discoBizz
Member Since: 20 Sep 2008
Location: Manchester
Posts: 1416
  
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I’ve only just read as many posts as I could find on “Black Monday† and inexplicably found myself wanting to share a few thoughts; none relate to the thread in question, I have not read it nor I am inclined to do so... These are more thoughts on forums, this one in particular and it’s large contribution to my understanding of my car.
I’ve had the Disco now for over a year and from experience from an MX5 I (still ) own, the first thing I did before buying it was to locate the most friendly, informative and well organised forum I could, to get complete novice advice. To me, forums are like getting together for a beer with mates who all have a common interest: meant to be fun, informative and helpful (ok and occasionally p!$$ taking)
My education and training is unfortunately very very far from anything mechanical/electric/electronic, yet in the past 10 years or so I have rebuilt my old car twice, fixing, upgrading, changing and improving almost everything on it . And it was all down to knowledge acquired from reading posts and asking questions (and an aftermarket workshop manual or two maybe  ).
I have unfortunately seen the demise of my previous cars’ forum: less and less people willing to demonstrate the bare minimum of any social interaction: politeness, humour, and good old civil debate. Silly arguments on which product is better, which method works best and what tools to use went on and on in a manner that put truly inquisitive and eager to learn members such as myself off. There may have been ulterior motives to all this, I don’t know and I don’t care. That forum is now almost dead... 
Having sponsorship of any sort is an inevitable necessity with any new or “side†venture these days (the Dragons in the Den are effectively just that), and most who choose to sponsor a specialised forum such as this one must have to a degree the same “bug†we all share: a passion to know (at varying degrees of depth) our cars, fix them without being ripped off, upgrade them without having to resolve to panic visits to dealers who would charge an arm and a leg to put right, and make the most of them in any conditions - ok and add the occasional (un)necessary but cool gadget too! 
Having the skill to manufacture a part or tool from scratch is (to me) admirable, especially when done out of enthusiasm and in one’s spare time and if confidence is high enough to sell, then, well, a business is born. And clearly, promoting one’s goods is part of any sales process but in the end it’s what suits each one of us better and how comfortable we feel doing the fitting/work ourselves or not.
Like a technical guru I once probed with my questions had in his signature file: “any work you do on your car is at your own risk and I cannot be held responsible if something goes wrongâ€. The point here is that what we buy and choose to fit/change is our choice and our choice alone. There are numerous choices out there for virtually anything we could wish to do/add to our cars (even for the 1533 apparently ). Like someone already said in another post (sorry can’t be bothered to go through the lot again to give proper credit), our choices are “made to fit our own requirements†and, I would add, skill and comfort in undertaking the job at hand.
I have not had the pleasure to meet any of the other members here in person as I currently live and work abroad. But the ones who have had the inclination to reply to my (sometimes naive or ignorant) questions and with which I have exchanged PMs have done so in a manner which made me feel welcome from the very beginning - even the sarcasm and extreme humour seems to be shared and in most cases people are happy to receive just as well as they are to give it. And a few of these members are in fact sponsors, who at the end of the day made not a penny off me (yet  ), sharing knowledge they could otherwise sell in the broader market.
I hope in time I will reach levels of knowledge comfort and competence to be able to assist newer owners/members but I truly want to thank Martin and the community for setting this forum up and sharing knowledge which to me is invaluable. I hope this site sticks to its spirit and maintains resources to keep going for many years to come.
Cheers
(Mods please move elsewhere if you think it not appropriately posted)
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 28th Jan 2010 3:45 pm |
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mattgreen
Member Since: 15 Sep 2009
Location: Worksop
Posts: 211
 
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well Mr Biz, I'd say forums live or die by their membership and their attitude. I too have found Disco3.co.uk to be a friendly place and have learnt lots of very useful things on here.
I think maybe we're all bound together in a brotherhood having paid out for our Discovery 3's and suffering the same way
Luckily the other forums I've inhabited have been good too - 4x4response.info and the GLASS (Green Lane Association) forums.
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| 28th Jan 2010 5:00 pm |
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discoBizz
Member Since: 20 Sep 2008
Location: Manchester
Posts: 1416
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mattgreen wrote:I think maybe we're all bound together in a brotherhood having paid out for our Discovery 3's and suffering the same way
Totally agree Matt, whether the "suffering" refers to faults, maintenance or mods
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| 28th Jan 2010 5:09 pm |
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