Collecting ideas for the forum, classifieds and website

[C J Murray]

If have no idea where the figure of "$20k per year of web expenses" comes from, but it has no relation to reality.

Ok Barry, what website do you own and where are the financial records for that website? I can produce actual invoices for the cost of this website because, I own it...
http://www.cyclemax.net/index.htm
Then, there is the fact that the Trustees have done some preliminary investigation as to the cost of a web update and the numbers start in the 5 figures! Somebody does have a distorted view of reality, you!

And what free markets and socialism have to do with this discussion I have no idea...

Barry, out here in realville, we know that somebody has to pay the bill. Of course, you don't even think that there is a bill. Well, there is and either the members pay for the website and the non-members ride free for the exact same features, socialism, or, the members pay for the website and only the members get the features,free market. Do you really live that sheltered of a life that you do not understand that?

Barry, why do you want to go right back to what you were doing, arguing, when you got mad the last time and quit the club? Why not state your ideas and avoid calling people disconnected from reality because their ideas are different from yours? This is not the Samba.

Cliff Murray

[C J Murray]

Again a summary of possible member benefits:
- Only members should be allowed to write in the wiki.
- Only members should be able to get email notifications about newly published classifieds.
- Members could get an X day head start on classified ads (i.e. "first pick") before everyone else can see the ad.
- Members should be able to select if their ads are public or members-only.

-will

Will- I like the direction of this.

[Dave Wildrick]

If have no idea where the figure of "$20k per year of web expenses" comes from, but it has no relation to reality.

Ok Barry, what website do you own and where are the financial records for that website? I can produce actual invoices for the cost of this website because, I own it...
http://www.cyclemax.net/index.htm
Then, there is the fact that the Trustees have done some preliminary investigation as to the cost of a web update and the numbers start in the 5 figures! Somebody does have a distorted view of reality, you!

And what free markets and socialism have to do with this discussion I have no idea...

Barry, out here in realville, we know that somebody has to pay the bill. Of course, you don't even think that there is a bill. Well, there is and either the members pay for the website and the non-members ride free for the exact same features, socialism, or, the members pay for the website and only the members get the features,free market. Do you really live that sheltered of a life that you do not understand that?

Barry, why do you want to go right back to what you were doing, arguing, when you got mad the last time and quit the club? Why not state your ideas and avoid calling people disconnected from reality because their ideas are different from yours? This is not the Samba.

Cliff Murray

Jeez, Cliff, have some decaf.

Why alienate guys who do web sites for a living and who say they can do this for the Registry web site on the cheap?

Isn’t it possible that you are being charged too much for your own web site or that the trustees you mentioned who projected costs in five figures spoke with web site designers who are high rollers?

[Mike Ruddy]

Cliff, if that website costs you 20k a year...... you need to have a word with the guy that sends you the bill.

for 20k a year.

Mike.

[C J Murray]

Dave, Please show me your website and the related financial information for your website.

Cliff Murray

[C J Murray]

Mike, ditto!

[Mike Ruddy]

My website costs me $65 dollars a year....



Now I know it`s not fancy or nothin... and there`s no writing cos i`ve not got round to it yet...

But I can show you the invoice for $65

Mike.

Ps, brings me 18 months worth of business every 12 months.

Edited to remove my website address, on reflection it`s not very good and prehaps not relevant in this context.

[Emil Wojcik]

All I'll say is that before I retired I was involved in a considerable amount of website design, production and maintenance. Prices we charged were all over the board, from a few thousand to well into six figures not including regular maintenance...and this was NINE years ago. It all depended on what was involved and on what you expected out of the site. All the little extras everyone seems to be suggesting here all add to the price.

I have no idea what the Registry site should cost simply because I don't know what the parameters of the project would involve. And no one who hasn't had any in-depth discussions with a website developer about the actual specifics required for this site has any idea either.

Let's just assume it costs something and the dues collected from club members have to pay for it. The more we expect the site to accomplish, the more it will end up costing.

[C J Murray]

Mike
Where is your forum? Blogs? Classifieds? Credit card processing? Interactive gallery? Technical library? Links? Convertibility into different levels of access? And, why does it look like somebody built it in their mother's basement? You may have been overcharged.
Cliff

[Mike Ruddy]

Thanks Ciff and good luck with the campaign.

Mike.

[Ashley Page]

I second the following ideas that have previously been mentioned:

• Classified section “For sale or Trade” – not just for sale
• The classified section should be open to non registry members.
• The items listed would be open to members for a time before they would appear to non members.
• I believe the forum in general is moderated with too heavy a hand. The heavy handedness on Shane’s Damsel thread being a glaring example. Everyone says they want younger folks but that type of regulation will drive some away. If someone is offended by seeing to much bare leg skin then don’t open the thread - start your own thread of "Wholesome virgins fully clothed with 356's". You don’t have to look far today to fine real rules and events to get in a knot over. Leave the forum alone.
• I like the idea of the “low key” event – just like what I attended in Ga. in Sept. of 2011. The thought of spending a lot of money to go to a car meet doesn't excite me.
• Don’t know if this has been mentioned or not but a vendor should be able to start a thread about something he has to offer – service or product. Someone (I won’t mention names but his initials are Barry ) deleted my thread because I mentioned a product I have in the classified. I have seen another vendor do the same thing and run with it. There is a bit of an old boy club here. Change the rule. Don’t ask me for the example as I don’t keep a list and I don’t remember specifically – its not that important.

I think the classified should be renamed to “Swap Meet”.

I think the classified should be open to much more than just strictly 356 parts. Should be “356 parts and other useful stuff”. I get the feeling that a lot of folks will buy only here – not ebay or craigslist or anywhere else on line as they feel they can trust the sellers here. Those folks and the rest of us might find buying, selling and trading other “garage items” here fun and useful. Items such as tools, automotive related books and equipment maybe other stuff. One guy has had a pair of red overalls on the list for sale for what must be a year. I’ll bet a good bench vice or set of metric sockets would attract more interest than someone’s old faded red overalls! What are we running here - the 356 Goodwill?

But at the end of the day IMHO there is no problem here that has me bent out of shape. For $35 and what it buys it’s a deal year in and year out. Overall I really enjoy the forum, the folks, the old farts who want to be known (for reasons I can't fathom) as a curmugdeon, etc.

[C J Murray]

Hi Ashley,
Thanks for contributing. I mostly like what you have said. I am not a fan of crotch shots on a car forum any more than I like the nude girls draped over chopper magazines but the new Trustees should talk about the issue. How we speak and what images we post is a very hard issue to deal with because of the great differences between people as to what is offensive. As an aside, Shane was not suspended for posting a picture.
Cliff Murray

[Ashley Page]

As an aside, Shane was not suspended for posting a picture.
Cliff Murray

I was only refering to his thread being taken down, nutered and later put back up for reasons that, as I know them, I thought were over the top.

No idea why he or any of the recent others were banned. I'v read some on the Samba and here but can't make heads or tails out of it.

[Curt Dansby]

As the classifieds moderator I have tried to remain outside of the fray on the various issues over the past months lest my opinions be misconstrued one way or the other. As this thread has touched on several issues relating to the classifieds I would like to post some observations based on experience over the last 9 or so months. Please forgive me for the length of the post.
I believe moderating the classifieds is less nuanced than the forum but it is still not a joy. For the most part it is a pain in the butt and receives no thanks (with some exceptions) Not that I was expecting or desirous of adulation. I signed up because there was a need and I was asked. I will also state that at the end of January I will have been doing it for a full year and it is my wish and intent to hand it off to someone new at that time. I did not write the rules I have simply been charged to enforce them. You may say what you like about me but I have tried to be even handed to a fault- no preferential treatment given. I will also say that from interaction with posters I believe there is a need for some adjustments to the rules (which BTW a large number of posters fail to read). I intend to make some suggestions on changes but felt it made more sense to wait until after the election to do so. I have not made the list yet but I would like to specifically address some points made here. First: Adam and Steve’s points about trades.
As the rule was explained to me, this is to prevent people from posting something to the effect “ Will trade two lightly used Yamaha Jet Skis with trailer for B Coupe project- must be red, or green or yellow, but preferably red”. People who know me know I am a smart ass and this seems an extreme example but I did once remove a post for “A Porsche Designed House” in Iowa. As there is no real estate section, it was placed in the parts section as I recall. With any demographic of this size there will be some knuckle heads who will simply do as they please, rules be damned. That being said: I believe there should be a separate category for WTT ads for 356 parts or Ad literature only and Adam’s example is very good- like part for similar or like parts. At the very least ads should be held to a standard of realism, IE no “will trade a set of S-90 Heads for 4 Cam heads”. The reason I say only 356 parts is there are other places to post late model stuff, there is tons more late model stuff available and the section could become clogged up with that type of ad. The rules as they stand are long and wordy but they are there to try and help the membership source things they need or desire to further the hobby and to try and prevent the site from becoming like EBay which I would hazard most of us use from time to time.
However the example I give is go to EBay right now and search “Porsche Shirt”- there are 2745 hits. Do you want to wade through hundreds and hundreds of what I will call “fluff” for the sake of this statement(and yes we all buy Porsche Shirts) when you are looking for parts? Further it would be putting undue burden on the moderator whomever they may be, to deal with the number of ads I expect it would create. I will also use this example to address Ashley’s point about allowing posting “useful stuff” I can promise you that opinions will differ on the validity of the term “useful”. This would put the moderator in a difficult position and potentially lead to some of the type of discontent we have seen on the forum. The more specific the rules the easier it is for the moderator. I fully understand the desire to want to potentially pass things along to like minded people but the classifieds section should be kept to a manageable size. As to who is allowed to use the classifieds in the future that is not up to me to decide but I do like what someone suggested (sorry I forget who) that should access be changed people can opt to put their contact info in the ad or not. But also on that point: I will tell you that prior to the rules change there were a few non-members who posted a great deal that caused me about 50% of the work I had to do because they were either too lazy to follow the rules of believed that the rules did not apply to them (I will admit this is supposition) but the fact remains. I will further suggest that there could be what I believe to be beneficial changes in the way vendors are allowed to post in the cars section and I will just leave it at that for now. I will make one more point to address Tom’s post: Tom you are allowed to post photo links to Drop Box or Photobucket or some other “drop site” When they are posted on a website that advertises a company and its services they must be placed in the linked ads section. I understand that this is arguably part of a bigger picture as pointed out by Barry (I believe) about vendor links but that is something that will be potentially addressed in future web upgrades/ discussions.

Thanks
Curt

[cory cotherman]

I would like a search function that actually works. Example "the samba" when ever I search there I actually find relative information, when I search here its like I'm in the stone age. No affiliation, but we could learn a lot from "the samba" that site just plain works, I use it a lot as I know some of you folks do too.

cory