I know. I check that site every couple of days and see very little or no activity. I try to contribute as much as possible. This site and Thumpertalk seem to get the most traffic. It's still a good site. I also check out New Jersey Off Highway Vehice Association's forums and it gets less traffic than Husky Talk.
This has been discussed heavily on thumpertalk. That site struggled against Thumpertalk, cafe husky's inception was the nail in the coffin unfortunately. Coffee puts way more effort into it than they have. Props to him.
Odd, there was limited activity on both when I first started coming around........ Call it an intangible but this place felt better so I found myself here much more often. Of course I don't care for the layout and feel of thumpertalk that much either so I usually only go there when info directs me that way.
Never even heard of it. I like to kick off my day with a dose of Cafe Husky followed by Thumpertalk-Don't need any more info than that really.
I debated about responding to this thread. Whether to bring up something that has been hashed over several times. I came to the conclusion that it is part of the history of the resurgence of Husky in the last couple of years(in regards to these online forums). HuskyTalk was created in 2005 by Kevin Bratetic as a Husky only site. Shortly after creating the site he started spamming it up on ThumperTalk. Got in a pissing match with the owners of TT and got himself and any mention of HuskyTalk banned from ThumperTalk. You could not even type the word HuskyTalk at TT. It was censored. Most everyone was using TT and it was being moderated quite superbly by Coffee. I beleived that a Husky only site was a great idea. I was asked by Kevin to help with moderating the site. I was then left on my own to keep HuskyTalk going. I tried my best to breath life in to that site but just could not get past the stigma that HuskyTalk already has. Once Coffee created Cafe Husky it was all over. I just did not want to realize it. Coffee has created a great site and all the members here make it even better. I have since tendered my resignation at HuskyTalk. I have left it alone the last 6 months or so because it just is not worth the effort. I guess I realize it was never worth the effort! Mike
That is untrue. I put forth alot of effort but with no help from the admin and no control over the server or software it was pretty much useless. Unfortunetly, what you the visitor perceived became the reality of the situation.
One word for you..."SPAM". Like stated above with no control over the server or software, it was the only way to keep the spammers at bay.
I did try to convince them not to censor HT, and eventually for whatever reason that did happen. I don't think my input made any difference though. At least when I last checked it was no longer censored. Cafe Husky was actually started spring of 2007 when TT started locking the posts after 10 days, and like you I just did not realize it. The time limit for editing posts was definitely needed because people would occasionally get upset and delete hundreds, or even thousands of their posts rendering many threads a mass of confusion and useless. On the other hand it rendered several reference threads I had useless, such as the 'In search of Snap, is this stuff useful?' thread. I found some technical mistakes but could not fix them because the posts were locked, which is how I discovered the change in settings they had made. At the time I was trading technical information with a rather interesting member of TT which found it of great interest. There were other threads as well such as how much each bike weighed, how loud the bikes were when measured with a meter, etc. And of course any large trips being planned would be extremely difficult because the first post could not be updated after 10 days and the latest information would be buried 'somewhere' in the middle of a large thread. I became moderator and did what I could for almost a year, I even wrote the 'Important Information' sticky thread which is still on TT, but is now not maintained. Like you I worked hard but had little control over certain things which made life extremely difficult. So while having nothing better to do (in and out of hospitals much of 2008) I started up cafe husky. The name Cafe Husky did not even exist until July 2008, it took a while to think of it. I believe you may be one of the few people that might understand why I started this site instead of putting forth effort on another forum run by someone else, it can be frustrating when the full site resources are not available. I really do hope HuskyTalk keeps going, I think the riders need all the resources they can get, and I really mean that. As far as Thumpertalk goes, I believe that is a fantastic resource. In the last few years I've scanned hundreds of sites to evaluate how they do things and TT is actually quite friendly. Some sites lock posts after 15 minutes, do not allow people to delete their posts after 90 seconds, use incredibly unfriendly thread making systems (don't worry about that if it makes no sense), all sorts of settings that make them far less friendly that TT. I just wanted to say that because I had mentioned the 10 limit of editing posts. I invite anyone and everyone to google 'forum' and 'forums' when they have some time, you might be amazed at some of the topics they have.
I do know why you created Cafe Husky and why this site has grown so much since its creation. As I think a majority of the members here know. You care. I too wish that HuskyTalk could continue but I do not think that it is possible. The site statistics tell a pretty morbid tale.
Thanks for filling us in, Mike. HuskyTalk was the first site I found when researching a Husky purchase in 2005. The members there were very helpful. I ended up with a KTM450 but my very next purchase was my SM610. I'm sorry the site didn't make it, as we Husky enthusiasts can certainly use all the help we can get, but it's been nice having you here WoodsChick
Mike, did not mean to take a jab at you, as the time period I was referring to was prior to you moderating. You put forth a valiant effort, but not enough people frequented the site. I have my share of posts on there, with very few responses. Some of the threads I've started on here and thumpertalk are pages long. It's unfortunate, but what can you do right. Happy Trails Adam
Thanks to "Coffee" (Dean) for, well, everything. I aint into IT, cell phones, computers, cameras (obv if you have seen some of my shots ) the interweb, forums and all that goes with. It is refreshing for a challenged individual such as myself to be able to come here, get all I need to know, crack some jokes and share in stoke. Coffee made it easy for me at TT, and even easier here. The amount of time he put's in for our benefit must be a full time job at the very least and I can't begin to fathom what an undertaking administering TT and this site must be. Thanks Coffee-dood, for everything.
No problem Surfer. I understood that you were not taking a personal jab at me. These online forums are fickle things. If people want to be here, they will be here. If people want to be at huskytalk they will be at huskytalk. I gave up trying to figure it out.
I definitely care. Especially about the members, they are good people. I can also tell you care, work hard, and you have much integrity. You are welcome, and yes it is a lot of hard work. They sure are. Almost living, breathing, organisms that are quite unpredictable. That is part of the charm. Forums are like a box of chocolates......
