One of the main reasons for the switch is that Social Knowledge (our little forum company) uses vBulletin on the other sites we use. We know this software like the back of our hands and have developed tons of tools to solve problems that plague many forums. Once we get settled into the new software we will start to roll out some of these new features and that's when the real evolution will start. Here is a list of some stuff we plan to add:
- Ability for members to upload documents to our Document Center archives to help that resource grow
- A database of members trailers that includes the year, make, model, features, customizations, etc. It will be searchable and each entry can also have many photos.
- Restoration Blogs where members can journal their restoration projects for the rest to see and comment
- Travel blogs so we can watch our fellow members journeys
- iPhone app so you can participate from your hand held device (Android and BBerry comind later)
- RSVP system on events with an enhanced calendar. We will list all the upcoming events and you can RSVP with a Yes, Attending, No, can't attend or Maybe. You can even leave comments like "I am bringing XYZ to the pot luck dinner" or I will be in campsite #12"
That's just the tip of the iceberg on what we have in store for our community and we will discuss each option with the community and if there is demand, then we can install it. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch the community evolve and grow.
Oh year, expect a lot more people to find our site and
registration rates to increase. The software is highly search engine optimized and within 6 months we should really start to see a lot more people finding our site, joining and expand the number of people contributing to the community.