In light of a recent issue with Yahoo serving ads that contained viruses and trojans, it's important to know that can't happen here. You may be thinking "huh?" because you see what look like ads here at EC. But these aren't ads like you see at most sites using potentially malicious "relevance" type advertising.
Here's the difference. EC has affiliates. The "banners" you see are simply graphics that I create and use as direct links to our affiliates. The nice thing is I control them, unlike 99% of sites online today.
Remember when you visit AutoGuide car forums or most other sites today using relevance type network advertising, you are possibly exposed to malicious advertisers. Those sites have no control over the ads being served, they are auto-generated.
I just thought you'd like to know EC's banners are all in-house. It's a real plus for EC.
First, an important fact. I don't want ElantraClub to shut down.
However, the community is not where it needs to be. What we are talking about, is inactivity and passion (really the lack of passion).
First the prerequisite background for newer members...
I bought an Elantra GT back in 2002. Something I never imagined doing... buying a Hyundai. I was a Hyundai disser back in the day and looked at them as garbage. But, I loved the look of the hatchback, the price was right and the warranty great. My wife Tammy bought an '02 GLS within days of my purchase. All of the sudden we were a Hyundai family. Well, I fell in love with the car. Since there was so little online about the car I decided to start a site about them... "The Elantra GT Club". It was basically me showing off my car and asking people to submits pics of their GT's. Well, to my suprise it really took off. I started to research aftermarket stuff for the car and created a list of customizations. I posted every review I could find on the car. I was obsessed with making this site work. Then I decided to start taking "members". It wasn't a fancy set up like this forum. It was basically me asking for people to give me some info about their car and me posting the info in a "Member List". I created polls for people about Hyundai and the car, had a jokes page... got as much info for people as I could. Basically I worked day and night to make it work.
Then I decided to start a little forum in addition to the GT Club site. No, not this one. A crappy place called "Hostboard". I quickly "upgraded" to EZBoard and even though that wasn't great software, we really started to take off. I pushed for a DIY area. And as always worked hard behind the scenes. I logged thousands of hours on the community. After doing all this myself and seeing us with a 1,000+ members, I took on a couple of moderators to help out. We outgrew EZBoard and we outgrew the GT Club name so I moved the community to IP.Board where we are today and changed the name to The Hyundai Elantra Club (later shortened to simply ElantraClub).
When I made the move in 2005, it was a big step up for us and I wanted to create the best forum online, not just the best car forum. I've always known there's more to all of us than the car we own/drive so I've always had added features like puzzles, games, an arcade, chat room etc... And I developed some terrific features not seen on other boards. Later came the blogs and Product Review Zone and ElantraWiki and Garages. There is no doubt EC is a full featured community. And I pride myself on the community aspect of this place. Long term members tell me it has a family feel to it.
So here's the rub. Somewhere along the way, membership changed. The passionate loyal members we had during the XD days left or lost passion. Few HD owners are passionate about their cars and MD owners join here but rarely post or get involved. After spending over a decade perfecting this place, putting love into this place... it wrenches up my stomach seeing the passion and activity withering away. Where we used to have 400-500 posts a day we often get less than 40-50!
I realize there is much more to do online than there was in 2002 when the club started. There is much more Elantra and Hyundai info out there as well. But... for the person owning an Elantra or thinking about buying one EC is still a great place to be a member. I'm proud that I'm the founder and sole owner of EC and that we haven't been bought by a corporation and some faceless admin put in place.
I've dealt with some difficult times with my wife Tammy's Lupus and other illnesses. I pretty much do all the cooking and shopping and cleaning and driving and on and on as Tammy isn't able to do as much these days. Losing her job has made things financially difficult. But through it all, I've kept EC going and here for you.
So, what can we do to save EC? Or, do you even care?
The current issue facing EC has been going on for some time. It is not monetary. Thankfully, our fund drive was a success. No, the real issue with EC is it's inactive members sitting on their hands. Everyone here says they like EC. Well, mostly everyone anyway. Yet when the mods or me ask members to do things that will help the community, we get silence. How hard is it to fill out your profile? Or to add your car to the Garage? When did people get lazy like this? Literally some won't even click a link to get to their destination (our VIP Chatbox, for example). It blows my mind.
As the owner, you'd expect me to want EC to survive and expect me to be the most loyal active member. Yep, that's a given. Next you'd expect the hand picked moderator team to be the most active, but that isn't always the case for a variety of reasons. Heck, sometimes I don't even get replies to posts I make in our special staff forums. And there's the trickle down effect, I think. If members see inactive moderators, they may wonder why they need to be active, right? I'm not trying to be tough here, I'm simply pointing out facts and trying to save our community from fading away.
Back in the day it was a challenge to get people to write DIY's, but, with some pushing they came through in a big way. Those DIY projects number in the triple digits. But today, members rarely write product reviews or give Trader feedback or add to the Gallery and almost never contribute a DIY. Things that would make our site better. New members join but few stick around to really become community members. Most never even post actually.
Look, I'm am not saying all this to put down anyone. I love my mod team. I am proud that people join here. What I'm trying to do is to get us back on track. To get people to just try a bit harder. But to do that, the people who are reading this need to care. If people don't give a rats then all of my begging and pleading won't matter. Maybe the fact we're a "mom and pop" outfit versus the other forums being corporate doesn't matter. Maybe the the time and effort I put into this for members doesn't mean jack shitt to most.
Remember when I deleted those 9,000 inactive members a while back? that was hard for me to do. After all, I built this up over the years and 14,000 members looked impressive. But if they weren't active, the 14,000 number was meaningless. I thought maybe those deletions might also light a fire under the members that were left standing, but it hasn't. We still have many days we're only getting a handful of new posts. Having said that, I still think removing the inactive members was a good thing.
If you like EC and if you like the idea of a community that's independent, try a little harder. This is a good place for Elantra owners and one that has the potential to be the best, the very best.
Get the satisfaction of knowing you helped make it better.
We have to bring some of the fun back to the club...
I happened upon this old off-topic thread and it cracked me up (and maybe only me lol). Andy (equus) was a member here and one of the tech honchos over at Hyundai Motor.
Seeing this thread made me realize the silly off-topic stuff helped make this club what it was. After all, all work and no play... well you know the rest...
One of the great features of this site is when I reply to a post that I was the last to post to, it just adds my comment to the previous post. I like this. Other sites I visit always add another post... you know what I mean?
Well I just wanted to mention that I like this feature...
So I tried to add an event to the calendar and it doesn't seem to have posted. I filled out the form and hit "Add to Calendar" and it sent me to the calendar but when I click on April 21, I no see it. Did I goof up on something?
Though I have been a member since I got my car in November, I haven't been terribly active on this forum. I am hoping to change that (I promise)! However, if I may make a suggestion that one or more of the Mods could think about?
I have been very much involved in the car scene here in Ontario for a few years, this will be my third season of judging at two of Ontario's biggest shows; and I was hoping there was a way to get Sub Sections for us Canadian members, like what the Americans get?
My ideas are as follows: Quebec & The Maritimes (with stickies for regular meets done by whomever wants to organize them) Ontario (stickied in to Ontario East, Ontario Central/GTA, Ontario North, Ontario South/West) Manitoba & Saskatchewan (same as Quebec section) Alberta & British Columbia (same as Quebec section)
This way it's easier for us to keep track of when local events are, and where local meets happen.
Again, just my two Pennies (well not in Canada anymore, so I guess my two Nickels?)
This is for our current VIP's and anyone interested in becoming a club VIP.
You'll notice a new "VIP" dropdown under the right side banner. It gives VIP's access to the VIP Arcade, VIP Chat and the VIP Forums.
Anyone interested in becoming a VIP can check out the "VIP Membership" link in the left side "Community" dropdown. From there you can purchase one of our VIP packages. You'll also see all the features and forum upgrades you get.
Can we get different sections in the forum for the new Elantras? There are enough differences between the sedan, coupe, and hatchback that most topics relating to one wouldn't apply to the other. Plus, there are so many threads on the old models, it's hard to find something applicable to the current ones.
At the very least, it'd be nice if new topics can have prefixes depending on the model. For example, if I wanted to post something for my 2013 Elantra GT, I would prefix my thread with [GD]. If it's for a sedan, prefix with [MD]. That would make navigating the forum and finding relevant information much much easier.
I know you've spent quite a bit of time today making some much needed changes and there is more in store. I just want to say thanks for spending so much of your time doing this for all of us to enjoy. It truly is very much appreciated!
Sup guys. Im posting this here because I know that this is the place where the most people are bound to see it. I would just like to share my opinion on people, and donations to this club. Now, I'm a new member. Haven't been on here for more then a year. But, once I saw what this club had to offer, I quickly noticed that this is one of the few online forums where people actually welcome you, and WANT to help you.
My dad is an avid car collector, and thus so, I am around on MANY different car forums of all different types. Lemme tell you something. For the most part, you will NOT find another club like this. Period. Mitch has done a great job building this place for us, and to put it bluntly, I feel like If I didn't do something to try and help out, what right do I have to lurk around here, ask questions, and suck this place dry of the information that it has to offer? As it was stated before, this is not just a forum. It is a CLUB. In a club, there are different expenses. Just because Mitch doesn't have to worry about keeping the lights on in a building for us, doesn't mean that he doesn't have other expenses.
Storage fees, the fees for the website itself, etc. Go look up the cost of building, and running a forum with thousands of users for yourself. It ain't cheap. Honestly, I feel like a lot of people just feel like they don't HAVE to give, so why bother? Then leave. If you don't think what this club has to offer is worth at least giving 1 or 2 dollars to, then go to one of the other forums online. But know that by leaving, your leaving a club. Not just a forum. I can't even fathom the amount of money the great, helpful people here have probably saved us ALL by giving us cheap fixes, tips, and telling us what not to bother wasting our money on. Take a few dollars from that and show them that you appreciate it.
We ALL use this forum. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US. So why the hell should it be the responsibility of a select few people to pay for us all to use this place? I know me personally, would just feel downright shitty taking advantage of these people like that. Maybe skip a cup of Starbucks coffee and throw those 2 dollars to the club that helped you keep that car on the road in the first place. Like I said, I'm a new member. I know my place. But that doesn't change the fact that I think we ALL need to pay our dues to keep this club alive. I'm 19, and in college. I'm not exactly rollin in money myself. But I sure as hell know how not to mooch off of somebody.
As we bid farewell to 2012 and welcome in 2013, I'd like to tip my cap to Mitch, our admin. He does a great job around here with bringing us this fabulous forum and he even throws in personal touches, like the new banner. A toast, to Mitch! Happy New Year everyone!
Over the years, we've had some vendors/sponsors here but they quickly gave up on the place. I sort of know why yet at the same time I think they made a mistake. The reason most vendors quickly left the club is the seeming lack of interest by our members. And sure, this tends to be a tough crowd. But, I still think they could have been successful if they actually stuck with the community and were active members.
Some of the vendors we had here included:
Diode Dynamics Seoulful Racing TWM Performance AutoGeek RockAuto
Over the years I've tried to get some of the bigger vendors here but they showed no interest.
It's very shortsighted of them because I believe there is a place here for aftermarket vendors/sponsors.
At another club I belonged to, we would race to greet the latest member to join. It would make the newest member feel welcomed and slightly stalked at the same time
Check out the thread on Fierce Entity!
Should we try it, or shall I go indulge in hot cup of bleach?
(Off to hide in my newbie corner and suck my newbie thumb)
VIG PM'ed me and mentioned that the EC Affiliate Mall needed a more visible link for the holidays. I went ahead and added an EC Mall link to the left side club banner.
Well browsing the site today I noticed that we'll be celebrating a milestone. The countdown to 8 years! Mitch, I personally want to thank you for having this community online and having a great wealth of knowledge stored right in one place. Having EC around means a lot to owners who need some information or tips and tricks right down to the simple DIY section.
Hi Mitch, Just wanted to let you know when you send out the mass pm's for features like the affiliate mall, it has a tendency to send out multiple times. The one today I received 5 times within 1 minute.
Mainly just checking to see if this is a known problem, and if anyone else is getting it too
**Please note, this is not a complaint, as I pretty much forwarded the link to my parents many times for them to get me stuff for christmas. Don't know if it's worked yet though, hahaha.
So one thing that is great about this club are the features in addition to the forum. Unfortunately, these features are only as good as the ones that add to them. If we all take the time to add to them, they can be a valuable resource to the community. Some of these features are the Wiki, DIY, Reviews section, and of course the Garage! So what have you recently bought for your car? Did it work well or were you disappointed? Let other club members by adding your review! I just added a review for my MTX Magnum sub and amp combo. For less than $200 it is hard to beat this setup. Go check out the review here!!! While there add your own reviews too
Also, I just created my garage for my 2013 GT. Tried to add some good information in there along with my mods so far. Hopefully over time that mod list grows. Go check it add and feel free to sign my guest book. If you don't have a garage, what are you waiting for. Alex's Garage
So, other than find out what wheels will fit your '06 and just how important it is to use OEM oil filters, what *is* there to do on the ElantraClub site? Well, let's take a look:
There's the arcade, for all you VIPs and Lifetimers... worth the price of admission right there.
There's the product reviews, where you can hear real people's takes on products for all sorts of car care. Here's one I did for the Lamin-X tint film I applied to my fog lights... I can tell you I've been glad I had that stuff on the last 2 mornings. Pea soup to drive through, yuck.
There's the blogs, where members just like *you* post about anything and everything. I even have one about my adventures building a tube amplifier.
There's the member map, where you can mark your location, see who lives near you and just how far-flung EC membership really is.
There's the Garage, where you can see exactly what other members have done to their rides. Keep in mind, it doesn't even have to be an Elantra... I've got a garage entry for my wife's Kia Rio.
There's the Gallery (this one's mine), where you can upload your own photos and see other people's great stuff.
There's the Car of the Month, which any member can enter and even a bone-stock car (like mine) can win!
And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Take a look around and see what's here! And don't forget to donate if you've found anything here helpful! Everything goes to keep this great Club online!
We're heading into the holiday season once again, and I'm sure a lot of you will be buying things online. Why not do the Club a favor and access those sites through the ElantraClub Affiliate Mall? There are a ton of e-stores available, from automotive to computers, to musical instruments and even clothing stores like the Gap and Victoria's Secret. Something for everyone on your list! Just access their site through the Mall, fill up your cart and check out. It's that simple!
Now there are a couple of caveats... you have to have cookies enabled, and you can't navigate away from a store page once you're on it. Also, anything already in your cart won't get counted toward the total for the Club. But honestly, it's a win-win for you *and* the Club. It doesn't add any extra to your bill and you still get the great deals you expect online. I will probably end up doing most of my shopping this way, and you can too. Now get out there and get those gifts!
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