Difference between a Forum and a Club

[nutbolt]

Difference between a Forum and a Club

Being a long term member here at Carnity, I have seen lot of misconception in people mind on how they perceive forum's in the UAE. Few recent threads on Jeep forum here inspire me to write below article for differentiating the basics of Forum and a Club. I have spent very long time in the UAE,  and have been part of so many clubs and forums that all my below advice is based on my first hand experience to help confused members here.

The idea of people with same interest coming together and sharing knowledge for the benefit of one another is quiet an interesting concept. I mean, who does not like gaining knowledge that can help them fix a broken car or repair a leaking roof for cheap and using things that are already available in their houses? This concept is popular among people of all walks of life, no matter how old or young, rich or poor – whatever the social status – people come together, socialize and share knowledge. Over the years, this concept has been applied and accepted by different set of people in more than one avatar. Two such concepts that have been widely accepted are Clubs and Forums. While these two sound almost similar to each other, but there are few things (and important ones) that make them very different from each other. Let’s get to those.
 

1. Club has A leader
   
   Usually, a club has someone that leads the members. This person is elected by the club members from among themselves. He is responsible for organizing and taking care of the overall functioning of the club. He facilitates the meetings, drives and discussions among club members and makes sure that everyone is on the same page. While a forum doesn’t really has any leader. It does have a moderator but the only work moderator has is to ensure good behavior by the members and maintaining the integrity of the forum as a whole.
   
   
   
    
2. Forum is more solution friendly
   
   While a club usually run on the specific agenda (biking, driving, hiking, off-road, fishing) that MAJORITY of people are interested, a forum discusses each and every problem that each and every member faces. A forum encourages and gives importance to even the most silliest query by its members while a club, in this regard, is a little less flexible and decides to discuss issues that can REALLY make a difference. Forums act as a structured database of all the discussions that have ever happened among its members unlike Facebook or Whatsapp groups, that doesn't offer data retention over few days or weeks at most.
   
   
   
    
3. Clubs have politics which makes them less friendly
   
   With great power, comes a fight for that power. Every member in a club will not necessarily like the leader and almost every member of the club will want to be the leader. Why? Because everyone loves to function and make people function in their own way. This is the reason that within a big club you can find several small groups of members that want to have the power and control the functioning of the entire club. All this leads to politics within the club and finally break down of a club into smaller fragments which makes the club pretty useless and unpleasant. A forum on the other hand does not have such a power-centered position which makes it a politics-free platform for discussing anything and everything. In a forum, people usually do not look for leadership, they look for respect. How do they get respect? They get it by giving great answers to great problems. They share knowledge freely and without any wish to be called as a leader. Forum members believe in karma of doing good to get good.
   
   
   
    
4. Forums are Usually Free
   
   A forum is like storage of solutions and discussions on various topics. A forum, unless and until is providing something really specialized solutions, is generally FREE to join. You just fill out a simple form and eureka, and you are a member. You can enjoy and use all the information on a forum for free, without restriction, without worrying about any strict rule. While on the other hand a club, usually asks you to pay a membership fee. This membership fee can either be one-time or recurring depending upon various factors and entitles you to various benefits as a club member has. BUT considering the fact that a club gradually develops politics, is it really worth your hard-earned money? Secondly few clubs here in the UAE have a reputation that if you become a member of other clubs and forum then club operator has a right to revoke your membership from their club. I am serious, it's a my way or highway clubs..
   
   
   
    
5. The ego of the Big Boys
   
   Each club has a few guys that cannot stop bragging about how fast their car is and how amazing the cross country tour on their SUV was. These people do not realize the thin line between showing off and being informative. They always have something to throw at the new guys who join the club and spoil the mood of the club as a whole. They do not let anyone rise and if someone tries to come up with an intelligent technical discussion that these BIG BOYS do not understand, they are stubborn enough to kick the SMART people out of the club just to save themselves from embarrassment and satisfy their ego. Forums in this regard are so much better. Forums promote intelligent discussions and they treat each and every member equally. People are free to discuss anything and bragging is not something that one does on a forum. People usually share experiences voluntarily and without expectation which makes it pleasant for everyone.
   
   
    

A forum and a club although based on the very similar concept are very much different from each other. Both of them have something good in them accompanied by a few drawbacks. Both of them serve the purpose of working towards a common cause but in a different ways. It is now on you to decide what's your style is and more importantly, what are you exactly looking for!

 

Edited May 17, 2016 by nutbolt
Added bit of life to boring text.

[treks]

@nutbolt, you are spot on about a lot of things in your post, but a forum can get as nasty as any club in a split second. I belong to an international offroad driving forum, and the politics there is sometimes terrible to behold- which is why I have not contributed to that forum during the past year or so.

Carnity is as you say, a forum in the true sense of the word. I have yet to see a nasty post or a snarky comment, which is like a breath of fresh air in the world of forums. 

[Derick]

Very well said and sum up the key differences and misunderstandings. Good post buddy.