POCA Launches New Website

All are welcome . .. but no info for non members?

POCA should at least give out kisses . . .

He wants your money along with plenty of adds.

Mark

Poca should atleast keep the forums open to non-members, in a similar way this forum is.

An open forum is an opportunity for new potential owners to learn about the marque, ask questions and become interested in purchasing a car - and eventually in joining the Club.

A closed forum, will just shot them out.

quote:

Poca should atleast keep the forums open to non-members, in a similar way this forum is.

As a 15 year POCA member, I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.

I, and others, have expressed to the club President and BOD publicly and in private emails your exact sentiments.

I have learned it is possible for the new forum to be configured so as to allow anyone to view posts, but only allow members to post.

When I privately asked the POCA President if such an approach was possible, all I heard was a reiteration of the policy to keep it all private.

I was told this was a BOD agreed-upon decision.

Again, you are right ... IMHO.

But policy, for now at least, trumps possible.

Before closing, I would like to add the following:

Current POCA membership is $75 for domestic members and includes a paper-published monthly newsletter and four annual full color paper-published Profile magazines.

NOTE: The monthly newsletter is, at some undetermined point in the future, scheduled to be transitioned to a online PDF version, only.

New overseas members will receive only electronic PDF publications, but their membership is $50 annually. Existing overseas members are able to receive the four published Profiles magazines at the new membership rate of $95. It is unclear if new members have the $95 option but I would make that assumption.

New website and new forum aside, it has always perplexed me why owners of cars valued in the high five digit figures would even hesitate to join a club devoted to their under appreciated deTomaso cars, especially when those membership dues are less than many spend monthly on overhyped coffee.

Larry

quote:

As a 15 year POCA member, I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.


New website and new forum aside, it has always perplexed me why owners of cars valued in the high five digit figures would even hesitate to join a club devoted to their under appreciated deTomaso cars, especially when those membership dues are less than many spend monthly on overhyped coffee.

Larry

Agree that the POCA forum should be open in some fashion to get more "eyes" and more participation.

Perceived value is a very personal thing. I've only been an owner about a year but I became a member of POCA before that and joined this forum even before that. I wanted to learn as much as I could in hopes not to make a mistake when buying a "high five digit" 45 year old car! The $75 was a small price IMO. I pay about $50/yr for my BMW-CCA dues and will continue to do so even though I don't participate in many of their activities etc.

I gain a lot from this forum, and POCA and hope people give the new POCA website and board a fair chance to succeed.

Dennis

Domestic members currently receive a printed newsletter 12 times per year and Profiles , the quarterly color magazine 4 times per year. The combined cost of which is $45,000 per year.
It's unfortunate that so many are math challenged, of the $75 yearly dues gor Domestic members, the club retains $50 per member, $25.00 goes to the member's chapter as a rebate. International members do not currently have Chapters (that is also changing), so why charge them, esp when they receive digital publications. The price was cut because even mailing them is a money loser, it costs $11.00 each to mail Profiles, $44.00 yearly plus packaging, it is now a paid $45.00 option if an Intl member desires a hard copies to be mailed.
All of this has been explained many times, yet some continue to spread lies, half truths and be divisive people with no social skills who are oblivious (or not) to the damage they cause.
The discussion boards are now private specifically because of negative people who cast a negative light on the club, the car and its members. People who quite simply chase existing members away and cause prospects to never join.
They are a cancer to progress, to the club, to the car and in general, miserable human beings hell bent on destruction and chaos.

So how's the new policy working out after 3 whole days, more NEW members in three days than any previous two month period in the last ten years. So if the handful of malcontents do not like it, they might wish to form their own club.
Lastly, anything worth having is worth paying for, if you are too cheap to join and become a member to help share the cost, we don't need you. This country is full of freeloaders and deadbeats, the club will not survive operating in that manner, unlike the government we can't print money. Unlike other sites, we do not beg for donations, and we are seeking funding from ads, etc to offset costs as well as seeking other ways to streamline expenses.

quote:

They are a cancer to progress, to the club, to the car and in general, miserable human beings hell bent on destruction and chaos.

Please don't hold back !!!

Great color car in your avatar, I have always liked those.
Holding back has never been a skill I mastered, no reason to do so when the truth is always the best policy.
I ran for President on the very plaform of change, evidently 77% of members agreed with my views. There are many challenges facing not only POCA, but every car club and avocational interest group.
Age.
Memberships consist of people who are leaving their hobbies because of expense, health, lifestyle change and death. Those organizations who do not adapt will cease to exist. In the case of sports cars, the problems is made more difficult as a result of rising values and apathy. The cars are no longer affordable by average income people. Gen X and milennials historically show little interest in automotive pursuits.
The entire hobby as we know it is going to have a few difficult decades sooner than later as it transitions from Baby Boomers to the Ricer generation and beyond.
The smart clubs and organizations will be prepared.

Michael,

Don’t know ya but read your posts. Interesting style you have.

Besides being brash and ill-mannered, there’s an incredible amount of vitamin “I” and attitude in your posts which is a bit ironic given you seem to think that other folks & forums aren’t proper ambassadors of the Marque.

In addition to the irony it’s hypocrisy as well IMO and can tend to diminish if not overshadow even good ideas, especially as you come onto a public forum with it. If G want’s to put up with it, he’s certainly aged into a more tolerant soul than me.

Best thing you could do for POCA is realize your own shortcomings, remove yourself from public sight, and let someone more suited to public promoting manage that bit of it.

K

Michael, Now that the POCA site is now launched I will no longer receive the printed newsletter or the Profiles mag? They will only be on line?
Say it ain't so...

No one said that. Reread what was posted.

The four annual editions of Profiles are slated to continue, in paper-printed form, for the foreseeable future. These will be mailed to all domestic club members and the overseas members who elect the higher-priced membership that includes those mailings.

The monthly paper-printed newsletter however is slated to move to an online-accessible PDF version. When this changeover will occur is anyone's guess, especially in light of the fact that previous announcements indicated March or April would be the final paper product, but I just received my paper version of the May newsletter.

The only members slated to not receive paper published material are overseas members who choose the $50 annual membership over the $95 membership. That extra $45 will get those members four paper published editions of Profiles, but their monthly newsletters will be in PDF form, which has been the case for overseas members for some months now.

Larry

I may have missed it, but are the email archives no longer available from the POCA site?
http://www.poca.com/index.php/.../email-list/archives
I get a blank screen.

POCA has ceased the long running email based forum and has taken the archives off line.

This action was taken in conjunction with the debut of the clubs new website, which has a new forum much like the Pantera international forum.

POCA members were told the new website was incompatible with the old forum. However there certainly was no reason why the new forum and the old email list forum could not have continued to be hosted on different servers.

A club member has stepped forward and has offered to organize a continuation of the old email based forum, but that process will take some time. It is hoped the new effort will be able to incorporate the old archives but that is dependent on POCA providing, as promised, said archives to the new reborn forum webmaster.

The forum on the new website is still cutting it's teeth, so to speak. It is an all new system, requires a multitude of personal preferences to be set and is far from intuitive in it's operation. This is perhaps to be expected on something new.

By the way, the new forum on the new website is only available to club members, with no intention of any of it being visible to the general public. In fact, as noted at the beginning of this thread, only about 10% of the new website is accessible to nonmembers.

Should the old email based forum actually be reborn, rest assured notice of such rebirth will be made to this Pantera international forum.

Larry

"K" - is that supposed to be a name? You know what they say about opinions.

With or without me, the facts are the facts, not some twisted reality populated by liars and those incapable of basic math skills.
If you want to play, you need to pay. Join the and club and have access to the features and benefits.
When is the last time that any of you,
played a round of golf at a country club alone and did not pay?
Went into a bookstore and sat there and read an entire book.
Ate a meal at a restaurant and left without paying?
Went into a dressing room, put on new clothes and left without paying?
Had an oil change and drove off without paying?
How is any of that any different than using our resources and not paying for them?
It's not.
All I hear or read seems to be complaining because the waiter finally brought the check and everybody at the table has alligator arms.

Paul V
The newsletter archives are alive and well, better than ever before. Now contained in one of four separate libraries on the new website, Newsletters, Profiles, Technical and Promotional.

Not sending the news letter will net a savings for POCA. What will the money that went into printing and postage be used for?
Getting the News letter is what I most enjoyed about being a member. I for one am sorry to see it will be no more.

quote:

Originally posted by MichaelSavGa:"K" - is that supposed to be a name? You know what they say about opinions.

Well if you’d managed to have come around here for more than 21 posts since 2005 you’d know the name. The letter is sufficient for everyone else. The other four letters were just too much effort for you.

As for your childish little rant, if you had any self-awareness or a level of emotional intelligence greater than a poorly behaved adolescent you’d understand you’re driving people away that could otherwise be members. Even good ideas can become lost in poor delivery.

I can see both sides of the matter but really couldn’t care less about the $75. It’s just shoulder shrug to me. However, as great as the Marque is, I’d would have to question any organization that tolerated your behavior as their face to the public and membership. Please seek some help in getting over yourself. You're nothing special.

But you do make some good points……the ones I made in my previous post that is.

K

quote:

Originally posted by Panterror:

... If G want’s to put up with it, he’s certainly aged into a more tolerant soul than me ...

Expressions of disrespect, public disputes, or confrontational content are not conducive to the mood we strive to maintain in these forums. But we've got the new Pres. of our sister club responding to his own members' complaints, on Pantera International's forum (which is provided FREE to everyone BTW). This is a rather unique situation.

I'm not going to edit anything, but I will make a request that from this point onward everyone please remain civil and respect the forum rules regarding mutual respect, forum etiquette, and please help maintain the "positive-friendly-helpful" mood of the forums.

If you guys want to be confrontational or disrespectful please take it to POCA's forums.

I'm a member of POCA too by the way.

I don't pay anything to come here to learn a lot Guess that makes me a Cancer and freeloader.

I considered signing up to POCA even went thru the registration process, but came back here to read some more replys to this thread, and decided not to proceed any further. I am happy here.

For those not following the Internet Forum drama, Shortt tried to shut down the forum to force people into POCA, but a member stepped in to take it over. Why would anyone want to make another bulletin board when the PI board is here?

Good question Kenn.

For me, the PI Forum has been the defacto "on-line" forum to go to for Pantera knowledge for many years now. POCA had an on-line forum for years on their prior website, but it never saw much if any traffic. Most folks enjoyed either the DeTomaso email forum or the PI on-line forum. Having another forum on the POCA website (although requested) seemed superfluous.

I've been a member of the DeTomaso email forum since 1996 when it was first put together by Shane Ingate. It later became hosted by POCA but was still a separate entity in it's own right. Thanks go to another email forum member for picking it back up.

The new POCA forum (on the new web site) is getting a bit more traffic than the old one (from the old web site), but still not a "lot."

For me, it really boils down to two options, both of which I use; the DeTomaso email forum, and the Pantera International on-line forum built on professional forum software, having awesome options and it looks great, just like old PI Quarterly magazines.

I do miss the magazines. :|
Asa Jay