A little RRT survey

[Jokester]

I like it the way it is.  It's the first site I look at and the last before
I shut down.  It's without a doubt the most hospitable bunch of people on
the web.  It's nice that I've met several of the members and put faces with names.

I'm sure any changes you make will be for the better.  I have confidence in your abilities.  Thanks for the survey and giving us a chance to comment.  Mostly thanks for running a great website.

BTW, I received an e-mail requesting my opinion of needed changes.  My reply to it failed...twice.  The address was  forums@roddingroundtable.com.  What's up with that?

.bjb

[enjenjo]

It failed because it was a no reply Email.

[butch27]

I learned while driving race cars that a change is not always an improvement.  I'm good here.  I do like builds in progress to see how others have done things.

[GPster]

Here I am but I have been watching and reading this since it started. I don't need any changes but I'll learn to live with any that come along (are we married?) I do have some comments. I certainly read and learn from the OT subjects and it is great that the authors have been labeling them as such. What is hard for me to followis when a subject goes off topic. If the subject is something I have started to follow (as most of them are because I spend hours on this site every day) I may read the comments from start-to-finish to try and weigh pros/cons whys/why-nots. I'm not trying to become an expert but I am amazed how experts think and sometimes an author and his comments might strike a cord where I can pass the comment the as an idea later on ( my handle is GPster but sometimes arCHIVE come into focus). It is particularly hard to make any sense of a subject when it starts out in the automotive realm and turns into a discussion as to why sheep walk cross-legged along the sides of the road in Texas. If there was a fork in the road on each subject so that when the discussion started to go ot some of us could stay on the straight and narrowand some of you could head out to that subjects'  "booneys". Some way that wouldn't delete them but might separate them from the subject's main stream of education .                                                  The second comment is on the classifides: I lurk on a few other sites just to read the Classifides. I like the way ours is set up without all the useless banter and BTT or re-posting rules. I read those other sites for enjoyment but if I wanted to buy or sell something I would particularly like to do it our way of Buyer-to-Seller. What might be nice would be if at the top of our Forum page next to the Clasifieds  would be a little hanger that stated when the last new listing was. That would just tell us whether to go there or letting us know that we are as up-to-date as it is.                                                                       One offer that I might make or incourage someone else to make: As an example every time someone puts a Mustang II front end kit in a vehicle they wonder what coil springs to use. Not all the answers are found in only those questions and a search of only the archieves of that subject will miss those comments. Going back to the ot s of sheep in Texas a request of Mustang II front coils is likely to bring a herd of them running. Maybe if someone (me?) where to scan the archives from a disc and pick out all of the Mustang II stuff and put those bits of topical educcation on another disc so that new disc might serve in addition to pictures of doing one type in one make/model. Now hopefully I have at least helped by offering a novel for someone that wanted to sit down and relax with a book. GPster

[CalifCarl]

I never said pay to play was a requirement.  But if it makes you feel better to call someone wrong, just because you never read it, so be it.

The HAMB has exploded over the years and the members contribute what looks like a boat load of money.   I'm not trying to point out any trouble or disrepect.  But in the same thread on the HAMB where it was suggested that only Alliance Member could sell, Ryan was talking about freeloaders.

I have bought and sold over there, very little.  Even frame boxing plates from Engenjo.  I've bid in auctions, but never won one.  But I have never just donates straight up.  I would guess that would put me in the freeloader class.   Maybe not what he ment.

Wrong again.

Ryan isn't trying to cut down on freeloaders at all - it's the deadbeat buyers/seller he's trying to axe.

And I am not an Alliance Member so I have no reason to be "selling" the idea.

The whole "Alliance Members only" for the classifieds isn't in play. Ryan is trying to work around it....

BTW, I'm not being a snot here - just pointing out the facts.

Besides - I didn't come here to promote the HAMB - I came to help RTT....

and my advise is to explore the creative/artistic side - not the functionality.

It's a message board for cryin' out loud - all you need to do is post and reply to messages!!

A graphic upgrade will make more folks who are just passing through - stop and take a longer look. Which gives us the chance to keep them - even if only a slight chance. But some is better than none.

The only thing that keeps me away from here is the types of cars...

I'm not an IFS/SBC/over-the-counter type of guy, and that's the bread and butter crowd here.

You can call me wrong if you want, but everything I have said exits in a thread at the HAMB.  this one http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138587

I can see Ryan's intent and I have no problem with it.  

I received an email basically asking for input for my not posting.  And it was the trend or my preception of things becoming a "Pay to Play".  Even the donation section on this site leads to this way.  But with the disclaimer in red at the bottom that you are not required to donate.  

My answer again is the preception of  what was coming.

[Broman]

I'm not going to get into a * match here.

And I'm not yelling at you either (it's very hard to read the intended tones over a message board) and I am certainly not trying to single you out.

I just wanted the point to be made that there has not been any kind of pay-to-play here or there. And the mere mention of it on the HAMB should not be misconstrued. That's it. That's all.

Besides none of the options being explored were going to interfere with the real attraction - which is the message board.

I for one don't give a good crap about the classifies here, there or anywhere...


If I really needed to get rid of something there are a thousand ways to do it. Sure I'd like to give a fellow HAMB or RRT member a better shot at the deal - but if I really need the money, I'll sell it one way or another - message board or not.....


GPster

Sounds to me like you want a Tech section....I can see that being a big plus.

I'll second that.

[CalifCarl]

I'm not going to get into a * match here.

And I'm not yelling at you either (it's very hard to read the intended tones over a message board) and I am certainly not trying to single you out.

I just wanted the point to be made that there has not been any kind of pay-to-play here or there. And the mere mention of it on the HAMB should not be misconstrued. That's it. That's all.

Besides none of the options being explored were going to interfere with the real attraction - which is the message board.

Broman I'm not wanting a * match either, but you can't bury your head into the sand and say it hasn't been mentioned or implied at either site.  Go to the donation page here  and tell me it doesn't say that the days are coming that more paid member options or benifits maybe coming.

The thread at the Hamb is even more obvious.  And to think your broke a... is included.   Not trying to be disrespectful, I can't justify an Aliance Membership either.  But I won't follow sheep just to follow.

[jaybee]

"I'm not an IFS/SBC/over-the-counter type of guy, and that's the bread and butter crowd here."

That's very interesting Broman, because I never saw it that way.  Certainly the doors are wide open here beyond the "traditional", but I've always thought of RRT as being more open to home built solutions than a lot of other boards.  At some sites posters will come right out and say "why would you build that when 1-800-hot-rods has a perfect solution?"  When I think I'm getting an attitude like that this is where I normally go for a reality check.  You're probably right that most of the cars here are set up with IFS & SBC, maybe that's because they're good solutions, affordable, and within the skill set of a typical garage builder.  If people are negative toward other solutions that would be wrong, but it also would surprise me.

[Broman]

"I'm not an IFS/SBC/over-the-counter type of guy, and that's the bread and butter crowd here."

That's very interesting Broman, because I never saw it that way.  Certainly the doors are wide open here beyond the "traditional", but I've always thought of RRT as being more open to home built solutions than a lot of other boards.  At some sites posters will come right out and say "why would you build that when 1-800-hot-rods has a perfect solution?"  When I think I'm getting an attitude like that this is where I normally go for a reality check.  You're probably right that most of the cars here are set up with IFS & SBC, maybe that's because they're good solutions, affordable, and within the skill set of a typical garage builder.  If people are negative toward other solutions that would be wrong, but it also would surprise me.

I hate to use you own words against you - but yea, the SBC/IFS stuff really bugs the crap outta me. IFS on a rod looks as bad (to me) as putting a big wing on a Honda and calling it cool. And fiberglass bodies - not even concidered. Not to bring up a hot button word - because I would use it if I had access to it (and it fit in style wise) - but billet aluminum is even further off of my taste pallet. That puts me in a huge minority here. There are a bunch of guys who are just a-Okay with all of these things. And that's fine, I'm cool with the live and let live mindset. I'm not calling anyone a goldchainer or anything - I am simply saying that the end results of the projects being built here, no matter what budget, don't do it for me like a rod that is steeped in traditional style.

I do however have a great respect for the craftsmanship and the knowledge base here - that's why I'm here. I always listen when someone wise speaks up. Conversely I can't shut up when someone makes blanket statements and generalizations.

And don't go thinking that the HAMB is infallible. There are lot of guys (kids too) building rods that I think are way too over the top. I have been to shows that other HAMBers just loved the crap out of - and I left those shows disappointed at the overuse of decals and the way-too-low or over chopped cars. I also see a lot of shotty craftsmenship and rough-on-purpose stuff that eats at me....I used to call them out at the drop of a hat - but if I kept doing that, I'd be all day at it - so I've curbed that urge.

So basically - I like the trad stuff and I like that I can have any - and I mean ANY - question answered in a half day.

That's where the value is for me - not the classifieds and not the membership plaques and clubs and blah blah blah...

Fer cryin' out loud a guy made his own nailhead valvecovers just the other week. And that's just one of the great posts I've seen in the last few weeks. You're not going to see a guy do that with a SBC. Anyone who does that for a SBC is wasting their *' time and money. But I am getting off track. (I feel like I am being forced to defend my preferences in stead of tackling the issues).

You want to help this site? I think I will put my two votes in for the following

-> a stylistic makeover  - I'm starting to get lippy now, but the feel of this forum/website is (no way to put it nicely), a little flat. It could have some "wow" or other appeal.

I think if it were my place - I'd poke around the internet and find some good looking sites and take notes...


-> a Tech section. Address the common issues - ask for specific tech weekly/monthly or whatever. Lay it all out until you have all of the components laid ou tin articles....It's something to drive towards and it will hopefully spur member participation.

Knowing that all builders are at different stages in their respective builds - you could have a "Just Starting" post and a "Finishing Touches" post side by side....there's a ton of good reasons to go with this kind of thing.

When you get this thing fired up and there is a whole section dedicated to this stuff - people who are "googling" IFS tech will see this stuff pop up. Then when they google SBC on duece rails - will see it pop up again...after awhile the searches get filled with RRt tech artys. Traffic!

man I got me some lungs, don't I?

[GPster]

GPster Sounds to me like you want a Tech section....I can see that being a big plus.I'll second that

This is a reason that I read the old posts on a subject from start to finish. I have trouble being understood (sometimes I don't understand myself). What I'm trying to say is there's a hell of a lot of tech already here that is repeated because there doesn't appear to be anyway to find it. I'm just wondering if there couldn't be something between "I'll just ask. I know it's been mentioned before but why bother looking for it" and "I've answered that question so many times before. I'm not even going to try this time. Doesn't anyone pay attention?" There are people here that are experts but their knowlege on a partcular subject doesnt always all  come out on one question at one answer. There is also a lot of "This didn't work" information that is valuable that doesn't appear as answers to a question. My statement was not for wanting something but for wanting to help. GPster

[Leon]

I think the biggest change I'd like to see is how it handles new posts.  When I come to the site I click on where it says "There are: 8 new messages"  and that takes me to new posts since my last visit, but the problem is when I click on the topic that has the new post, like this thread, it takes me to page one of five where I have to then go to the last page, then scroll to any posts that look new, then catch up on what's happening.  Many sites automatically take you to the last read post, or first unread post, so you can read it then respond or move on.  Maybe a minor point, but it saves a lot of time.

[purplepickup]

I think the biggest change I'd like to see is how it handles new posts.  

Leon, instead of clicking on the topic try clicking directly on the page number.  That should take you right to the page you picked.

Edit*  I didn't read your post that well earlier.  I see that you're talking about unread posts not just the threads that have unread post in them.

[jaybee]

Broman, you have provided a great deal to think about...as has everyone else.  Certainly I don't perceive that you're calling me out on anything and I sure don't plan on calling you out either.  Traditional is awesome, is very hot right now, and will always have a place in rodding.  I have something a little different in mind, however, something that makes it hard to find a place to fit in.  Not traditional, so the project as a whole will not fit the HAMB.  More Pro-Touring, but that segment is oriented toward pony cars and muscle cars rather than 50s cars.  Chevy Talk is great, but the Tri5 Modified board has an almost restorer mentality except for bolt ons unless you're capable of magazine-quality fabrication.  I'm leaning toward a GM Gen4 V8 which suggests LS1tech.com, but without a late Camaro/Firebird and a desire to put 500hp on the ground I can't spend all my internet time there.  So, where does it all come together?  Rodders Round Table!

[GPster]

Broman, you have provided a great deal to think about...as has everyone else.  Certainly I don't perceive that you're calling me out on anything and I sure don't plan on calling you out either.  Traditional is awesome, is very hot right now, and will always have a place in rodding.  I have something a little different in mind, however, something that makes it hard to find a place to fit in.  Not traditional, so the project as a whole will not fit the HAMB.  More Pro-Touring, but that segment is oriented toward pony cars and muscle cars rather than 50s cars.  Chevy Talk is great, but the Tri5 Modified board has an almost restorer mentality except for bolt ons unless you're capable of magazine-quality fabrication.  I'm leaning toward a GM Gen4 V8 which suggests LS1tech.com, but without a late Camaro/Firebird and a desire to put 500hp on the ground I can't spend all my internet time there.  So, where does it all come together?  Rodders Round Table!

We're not about trying to find a group for you to fit in. We're about a group that anybody can fit in *! I'm talking like I'm somebody). Please excuse. GPster

[enjenjo]

I guess it's time to explain some things, and give an idea of where we are headed. The software we are using is PHPBB. This is a shareware program, that is priced in a range that we can afford. There are some limitations with this program, that are difficuly to work around. That's why you are not taken directly to the last unread post among other things. As soon as it's released, we will be switching to a newer version of the software, but it hasn't happened yet.

As far as the theme of this site, we like Hot Rods. That can include traditional cars, street rods, boats, Lakes and Bonneville racing, oval track, Pro Touring, drag racing, off road, or any other type of modified car you can come up with. Powered by gas, diesel, propane, olive oil, alcohol, or any other fuel you can come up with. The only rule, there are no rules. Our cut off date is 1850, any thing before that is off limits.

Now lets touch on billet. By the dictionary definition, a billet is a block of most ant material used to make something. It can be wood, metal of any type, stone, rubber, or many other materials. According to some traditionalists, real hot rods don't have billet. The fact is, the originators of this stuff used billet. They cut filed and shaped a block of aluminum into a fuel block. Later they decided they could make it faster and cheaper by casting it, so they could be sold to those who couldn't do it themselves at a reasonable price. Now I understand that "billet" in the context used was meant to mean CNC machined. But if you look close, a lot of the "billet" is die cast, just like they did it back in the day. I don't feel if I spent a day carving parts out of aluminum with a saw and a file, that I am using billet parts.

Now, lets take on the SBC. Revisionist history would make you think that  they weren't around until the late 60's. I'm here to tell you that is wrong. One of the nicest traditional cars I know had a new 265 installed in it in the fall of 1955. Outside of wheels, the car is still the same. In 1958 a buddy built a 32 5 window with a fill house 53 Merc motor, and sold it in a couple months, because it wouldn't keep up with a new Ford or Chevy.

A lot of the problems with not finding things can be solved by making the index page the home page rather than the general forum. Some of the features you are asking for are already here, but they are not being used. We plan on doing some things that might make it easier to use them, but they are there already.

The calender page was mentioned, many, including me, have posted events on the general board. The calender page is actually the place for it. I'll try to direct things that way.

On Tech, I will start doing tech weeks again, but I need some participation. I'll try to come up with some worth while prizes. And none of my own tech stuff counts. When it is deemed worth it by the moderators, it will be posted in the tech section. Hopefully we can group similar tech threads, so you can find it all in one place.

We need someone willing to step up, and take care of the events page, or a couple somebodys. Neither fatcat or I have been able to find the time. Some help here would be appreciated. Now if anyone has picture posted on the net they would like to share, continue to post the address to the forums, but if you need a place to post them, WE HAVE ONE.

On the chat, there are quite a few people that use it, I would like to see more. we can have more than one chat a week if that is what you want. I remember Bombcan coming in a few weeks ago, I wondered why he didn't stick around. All I can say, is jump in, at first a chat like ours can be confusing, but it gets better with practice. There may be several conversations going on a the same time, sometimes with funny results, but don't be afraid to add another. Another thing, if you don't post to the chat at least once every 5 minutes, it will throw you out, so keep posting.

Down in the lower left corner of each post is a block that says XML RSS2. If you download the free software, you will be notified any time a subject your are watching is updated.If you are running Firefox, or IE7 they already support it. Otherwise you will have to download a RSS reader.

More later.