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Thread: Why does this forum appear to be dead?

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  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    Nov 2008
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    Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
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    Unhappy Why does this forum appear to be dead?

    Is it just me that is seeing this?

    Did COVID ruin forums too?

    Apparently there are over 300 people visiting this site while Reddit only has say 30.

    However, nobody has posted here for a year.

    How long has this site had HTTPS issues?

    The formatting is broken on my desktop but I can still open it on my phone.
    Electrical Engineering
    Lakehead University, ON, Canada

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    Mar 2008
    Location
    Buffalo, NY USA
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    348
    Welcome stranger. My foggy memory is that some old school (non-PC, etc) posters scared away all the students...who then migrated to Reddit/r/fsae and perhaps other sites. I won't name names, just to be polite. Personally, I can't stand Reddit (ads everywhere, weird navigation, stuff jumping around on screen), so I check here for signs of new life.

    While I don't know the owners of FSAE.com, it has been functioning just fine for me--see my infrequent updates on the Tire Test Consortium. The web interface works same as ever in Firefox under Windows. Search takes a little time to figure out, but generally works OK. There is a huge wealth of experience archived here, hope you stick around and bring a few pioneers back to explore.

  3. #3
    Well said Doug.
    I wholeheartedly agree with you. I will add that the situation does hurt me on a personal level as i have had good relationships with many of the "bad actors" that made the site unpopular,
    but i will acknowledge that my relationships with these people was and continues to be in a different context than mentor - student.
    Ironically, i'm seeing more "tough love" on the Reddit site, but nothing i would consider abusive or offensive.
    Moving forward, i think it will require some trust and understanding from all parts of the community to move this forward.
    Posters of inquiries will have to acknowledge and respect that many industry professionals such as yourself expect, and frankly deserve inquiries more focused than
    "what's the best suspension for FSAE" type questions. Any poster should be able to ask focused questions. After all, no one got into school by writing "i want to go to your school to learn" as their sole application.
    There is a wealth of good knowledge here, valid and helpful to the community, that needs to be accessed, and to be grown upon.
    At this point, i think all participants and stake holders should be willing to move forward while acknowledging past shortcomings.
    Thanks again!

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    Buffalo, NY USA
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    Quote Originally Posted by John McCrory View Post
    Well said Doug.
    [...]
    There is a wealth of good knowledge here, valid and helpful to the community, that needs to be accessed, and to be grown upon.
    At this point, i think all participants and stake holders should be willing to move forward while acknowledging past shortcomings.
    Thanks again!
    John, you are welcome and it's nice to see you here again. For anyone that reads this, follow this link to John's "intro" post to this forum:
    http://www.fsae.com/forums/showthrea...071&viewfull=1
    And then read some of the follow-on comments from design judges...

  5. #5
    Short notice, but something very worthwhile attending:
    All FSAE Students and Faculty:
    Annual Race Car Education
    Learn Formula Cars in One Weekend
    Location Road America, Elkhart Lake Wi.
    Date: June 27-30, 2024
    Purpose: Education, Team Building, Find Jobs in motorsports,
    Guided by : Angelo Zarra (former FSAE Judge), top level Race Engineer, Suspension Engineer, Formula car expert.
    Meet the teams, see and touch the cars, ask specific questions, learn how to improve your car. Find design answers you were looking for.
    Run Groups: F1600 / F2000 - Atlantic / + Trans-Am / IGT
    Sponsored By:
    https://www.racefrp.com/
    https://www.anzesuspension.com/
    https://www.roadamerica.com/trans-am-speed-tour
    Email sales@anzesuspension.com

  6. #6
    So back to Doug's post, the second in this thread.
    Once again, there is a post on Reddit asking about suggested reading. Such a post comes up at least once a quarter. And the respondents typically list the same handful of fairly modern texts (including one by
    some guys named Milliken ).
    Nothing wrong with the suggestions, but i get the impression that they come from fairly recent competition alumnus.
    What gets me is that there is a thread within this site that has a veritable library of Alexandria list of suggested readings. I am honest that i am a boomer - worked a long time to get here-
    but there are a number of old school books such as Costin and Terry that are pragmatically helpful.
    Do people purposely overlook this and other resources on this site?
    To confirm Doug's comment that old school posters scarred away all the students. I am constantly preaching to new students that not all here are misogynistic, sadistic, or however the elders (and i user that word purposly) are percieved.
    Further I believe that anyone who takes the time to post has students best interests at heart. The responses suggesting a certain level of professionalism and focus regarding posting questions are
    just asking for a level and standard of communication that will be required in all industry. It is not pulling wings off fly's. As i near retirement age, i still adhere to the belief that teachers and mentors
    that challenged me were the ones who helped me the most, even if it was uncomfortable at the time.
    I think all of us here who care need to spread the word that this site is an extremely valuable resource that should be given a chance.
    So that's my rant.
    Perhaps someone needs to bump the suggested reading threads.
    To those who would like to discuss further, you know my name, look up my number. Or see me at the PRI show!

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Perth, Western Australia
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    721
    John,

    It would be great to have the time to meet everyone at these comps. The UK comp was a lot of fun, and hard work. My co-Faculty Advisor Dr. Nando Guzzomi and I have noted that as we get older these comps just get harder, FSAE is definitely a young person's endeavour. The team is already well into the design of the new car, but I think we are both still recovering.

    The team from Cardiff (I hope I got your team right) was excellent and I enjoyed seeing the car run. I hope everyone on the team is rightfully proud of how they competed. If we make it back, there in 2026 it would be good to catch up. We probably have a lot to talk about given our relative research groups.

    You make great points about being unafraid of looking like an idiot if it helps advance understanding. I am dealing with that in a very real way as I have just started a youtube channel to track a project that I have been working on for a while. There is enough stuff there that I haven't done before that has me a bit worried that I will stuff it all up in a public forum. Some messages from people I really respect, notably Geoff Pearson (Big Bird) and Scott Wordley (Monash FA) have provided ideas and ways of thinking that were better than what I had put out there. Getting this feedback has been a benefit I hadn't anticipated, and I hope it continues.

    I think this forum may be beyond resurrection. I hope I am wrong, but at the very least I have enjoyed jumping back on for a few posts and getting to say a first hello to you, and to chat again with Doug.

    Kev

  8. #8
    Would you consider starting a thread on this site regarding your sportscar design / build series ?
    It might spark some engagement.
    Related, your latest post at Reddit regarding weight vs results was interesting.
    That topic itself might be a good conversation / thread started.

    Separately, man, i would like to meet up with you and others at FStudent UK. It's been 5 years since i've been. The FYI reason is in part that Aurora Bearing was purchased by Timken at the end of 2020, and traveling to events has evolved.
    I will be going to at least one of the two US competitions, hopefully both, in 2025.

  9. #9
    The Performance Racing Industry show or PRI is coming up.
    https://www.performanceracing.com/tradeshow
    Its a great opportunity to meet industry professionals and see what leading manufacturers have to offer.
    Aurora Bearing will be booth 2233. Stop and say hello.

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