IS THIS THE END OF BRAKEHORSEPOWER ? – Comments Please

[Mary Lindsay]

Philip, BHP does not compete with the new website but it adds an alternative way of communicating with fellow Morgan racers on topics of mutual interest.

I created and ran the previous version the Morgan Challenge website for many years until it was re-designed and handed over to Chris. The new website is very good, with lots of information, but it is one-way traffic, there is no ability to discuss and inform on specific topics.

Facebook is, along with the WhatsApp group, a useful way of communicating information about specific events but not everyone uses Facebook and the WhatsApp group is only available to invited members, mostly competitors. Posts on both of these are almost ephemeral in that you have to scroll a long way back in time to find what you are looking for. Also, the Facebook algorithms are sometimes changed which makes it even harder to find relevant content.

BHP has easily identifiable threads making it easy to navigate to what you are looking for.

We should not exclude those who do not "do" social media, they are often the people with the most interesting contributions!

If we encouraged drivers, crew and fellow Morgan racing enthusiasts to access BHP and contribute it would benefit the whole Morgan racing fraternity (and sorority!). Larry Emrick's post illustrates my point.

[Mary Lindsay]

Can someone tell me how it is hosted today ? Which system it's based on? I have a friendly online expert who might be able to help but want to know the IT start point .

Andrew, Andy Downes is currently travelling back home from Texas but I am sure he would be very keen to talk to your friendly expert and discuss hosting etc. I will message you separately with Andy's contact details.

It's a great shame that people don't use Brake Horse Power, a far better forum than the Whats App group, so why don't people use it.
is it because its 'software' of what ever controls the pages is old hat?
come on tell us why you don't use.

Barry, I agree that BHP is an excellent forum. I think in recent years people have become hooked on Facebook and WhatsApp. There are lots of forums out there run on similar lines but many have lost sight of the benefits.
I am sure that Andy Downes would be delighted to hear from anyone keen to take it on!

[Leigh Sebba]

A few comments
The new website doesn’t have a chat page ? Under forums it only refers to a private what’s app for drivers,and to this BHP
I look at ten tenths historic racing today, but that has fallen off, particularly since the sad death of Mike Bell.
The MSCC has its chat site.
And there is Talk Morgan which is quite active - perhaps that could have a competition / race section ?

[Mary Lindsay]

A few comments
The new website doesn’t have a chat page ? Under forums it only refers to a private what’s app for drivers,and to this BHP
I look at ten tenths historic racing today, but that has fallen off, particularly since the sad death of Mike Bell.
The MSCC has its chat site.
And there is Talk Morgan which is quite active - perhaps that could have a competition / race section ?

Leigh,
The MSCC is not known for being very competition minded and I am sure there are lots of interesting comments on the chat site but probably not of interest to those specifically interested in racing.
The great thing about BHP is that it has been going for many years and over that time there have been many very interesting and informative posts. It would be a great loss to have those disappear.We need to regenerate interest in BHP for those who have not visited before.
To that end I have posted this on the Challenge Facebook page:

Morgan Challenge
The Future of brakehorsepower?
Background
The brakehorsepower.net Forums and the original Morgan Racing website, mogsport.net, were established many years ago by stalwart Morgan racer Chris Acklam and have proved a very useful and interesting resource for the competition minded fraternity.
Although now superseded by morganchallenge.co.uk, mogsport.net is still up on Chris's own server and contains some very interesting historical information about the Challenge.
Chris hosted, administered and paid for the system for most of its life. When he expressed a desire to stand down Andy Downes volunteered to take up the reins and with it the costs. His financial contribution runs into hundreds of pounds which, understandably, he is now reluctant to continue.
Andy took it on because he values the current and historical information on it. He has invested his own money to keep it going. Andy is also a stalwart of the Morgan racing fraternity, he became part of the racing "family" back in the 1970s and has been a loyal and active participant in supporting it over the years. He has managed countless Morgan six-hour relay teams and Morgan 24-hour teams.
The present
With the advent of social media, Morgan racers have moved to other ways to communicate with each other. More recent competitors are probably unaware of brakehorsepower.net and don't use it at all. The usage and number of contributions have dwindled to the point that the Forums are almost dormant and a decision needs to be made regarding its future.
There are still some people who do not use Facebook or WhatsApp and therefore find BHP a good place to chat with like-minded folk and exchange valuable information and sell Morgan items.
Many of the topics have generated fascinating historical details and photographs creating a valuable ‘archive’ with details not easily found elsewhere as well as providing a dedicated space for the current Morgan Challenge. As a minimum these should be preserved, the contents are an amalgam of contributions from many different sources and would be almost impossible to recreate. Andy is researching how they may be saved and archived.
The future?
The time has come to decide what’s next; Andy would welcome your thoughts and comments to help determine the way forward.
Go to brakehorsepower.net to see what's there and comment on the topic "Is this the end of brakehorsepower? ".
Perhaps there is someone in the present Morgan Challenge community who would like to take it on?