yeah that sidebar crap is killing that thread.....too bad becuase it started off really well.

 

I can't even read a full thread on RL any more. Every thread goes to hell after 4 posts. Its to bad. This started off to be a good thread.

 

I sorta like the "filler" conversation.

How boring would it be to post only the "technical" things

 

I think I understand where your coming from and I have been a party to some OT on tech threads as well but then "filler" conversation should be found in OT......there is plenty of it there.

 

I was a RL member on the email list as well a few years back when I had my first 951 and was 'active'. Most people posted to the email list and received answers almost immediately. I re-subscribed to the email lists recently and it seems they have almost died, everyone is either here now, or on another forum. But for everyone that posts, there's probably 30 people you never hear from that just read, and search, and gain MUCH knowledge.

When you have this many people involved in discussion, whether the premis be technical, social, or a combination it will indeed become more than a purely technical forum. And I think the forums are indeed the place for this.

If you are working on your car, and need a question answered you post, then you search while you wait for an answer. Hopefully an answer emerges. Between answers you get a few posts about whether you should have posted or not, and a few more about whether those posts should have been posted or not, you chuckle, and then somewhere in between is usually your answer. So you got your answer, a minute away from your problem to regain perspective, and most likely a bit of comedic relief to relax you and help you settle into your task.

But if there were a place I could type "1986 axle;CV;TQ spec" and an answer immediately appear, that would be most useful. I'm all for any kind of knowledge base or search engine that would provide that kind of functionality. I wouldn't care who hosted or maintained it. And any moderation would simply be deciding which articles to post where and what search tags to assign it.

I've got a full T1, a stack of servers raning from linux to win2003, and would GLADLY donate as much space, cpu time, and bandwidth necessary to support such an endeavor. I was a member of this community long before I was a vendor, and when a venture like this is put forth regardless of who does it, it benefits us all.

 

I wanted to add... I'm a new co-owner of a turbobrick ($500 LeMons racer) and have been pleasantly surprised with the turbobricks.com forums. They have heavily moderated, strictly on-topic tech sections complimented by less strict "advise & discussion" section. But I've been most interested in their "article composition" forum. If a user feels they have significant knowledge or experience about something, they start up a detailed how-to thread. Others chime in with more info or to clarify a point. Once the thread has matured, if it seems to be accurate and useful, the information is compiled into a completed article and added to the "articles" section of the main non-forum site. So each article is a bit of a group effort, and you can count on the information in the articles section being mostly accurate...

http://forums.turbobricks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9

We don't necessarily need a whole separate forum to accomplish this, perhaps people can start threads with the prefix "951 Tech:" and everyone can attempt to keep those threads as on-topic as this board can manage.

 

Thanks Russell for having the williness to help others. I really appreciate and celebrate people who try to help others regardless of what or who they are. This not to offent anybody, but this community could use more people like you my friend.

Back to the Topic:

I think a knowledge base would greatly benefit all of us. I also think that with the great assets this community possess, it is not a matter of "IF" it can be done, but rather "IT SHOULD BE DONE", it dosen't matter were, as long as it is done. Just think about it.

more knowlege= more cars on the road.

More cars on the road= more potencial for customers

more customer= more business

it is good for everyone.

Regards,
AL