| [ Total Views: 3844 | Total Replies: 82 | Thread Id: 62996 ] |
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 squizy
A.k.a.: Paul
Compulsive Aussie Vee Dubber
Thinking about another dub...maybe
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| posted on December 23rd, 2008 at 10:00 AM |
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Nice to see an old thread raising its head again.
I think the thing where AVD is suffering is that you can't guarantee that the technical information that you're getting is accurate. Too many times
I've seen non-mechanical tinkerers (myself included here) giving out technical knowledge that is just plain wrong. Non-painters, giving out paint
adhesion knowledge. I personally know who's word to trust because I've been on here for so long, but newbies wouldn't know who is who.
So what I'd like to suggest is that we have a few dedicated technical experts, paint experts, engine experts, suspension experts, who can be the
"official" reference points and respondees to threads if they are under their subject. These are the people who do this work for their daily
business. Also we have some historical experts too, who could perhaps start to create some accurate historical threads. The list could go on, but
until we get structure around who does and knows what, we will continue to have misinformation going around. I don't have a problem with having
multiple people working these lists, so long as we have some core individuals so that opinions are challenging, varied, but accurate.
Further to this....the reason why smaller forums are developing is because AVD is too big to be just one club. The reason for the success of DSK and
Melbburgluft is that they are smaller, specialised, and cater to a particular interest bracket. Also, there is a real feeling of being part of an
actual club, which AVD cannot cover due to its size.
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StenGuns
Veteran Volks Folk
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| posted on December 23rd, 2008 at 01:29 PM |
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True Squiz.. But if the brains are walking???
| Quote: | Originally
posted by squizy
Nice to see an old thread raising its head again.
I think the thing where AVD is suffering is that you can't guarantee that the technical information that you're getting is accurate. Too many times
I've seen non-mechanical tinkerers (myself included here) giving out technical knowledge that is just plain wrong. Non-painters, giving out paint
adhesion knowledge. I personally know who's word to trust because I've been on here for so long, but newbies wouldn't know who is who.
So what I'd like to suggest is that we have a few dedicated technical experts, paint experts, engine experts, suspension experts, who can be the
"official" reference points and respondees to threads if they are under their subject. These are the people who do this work for their daily
business. Also we have some historical experts too, who could perhaps start to create some accurate historical threads. The list could go on, but
until we get structure around who does and knows what, we will continue to have misinformation going around. I don't have a problem with having
multiple people working these lists, so long as we have some core individuals so that opinions are challenging, varied, but accurate.
Further to this....the reason why smaller forums are developing is because AVD is too big to be just one club. The reason for the success of DSK and
Melbburgluft is that they are smaller, specialised, and cater to a particular interest bracket. Also, there is a real feeling of being part of an
actual club, which AVD cannot cover due to its size.
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StenGuns
Veteran Volks Folk
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| posted on December 23rd, 2008 at 03:14 PM |
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And whats with advertising singles (overseas) dating sites now?.. Is the "core" revenues not enough to cover overheads?
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Boozo
Officially Full-On Dubber
Back in the bug
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| posted on December 26th, 2008 at 01:54 PM |
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I dont know if anyone else mentioned it, but the ability to add higher Res Pic's for everything would be nice 
[size=4] '59 or Kombi?....feeling confused [/size]
'59 bug
'68 bug
'82 import T3 BUS. aircooled
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Matt Ryan
A.k.a.: Matt Ryan
Fahrvergnugen
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| posted on December 27th, 2008 at 07:30 AM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by Boozo
I dont know if anyone else mentioned it, but the ability to add higher Res Pic's for everything would be nice
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The ability to embed video would be good too.
Regards,
Matt.
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modulus
A.k.a.: Peter Hill
Veteran Volks Folk
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| posted on December 27th, 2008 at 08:08 AM |
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Two minor points, but...
1. Where a member has multiple posts in a thread, their signature should only show in the most recent post in that thread, not repeatedly in all
posts. This would reduce bandwidth demand and increase the content/crapola ratio.
2. Spell-check-before-submit option.
hth
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old bugger
Slammed & Awesome Dubber
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| posted on December 27th, 2008 at 11:33 AM |
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hey squizy, on the point of your "expert panel plan" great idea but, i have been here 5 mins but watched for a long time. only joining up after
buying a car. i was a spraypainter for a few years in the 70's and 80's eventually working at a shop that specialised in ground up restoes of merc,
porsche, bmws and rollers. with guys like dave hart(well known hot rodder) and blokes who worked for boyd coddington. i see info given out by guys
here who seem to know what they are doing, that i don't agree with, but their work still comes out ok. there are many ways to skin a cat, to stop
some people's opinion but allow others on the strength of what? someone else's opinion? despite whatever advice, people should still take sole
responsibility for their ride, their life and their decisions. sorry for the rant, pete
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bond
Veteran Volks Folk
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| posted on December 27th, 2008 at 05:57 PM |
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"Too bad, because the people in positions of power are into those things "
- "positions of power". what absolute crap.
nick
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amazeer
A.k.a.: Surly Duff
Bishop of Volkswagenism
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| posted on December 27th, 2008 at 09:50 PM |
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There is a spellcheck option. Its called Firefox. Dont know if the latest IE has it as well. It may do. Dont know about Mac users, they're all crazy
non-conformist people anyway. They probably want spelling mistakes.
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 barls
A.k.a.: Mr indestructible
Super Administrator
Causer of Chaos and Mayhem
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| posted on December 28th, 2008 at 06:59 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by bond
"Too bad, because the people in positions of power are into those things "
- "positions of power". what absolute crap.
nick
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i really dont care if you dont like the water scene but there is a lot of people on here that do. so pull your head in and move on. nobody is forcing
you to read the posts in that section.
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modulus
A.k.a.: Peter Hill
Veteran Volks Folk
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Location: Melbourne
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| posted on December 28th, 2008 at 07:04 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by amazeer
There is a spellcheck option. Its called Firefox.
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That works well - I didn't know FF had it; Internet Explorer will doubtless play catchup in its next version.
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bond
Veteran Volks Folk
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| posted on December 28th, 2008 at 07:46 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by barls
| Quote: | Originally
posted by bond
"Too bad, because the people in positions of power are into those things "
- "positions of power". what absolute crap.
nick
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i really dont care if you dont like the water scene but there is a lot of people on here that do. so pull your head in and move on. nobody is forcing
you to read the posts in that section.
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lol. i'll just assume you've quoted me by accident and you're not as retarded as you sound.
nick
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Phil74Camper
Son of Jim - Creator of Good
Head in the Clouds
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| posted on December 29th, 2008 at 07:09 AM |
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We all love air-cooled Volkswagens.
But let's not go down the 'I hate watercooled VWs' path. What's wrong with loving BOTH? If it has a VW badge on it, it's cool.
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barls
A.k.a.: Mr indestructible
Super Administrator
Causer of Chaos and Mayhem
Posts: 9469
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| posted on December 29th, 2008 at 10:38 AM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by bond
| Quote: | Originally
posted by barls
| Quote: | Originally
posted by bond
"Too bad, because the people in positions of power are into those things "
- "positions of power". what absolute crap.
nick
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i really dont care if you dont like the water scene but there is a lot of people on here that do. so pull your head in and move on. nobody is forcing
you to read the posts in that section.
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lol. i'll just assume you've quoted me by accident and you're not as retarded as you sound.
nick
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your right mate i really should stop drinking and posting!!!!
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kyznet
Commited Dubber
Posts: 55
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| posted on December 29th, 2008 at 09:53 PM |
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What about adding the option that if you hold your mouse over the thread Title, that it comes up with the first few sentences of what the thread is
actually about?
As a newbie on here, I find/found that I have to look through every thread, and sometimes they are not really relevant to me. Sometimes the title of
the thread is a bit ambiguous, which could confuse things. It would just make it quicker for people with not a load of time on their hands to scan
through the threads without having to read each one.
Hope that makes sense?
"Don't be a horserace. Be a marathon." - Michael Franti
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Brad
Wolfsburg Elder
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| posted on December 29th, 2008 at 11:59 PM |
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Interesting read.
There are so many things to consider with forums and so little time to do it when everyone works for free.
AVD has become the place it is because of the people who post here, love them or hate them they are still part of the environment.
I am looking at a few of the tech requests and will discuss them with Andrew.
In relation to people coming and going that is just a fact of life. People change, move on and drift from the AVD community. AVD has given life to a
lot of more specialised forums and yes many were started by AVD members as they had other ideas and opinions. I do not think this is a bad thing and
different forums attract different sorts of people, all about being individual.
AVD would still have to be the largest VW forum in Australia and from what I have seen one of the most active VW forums around.
I agree that on occasion there is a little to much negativity from some people and many of us, myself includes often post on the wrong side of bed and
put someone offside. Such is life and tone is a very hard thing to convey in a post, even with smiles.
At the computer generation, grow up, get VW and migrate onto forums the nature of these online communities is going to continue to change and for
every negative there is always several positives.
Not only is AVD a hugs positive in my book it will go down in history for being the provider of a great deal of information, technical resources and
leg ups to a lot of VW Businesses.
So what do we need to keep AVD going strong and constantly improving.. well that is a question that only the members can answer.
So with that in mind who has some other suggestions for change and improvement ?
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ang3lsholocaust
Custom Title Time!
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| posted on December 30th, 2008 at 12:54 AM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by modulus
| Quote: | Originally
posted by amazeer
There is a spellcheck option. Its called FireFox.
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That works well - I didn't know FF had it; Internet Explorer will doubtless play catchup in its next version.
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I don't know what the go is with our Windows XP.
It has a ABC check box at the top of the page to spell check everything.
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StenGuns
Veteran Volks Folk
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| posted on December 30th, 2008 at 08:49 AM |
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Brad/Andrew and Others
A bit of digging on the member list shows that this site has a strong, active following.. 4885 registered members of which 1681 (34%) were active in
the last 3 months.. I am no forum analyst but, to me, that seems an awesome amount of goodwill/following.. call it what you like.. I have some
experience in operating club memberships ( a premier sporting club with paid subscriptions) and I know how hard it is to recruit and retain members..
In my opinion, a healthy organisation with appropriate governance and structure (one that the members and especially the founders/patrons are
committed to the longevity, stability and progress) will have the following inherent traits..
A winning attitude
Strict Rules and Governance
Quality content and brand
Good Accessibility
Transparency in Decision making
Financial Security
A progressive stance in planning
An appropriately qualified executive (management) team
The separation of VW enthusiasts into alternate forums is a good and a bad thing.. i guess it is all in the intention of why those competing (thats
what they are) forums started in the 1st place..
If it was to develop a niche that was not catered for, then AVD has lost quality/content..
If it was to establish more of a "club" feel for a band of like minded enthusiasts, then AVD has not necessarily lost out as long as there is a
level of amiability between the two entities
If it was because people(s) were alienated/wronged/pissed off/banned or just got plain sick of the site.. Then AVD has lost membership/content (but
not necessarily quality)..
I believe the 1st item should be to review AVD from the bottom up.. This includes;
reviewing it's structure (including financial model)
surveying current members regarding their interests, intents, likes and dislikes, expectations and wishes
surveying non-current members with the above but also why they do not support AVD anymore
analyse the software deployed, review enhancements, consider competing (successful) models
Hopefully answers will be formed from the above.. Then, returning to the traits of a successful club (noted above) develop these answers
A winning attitude
> AVD is the pre-eminant VW forum with the most active. contented membership
Strict Rules and Governance
> AVD is governed by a set of policy's that enshrine its "raison d'etre"
Quality content and brand
> AVD has the best, most informed and most entertaining content. members are proud and and willing to support AVD
Good Accessibility
> AVD is easy to use. Content is well structured. Information is readily available. Support and advice is valuable
Transparency in Decision making
> AVD is well managed with measures in place to resolve potential disputations. Those charged with forming policy, report and are accountable to
the members
Financial Security
> AVD has clearly defined income streams and expenditure
A progressive stance in planning
> AVD constantly stays ahead of the pack with innovative and meaningful offerings to new and existing members.
An appropriately qualified executive (management) team
> AVD is run by a qualified team of people that are charged to uphold the values of the organisation and to carry on its business according to the
principles set in place.
This is all a bit of a ramble and I haven't got time at the moment to clean it up (off to work).. However, I hope that all members that are
interested and have followed the scene for a while, realise that we are at a bit of a watershed in this forum.. The loss of a founding administrator
(Jim Gow) in such a bitter and acrimonious way, really has highlighted the weakness in the AVD model and shows up some of the serious pitfalls ahead
if we continue to allow marginalisation, and parochial attitudes to govern the way we see ourselves (and others see us).
New forums, websites, competition is great as long as your organisation faces up to them and has a competing strategy to go forward with.. Do we?
Rob
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StenGuns
Veteran Volks Folk
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| posted on December 30th, 2008 at 08:50 AM |
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Sorry and why is this all so important...?
Because 4885 members say it is..
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donn
Wolfsburg Elder
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| posted on December 31st, 2008 at 05:58 AM |
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I would like to see the location of any posters made mandatory, dosn't need to be their street address but their city would make it much easier to
give some accurate advise such as where to go to purchase a given item, for instance,"in the shed" dosn't realy help.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
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VWCOOL
23 Windows of Awesome
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| posted on December 31st, 2008 at 07:50 AM |
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... but I am 'in the shed'! 
Not sure what words web browsers search for but 'old and new school needs' is something you look for, for a 5-year-old kid, not a VW freak? Just
athought but maybe a few subtle changes to wording on the site would allow AVD to be found more easily?
Pay your debts, CxxT
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andrewmurphy
Officially Full-On Dubber
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| posted on December 31st, 2008 at 08:49 AM |
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not sure if someone has mentioned this, it is only minor, but in the subject column, when there is multiple pages it only lists the first couple of
pages and the last page for instance
Subject: What can we do to make Aussieveedubbers better? (1 2 .. 5)
it is a pain when you know the last time you looked at the page you were on page 4. you have to go to page 5 then go back a page. why not make it like
the following
Subject: What can we do to make Aussieveedubbers better? (1 2 .. 4 5)
as i said only, only minor but would make reading larger topics easier to read.
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Camo
A.k.a.: Kev
Custom Title Time!
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| posted on January 4th, 2009 at 08:52 AM |
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Dont know if its been mentioned, but I have been on other sites where you can upload photo directly from your computer and dont require a host. If I
host a photo on photobucket and later remove it, it also then disappears from the thread I added it to. Very annoying when you go to look at someones
photos and they aren't there anymore.
Just my thoughts, thanks.
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