Have you, (Mr. Ron) ever considered a Technical Resource Section?

Ryan · 11-30-06, 04:40 PM

Hello fellow forum users.

This is directed more to the man himself, Mr. Ron, but of course any feedback is beneficial and welcomed.

Have you, (Mr. Ron) ever considered a Technical Resource Section?

Not a thread, or posting in the traditional sense, but more of a resource area. I have seen this type of thing work well in forums before, it eliminates multiple postings for questions that can easily be answered by visiting the resource area.

Things that might work well in it would be listings of all kits made or available that used a mid engine design, as well as years and production #'s of originals. A transaxle listing, maybe information we have all compiled on ratio's, part #'s, shift linkages. Instead of having to always drop a link in a post to a thread, you simply refer the person to the techincal area, or better yet they already found the information and didn't need to post a question in the first place. It might serve to keep the threads on topic and more about devlopment then answering questions.

Obviously I have asked some questions in my day and this in no way is meant to discredit the members here who have helped me or answered questions, who honestly I have found to be some extremely informative, helpful and pro about what we all enjoy. Auto's.

This would serve to collect and compile all the relevant information needed in building some of these cars, and I think would make a great resource for us all, not to mention clean up "My Favorites" in my internet explorer, which I'm sure we all have about a thousand different links saved to various ratio calculators, ect.

Just a thought Mr. Ron, and thanks for maintaining such a wonderful forum sir. I truly wish I had enough spare $ to become a supporter, but being 24 years old with a mortagage and a passion for mid engine cars, I have very few free $. One day sir I will donate to keep the cause moving forward.

With Repsect.

Ron Earp · 12-01-06, 09:23 AM

Hi Ryan,

Sure, I have, and many others before you have suggested similar things. We used to have a DYI/FAQ forum for such topics a long time ago but it just didn't generate a lot of traffic. Only one member ever posted much there, Lynn Larsen, and eventually we dispersed his helpful posts to the subforum where they belonged.

I think a better and more modern idea is to make "FAQ Threads" for each subform and that thread remains sticky at the top. When the moderator of said subforum finds something useful s/he sticks it in the FAQ thread. The FAQ thread can only be posted to from the moderator. Good stuff, always visible, and could help the newbie immensely. But finding a moderator that will consistently do this is not easy.

The problem is actually getting people to do the work. I don't have time as just maintaining, tweaking, answering questions, moving threads to the proper forums (yes, there are members who've been here 4+ years who can't seem to get a thread in the right place), installing mods/patches, planning for next few months upgrades, and keeping up with you guys and your lost passwords eats all my time (no offense, just the way it is). Sorry, I've a cold and a little bit cranky.

People say they will do a certain thing, but the excitement wears off after a few months. And where is the reward for those doing the work? Not really there - as you said, you have few free dollars or time, and the rest of us are likely in the same boat.

So, while I like the idea of having FAQs in each subforum that needs it, I don't know who would do them as I definitely cannot. My hands are full. It'd be nice though as it'd cut down on those "hey, I have a Audi transaxle and want to know what ratios are available" questions and many others that we see with regularity. Again, no offense, - new folks want info and without a FAQ or search index of frequent topics the old members will just have to get used to seeing the same questions.

So where does that leave us? With a good idea and nobody to do much with it. Maybe someday though and thanks for suggesting it, that is what this subforum is for.

Ron

Lynn · 12-01-06, 11:40 AM

Ron,

We had a sister sight that was completley resource information. What happened to it and/or the data that was contained there? I had actually forgotten about it until reading this.

Lynn

Ryan · 12-01-06, 11:53 AM

Point well taken Ron!

Maybe one day I could contribute to the forum by compiling such information in a seperate section and moderating it. However you are correct, it takes time, the excitement fades and their are probably a million other things to do!!!

It is still my pleasure to be part of such a wonderful site, and I thank you for your time spent keeping it all up and running.

I will do my best to not forget my password! Lol.

Take care sir and keep it up Ron. Thanks!