What is the worst part of this club

[a7dz]

I have to admit that since there are a fair number of club members here in Oregon and Washington, that I have had the pleasure to meet a number of you in person. I've been involved in automobile hobbies for over 3 decades, and in all that time, this is the first club/group where I have actually found new friends - not just acquaintances. We up here in the Pacific NW are fortunate to have many active members in a relatively small region.

Been down to Oregon a couple of times and always enjoy the people. I agree with Arne as to the new friends. Funny how I have met with the guys three hours away yet have not gotten together with the guys across town.

[zack_280]

"Having to wait for posted pictures to be approved"

I have been debating posting this for a while. It drives me nuts when I see something that I want to look at right there on the home page and I click on it and I can't b/c it's not approved.

Would it be possible to not show the pics there until they are approved?

I would really like to see that.

[alissa280z]

I am on here just about every day, but don't have much to post...yet. Lots of good people here, but occasionally I would like to wack someone on the back of the head.

[MikeW]

I love the Carl Beck, Chris Wenzel, Alan Thomas debates/discussions.

Me too. Especially since I've met each of them in person (as well as the person who started this poll). It's funny how people don't always come across in person the way they do online. An awful lot is lost in the written word. There's no question that the people are the best part of the club.

[speedyblue]

It's funny how people don't always come across in person the way they do online. An awful lot is lost in the written word.

Yes, unfortunately sarcasm and tone of voice doesn't transfer well accross the internet.

The thing I don't like it the text that has appeared at the top of the screen a few times telling me I haven't posted for a while and I should respond to a post. I have been on here for a while now, but haven't had too much to say. It's like asking members to spam it up with a pointless post, the thing I really hate. But this site is pretty good in regards to that. Probably due to the lack of 12 yearolds talking it up big.

Keep it up guys. All good work!! (hey, where did the thumbs up smiley go?)

[Alfadog]

I have to agree that seeing something really cool on the front page, then clicking and finding out that the picture hasn't been approved is really annoying. Did you guys previously have issues with pictures that were posted? The policy of approving pictures seems a little overly cautious at best. Why not just let the pictures be posted then delete whatever few offensive ones are uploaded and ban the idiots that misuse the gallery?

I think the idea is prevention rather than a cure But yes, it defeats the purpose entirely when the unapproved pictures still appear on the main homepage!

Unapproved pictures should not appear anywhere on the site, IMO!

What's the worst thing about the club? Not being able to meet in person, for sure!

[boyblunda]

There have been moments of disappointment I have experienced when communications between members bog down due to dogma, intolerance or just plain lack of communication but these are inevitable given the spectrum of people on the forums and the already commented upon inadequacies of email as the primary means of communication. However, contributors to this thread have already pointed out that we can choose to ignore these moments.

What I cannot ignore and what has caused me surprising levels of feeling are those rare periods of time when the site is down. Until these moments occur, I have had no idea that I would miss the constant access as much.

No criticism intended here to the administrator and those that assist the cause as I think they do a great job in providing the site and maintaining the standard of communication that we all enjoy.

Regards to all.

[Walter Moore]

From my perspective, being asked about the worst part of this site is a lot like asking a man who was rescued from a ship wreck what the worst part of his RESCUE was...

When I first bought my Z car and started the restoration a friend of mine who is "into" Opels recommended that I seek out an internet club related to Z car because there would be information available there for free that otherwise I would never find. That was truly good advise.

The information avaiable here on some of the more obscure problems encountered repairing a Z car has on more than one occasion been the difference between progressing to the next stage of the restoration versus just parting the car out on Ebay.

I even enjoy the discussions of other Datsun/Nissan products that pop up from time to time. I had never seen or heard of a Skyline until I visited this site.

[EScanlon]

It's taken me a while to gather my thoughts and post my opinion regarding the "worst" of this club. I put it in quotes as I think they're, for the most part, minor items, with only one coming to mind as major.

Minor points:

Too easy to become a member. I agree with this and that's how I voted. Not that I'm looking to exclude anybody, but there have been times when if the system had a bounce back method where you get a confirming password / link sent to a verifiable e-mail address (no Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) which you then have to follow back and confirm data that you input before you can post would not be a bad thing. Too much security? I don't think so, especially if you note the amount of spam we've seen recently. How did they become members and spam right off the bat?

There should also be a probationary time period / number of posts before you can include links and post pictures to your posts, and another for your own gallery. This goes hand in hand with limiting the spam we've gotten in the past. Additionally, the gallery should be a boon to those members that have been here a while. Storage space / bandwidth cost Mike in upkeep. Maybe it isn't a consideration, but it could be.

Technical Articles Forum should not be open to posting or editing. Technical Articles should be submitted, reviewed and then either voted on, or approved before they get posted to that forum. Whether it's a panel of members that have been nominated, volunteered, appointed, it doesn't matter, but there's nothing to stop someone from not researching the prior articles and writing a "new" one that isn't really informative, nor even on a topic that would qualify as being worthy of inclusion. I'm not suggesting censorship, but rather that a "standard" be maintained. This helps all of us, and increases the club's prestige.

As far as editing, if changes need to be made to an article because of new information that enhances or changes the information within it, then it should go through the same process as for submittal. Otherwise, we're at the mercy of those who would impose their revenge upon the club by removing / editing out articles and contributions that had been previously posted.

Pictures on the Front Page viewable as thumbnails before they're approved. From what I understand, this is a software / programming issue. Lambasting Victor is NOT appropriate, as he does an excellent job (Thank You Victor! ), and anyone who does give him grief can take a flying tackle at a brick wall. However, my point about limiting when a poster can begin posting pictures would go a LONG way to alleviating the possibility of an improper photo being posted. If someone were to be here long enough to earn the privilege (and that's what it SHOULD be) to post pictures insisted on posting material that went against club rules / policy, then they should lose the privilege...period.

I know that these "minor" points may cause somebody to argue "Free Speech!", but let me make a point about that.

"Free Speech as a Right" is something that people have construed to imply that you can say ANYTHING ANYWHERE. That's not the case, AFAIK, ANYWHERE in this world.

If it were, we wouldn't be looking for ways to cut off the spammers, nor monitor the pictures that DO get posted to the galleries. Even the posts get monitored and if it's objectionable there's the "Report Bad Post" button. If "Free Speech" were in fact Any "thing/where" then we could expect posts about a Mustang vs a Toyota, and other topics which may not be of interest to us.

Major point:

People failing to "close" the topic they posted on, that is FEEDBACK.

This is simply posting back whether or not the help they've received helped them solve the problem or not. A thank-you would be nice, but most importantly, is the feed-back. Knowing your "help" was in fact -- HELPFUL, is the primary reason some of us bother to post it in the first place.

I think that many of us who devote time and thought to the problems posted here, and then take additional time to post their thougths, pictures, diagrams, scans, etc. deserve the courtesy of being told whether or not their advise was on the money and, in fact, was the solution.

Normally, when you're working on a car at a friend's house. Whether it's in his garage or in the driveway or stuck in the middle of the freeway, you have the feedback...from the car.

When you're on the phone, you can either hear it or you at least get "That did it!". But here.....sometimes there is a reply that says..."Ok, it's fixed now. Thanks." but so many other times.....nothing. Then you don't know if the guy lost interest, fixed it, gave up took it to...., or blew you off because he couldn't explain the problem or understand what you were posting.

To many of the "old-farts", as some of the young-farts refer to us as, this is simply ... lack of respect. Before you know it, they stop posting...after all who wants to spend time explaining something....if they're only going to blow you off.

Remember, behind every altruistic motive, lies a selfish one. Whether it is your own satisfaction, or whatever, it doesn't matter, the point is that without satisfying that selfish motive, pretty soon, the altruism stops. That's why we lose older members.

FWIW

E

P.S.: I guess you could also post my lengthy posts as one of the worst things here as well.

[TomoHawk]

My favorite peeve is when people post a URL or Internet link and don't give a hint or description as to where it goes or what you will find there. It's like wriiting a phone number on a piece of empty paper and handing it to somebody.

[Mike]

Shouldn't this be changed to "Having to wait until Victor FINALLY "Gets around" to approve my posted pictures."?

Thanks for all you do, Vic.

The worst part of this site is all the (programming) work that goes into it. You guys get the award for the content, I just provide the medium. I must say, however, that our club is at a pretty stable point where we can simply use it and enjoy the outcome. Knock on wood, I haven't had to do any major programming to keep the server going for at least 4-6 weeks.

I've been able to work on my car again.

[1 Bravo 6]

DEFINATELY not being able to meet other members. To the best of my knowledge, I'm all on my pat malone here in Central Queensland. Heck, I haven't even met Alfapup . He lives more than a day's drive away.

I've started throwing hints at She Who Must Be Obeyed about a trip to the States. So far all I've heard is "uh huh". I'll keep working on it. I reckon it would be worth the cost for the chance to meet up with Will, Enrique, Gary, Steve, Victor, .... the list is endless ........ even Our Bill. I'd particularly like to meet Mike and shake his hand to thank him for setting up this site.

Rick.