Well, I'm just sick that just as we were starting to gather momentum on a club revival and possible renaming, the website crapped out and has stayed out for so long. Hopefully we'll be able to get that resolved soon.

In the meantime, the big meeting I was planning is postponed until we get our lines of communication going again.

We should be back up shortly. I was able to buy the domain today, so as soon as DNS is propagated around the net, we should be back on line.

God, that took forever. I had no idea this was going to take as long as it did, but we now have the domain with someone still in the club, and registered with our hosting service.

Then we can redirect the TXXC.org and TexasXterraClub.com to it, to continue with our plans.

Shit, some domain name squatter got it first. We've been talking aboutg changing the names, lets do it. I'll see about changing the website code to use a different name and see if we can get back up quickly.

Well thats nice.

I apologize in advance if I sound preachy here, especially since my job pretty well caused me to disappear for about three years. Please forgive me for pulling the 'Member #1' card... this is not an indictment of the current leaders, but an observation of a condition that has been progressing over the last few years.

Are we an Internet club, or a car club?

This is why overdependence on an Internet site is a bad thing. There is no substitute for regular meetings at a real physical location, a current club roster with telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and yes, MAILING ADDRESS.

XOC and swxc.org (or whatever succeeds it) are invaluable resources (thank you Carlton and Robert), but don't rely on them exclusively. The redundant Yahoo! Group put in place in 2001 has not seen a post since August of 2007, and only three total posts last year. Our backup got rusty....and it served us well when Roger had to pull the plug on our host in Waco.

Several of the other clubs early on in 'Xterradom' imploded early in the game due to political infighting, egos, 2wd vs. 4wd p!$$!ng contests, and a near obsession on forums to communicate the message of the club. Ask Carlton, ask Robert... we can give you stories galore. Remember Steve at Marlboro Nissan, or the Unofficial Xterra Message Board? If you weren't around before 2002, probably not... to my point.

The club faces many challenges it did not in 1999:

* Higher gas prices ($.89 vs. $3.17) makes it a lot harder to travel out of town for meets.
* Xterra sales and production volume have declined consistently for a while now (see higher gas prices)
* Most of us are working a lot harder then we were then to make ends meet- times are not as easy. Some may even be out of work.
* Many of us have additional responsibilities (spouses, children, mortgages)that we did not then. This takes up time, and causes us to buy different vehicles that meet our obligations better- maybe?
* 1st gen vs. 2nd gen p!$$!ng contests

* I remember when I got back on the board recently, instead of just sending me the information by some method, someone said, "Go look at the Forum on the club website'. That resource of course is down right now....where is the backup? Just XOC.
* No one has contacted me directly about attending an event in years...
* No one acknowledged my change of address when I moved from Keller to Houston in 2006- and I did send an e-mail to the Secretary. See how the Internet can fail?
* No one has contacted me to remind me to pay my dues.... or tell me they were overdue...in years. I blow the equivalent of annual dues anytime I take the kids to McDonald's. But it sure adds up when it is all in the treasury from a bunch of people. Then you can fund fun events!

It faces ever present issues:

* Turnover (selling Xterra, moving, totaled in wrecks, divorce, etc.)
* Awareness
* Politics/ Cliques/ personality differences
* Changes in direction due to annual change of leadership

The real answer is to get more organized, not just at a state or regional level, but at a local level. It addresses a lot of the concerns and challenges in place. Suggestions:

* Local chapter leaders
* More Non-four wheeling (social) events
* Events not scheduled on major holidays
* Something going on every month
* E-mail and telephone trees
* Community work (ARES/ RACES, motorist assistance, annual charity donation, Habitat for Humanity etc.)

Grassroots efforts all over the country is what got this movement started, and will keep it going.

If members or prospects have to go out of their way to get information or assistance, don't count on a growing club. It took hundreds of hours of planning, tracking, typing, cutting, pasting, counting, contacting again and again about events (we actually used 'hard line' telephones back then, too ), mailing out reminders for events and dues to get this club started.

SWXC has succeeded through good times and tough because of people who worked their tails off, but never wanted credit or recognition, never quit being ambassadors of the club, went out to people instead of making people come to them, and didn't flame the crud out of anyone they disagree with.

Off-road events would have been a disaster without Carlton. And while he was never afraid to get into a flame war.... well...

Roger would have never gotten a 4wd if I didn't get him to come to East Texas and meet us, and get him and his his 2wd stuck on a trail at Barnwell .. and in turn that would have meant no toy drives into Mexico. Yes.. we actually managed to do charity work at one time, too. It would have never happened without Roger, though, who made friends with an Xterra Owner in Mexico, and thought of others above himself.

Scott and Daniel poured tons of energy into motivating the membership and campaigning for fun events, and carried the club out of infancy and into the second generation of product.

And Robert... has been the North Star. He has been there ALWAYS since DAY ONE, and has never strayed, unlike the rest of the Charter Members.

I have left many others out... due to my own failure to stay involved.

Ask Ian about how many hours he worked putting XOC on the Web in the first place. The answer is so big, he probably cannot quantify it. And without GOX, an event where cryptic screen names become real people, it would have never reached the level it did when he handed the keys to Carlton.

The club is approaching it's tenth anniversary (August 2009). It was Carlton's idea back in 1999, and Robert. Steve Richardson & I worked hard to ensure it's survival. I'm glad it is still around. but it feels like it is in adolescence. It swaggers, and staggers, wants to change it's name, and it could get drunk and drive into a tree because its brain and body are not in sync.

I believe it can be more successful. Like all organizations, it falls victim to the 80/20 rule... 20% of the members do 80% of the work. Let' spread the work out, and get more done instead of relying on the same two or three folks who step up to the plate and take an officer's seat every year.

I'll quit 'monologuing' so you don't fall asleep, and go put on my asbestos underwear for the coming conflagration. Thank you for enduring this.

Well said, Walt, well said!

It's this passion and, dare I say, intellect that got me interested in SWXC to begin with. I'm not what you'd consider a "club" type person, yet I even served as an officer in my time. I could be considered one of the 4x4 converts as well, and haven't looked back since.

Of course, as Walt pointed out, other factors come in over time. Work, family, new (or old) hobbies, free time, money, friends, geographic location, vehicle condition and maintenance, and countless other "excuses" keep us from activities.

I don't care what the club is called. I don't care who's running it. I don't care if we let other types of vehicles ride with us. I just want to know what's happening with all the folks I've come to know over the years, meet some new folks that share similar interests, and I would love to see activities increase across the state. Admittedly, I haven't paid club dues in who knows how long, but I haven't been pushed to either.

This change in website might be a good time to think about where to go in the future, but it's definitely a good time to reflect on where we've been up to now.

Thanks again, Walt. Big kudos to Robert for keeping on top of all of this. Everyone else, I hope to see you all out there sometime soon!

Jason

SWXC Club Member #25 (I think)

I do hope the club comes back, and strong.

I've met a few of you, and I don't think I annoyed y'all too much. I might even look forward to another in-person event.

Good luck getting this back on track. I'll be looking for information about meetings . . .

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.

Hey walt just so you know I reactivated your account. You can post over there now.

No the name hasn't officially been changed yet. That's why the forum here is called TXXC/SWXC (since you can't go to swxc.org anymore and get us (now it's registered to someone in Thailand). We let the yahoo site go, because we had our own forum, and it was redundant. I've always looked at our section on XOC as a front door, and a backup to our website forum. A front door since it's a way to introduce people new to the X that there is a club in this area that the also might be interesting in joining. A backup site, since nothing we post on TXXC/SWXC forum private and couldn't be discussed in a much bigger world over here, it's just easier to segregate everything over there.

I've never understood people that think they must reinvent the wheel just so they can be in charge, Yes we created the club, but at the time their wasn't any other club for the Xterra's and it was a cult vehicle then. We never told anyone that they could run for an officer position, actually we used to beg people to run. I think we've only had one contested position since formation, and he lost because he moved out of state (way out of state, and it's a little hard to travel cross country for meetings and weekend events). I originally took the treasurer position because it seems to be the kiss of death, everybody that volunteered for it, disappear after 6 months or so (which was good for someone handling the money, fortunately that never became an issue).

Hopefully the new name will get some new energy back into the club, from the new and old people and we can start doing events again. While you can't do truck events on the internet, the internet can be used to plan and coordinate this event's given the size of the geographical area we are dealing with.

Walt,

The reason for your post being mostly irrelevant is simple. The 'issues' you bring up such as Chapter CoOrdinators (sp), new events, new members etc are all occuring, and being addressed, over on the club site! (To your point #2, there is a Houston Chapter CoOrdinator, and he is activley leading events down in that area.)

When the site was down, people were posting on the splinter club sites until the club was back up. As I mentioned, people were fed up with the BS here, so they posted elsewhere.

Now that Chia has reactiviated your account, I guess we will see you being more active with the club on it's site? Hopefully... as you were, and continue to be, a great asset to the club.

s

Walt, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Brian or also known as ProjectX. I'm the new Houston Chapter director. I've been pushing the guys at SWXC/TXXC to get the ball rolling and it has started to slowly move along. I moved out here from Arizona this past december where I participated in the AZXC club and Nissan4wheelers club down there. I sparked the idea of TXXC, SWXC catered to far to wide of an area for anyone to really do much, also a majority of the members were Texans anyway, so why not bring TXXC on board and get the ball rolling.

April 12th-13th is a offroad event that I coordinated and have a few people who are turning out, we've also invited several FJ members to join us and they have accepted.

As far as random events, I've got ideas and future plans to get things going, I've got the support from the Houston guys and they say they're in, just update them. I have offered to help with the newsletters as well as organizing things.

We're restructuring, it's going to take time, I don't want SWXC/TXXC to just be a "internet club". I want this club to be every bit functional and informative as charitable, doing clean ups, donating our time to various charities and making tons of new friends.

If you want to know about the restructuring then get on www.txxc.org or www.swxc.org (same site) and get involved. Be apart of the solution and be apart of the team and get this thing off the ground.

why can't we all just get along? because that would be 'freakin' boring!!!

i'm not much for making sense grammer wise or eliquantly organized when i write stuff so bear with this 'birds nest' of thinking and simple-mindedness.

i for one might be one of the first generation guys that's kinda old fashioned and still stuck on XOC, but i like the simplicity of it. other members from other clubs on the XOC can view and possibly attend events [either food/social or 4-wheeling] when they are in the area when they seen it postd on XOC. there are alot of XOC stickers out there on Xterras which bfing them to the XOC and get started going with us enthusiests (sp). so i'm pretty much gonna stick to this site. it's like a (regional) club site within the main site. if there are other local or regional sites available for this same group of people, right on!! i think 'other' sites are needed when there is too much going on on the original. kinda like the XOC. it got bigger and needed subchapters or regional chapters.

i'm not much of a computer guru, so i'm not gonna be one to taking on responsibilities of working a site and doing the 'behind the scenes' stuff. hat's off to those who do! i'm just a guy with an Xterra that likes to go in the woods and will also attend food things when my schedule allows. in the past, before i started doing the army thing all over the world over 6 yrs ago, i pretty much did every trip and organized trips from Houston to Oklahoma to New Mexico and Colorado that my casino job's schedule allowed and will continue doing the same. but being the old fashioned guy i am, i'm only gonna be posting on the XOC. if there is someone who wants to transfer the info to 1,2, or 23 other local sites for exposure and a better turn out, right on!! i hope there are other ones that work and are used. and for those that refer to all sites out there, i would hope that they do transfer info back and forth. the XOC seems to be the root and is a good starting place for events and even club meetings and is a pretty stable site that wont crap out and postpone things bc of a break in lines of communications. i say, who cares about a club, unless you want to take on the responsibilities of running it yourself or have a commited buddy that wants to split the work with no rewards. let's just all be a bunch of people who use a common venue, like XOC and myspace, to get together and have fun hangin out and flaming each other! woohoo!!

in short, if there are any trips i post here that you can come join me on, let's go have some fun! if there are some trips that you want to post here for us XOC 'only' guys to go on, let's do it.

Actually www.swxc.org doesn't work anymore. we lost to domain. you have to go txxc.org. It still says swxc.org on the graphics because this hasn't been changed yet. Right now we are running as TXXC/SWXC until we can get everything officially approved and changed.

I have a meeting planned most likely in june. It will include dinner on a saturday night and wheeling sunday at long ranch near austin. As soon as I get the details worked out, I will have a date up.

Damn, how far out is Austin from this fine town/city I cal home? Being in Lubbock Im screwed, there are no close clubs or meetings for the TXXC/SWXC. I love to attend but cant there be at Least One meeting once a year so I can be at one of them.

I will try and be at the one in June but cant be sure. I plan on being at goneMoab and at RONIN in Aug. Im not sure if the wife will approve many other trips for the year.

Austin is an hour south of rogers place