How Important is Hydroracer?

[racingfan1]

The younger generation use a different medium to communicate then we more aged people do. Everything has to be instant and they cant spend a couple of minutes to surf a site like this. I have also found that they also don't have a lot of interest in the history of the sport. As the older generation passes on I have found fewer and fewer people interested in the reunions we have in DePue. Yes, the facebook sites are nice, I do look at both, but I still believe sites like this are important and are still relevant.

That being said, the time and money needed to keep it going play a big role. If you went to a subscription site I believe most people would not support it. I do hope people will help out so it will continue. I have in the past and make the effort to help out again.

[Shorewood]

I strongly agree with an earlier post that says it would be a sad day for the sport if this went away.

How important to you is hydroracer?

As a newcomer to the sport, I may not be in it today had there not been the Hydroracer forum. I was able to converse with a number of people about equipment and gear, and received lots of encouragement and advice. I was also able to locate and buy equipment. I’ve read dozens and dozens of posts to help me progress in the sport. It’s an invaluable reference, and if it does go away, please, please archive the discussions for use in another way. The information contained in the discussion posts cannot be duplicated and is a treasure to new and seasoned racers alike.

Are you willing to pay a membership fee?

Yes, although a casual user trying to gain information would be excluded. They’re not likely to sign up and pay, unless they can do a free two week trial with no strings attached. Even then, you might not get new users. I think people new to racing is a prime target audience, and one you want to be careful about creating a barrier for.

Are you willing to donate to its survival during the membership drive in January?
Yes, and asking clubs to take a donation may be another way to boost it, though if people give at the club and don’t on the site, you might be losing more than gaining. You know the numbers best.

Do you ever use the google ads? (That is where the majority of it's revenue comes from.)
I never have, yet.

I see a few people posting using their posts to push people to other sites, should we stop this?
I’m not sure what problem that poses, or how much traffic is lost as a result. I’m in favor of letting people do it if they’re selling things or promoting the sport some way. If it’s not for selling and they’re pushing people to other sites, it may be because the content isn’t here?

Looking for options and ideas. Maybe Hydroracer has run it's course what are your thoughts?
Having only been a user for little over a year, I’d say most definitely it has not run its course. It’s my prime go-to site for anything related to racing hydros! The site is a very useful source of information and the constant posts to the forums is good evidence that it’s doing what (I think) it was intended to do.

A prominent donate with PayPal button on each page of the site might help, too, but maybe you’ve tried this with little luck. Some text that talks about supporting the site and the value people get from it to go along with a donation button will help convey the fund raising message. And your annual campaign, like Wikipages does from time to time, asking people to use matching donations, etc., or a banner that pops up once in a while for donations might also help.