why 2 big clubs? possible merger?

[Quigonjay]

sorry if this has been discussed before - did a search and couldnt find anything

been on the internet for a while now and noticed from most of the owners club sites i have visited that for each marque/model there only seems to be one main site with a few smaller ones, how come theres 2 for the 2?
Which came first? was one set up as competition for the other? was a member not happy so went and set up ther own site?

Has a merger of the clubs ever been discussed before? personaly i go on both but only post on here, but seems to be quite a few that post on both - seems a bit daft really. I have a lot of time on my hands at the mo but for those that dont it must be a nightmare trying to keep up with both sites - by that i mean you miss going on for a few days and you have to spend a good couple of hours trying to catch up on all the new posts you have missed on just 1 site, never mind 2.
Surely a merger could only be a good thing for both clubs - more members, more knowledge, more people at meetings etc
what do people think?
Jay

[markiii]

at last count there are at least 5 UK MR2 clubs.

[Quigonjay]

yes, but there are 2 'main' ones or was that what you where questioning?
Jay

[Lauren]

As far as web based clubs go IMOC was around long before the OC. The OC started as an offshoot from IMOC basically.

Don't think any kind of merger could happen as the clubs as subtly different in what they do and the members they attract. Though there is some crossover between both of course and i notice a lot cross-posting going on when the usual subjects are concerned.

So nope don't think it is a good or viable idea tbh. I know the admin team well enough on the OC and as far as i can see IMOC have good relations with them and the club as a whole so there's no animosity there at all. But i think that the two clubs exist shows that there is sufficient demand to have two similar clubs. At the end of the day it comes down to which club you end up preferring for whatever reason.

[CJ B]

As far as web based clubs go IMOC was around long before the OC. The OC started as an offshoot from IMOC basically.

Sounds like Star Trek Insurrection

[Paul R]

As far as web based clubs go IMOC was around long before the OC. The OC started as an offshoot from IMOC basically.

Don't think any kind of merger could happen as the clubs as subtly different in what they do and the members they attract. Though there is some crossover between both of course and i notice a lot cross-posting going on when the usual subjects are concerned.

So nope don't think it is a good or viable idea tbh. I know the admin team well enough on the OC and as far as i can see IMOC have good relations with them and the club as a whole so there's no animosity there at all. But i think that the two clubs exist shows that there is sufficient demand to have two similar clubs. At the end of the day it comes down to which club you end up preferring for whatever reason.

Hi,

what are the the subtle differences you mention?

I agree that it wouldnt work....mainly because...well, it wouldnt ! lol....but both clubs are about the same thing?

Paul.

[MK_Steve]

I've been posting on MR2OC for a year now, and have recently started posting here too.

One of the subtle differences I have noticed is that on MR2OC, there is a very friendly vibe, and the peeps are very welcoming. Here, I find the posts to generally be more technical, and to the point. (that's not to say that u guys aren't friendly too!)

Steve

[stevecordiner]

Here, I find the posts to generally be more technical, and to the point. (that's not to say that u guys aren't friendly too!)

Steve

Pretty much the nail on the head. But in a way thats a good thing for why they are seperate. The more technical stuff is over here (usually but not always) and the slightly more max stuff is over there.

Disclaimer: I dont mean that mr2oc is all max power type stuff, but there is a higher tolerance to items like neons and park bench spoilers than there is over here.

[steve b]

The IMOC website was rubbish (in my opinion as it was email based) up untill about 3 months ago, but the club had been around much longer with greater tech knowledge than the other sites.

MR2OC was setup really as an alternative 'forum' type site to the totally unfriendly MR2DC. The MR2OC site was superior in every way (talking computer wise, web developed way) to all the other MR2 sites.

Recently IMOC site went forum style becomming massively more user friendly. As this happened LOADS more people started to vist here more regularly, as it does have the most technically helpfull members.

Think that sums up why there are 2 big clubs now. I post on both as much as each other now, used to post on the old IMOC only rarely.

[stevenb]

Im a member of the MR2 mk1 club. A newbie on here. I like this forum better than MR2OC as:
1) It's easier to use as IMO it is layed out clearer.
2) The technical knowledge is very good from what I have seen here (not that I have looked to find this on MR2OC much)
3) Standard cars appear more accepted here...perhaps????
4) MR2 mk1 club members are on this forum too.

Im not discriminating at all. I just like this forum as it's easier to use and all my q's so far have been answered.

BTW....what happens at JAE? Do all the MR2's park together (clubs reunited).....think it would be nicer.....otherwise it would appear the clubs were hostile towards each other....and look weired... e.g MR2's over here, some over there, more over there????

[Lauren]

Im a member of the MR2 mk1 club. A newbie on here. I like this forum better than MR2OC as:
1) It's easier to use as IMO it is layed out clearer.
2) The technical knowledge is very good from what I have seen here (not that I have looked to find this on MR2OC much)
3) Standard cars appear more accepted here...perhaps????
4) MR2 mk1 club members are on this forum too.

Im not discriminating at all. I just like this forum as it's easier to use and all my q's so far have been answered.

BTW....what happens at JAE? Do all the MR2's park together (clubs reunited).....think it would be nicer.....otherwise it would appear the clubs were hostile towards each other....and look weired... e.g MR2's over here, some over there, more over there????

Nope all clubs have seperate stands. I don't think that having seperate stands signifies hostility. People are tribal, they'll always stick with 'their' own club and the people they know. So you end up with something like 4 different stands; IMOC, OC, DC, MK1 Club.

[stevenb]

I guess so......would look nice though if the stands (although diff clubs) were all in a line.

[CosmosblueMR2]

Nope all clubs have seperate stands. I don't think that having seperate stands signifies hostility. People are tribal, they'll always stick with 'their' own club and the people they know. So you end up with something like 4 different stands; IMOC, OC, DC, MK1 Club.

Anyone know if this year the clubs will actually be located right next door to each other ? - the Mk1 club was stuck right in the corner IIRC last year.. in an ideal world all 4 clubs side by side - don;t know what the chances of that are this year would be nice to know if any stands/pitches have been allocated yet.

but just to throw my hat in the ring - i prefer the clubs to be seperate - OC seems to be more geared up for simple styling mods IMO - I prefer IMOC as it's far easier to use, it appears from it's members to be geared up for more serious tuning .. and the people seem only to post when they have something useful to say, ( i like that as it cuts out a lot of rubbish.)

I'll shut my cake hole now

[stevenb]

I cant see many differences in opinions of MR2's across the diff. clubs. We all own (not me yet) MR2's and share the same enthusiasm.
Although seperate it's always nice to share thoughts and opinions with other people (which Im sure we all do anyway).
I thinks it's only wrong if one club puts themselves above another...like hierarchy (scuse spelling).
As above....if they were lined up together it would be nice to see.

[CosmosblueMR2]

I thinks it's only wrong if one club puts themselves above another...like hierarchy (scuse spelling).
As above....if they were lined up together it would be nice to see.

Not sure how to read that .. but no-ones saying one club considers itself better than the other.

As for the members - that's a different story - it's why they tend to choose one club over the other in general IMO - horse for courses and all that

[Paul R]

Hi,

I havent chosen either IMOc or OC. I'm on both, I just dont post on the OC that often because I havent got time to go through both sets of posts!

Paul.

[philz]

This is the more technical site, but the OC definitely has a more friendly atmosphere.

For example, there was a recent thread about a Bristol meet on the OC, it ran to 7 pages on the OC and only 2 here (and most of that was cross posting by OC members to gather more interest).

After the success of the meet, Davidbeaven arranged another. So far it's had 3 responses on here, it's already on 2 pages on the OC.

In my opinion it seems to me that the OC members enjoy and use their cars whereas it seems that IMOC members just enjoy building the engines but never actually get to use them.

[stevenb]

I thinks it's only wrong if one club puts themselves above another...like hierarchy (scuse spelling).
As above....if they were lined up together it would be nice to see.

Not sure how to read that .. but no-ones saying one club considers itself better than the other.

As for the members - that's a different story - it's why they tend to choose one club over the other in general IMO - horse for courses and all that

Thats what I meant to say...what you said mate. Its only the people in the club that create that (if it exists).

I cant wait til JAE.....it'll be bigger than ever.
Gonna do a search on here for price etc etc....

[stevenb]

I thinks it's only wrong if one club puts themselves above another...like hierarchy (scuse spelling).
As above....if they were lined up together it would be nice to see.

Not sure how to read that .. but no-ones saying one club considers itself better than the other.

As for the members - that's a different story - it's why they tend to choose one club over the other in general IMO - horse for courses and all that

Thats what I meant to say...what you said mate. Its only the people in the club that create that (if it exists).

I cant wait til JAE.....it'll be bigger than ever.
Gonna do a search on here for prices etc etc....

[CosmosblueMR2]

After the success of the meet, Davidbeaven arranged another. So far it's had 3 responses on here, it's already on 2 pages on the OC.

In my opinion it seems to me that the OC members enjoy and use their cars whereas it seems that IMOC members just enjoy building the engines but never actually get to use them.

Maybe the OC has more members ? - hence why more replies - just a thought
But I dissagree with your second point completely - but i respect it as you put "IMO"