When MECA was formed in the early 60's there was no Internet, no Email, very expensive long distance phone calling and letter writing. MECA was a group of collectors who set up fair dealing rules, a swap sheet where engines could be advertised for sale or wanted. When there were enough guys in an area, they could advertise a collecto or engine swap meet. When the old timer movement (nearly all FF) began, engine collectors would often go to a meet and have a large swap meet for one of the nights at the event.
Now we have the internet, email, and ebay. Ebay has had the most influence on thinning out our membership. You don't have to rely on a swap sheet published every other month. You essentially now have a new swap sheet every week and your buyers are the world. It also means if you are a collector, you are seeing more engines in a week than you saw in a years worth of swap sheets. And members are dying off. Our average age is quite high and not enough new guys are coming in. Kinda like control line, huh?
Some of the younger members wanted to have a MECA Forum. We tried it, but realistically there are active Yahoo engine forums, an active Cox engine forum, and 3 VERY active engine forums on RC Groups. AND EBAY. Not too easy to have active participation in a new forum with this many others, so we shut it down.
And the 550 of us left in the USA, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Italy, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are not tired of looking at each others engines.
Topic: MECA forum gone? (Read 1594 times)