You so took that the wrong way.

My words were in the context of March 26th, not April 8th. Time moves fast in the Information Age, does it not?

1. At the time of the post, there wasn't a site to go to. It was down... which was part of my point. Isn't your observation ironic and moot since that outage and the ensuing statements are what motivated me to make my post in the first place?

Political? No, that is just silly. I think that is based on the false premise that there was somewhere else to post at the time ,and I was avoiding it. Pretty damn hard to post when the lights are out, no? Also, I had to look twice for this forum because it said TXXC at the beginning instead of SWXC, which was it's name just days before. I have been getting into the habit checking the site since it was restored. I guess I could have copied the post to the new site once it was restored, but I didn't really think about it- my sincere apologies for not doing so.
Also, if you look at my post, you'll note I did not have access to the SWXC forum for a long time because my login expired. I already took the 'Mea Culpa' for that due to a 12-14 hour a day job and a lot of daily travel for 2 1/2 years. My responsibility, my fault. My family's welfare via my career, and duties for other non-profit endeavors took precedence for a while. My time in front of a PC was all work until recently because of it. I also had to watch my activity due to the relevance of my job to the subject matter at hand. As I said, I apologize, and I am conditioning myself to check the club site.

I just found the observation about canceling a club event because a web site was down to be, as you say, an 'irrelevant', or at best, a weak reason to cancel an event. And that post was RIGHT HERE on this thread- is that irrelevant?

By the way, is it TXXC yet? Was a constitutional amendment proposed and ratified by the officers and a majority of a quorum of the membership?....unless SWXC has been disbanded? ARTICLE V SECTION II of the Constitution and By-Laws as shown on the web site of the club appears to apply. I can tell you as the author of that document it was definitely the spirit of the Article. A suggestion- just don't forget to write the IRS if SWXC is dead and you do not list TXXC as a subsidiary by Constitutional Amendment (much easier- assuming a current roster in in place to muster and poll the membership)- they will want to know. NOT IRRELEVANT!

2. Yes, I did use the Internet to make a post. I never said it was bad, but you dig on me for using it to post as if I did. My only point was it is vulnerable (see #1) and reliance on it without also having regularly timed club events is unwise. I can name many clubs that died or are dying because of this theory. Because I live 250 miles away from the center of gravity of this club, and not much going is on in Houston, it does have value, but not deity. That was also part of my irrelevant point of localization of activities and leadership.

The only event down here was an informal get together a few months back that I didn't know about because I had no access to SWXC forums (see #1) and there is no group e-mailing to provide redundancy in addition to website postings (see irrelevant suggestions in my post). Even if there was, no one from SWXC ever acknowledged my new addresses, so I probably would not have gotten the message.

3.
*IT WAS NOT AN INDICTMENT, BUT A CALL TO ACTION. I EVEN SAID SO. It's not about nostalgia, either. A careful review will show that I highlighted NEW challenges and solutions that make active effort all the more important because of problems we face TODAY in 2008 that we did not years ago (see irrelevant suggestions). I'm in 2008, not 2000, and I pointed out positive actions taken by members long after the year 2000. I am actively involved in other clubs here in Houston NOW in 2008 that use their web sites as a tool, but do not live and die by it. It was easier to get things done before 2002- no doubt in my mind.

*It is not about past laurels either, but an observation to demonstrate it will be HARDER to make the club successful now, and it will take more than 3 or 4 members doing all the work, an Internet site, and some scrapes on rock sliders at Katemcy to make it fun. The truth is that SWXC, via organized local subdivisions of the club, should be at least as big or bigger than 100 members throughout the state... there are more Xterras on the road, more people in Texas, more aftermarket accessory sales, and more off-road enthusiasts than before. Hell, Shrockworks is 20 miles from me... got something going on with them? Let me know.
*It will take participation (the objective is to get the 'Flake Factor' to 25%), which requires organization, dedication, MULTIPLE channels of communication (remember- one of my irrelevant points) and flexibility. And then recruitment. That all comes from motivation. If these attributes are in excess supply, then pardon me.

I was trying to provide some input (which I hoped to be constructive) based on current, successful experience from other clubs while highlighting successes from SWXC's past to show it is possible to be MORE than it is now. Every club should think this way all the time whether big or small- key to growth, renewed ideas and success. Manufacturer and sponsor support will be tough to garner as the economy tightens... the club will have to pull itself up by its own bootstraps to make things happen. If that point of view makes me an 'old-timer' instead of a contributing member, so be it. First time I've ever been called that, and you haven't even seen my gray hair!

OPPORTUNITIES: more external marketing, more frequency and variety of events, recapture huge missed opportunities for membership retention through external event and dues reminders, and potential acquisition of second gen owners that never gave SWXC or XOC, long standing organizations, a second look. I say 2nd gens having their own site could be seen as an abject failure of SWXC and XOC to attract them. You may just see it as cultural fragmentation thanks to the Internet that encourages that very thing. Perhaps that is so, but why not try to put out the olive branch and get them involved? Robert I believe has, and it is a good thing. We need their ideas.

It's about people, not URL's, club names, screen names, or even the cars. Number of posts falls in the same category in my book. More posts does not necessarily equal more brains. Your observation about people doing more if the officers show they care is dead on. There will always be B.S.- it is how the officers manage it (and make sure they do not generate any) that makes the difference. I think I addressed these very points you bring up, but my post is irrelevant?

It is definitely about the club reaching out in an organized way and being PROACTIVE to PEOPLE; members, potential members, and the community. I say that is preferable to those folks having to 'come' to the club on its website to be part of the discussion. Real people in real places doing real things that do not involve a keyboard (or even a transfer case) once in a while.

To summarize: The Internet will never replace tangible events for a car club, because you cannot drive the car into the monitor (well, I guess you could, but with bad results). It is only one media (don't forget newsletters, flyers, dealers, events, calling cards) by which to communicate, it is not a single, holy altar though which all things club related must pass. If that is irrelevant, than the club has outlived any purpose for me, and I suppose several others. You just let me know.

Feel free to copy and paste my quotes on the TXXC/ SWXC (whatever it is now) forum.