I came here from 8 years of Miata ownership. When I had the Miata I was a member of the miata.net forum. They had a great forum with great support for everything Miata as well as everything else. I once had a question on my Audi and got the answer on the Miata forum while the Audi forums were silent. I realize that the Miata has been around in the US since the '90 model year but that site had a huge number of members, many of whom were active in both posting and attending events.

When I switched to Mini I searched around and came up with this site as well as the MA site. On both I find there seem to be a mind boggling number of sections and subsections and in my opinion it makes for a far less cohesive group. I understand that the Miata was a single model vehicle, with very little distinct differences. Their site was broken down by the specific series, i.e. NA, NB, NC in which conversations that were specific to those models were had. There was a racing section, a wheel and tire section and a few others, but nothing along the lines of what I find here. I feel that since there are so many sub locations the cohesiveness of the Mini group is extremely splintered, kind of like Mini itself with all its insane model variations.

Maybe I'm just being picky or possibly petty, but I thought it would have been better if there weren't so many different corners to look and/or hide in. Forgive my cynicism, but I won't be surprised if the section for "Yellow Sedans with Automatic Transmissions" showed up!

Maybe this is a small part of the reason that Mini owners can't be counted on to wave back? Don't take me wrong. I'm not looking to bad mouth anyone but the splintering seems to keep us divided instead of making us feel unified.

 

The splintering started back when Sir Alec started drawing on a napkin. An economy motor for a war strapped country became a rally winner and things just went on from there. Every Mini and MINI owner has a unique take on exactly what their particular motor should be. You've not encountered the term 'you-a-fication' yet apparently. No two Minis or MINIs are alike. Add that to the Classic with all it's variations then the BMW marque Gen 1, Gen 2 and now Gen 3 with a few veriations that came and went in between. You have landed yourself into a realm habituated by motorers with a broad idea of what these quirky motors can do and be. Relax and let yourself fall into the Zen of motoring and MINI ownership. It's a trip.


As much as some would like them to be and that BMW has introduced the Countryman in an attempt to address the issue, for the most part few look upon the MINI as a 'grocery getter/soccer mom' appliance and they should under no circumstances be maintained as such. They require attentive care and feeding.


Some external links that I find useful to add to your library:
http://www.motoringfile.com/
http://www.lightinsight.com/
http://www.motorcycleroads.us/index.html
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do
http://soopercooperinfo.com/
http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

 

I love NAM, but I would just like reiterate what the OP is saying. There are so many categories on this site it is counterproductive.
I understand 1st gen, 2nd gen, Countryman, Cabrio, and so on, but then the generalized forums of 'stock issues' or 'wheels, tires, brakes' lump it all together. It makes searches a nightmare.

 

I spent many years on Miata net and I do the same thing here I did there. If I'm checking in to see what's new I don't hit on individual forums, I just hit 'New Posts' at the top and get the latest.

 

Which is fine for new posts, but not useful searching old information.

 

On Miata.net I would just open the page and scan the topics. I had certain subsets that interested me and went there. With the Mini sites. this one and Motoring Alliance, the fragmentation makes a scan a pain and a quick overview impossible. I know that the Miata is a simple vehicle with only three generations and a majority of stick shift cars. I just think the Mini sites, maybe like the Mini itself, has too many disconnected sections.

Maybe that's why nobody waves~~

 

While NAM and similar MINI forums are considered "social media" and devote specific areas for that task, the lack of organizational information would be counterproductive for user friendly searches when one desires to glean specific data for their application. This makes divisions of such data necessary.

Imagine if you would how ones school and college years would have been without the dewy decimal system. Just one BIG pile of books heaped into the middle of one huge room. While to some degree it would make for great company, no one gets any smarter.

 

Since the original post there has been discussion and examination of forums that could be merged or archived to clear things up. And there are a few areas being looked at where that will help stir discussion.

As was stated above by other users the forums grew to expand with the MINI lineup. It would be the same as Mazda having just the Miata then expanding to their entire line of cars over the space of 5 years and giving them all variations on a Miata name. All without getting any advanced information about long term plan or strategy, an having to clearly organize as they go from concept to production (while watching some concepts come and go).

We grew to include everyone, but not everyone has to look at everything (see below if that will help clear your display up), so it is possible to be a part of the hardcore 1st Gen is the only real MINI group and close off the rest of the forums from your regular display; or you can be a part of the philosophy that the Countryman is a real Mini harkening back to the Classic derivatives of the original design, or the Roaster is the greatest bond to the road and look at just what applies to your generations. If you want to see what applies to everyone, then there are general congregating areas as well as the ability to see all recent activity since you last logged in.

Ok I am confused about this because it would seem your asking for more division of forums with your examples, but your statement is that there are too many categories. Also Stock problems and issues is Generation specific (as the engines mostly have more similarities than differences), and is a place we want a larger audience looking so people needing help now, are more likely to receive it from the community. Wheels Tires and brakes, are part of General MINI talk because when the split would have had to happen, the consensus was that 1st and 2nd gen wheels had a large degree of compatibility, and so it was better to leave them together; again while some spec numbers may be different, many of the same engineering concepts apply across the board here too as well, so it was logical to leave them together and still be able to get more eyes on a thread and again more likely the community is able to help users work through the decision making processes there.

Searches can be conducted across all forums, or in a specific subforum, allowing you to get everything old to new in one lump or you can narrow it down to certain areas as you please by selecting multiples in the advanced search area.

If you are looking for an overview of all recent posts, I suggest using the
New Posts:https://www.northamericanmotoring.co....php?do=getnew
or
NAMLive:https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...product=vblive
In the menus.

If you don't own a 1st gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen or Countryman, then you can go to the top right of the category in the forum display, click the red button with white arrows to collapse or expand the forums, this should help you eliminate a lot of what does not apply to you and save you from having to look at those threads unless you want to.

You can also use subscriptions (with or without email notification) to not just threads but also forums of interest, and then view activity in your UserCP.

I'm hoping the description and awareness of some of the features may help, if there are specific suggestions, to things that need to be combined (or perhaps split up based on the description in the request). Then please post them here or PM a moderator and get the ball rolling on those areas. I know of at least one section being looked at where combining the forums might spur discussion, but we are doing our best to consider the long term effects, before moving things around and trying to minimize confusion while making discussion easier.