Discussion Forums - A relatively "new" invention...

Mike Phillips · 03-10-2010, 11:25 AM

Discussion Forums - A relatively "new" invention...

vBulletin Released 1999/2000
vBulletin, that's the software that runs this forum and most high quality discussion forums on the Internet, was released as a for sale script around the end of 1999 or early 2000. So by th year 2002 the thing I'm typing on, the thing you're reading right now, that is text on a forum was still in its infancy from where were at today.

VBulletin History on Wikipedia

It's so easy to take the discussion forums for granted today but in the big picture, this software has only been around a short time.

Before this style of discussion forum was created, the next best thing was the Usenet Newsgroups.

Usenet Newsgroups - History
Usenet Newsgroups - History on Wikipedia

I know it's all to easy to take powerful tools like a discussion forum for granted or forget how far we've come in such a short time so hopefully this brief little article will hep to keep things in perspective.

Two really powerful services provided by discussion forums

1) Education
Discussion forums provide a flow of information around the world between people interested in similar topics, the power of this ability to communicate cannot be underestimated or overstated.

2) Reach New Customers
The ability to reach your target market with your products or services is powerful using discussion forums. In the case of detailing as a part-time, or full-time job, you can reach customers simply by creating a quality write-up of your work using before and after pictures and sharing the details of your process.

A potential customer can read your write-up, also called a thread and if you've done a good job you will get their interest and hopefully earned their trust enough to get them to contact you via a reply to your thread, a Private Message or an e-mail.

Tips for using a discussion forum to reach more customers...
If you want to use reach out to potential customers using a discussion forum, here are some tips...

1) First, read the Forum Rules

Be sure everything you create in your write-up is withing the rules and boundaries of the forum you're posting to. Different forums have different rules, so start by reading each forums rules.

2) Take GREAT before and after pictures
It's important to show your potential new customer how a car looked before you worked your magic and then how it looked after you worked your magic. You're showcasing your skills, talents and abilities. Then, after sorting through your photos and picking the best examples, PLEASE resize them to a viewing size that's in keeping with good forum Netiquette, that means keep the width of your pictures to a maximum of around 800 pixels wide so you don't force your readers and potential customers to have to "horizontal scroll".

Here's some tips on taking and using great pictures...

This first one is very important, if you don't get the "before" pictures before you work on the car you will never have a second chance to get them afterwards..

The power in the after shots is created in the before shots - by Mike Phillips

How to show off your work properly in photos - by Anthony aka OCDetails

How to crop out the fluff and resize your pictures! - Using FREE online software! - by Mike Phillips

How To Use GIMP to Crop and Resize Pictures - Free Software - by GEWB

The principals for this tutorial work with any PhotoPost Gallery
How to upload a photo into your Autogeek Photo Gallery - by Mike Phillips

How to insert an image from your photo gallery into your message - by Mike Phillips

3) Include an outline of your process
Spell check your writing. Use capital letters to start a sentence and end a sentence with a period. Don't type in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS as this looks like you're yelling at your reader. Break up large chunks of texts into smaller paragraphs, people won't tend to read HUGE chunks of pure text, but they will read short, crisp paragraphs.

**OCDetails** · 03-10-2010, 11:30 AM

I just remember the way Autopia looked way back in the day when it first started. It was a huge deal when they migrated over to the vBulletin system. The old school style of message boards still exists out there though. If you ever want a flash from the past, just check out the comment system on imdb.com. It always reminds me of the old style message boards.

Mike Phillips · 03-10-2010, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by OCDetails

I just remember the way Autopia looked way back in the day when it first started. It was a huge deal when they migrated over to the vBulletin system. The old school style of message boards still exists out there though. If you ever want a flash from the past, just check out the comment system on imdb.com. It always reminds me of the old style message boards.

I think you're talking about WebBBS

I've actually owned a few WebBBS Bulletin Boards and before vBulletin they were considered one of the best formats but it's pretty hard to beat vBulletin or at least the vBulletin style.

**OCDetails** · 03-10-2010, 11:56 AM

Nope. Waaaaaay back in the day Autopia was a Bravenet forum. It was as low tech as you can imagine. I can't remember when they switched, but it must have been early 2001 when they finally made the change. I lost my account in the change and my current one is from July of 2001 I believe.

**danponjican** · 03-10-2010, 01:36 PM

I remember back in the early 90s I was an active user of usenet alt.rec.automotive. Google still have those old newsgroups archived so you can go back and look at them.

**Jenn1270** · 03-10-2010, 08:31 PM

Ahhhhh usenet....that is OLD school. I remember when I got my first true email address in 1990 in college before that you dialed up people's home computers.

I've actually forgotten what the Internet was called before Al Gore invented it.....was it uunet?

And remember when we didn't have cell phones either

**sscully** · 03-12-2012, 08:36 PM

Originally Posted by Jenn1270

...<snip>...

I've actually forgotten what the Internet was called before Al Gore invented it.....was it uunet? ...<snip>...

UUNet was a service provider. Forget who swallowed them up.

Are you thinking of Arpanet ? This is back in DOD days.

Originally Posted by Jenn1270

...<snip>...

And remember when we didn't have cell phones either ...<snip>...

Barely. I got a cell phone with my 1st job out of college in 1988.
It was the MOT brick. That was way cool back then, very leading edge not to have it fill the whole trunk of the car like the 1st ones

**Joe@Superior Shine** · 03-12-2012, 09:16 PM

To my knowledge the very first auto detailing forum is "Mobile Works." I joined it in late 1998. It is now called Auto Detailing Network.

Mike Phillips · 03-13-2012, 07:56 AM

Originally Posted by Joe@Superior Shine

To my knowledge the very first auto detailing forum is "Mobile Works." I joined it in late 1998. It is now called Auto Detailing Network.

That could be... there's been a few different brands of discussion forum software available in the early days.

vBulletin came out on top and continues to be the most popular platform, at least from what I can tell. That's all I was trying to document in this thread...

I think vBulletin is now ruined with the new versions. MeguiarsOnline and Autopia both upgraded to the newest versions of vBulletin and I personally don't care for the new interface.

I own two vB licenses and I'm never going to upgrade them after seeing what happened to MOL and Autopia... just personal preference. Sometimes if it ain't broke, no need to upgrade it.