C&CC to Close Their Forum
I noticed a discussion on the above forum saying that the C&CC are going to close their forum from the end of this month. Some members have had an email with this information, although I have not received that email. They don't really give an explanation as to why but they are encouraging members to use other forms of Social Media. Only problem is that those members that don't use other "Social Media" are shut out from communications with fellow members.
They have also confirmed the closure of their Oxford and Isle of Wight sites. The reasons are:- "Oxford faced road infrastructure challenges and external development disruptions, while Adgestone's popularity has declined over the years, needing significant upgrades to return it to the standard that members rightly expect." Shame about Oxford, especially as we no longer have Bladon Chains. Another UK city without a campsite in reach by easy public transport.
David
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I did get the email. The forum wasnt very well used. However, the idea that CCC facebook page is a suitable alternative is a nonsense. There are quite a lot of people who dont go near facebook, but will use forums. Also if you are trying to discuss a particular issue then posts too easily get lost.
As for the absence of a site near Oxford, that is a shame. The P & R at Redbridge Park does allow motorhomes to stay overnight. There is a special entrance for high vehicles opposite the CCC site! I have never used it. There are toilets on site but nothing else. With the closure of the CCC site, a forward looking council might develop it a little more, as per Canterbury P & R! I appreciate this doesnt help caravans.
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In my opinion the C&CC forum was a complete mess from the day it was launched. CT is straightforward, well laid out and easy to use in comparison. (I’m talking lay out not performance here)
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Pity their forum is closing, but I am not surprised as IMO it was a "read only" forum for most of those of us who even ventured there. Requiring the use of a personal identifier, the member's name, to contribute had the likes of me not doing so. The end results just a few contributors, fewer than other forums. Basically a dead in the water formula for success.
Social media as an alternative; not for us, it seems you can't even be a passive reader there without divulging too much personal info. That to organisations that have not a good security record, and by virtu of their massive size alone has the makings of an attractive hacking targets.
Oxford is indeed a big loss; we had no great need for facilities, but liked it as we could cycle into the city and Abingdon, plus there was the P&R; way too few of like sites in either of the main clubs.
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I am sure the requirement to use full personal data was a discouragement to many, including me. I wonder if the C&CC, having seen what happened on this forum, particularly in the early days, thought that using and displaying full names would enforce a degree of good behaviour on posters?
David
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Perhaps they now realise, following on from the cyber attack on this web site, that having members details on their forum was a potential disaster waiting to happen!
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I may not be a regular on the CMC site in recent times but the reason I didn't join the CCC chat forum was due to the details they demanded - as in my full name. I don't hide behind this nickname but I do draw the line at putting my full name on line!
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Me too, Pippah. I’ve seen people post here with details about trips away and freely give info about the area they live in - as we probably all do because we have the security of a username. They then make a post about something unrelated on CT and repeat it on C&CC under their real name. Having their name, it’s then easy to track down the exact address and we know when they will be away…..
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It would appear from reading comments from the C&CC and reading the thread about the forum closure on their web site that one of the reasons for closure given is the forum is considered underused compared to others. Most of the moans about closure seem to be coming from the more elderly members especially if they do not want to use facebook.
peedee
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TW... You are correct , it was a mess from day one of launch. For my sins i agreed to be part of the original Beta testing of the C&CC Forum....Along with others most of our suggestions were ignored..I too objected to the personal identifier. In the end I just gave up and walked away..
You can read the C&CC spoke persons rationale for the closure below.
"Many thanks for your email sent to the Club’s Director General, regarding the closure of the Club’s Forum. Your enquiry has been passed to myself in the Customer Services team to respond to. We understand for some members the forum has been a useful tool to communicate with other members and can see why this decision would come as a disappointment to you. As with any decision, the Club does not take these lightly and we certainly do not wish to disappoint members. However, to continually improve our proposition to members we conduct regular research amongst the membership base to understand how they would like to Club to communicate with them and these decisions are based on that insight. The forum, whilst used by some members, the volume is considerably lower than on other social channels which allow us to interact using a boarder range of engagement tools, which more and more members are signing up to. With the member feedback and the constant evolution of our digital platforms it felt the right time to take this decision. In addition, these social platforms do allow members to interact with the Club and other members, as well as offer private communication channels should they be needed. I would like to reassure you that all decisions the Club takes are with members in mind and overseen by the Club’s governance structures that are populated with volunteer members who ensure members and the Club’s long-term interests are best served. I do appreciate the forum closing will be disappointing to you; however, we would encourage you to look at the Club’s social channels as there is a lot they have to offer. Kind Regards Naomi Kealey Customer Services Manager"
Looks like someone i knew from my old HR Dept has found a new job. That person brought to us " From today the phrase 'Brain Storming' in any meetings or elsewhere on our sites should be replaced with "Thought Showering" ....
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Cheers, GTP. At the time of the instigation of the forum I had lengthy correspondence with the man running it - sorry, I forget his name but it began with G. He either would not or could not see the risks involved in using real names. I gave up in the end and told him I would never post on their forum in view of that stance. I kept my word and have only looked at it perhaps a dozen times since its inception.
I have proved to my own satisfaction and with no malicious intent that it is possible to positively ID a poster once real names become involved.
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TW
I imagine they thought that because you could not belong to the forum unless you were a member and you had to be signed in to use it that was probably the rational behind using full member names. It is rather arrogant for the C&CC to think that just because its behind a member sign in that it was safe? I think I also contacted them at the time about the same thing. I have never got the impression that the C&CC were that much of an open organisation with reasons for decisions rarely passed onto members . I was almost surprised the see that they mentioned that two sites had closed and gave reasons!
I suppose it does put the CMC in a reasonably good light in that we often get information via Rowena so can perhaps understand the reasons behind decisions even if we don't agree? Those of us that use Facebook are members of a couple of Facebook Groups for CMC members which, I should add, are nothing to do with the Club. Strangely I can't find similar for the C&CC. (If anyone knows of any such groups please flag them up) Is this because more older people belong to the C&CC?
David
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I don’t know what their rationale was for using real names, David, but they seemed completely intransigent and unwilling to consider an alternative.
As for more older people belonging to C&CC, it’s always appeared to me to be the opposite on site but I can understand older folk being attracted by the age related discount so, overall, you may have a point regarding FB. 🤷🏻♂️
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As a member of both clubs I find the forums a great source of information and help from fellow members and I regard this as an essential service both clubs should provide. I will miss the C&CC forum but due to the lack of anonymity I have not posted there myself and suspect this is a key factor in its lower number of posts. I do wonder if the introduction of the Online Safety Bill, and the new regulations this will impose on forum hosts, has played a part in the decision made by C&CC and hope this forum does not go the same way.
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WTG
My comment was really about the seeming lack of other online alternative forums like on Facebook which I can't find for the C&CC but there are a couple of large CMC focused independent Facebook Groups. Reading the C&CC forum on the closure of the forum, many suggest they "don't do Facebook" which is often, but not exclusively so, is how older people react to being told to use alternative social media? I image the younger members would be more likely to embrace the alternatives the C&CC are suggesting.
David
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I don’t know what their rationale was for using real names, David, but they seemed completely intransigent and unwilling to consider an alternative.
TW...I think you will find the answer was very much similar to this clubs offering off the new booking system..in that it was software 'off the shelf". Here at the CaMC we suddenly became 'Passengers"...
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I’m surprised to learn C&CC's was 'off the shelf' as those are usually well designed professional packages as opposed to having the appearance of being home made. I guess there’s a difference between professional 'off the shelf' and buying somebody's second hand cast off.
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Is the CAMC going to follow suit?
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With the amount of negative postings on CT from both current and past members, I think that apart from the social pages, the days of CT being a friendly helpful forum are long gone. So I would think it's time for a review of the value of CT.
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Really? I think CT still has great value in the way helpful advice is offered on technical matters and issues such as booking and using sites. As a former member I no longer feel able to help with some issues but neither do I believe I post negatively. I endeavour to be objective.
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I monitor most posts on CT and I can't agree that they are overwhelming negative which is what you seem to be suggesting. Certain threads might well be but they are usually balanced by other posters suggesting the opposite. There are a lot of questions on CT which are answered, often with a depth of knowledge you probably won't get on other Social Media.
David
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Bump, just to get it back on line!!
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Disappointed to see the above two posts have been removed. There was and element of truth in what vbfg said. Is it any wonder some give up posting. What with CT being so slow to bring up pages, errors and over moderation is it any wonder so few bother to post regularly .
peedee
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Talking about moderation is a no peedee as well you know. That gets deletions whether the posts have an element of truth or not.
I disagree with your last sentence. My opinion is people avoid CT because of the constant air of negativity. Myself and quite a few colleagues actually speak with our members on site and that seems to be the general consensus when the subject is raised.
JK
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I wonder if one issue with both the CMC and C&CC forums is that many that contribute to both tend to be new to online discussion groups. If that is the case they will be totally unaware of what tends to happen on such discussion groups which comes as a bit of a shock? Clearly some are not as you see the same user names across different groups. I have been using caravanning forums/message groups for the past 25 years. Even back in the day when it was email groups some people could get quite excited by a given subject! I think we have to accept that online groups are not for everyone, although I would encourage everyone to at least give them a try. This forum does provide a lot of help to people that ask questions and I often think that people that complain about the tone of some discussions are at risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water? In my view it would be a very sad day if the CMC Management decided to follow the C&CC and decided that they no longer want to support a member forum just because a few people find discussions not to their taste. I suppose we will never know why the C&CC management decided to close their forum. It has always been pretty low tech and members generally well behaved so I can't see it taking up much in the way of resources?
David
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