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As someone who has tried to do something along these lines (limited to electrics) - I think you folks have no idea of the complexity of what you are proposing. It is a huge time sink and you are continually editing for correctness and even for just this part the task is huge. I am just retired this year, and once I've finished my many projects already underway & planned (house, motor-home, car, maybe a new House) and some travels (much impacted for now) - I may even get back to it. But that wont be for perhaps another year or more. I wrote about 400 pages in about 4 years and estimated that it would take at least 600 pages to be done (still mostly an overview in many areas). Meanwhile some 100 pages or so of what I did now needs editing (perhaps more), some completely reworked because of changes over the last 15 years since I started writing it. The changes are due to both things I have learned and changes to available equipment (Dual DIN, navigation, bluetooth, TPMS, Engine controls, LED alternate lighting etc). It will never be truly finished - so an online .pfd book with revisions available would be the only practical distribution. I'd suggest nobody is going to invest this much time for free and yet even if you monetize it the returns are rather pitiful, most are not willing to pay (much) for information, regardless how good.
There is no single person knows enough, nor are there enough hours in a week - so you'd need a veritable army of folks who know the content, then an army of people who know how to write & edit (these are very different skill sets).
Search really is your Friend.... Maybe we get lucky and have a book on 928 Electrics in a few years - possibly it may (just) take less than 20 years to complete it
Circling back to the DIY sections here on RL. Content is nominated and curated by the members. It takes a bunch of effort to do that obviously, but we also have a lot of talented folks here who are qualified to do it. A full-spectrum DIY section is better for those who may not know where to start on their problems or projects. How to get it going? Start a thread here and add links to posts or threads that support the theme of your DIY. I usually recommend doing the construction part offline in your word processor, fine-tuning there, then copying and pasting the refined content from there into your subject thread. You can close and reopen threads you create, and so manage the outside contribution level as you develop the theme. Once you get it to a level you like, a moderator will move the thread to the DIY section. I often suggest creating an open thread in parallel, and invite contributions from others plus any sugestions criticisms etc in that open thread. You can selectively link to other's posts, or get with your forum moderators to copy posts you like into your DIY thread.
Take a look at some examples shared above from the 944 forum, and at Dwayne's excellent Dwayne's Garage series hosted on the NorCal 928 site. Those might give you a sense of style or other presentation attributes that seem to work well for others. There's no shame in learning from others for what works.
I will recommend that you choose an easy and narrow subject or theme for each effort. Rolling right into a broad scope means there's a good chance that you'll run out of enthusiasm before you finish. I'll share from personal experience that every five-minute project like this takes an hour in editing and research beyond the basic "I'll just type something up". Just as you would for any presentation, professional or "white paper", build starting with a theme and a goal, build an outline, and then fill in the details. Keep it interesting, and remember that your audience includes folks who are opening a 928 hood for the first time, all the way someone who is just looking to round out their knowledge with details they might have forgotten. I write a LOT of instructions and papers, and constantly have to remind myself that the audience doesn't already know what I'm trying to share.
Anyway, the DIY section is intended for exactly the how-to manual style that we look for in posts and threads.
EDIT: While I was typing this, I was thinking exactly about Alan's 928 electricals project as an example of how what looks like a simple tutorial has blossomed into a separate career for him. Eat the elephant a bite at a time.
"we should archive..." IB has done that....and.. "Write a book for IB..." Then you don't have people clicking on threads, and would lose the monetization of the archived material.
Maybe..? But the Boxster books are a thing, yet the 986Forums and the Boxster section of the Pelican forum are still very busy. I would continue to visit here for the (moderated) community. I, for one, appreciate the O.T. being kept in O.T. And there's always something that the book doesn't explain completely or in the right way so that everyone will understand.
Originally Posted by Alan
As someone who has tried to do something along these lines (limited to electrics) - I think you folks have no idea of the complexity of what you are proposing.
You're not kidding. It would be a HUGE time investment. There would absolutely have to be a payout at the end. I'm sure Wayne Dempsey ("101 Projects for your Boxster") gets a royalty check.
Originally Posted by dr bob
How to get it going? Start a thread here and add links to posts or threads that support the theme of your DIY.
The problem is that the people who can edit and format content for publication are not necessarily the same people who have the knowledge. There's a reason Dwayne's guides are nearly unique. I can put together a book, but I'm not a good enough mechanic to be sure that it's right.
You're not kidding. It would be a HUGE time investment. There would absolutely have to be a payout at the end. I'm sure Wayne Dempsey ("101 Projects for your Boxster") gets a royalty check.
There is really no justification for doing it financially - anyone capable enough to do it - could make a very great deal more money elsewhere with the same amount of time invested - I'm quite sure of that.
In fact that's why I pretty much stopped - pressure of well paying (incessant) work Vs. under-valued hobby... work wins every time until the money isn't so important anymore. When you're working long hours and finally get home - the last thing you want to do is more work - and it is really work. The main times I was writing it ended up being intercontinental flights - plenty of dead time, but the working conditions really sucked - it got old, and I stopped travelling as much too. It takes a certain combined altruism, persistence, knowledge & some writing skills - that for good reasons are in rather short supply....
These days, if I need something I do a search here and usually find what I need. Chances are that whatever I want to know has been discussed before.
Sometimes I may reach out directly to the friends I have made in this community over time.
Sometimes I may add new found knowledge to an old thread.
But I feel reluctant to start yet another thread about a topic that has been discussed in detail in the past.
As I am contemplating selling the car - which is rarely driven more than a few hundred miles per year - I'm not sure how much I will post in the future.
If someone is willing to give my baby a good, caring home, feel free to reach out.
Nicole - bring it on another field trip to Phoenix when you are comfortable with travelling again (and when it cools off) - we'll do a little get together and get you back into it!
Nicole - bring it on another field trip to Phoenix when you are comfortable with travelling again (and when it cools off) - we'll do a little get together and get you back into it!
Alan
That is sweet of you! Maybe I'll drive it down to Sharktoberfest this year.
Otherwise I prefer doing my long distance trips in the Tesla. It's just more comfortable (quieter, AutoPilot), has more space, and costs a fraction per mile.
I don't believe that's more than a made up problem. Maybe it's a subtle reminder...even for -me-...that participation here is up to the poster.
It's IB's sandbox, and for 1,634,060 in this forum alone, it's been fine.
We do have a good collection curated for the clicks and pennies for IB..that works. Should/could there be another format, of course. Step right up and do it.
Don't forget, nothing on the internet truly ever gets erased. Data miners will always be able to capture whatever was once posted. I think we are a long way from worrying abut having our 928 knowledge disappear. This is not one of the things that keeps me up at night. I started printing off the more important tutorials I need for my level of dabbling a long time ago.
... I started printing off the more important tutorials I need for my level of dabbling a long time ago.
Print them to .pdf Computer storage is cheap and the files are searchable. Below is an example of a page from Dwayne's tranny removal. I use Firefox so every web browser will be different; but in a nutshell, go to the thread you want and then select print. When the printer window box opens, just select the print to .pdf option and save it to whatever file name you want. Using Firefox's "simplify page" it puts one picture per instruction per page. I love it as it makes it like a step-by-step instruction manual that's super easy to follow.
So the Electric Chair wins... You can still come and we'll still show up (or a Sharktoberfest).
Alan
No matter what happens - the 928 will always have a special place in my heart. And so do the friends I made over the more than 20 years of owning three of these cars.
PS: I was at the last Sharktoberfest, including the Electric Chair. Some 928 owners were quite interested in it, and a few very nice ones even got to test drive it.
Print them to .pdf Computer storage is cheap and the files are searchable. Below is an example of a page from Dwayne's tranny removal. I use Firefox so every web browser will be different; but in a nutshell, go to the thread you want and then select print. When the printer window box opens, just select the print to .pdf option and save it to whatever file name you want. Using Firefox's "simplify page" it puts one picture per instruction per page. I love it as it makes it like a step-by-step instruction manual that's super easy to follow.
There is a ways this could kind of work..but it would take strict adherence to the requirements, and detail from the end user.
And some participation by other members to review.
If people could place into a google documents template that formatted the photos to a size, people had to write detailed steps, a place to document required tools, required Part Numbers, estimates of time/talent...
But in the end its all up to how good the author is in the documentation. But some manner of uniformity in the submission would be critical.
08-29-2020, 03:01 PM
You can still come and we'll still show up (or a Sharktoberfest).
Computer storage is cheap and the files are searchable. Below is an example of a page from Dwayne's tranny removal. I use Firefox so every web browser will be different; but in a nutshell, go to the thread you want and then select print. When the printer window box opens, just select the print to .pdf option and save it to whatever file name you want. Using Firefox's "simplify page" it puts one picture per instruction per page. I love it as it makes it like a step-by-step instruction manual that's super easy to follow.
