Hey guys, who would have thought it... I am still here after almost 6 years at the helm and PassionFord is bigger and stronger than ever. We move more pages now than ever before and have more new members per day too. A MASSIVE thanks are due to the web team who have worked their asses off for nothing but trouble, some for a good few years now, ad of course to IB who have run this forum flawlessly for quite some time now. As far as I'm concerned, things are looking good now, the specific car forums are busier than ever with people now using the right room for most things. great example here, where else on the internet can you find so many active Sierra Cosworth owners? No arguing, no bull, just passion for their cars. The Escort turbo room is even busier. Its great to see.


However, whilst things are certainly looking good, they could be better and there is ill feeling in the air that needs to be addressed.

I will take full responsibility for the change in feeling on PassionFord this last 6 months as I have not been around as much as I should have and as a result I don't get to keep on pushing for what I want, so things slacken off. Well, things are going to tighten back up again.

Most of you will be aware that I am also the administrator of ScoobyNet.com and being Admin over there and having first hand experience of some of the larger sites we run (PassionFord isn't even i the top 10 biggest ) I have learnt a few new tricks and been given a few new toys, so my 11 point plan for January 2009 is as follows. (In no particular order)

1) Introduce a totally new set of rules. (Can be found here)
Somebody deleted our last set when they hacked the old PHPBB board so we have been running on a draft version that i have been too busy to update. Thats been fixed and there are some important changes being introduced.

2) Move the server over to as bigger server.
At peak times we still aren't as fast as I would like and, importantly, the webteam are struggling to communicate with the UK hosts as they are of course in the USA. So thats where I want her to go.

3) Introduce a new sticky set for traders.
More details later, but in essence all traders will get a sticky in the traders section so you can easily find them and see what they have to offer you in the way of discounts etc.

4) Introduce a new appeal system for banned members.
Banned members will now be greeted with a new forum that they can enter and use in order to appeal.

5) Look at ways to make PF more secure for trading.
I have started by putting out some guidance notes here but would like to set up some form of feedback system too, but this is currently under review as its an extensive job. There is a new investigation system in place now that i just finished this morning that will at least make you aware we are suspicious of a user when he has been involved in problematic sales.

6) Bigger Avatars and Siggys will be allowed.
Not much bigger, don't get excited, but bigger all the same. This is to reflect the faster connections users tend to have nowadays.

7) Wanted forum rule changes.
This has been a bane for a long time, so from now onwards, only Gold members will be able to post a wanted advert or reply to one. After much discussion we have decided that this is the fairest way to deal with it.

8) Weed out troublemakers.
This year saw the highest rise in troublesome topics in PassionFord's history. There are a pocket of members on here who seem to lurk around just waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble. They will be leaving us very soon.

9) Make newcomers feel more welcome.
I am tired of seeing new members hounded or criticised. This will be stopping.

10) Ensure Gold members benefit from our forum uploader.
We have an uploader in place and its activated for all gold members and traders.

11) A new infraction system is now in place to deal with rule breakers.
Please see here for more details and discussion:


So there you go, some big changes are going to be happening and they are all for the better as far as I am concerned. If you want to know more about the majority of those posts, all you have to do is read the rules. they will be posted up later on for all to see and will come into effect on Friday 9th January 2009.

As a side note, now you know why i took on so many more mods.
They have spent a great deal of time helping me revise and amend the new rule set and I couldn't have finalised them without their help. So thanks guys and girls, I appreciate your help and its great to know your all behind me 100% and we all have the same common goal in mind.