In article <001201c1f866$b851b640$2aed07c3@jonmac>, John Macartney
<jonmac@ndirect.co.uk> writes
>I also support a standardised email list for all Triumphs though it's
>clear the Triumph community in certain parts of the world is much
>divided on this point because of the model splits. IMHO, there's far
>too much parochialism when its clear from conversation with many
>people face to face that they are interested in all models. Can it
>really be that Triumph enthusiasts as a whole are so focussed on their
>own preferred model that they're happy to ignore the rest? I hope not
>but if this is the case, does it not fragment the 'community' and to
>what purpose?
Whilst not exactly disagreeing with any of Jonmac's comments, I think
there are good reasons for having several different mailing lists. I
am a member of two autox.team.net groups (this one, and the Spitfire
one), and two Yahoo! Groups (Spitfire Enthusiast and Triumph Herald),
and I believe that each list has its own character, and its own value.
I read Triumphs@autox.team.net not because I am particularly interested
in the 80%+ of the content which relates to TRs, but because of the
overall Triumphness. In a typical week, you see messages relating to
dozens of different Standard-Triumph products, from Glorias and
Mayflowers, through TRs2-8, to Heralds, Dolomites, Toledos, and so on.
The early Ferguson tractors turn up quite regularly as well. To my
mind, this is the list that Jonmac is calling for. It is all-inclusive
(albeit weighted somewhat heavily towards TRs - purely because those are
the cars that most members seem to have).
I read Spitfires@autox.team.net because I *am* particularly interested
in the 80%+ messages which relate to Spitfires. I own one, after all,
and, if it wasn't for this list, my car would have been sold or scrapped
within a few weeks of buying it. This list saved my car! I've learnt
a hell of a lot about Spitfires from its members, and can now
(occasionally) help with someone else's problems. I have also made a
lot of friends on this list, and so it feels like "home".
I read Spitfire-enthusiast@yahoogroups.com not because I am particularly
interested in the 80%+ messages that relate to modifying Spitfires, but
because such messages exert a horrified fascination for me. Whilst I
would never dream of doing some of things that Spitfire owners on this
list do, I can appreciate that they need a place where they can discuss
"improving" the original design without purist Nazis (such as I <g>)
jumping on them all the time. The other 20% of messages on this list
are similar to many of the autox Spitfires list - help wanted in solving
mechanical or electrical problems. One of the most prolific answerers
of such questions on this list is John Kipping - 'nuff said.
I read Triumph_Herald@yahoogroups.com because I am particularly
interested in the 95%+ (this is a very focused group) of messages
relating to Triumph Heralds. I own one, after all, and this list has
been of tremendous help already in (a) providing advice and information
to help me buy a decent example, (b) providing advice and information to
help me identify its date of manufacture, and its original trim and
fittings, and (c) coming up with sources for "hens' teeth" parts.
I don't think that a broad "Triumphs" mailing list is the right place to
go into anorak-like detail about, for example, the dating implications
of a half-inch difference in headlamp cowl length on a 1963 Herald, or
the original code for 1977 UK-spec Spitfire carburettor needles - the
vast majority of readers would have little interest in such things, and
while there are still specialist lists available, that is where such
discussions belong.
To be honest, I'd be very grateful if there was a TRs@autox.team.net
mailing list, where TR-owners could take their discussions of things
that are unique to their vehicles, leaving this list as a virtual social
club for all owners of Triumphs. In my ideal world, there would be a
mailing list for every model (where the minute and unique details of
that model could be discussed), a separate mailing list for each model
for modifiers (a guy who is putting a 2.0L engine in a Spit probably
doesn't care whether the vinyl on his seat-covers is the correct grain
for the year, and many of the people who do care about that sort of
thing don't want to discuss the merits and demerits of various modern
engines in Spitfires), and an overall Triumphs mailing list where all of
us could get together and share our pleasure in, and our enthusiasm for,
the marque.
>A year ago, UK Triumph clubs collectively mustered a membership
>of 35,000. Its dropped 3000 people in a year - and it'll go on
>dropping. There's no reason in my mind why the cyber clubs supporting
>Triumph shouldn't attempt to buck this trend - and set the example of
>trying to bring it more back together on a global scale.
I agree that there must be many Yahoo! Groups members who are unaware of
the autox-team.net lists, and vice versa (I didn't even know that there
was a triumph_cars Yahoo! Group). I agree that the various groups
should get together to arrange things in a better way. I don't agree
that this should be done by fusing all the disparate Triumph mailing
lists into one. There is a need for single-model mailing lists, as I
hope I have shown, but Jonmac is perfectly right in saying that there is
also a need for an overarching list that actively welcomes owners of
every sort of Triumph and Triumph-derivative. And, of course, compared
to autox.team.net, Yahoo! is a very third-rate mailing list service,
with huge and irritating drawbacks.
Just my tuppenny-worth.
ATB
(P.S. I have changed the tag and subject of this reply, as this is not
so much an "Off-Topic" post as a "Meta" post (i.e., one relating to the
mailing list, and not to the mailing list topic). I have deliberately
not cross-posted this to all the Triumph mailing lists to which I
belong, as I hope that Jonmac has started a thread which will spark a
lot of discussion, and I suspect that cross-posting would only cause a
lot of confusion.).
--
Mike
Ellie - 1963 White Herald 1200 Convertible GA125624 CV
Carly - 1977 Inca Yellow Spitfire 1500 FM105671
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