my wife and I had a great trip down there, all the SE guys we met there were nothing but friendly. Now I'm looking at hopefully going on Spaz next year and getting a few more UK tracks in, maybe even buying another more track focused car, Lotus of course!

Joining in on what was obviously a forum full of people who actually know each other was a little daunting at first but as I said I've met nothing but a warm welcome and friendly banter, SE Bikers is a good laugh too.

The way people are on here and how they all get on reminds me very much of my time in bike scene going to rallies and trackdays etc. The 'vibe' on here is very similar, not what I expected from a car based club/forum at all.

So thanks for all the knowledge/advice/banter and most of all welcoming attitude. Long may it continue

[r10crw]

Totally agree, nothing wrong with the forum and I suppose just the natural progression.

Kugaman, your based in peterhead? Im just at Mintlaw, welcome anytime to come round for a chat and coffee/whisky etc. Garage is quite interesting just now, shuffled things round and in there just now is three lotus chassis, two audi 1.8T motors, one honda K20 and a rover Kseries plus a 2a landrover and a grey fergy!

Unfortunately not a great deal of the above belong to me but interesting none the less, especially the master 340R chassis. Its for sale if anyone's interested?

Oh and tut, what made you assume Id been drinking? but yeah my lounge access has that affect...

[scott_e]

Good thread , have been meaning to ask the same question for a while. Had a general feeling that it was a bit quieter this year than previous years and mentally put it down to the recessional woes and lack of factory output. I will be around until the last man is standing anyway .... by then i may have that Exige ( / anti facebook faction).

[rossybee]

Not on facebook either, and have no inclination whatsoever...





...cue sighs of relief

[Kugaman1]

Kugaman, your based in peterhead? Im just at Mintlaw, welcome anytime to come round for a chat and coffee/whisky etc. Garage is quite interesting just now, shuffled things round and in there just now is three lotus chassis, two audi 1.8T motors, one honda K20 and a rover Kseries plus a 2a landrover and a grey fergy!.

Thats very kind.....Im Elise free at the moment, my cars in for paintwork. The previous owner had a bit of a mare with a very large paintchip which he stuck back on with superglue!!! He also managed to put on various other owner initiated scrapes. These all gave me great bargaining power to secure a very hefty discount. Now I have to spend some of the money saved in getting the paint put right!
Once I get the car back Id like to pop through and take up your offer! Whisky would be good but as I will be driving, I think coffee would be more sensible! after that the car will be taken off the road to have a good check over during the winter.

Perhaps would be a good time to also pop and see Tut.......I read so many of his posts but have yet to meet him!

[campbell]

A very thought-provoking thread, Craig - thanks!

I'm sitting here finishing the setup of my new business laptop. It's a far cry from the steam-powered device which I first used to post a few usenet articles (who apart from Robin remembers those...) to a group called alt.cars.lotus. That was in early 1999...in fact may even have been late 1998.

So I've been involved in the virtual world of Lotus (and briefly, Subaru too) for about 15 years now. Quite scary! Almost as scary as the fact that, in that time...

- Windows has gone from Windows95 (98 wasn't long out back then...eek) to Windows8 (or is it 18? - kinda lost count)

- Nokia is no longer the leader in global mobile phone hardware (who is, do we reckon, out of interest...Apple? Samsung?)

- The PC...or Mac, if you were really out there, was the only realistic way to access "the internet"...now it's a bit last-millennium to use anything other than a smartphone or tablet

- Usenet newsgroups were still a popular means of community collaboration...albeit mailing lists were growing fast (witness Onelist, then Yahoogroups, which hosted SE under Robin's email signup for so long)...we are hanging onto the "newfangled" PHPbb forum advocated by a few upstarts (!) yet now people are at least Tapatalking their way onto SE and at the furthest extreme have sprung up a Facebook group for the general chat

- Lotus has gone from one crisis to another, after more or less rescuing itself via the Elise alone, then also broadly self-destructing with various unfortunate escapades along the way...yet EVO mag still rate the Elise very highly and the Evora has won their car of the year award against very stiff competition

- And as for SE, well so many of us who were at least exuberant socialites and at best totally outrageously behaved back in the late 90s / early noughties, indeed now have families of varying ages and a whole other set of responsibilities to boot. Crikey, Robin brought his youngest out in an S1 as a toddler and he's now only a year or so from university (the toddler, not Robin)

- Some have not withstood the pace...others simply cannot be put down. The demographic and general composition of the group is somewhat different today, but it's still a very sound mix. Thanks to a bit of tenacity in maintaining some very simple standards of social behaviour and common courtesy, that Technical forum is very rich indeed and the General Chat area still has regular flashes of enjoyable debate.

- Various members have come and gone...and so often come back again, when the time is right. That's great. Like any true community, you can't really force membership and participation, you have to attract and motivate it. I think that's what's happened here in the last nearly 15 years and I hope it has another 15 left in it at least.

But realistically, does it? Well who knows. That, I guess, is up to the rest of you...

[point n squirt]

Long live SE , never done the Facebook thing , SE keeps me going till im allowed back into some form of lunacy again,would be a big miss if it died off but theres enough die hards not to let that happen. The secrets to keep drinking and post more drivel,must try harder.

[Rag_It]

I think i agree with Stewart's thoughts - more tablets and phones make consumption of information a lot easier - however when it comes to posting and typing on a phone/iPad i am less inclined to do so. Give me my Laptop and (like now!) i'm happy to type an essay if required!

As for the Facebook group, looking at the activity on it, i'd say it's far from being a medium thats taking away from the forum and more an addition/supplement to the SE phpbb forum.

Having been introduced to the SE Yahoo group in 99, I've converted a few to the brand and some of them have embraced it in a big way. Not just forum friends but real life friends and relationships that have developed over the last 13 years.

Still login in pretty much every day!

Dave

[rossybee]

I also agree with the phone/tablet thing...

On my laptop just now too, tucked away in a wee corner of a control room, finishing off paperwork before I go home tomorrow from a 3 weeker!

/happy faction

[mikeyb13]

Im a relative newbie on the forum. Like many I originally joined looking for technical advice. Was amazed at how helpfull people where.
You dont really get scottish elises till you go to a run or a trackday. So if you havent been to one put on your big girl pants and do it. Guarantee you wont forget it
What a great bunch they are, mad but great

[Noops]

Interesting observation Craig.
Although I don't have a Elise (at the moment), I was lucky enough to have owned two Elises and TBH SE enhanced the ownership and experiance. Always found the common link was the car , then the people, the rest followed.....I still post now and again and feel as though I'm still welcome. I've still been able to come along to the odd extravaganza on the ZZR and hope to pop along to more in the future.

Life changes that's for sure, I'm no longer into Elises however if circumstances were to change in the far future who knows?? .... I now have big bikes and love the freedom and performance they give. On the flip side ( and who would have thought I could go from 160 hp to 1 ph??) I have just signed up on a long term loan pony and livery for my granddaughter so I'm busy being involved in that. Right now I wouldent swap watching her learning to look after and ride her pony for any Elise

Cheers
Noops

[rossybee]

You dont really get scottish elises till you go to a run or a trackday. So if you havent been to one put on your big girl pants and do it. Guarantee you wont forget it

Further to that, I'd say not everyone wants to track their car, but just going to spectate at a track day, as the chat is a major part of the appeal (was for me anyhoo), thus no risk of damging yer p&j

[campbell]

Yep, been a pax or spectator at many a thing and it's still been a blast


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stu160]

There is a Facebook group???

[Claws]

I still class myself as an SE N00b and as such don't post as much as I do in other fora. I do look in a lot though and have a good read, though I generally just keep my comments to myself.

I have met many SEers on various track days and runs though, a great bunch of guys, never felt like an outsider or a stranger as everyone is so welcoming and friendly!