HAMB Improvements... I NEED HELP!

[Ryan]

Hey fellas, apparently I've been slacking at my job. One of my favorite members has jet and it is pretty much due to the shitty job I've done around here lately. I'm not the kind of guy to look back (how ironic is that) all the time, so I'm looking forward. How can I do better and how can I make this place better?

A few things that I am working on is the upgrade to UBB 6.5 with my hacks. In english this means that we will get easier photo uploads, a user controlled calendar, and a few other neat little functions. I've also been thinking about adding a photo album - kind of the HAMB's version of Star Photo. A new look and feel is on the way as well... It's gonna be rad lookin... Maybe I should finally break down and add more boards? A seperate forum for hot rods, kustoms, art, and off topic posts? You guys tell me.

And I apologize to you guys that feel like I haven't kept my end of the bargain. This place is huge man and takes a lot of work. I've got a real job and have been doing a shitload of extracurricular stuff this summer - moving, new job, etc... No excuse. I just want this place to be fun for all of us and it hasn't been for me and a lot of other folks apparently as of late. My fault.

We will most likely make changes that some of you don't like initially. Please understand that we can't make everyone completely happy all the time. We are going to try to make changes that make the HAMB a better place in general and when I say 'we', I mean all of us - not just Kevin and I.

So, here's your chance. Lay into me. Tell me what I am doing wrong and need to do better with. Please don't hold back any punches either - this is all constructive crit and needs to be done. I'm all ears and my feelings are bullet proof.

[unclescooby]

Man, this is a huge task and I'm amazed you do the job that you do on it already. The photo album sounds like a great idea. The only board seperation most guys want to see I bet is the seperation between information and opinions. Commentary is part of it though. I like the way everything works right now personally...the tech section, the services offered, the classifieds, and the message board. I do think maybe the off topic and art forums would be cool though. Just my opinion and if I even called it two cents worth, I'd owe you some change...about a dollar.

[AnimalAin]

No complaints here. Let us know if you need some green fun tickets as part of the upgrade process.

Your stewardship and leadership is excellent; unfortunate interactions that result in a decision to go happen in the real world, too. When you figure out how to make that process stop, let me know. We could be famous.....

[McGrath]

I think they are all good ideas, but it all comes down to what you want to do. You are the one that has to keep all that stuff up and running. The Photo Album would be a cool addition.

I have had no problems with the way the HAMB functions, other than it is slow every once in a while. I have DSL though, so it may be really slow at times for the folks on dial-up.

[buzzard]

Dork. This place rocks.

You're not going to eliminate some of the jerky things some people say, or some people getting their feelings hurt.

I hope you DON'T set up seperate boards. The cross posting is part of what makes the HAMB what it is.

[Upchuck]

I got no hamb whiskers to be making any real suggestions but,
I like the idea of an OT thing for the types of OT threads that get started, like for art shows personal threads, things like that

if you get a photo album will that affect the bandwidth useage and incur an additional cost to yourself?

for the love of God put up a paypal button to accept donations to help offset the personal cost of running this operation!!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Levis Classic]

I like the idea of an Off Topic or Drama forum for all that shit. Lets keep the drama over there and the rod and custom stuff right here where it belongs.

[JamesG]

We need a free porn area....... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

[choprods]

I agre with Buzzard- its darned near perfect as its running.Now if you would just boot me off here it would be a better place!
I commend you my FRIEND for the unknown sacrifices you've already made for this venue. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I don't think you need to do better...WE need to do better!
A photo album would be nice but seperating the Forum would not help. Make an off topic forum and people would still use the main forum cause only a few would read the off topic section.
Clark

[FORDY 6]

Automotive related posts only on the HAMB...OFF TOPIC rants belong in their own corner.

[Fat Hack]

I think you've done pretty damn good, considering the way that this place has grown in just the past few years! With thousands of registered members out there comming from all kinds of different geographic, automotive and social backgrounds, there's BOUND to be some chaos in the ranks from time to time!

Having extra moderators poised to deal with obvious flakes in a timely fashion was a good idea, and seems to have curbed some of the freak posts that often plauge other, less tightly moderated boards. Kudos to ya for that move!

As far as recommended improvements, my only critique is that sometimes at peak hours, this site loads up a little on the slow side, but it's not that bad...I could easily live with it for as often as I have time to drop in here lately!

On the subject of an "off-topic forum", I know you're not real keen on it...but with so many users being friends with each other and wanting to share non-automotive news, gossip, laughs and stuff with their HAMB buds, it may be a good idea. It would keep the main board more focused on the primary topic...traditional rods and kustoms, and would allow users to post their personal news, birthday wishes, pet stories, etc elsewhere. That way, people who WANT to read that stuff can find it there...and others can enjoy the car stuff without sifting through the OT posts.

I also think that uploading pics is pretty easy and straightforward now, but if you can improve it...more power to ya! It may help others less technically minded to share pics of their cars and projects.

I dig the HAMB as it is...but you always seem to make it BETTER with every change, so I'm confident that you'll continue in that fashion!

Carry on, Boss...we'll be here with ya! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[McGrath]

[ QUOTE ]

for the love of God put up a paypal button to accept donations to help offset the personal cost of running this operation!!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

That is one of the better ideas I have heard lately. I am on the HAMB everyday, sometimes several times a day, and would be glad to have a direct way to donate money for the running of the Forum.

I used to buy Magazines all the time, now I don't buy any. Any information I want can be gotten from the HAMB without having to look at 50 pages of advertisements, so the money I used to spend on magazines could very well be going to help keep this place up and running.

[Brad54]

I'm not one of the "old gaurd" here, but I really like the way it is now.
I thought a little less pissing on new people from old guys, but you took care of that.
I also agreed completely with your changes to the classified section.
Different sections? Maybe one for bikes, if you really feel the need, but I think customs, '60s, early, gasser blah blah blah should all still be under one roof--if it's on four wheels, I usually dig it. And where would a guy write/find info on a 401 Nailhead, since those are late '50s/early '60s engines--not early trad engines. Would a question about those engines go in the trad section, or '60s section?
But really, I think all the topics under "general discussion" is fine--nobody puts a gun to our heads to make us open a topic, regardless of whether it's trad rods, customs, bikes, art, O/T, rants or all the rest. This way, if we're not thinking "Nailhead," we still will see a post about it and open it up.
A photo gallery would be really cool, though--that you could make into segments: gasser, trad, custom, etc. But keep them as broad as possible, so there are only three or four sections--it'd be easier for us to look through them than if we had to go to 13 different album categories. I like metalshapers.org, but they have far too many different little sections and sub-categories, and before long you don't know what you've looked in and what you haven't.
-Brad
(The thoughts and opinions expressed in this reply are worth pocket lint)

[Slag Kustom]

seems great the way it is. i think it would be cool if there was a way to have photos on the members profile . You are doing a great job

Thanks Slag

[NoSurf]

Every time before the board went through an upgrade I thought "how can this place get any better?" And everytime it does.

I mean we got pages of pics from shows from THIS WEEKEND!!! We are having instant updates from Egorama. Sure we have drama and some other BS, but what garage hangout wouldn't?

I guess that's what makes this place the cutting edge; It is the best car board out there now, and you will find a way to make it better.

[tommy]

[ QUOTE ]
Dork. This place rocks.

You're not going to eliminate some of the jerky things some people say, or some people getting their feelings hurt.

I hope you DON'T set up seperate boards. The cross posting is part of what makes the HAMB what it is.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. I prefer to do my own sorting. The divesity makes this place interesting. It's not hard for me to figure out what posts interest me and which ones to avoid. Sometimes I stumble into interesting info I might miss if it was segregated into another forum.

A calender with the schedule of events through out the country would be cool. I always hear about an interesting event 2 weeks before it happens.

[CrazyDaddy]

The problem I see with an OT forum is that it will be used, thus taking up even more of your server space. Here's a couple of ideas, which will require code on your part. 1. before posts are entered, have a program scan the contents of the post. This may stop some of the 'flaming', however it may be too restrictive for some posters with legit posts. 2. Keeping EVERYTHING on the same database will continue to slow down the HAMB, regardless of technology. Stuff older than 6 months, say, goes into a separate database. Create a forum for older posts as the link. 3. restrict searches to the topic & author only, not the contents. This has 2 benefits: if the initial poster has a topic that they feel is important (i.e., tech), then the topic will have relevance. (Not something like 'Have you seen this'). It also will speed up searches. Regardless, you do a great job with the HAMB, Ryan. I'm ok with it as is.

[Action Girl]

I think things are great here and I'm happy to have access to such a swell place.

I'll throw my vote in for an off-topic board also... When you have a community that's as tight knit as this one, sometimes people wanna pop on and share personal stuff with their pals without getting a bunch of crap for it- things like new jobs, new babies, etc.

I think in any other real social community this would be totally normal, but I've seen people get their panties in a bunch because someone had exciting off topic news they wanted to share.

Photo hosting sounds cool too... I have my own server space for my photos, but I think the process of photo posting is totally elusive to some people, so maybe with a easy place to do it, we'd get to see more awesome pics!

The calendar is also a great idea.

I love HAMB.

Stacey

[unclescooby]

The paypal button is a must. It's nice that you don't charge for this and most guys are broke half the time, but when we aren't, we'd like to help.

[CrazyDaddy]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The Classifieds are much better since you added the rules post. How about a rules post for the HAMB ?

[J Man]

I would like to see a section whee we can post details on shows. That way when someone finds out about one they can share it with the rest of us. Even if you have it to where it would consist of a single post giving the details on it and then delete it after it has taken place. That way it does not take up too much space.

Also the ability to add larger photos would be nice. If we could add pics of our own cars to our profile page that would be cool that we if we wanted to see what kind of a car someone has we just look them up.

Other than that, no complaints. The idea someone had about the Paypal link was a good one as well.

[Roothawg]

I am as guilty(if not more) as anyone else, but I think the O/T posts and the "hey look at this abortion on ebay stuff should be off limits. Nothing is ever said so people get the feel(including me) that it must be ok.

I will try my best to post only hotrod related stuff.

I think the HAMB should be by invitation only, recommended by a friend. It might slow down some of the growth. You should still be able to read all the posts but maybe not contribute unless referred by a Hamber. Of course, this might generate a buttload of work for you guys.

You guys are too lenient(SP?).Good leaders have to make decisions sometimes that people may not like. But, if it is for the better, sometimes you hafta drudge on. I have met both of you and you guys are laid back by nature and don't want to have to bust anyone's balls but you may have to if you want the guys to stick around. There is a lot of "The Scene" here lately........maybe someday it will die down. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I love the HAMB, I have been here for a long time and it is really the only reason I have internet access.FWIW.

[McGrath]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the process of photo posting is totally elusive to some people, so maybe with a easy place to do it, we'd get to see more awesome pics!


Stacey

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that is a good point too. I know a few older HAMB'ers that are able to post, but can't figure out how to add Pics to the Post (Old Dogs/New Tricks... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif)

[lilbill]

i'm still pretty much a new guy here but my ideas would be:

1) set up some seperate areas for different car styles. traditional, custom, truck, bike etc. with their own moderators (delagate or stagnate)

2) have a b.s. lounge for the ot stuff and rants.

3) have a paypal button

two other boards i hang out at are the samba (http://thesamba.com/vw/) and shoptalk forums (http://shoptalkforums.com/) . they're both vw specific but i really like the way they are laid out and run. but when i need an american iron fix i come here http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[FLAT-TOP BOB]

i think it's perfect now!

[30tudor]

Well hell, the sign says...traditional hot rods and kustoms... So what is it? Maybe it's an age thing but plymouth valiants, vw's and minibikes don't qualify. Besides my abone I have an MG, a BMW motorcycle and other interests but I come to the hamb for, dare I say it...'traditional hot rods and kustoms'. THAT's what made this site special and seperates it from other car sites. Don't loose what got you here.

[slammed]

REDEFINE the Rule's. Before a Newbie is allowed to Reg. They read: No VW's. That is a major 'flame bait', strolling in and saying 'VW this' and BAM! Ambush! Then the endlss debate of VW's suck/rule begin's. 2.Lose the sewer language that seem's to spew forth in a constant stream from some HAMBer's, end-less-ly. It take's real effort to type it. Coarse, graphic decription's of psyco-babble is of what use? The "Check-this-POS/goldchainer/way-too-high$ on EBAY!! Is a WASTE of space. Your posting bring's HAMBer's Right in Line. It carrie's far more weight than you may realize. See how they chime in when you say: "Stop this crap!" Response? 'sorry boss', your right Ryan' 'wont' happen again, sir'. And the list of thank-you's for putting a stop to it! Respect and Fear are the two thing's that keep people in line ANYWHERE. If a HAMB'r lack's both, who would want that person around here, let alone in real life, inda flesh? Oh, post a newbie O/T is forbidden during Tech week. P.S. Fella's, watch your back, you never know who the lurker's are.

[fab32]

I agree with SoWhat, no one would use the OFF TOPIC as they wouldn't go there and still use the main board. If people would just refrain from posting shit like 1load just did, what was the positive contribution with that post other than run up his post count? Did he think it was CUTE or MACHO. His signature (wtf......over) just about wraps up the relevent content of what he contributes. Before you get me wrong I'm not picking on him, he's too immature for that to have any effect.
To get back ON TOPIC I would leave it up to you to decide what needs upgrading, hasn't the place got to where it is with your guidance? And a good suggestion has already been made and that is I think you should either charge small fee or get a PayPal acount so we could help out with the expences. I know not everyone has a little extra cash but for those of us who do get a few loose bucks from time to time we could send them your way to help out with maintainence of this great place.
BTW, if my comment about 1Load get me banned so be it, the place might be better off with out me anyway, I'm way to opinionated to be mainstream. I could still lurk and reap the benefits of this great place without subjecting everyone to my narrow mindset.

Frank

[oldchevyseller]

i would go for a regional state by state registry, simple enough to add, kind of like a sign up sheet, each state is listed you scroll down and add your name to it, many people have said "wow you live 3 miles from me and i didnt know it", even though the profile says where they live , if you had a single section to see the hamb members, would be very helpful for the use of

[swazzie]

I agree with , a paypal button for donations as sometimes people may not have something they feel is worth auction to the fellas on this board but would still like to support OUR efforts / the off topic scene cannot realisticly be delt with other than to be more emphatic about the supply of bandwidth -waste of space . . blah blah blah . / maybe a program that will archive mpgs and jpgs for archive retrieval that some-one cannot post on . then we have apic and movie history of this place and perhaps you have to be a member of the board to access it.File them as downloads only , if it saves bandwidth , and how about drag and drop media. and a tech archive howto section , Also . ( yah, shit I talk alot ) ,maybe there is a way a person must fill out profile info in order to move to the next step of the process.To some it may seem trivial but I still see alot of people who are adimant about knowing something about the people they deal with. I don't think this is asking too much or maybe people just like to pic and choose their fights. anyhow , this is just what comes to mind .Perhaps a small fee for listing classified for newbies or those who haven,t been here long in order to weed out people that only join here to get paid ,( hey it's only an idea guys. Don't go gettin lug nuts in your vaginas ) Hope it helps Ryan , this place has netted me some incredible info as well as instructional tech and many thanx to all as I have benefitted from their knowledge.viva leHAMB . thanx and good luck. swaZZie

[chromedRAT]

i think seperation between facets of what we do might be very detrimental. kinda like dividing us and leaving us open to conquer. there's already a pretty good brotherhood here, it'd be a shame to see it split. i could see the quarantining leading to different factions that might either cause some to whither and die, or allow beefs to rise up betweent he two. as it is now, there's pissing and moaning and bitching going on sometimes, but it is sort of lost in the whole board so it has the air of being an isolated event and can kinda get lost in that. if it happened in a seperated forum, it might take the appearance of ganging up on someone, which might be bad overall. kind of an increase in the severity of bullshit even if frequency of it is reduced. all other ideas are pretty cool. an art gallery might be nice, and an art forum might be ok as well. probably still should be a friday art show on the main HAMB regardless to help keep it alive.

[Mojo]

my opinion is that it's pretty damned great as-is. Not a ball-kiss, just a fact.

The only improvements I can think of, would possibly be a seperate forum for art (so I can go back later and reference it instead of searching), and possibly an off topic forum. But, like said, that's part of what makes the hamb. I'm sure you'll come up with something good, I was damn impressed with this change over. And please, no regulations on language. I can respect other's desires to not read profanity, but on the other hand, that's how I speak in real life when i'm around friends, and I really don't want to have to watch my language here too like it was at work or around my mother..

[4t64rd]

Not that my opinion means anything, buy I don't think that having an Off topic forum would be such a good idea, at least if I was Ryan paying for space. Maybe if it didn't have picture posting, only links to pics.

What about a constant monthly Tech Week forum, Split up the classifieds into WTB and FS, cars and parts.

Of course, all parts for sale would have to be screened by me first... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif then I would pass on (what left) to the general HAMB population.

[Nick32vic]

I like the idea of having a place to post neat events and give details about it. Were always looking for new stuff to go to.

Nick

[KIRK!]

The only "problem" here is the members. I don't often see the OT things get out of hand, I see people being babies about ON TOPIC stuff. Crying about what is traditional. It's OPINION people. You are right and so is the other guy. Get over yourselves.

This place doesn't rock and it doesn't suck. It could easily suck but it doesn't. It's just a stupid geeky message board. GET OVER IT PEOPLE! What can you really expect from a message board. Tons of them are just complete shit. The HAMB is far from that.

More babysitting is NOT the answer. Unless you start to charge for the priviledge of being here you will have people who just don't give a shit. You get what you pay for and right now we are all getting a KILLER deal, whiners or no whiners.

In summary:

For FREE, this place is a sceamin' deal. So Ryan you need to stop sniveling and either enjoy it for what it is (just a message board) or charge for it so that you can spend the time to recreate the idea of what a message board is. I say you go for the first idea.

This is not intended to sound mean, just blunt. Thanks for what you do dude! I appreciate it.

[C9]

It's doing pretty good as is.
Only big improvement I'd like to see is being able to post multiple photos in one post.
That would make the tech articles a little easier to get down as one complete piece.

As far as dragging some of the better tech articles over to Tech O' Matic, wny not make it a point to only look at 5 star tech articles. That could save some time for you.
I don't think 5 star posts on other subjects would be too confusing or time wasting. Most times the subject tells you what it is.

We - the HAMB'rs - do need to be better about the titles we use. It's obvious that some are designed just to suck you in so we - not you - could be doing better there.
It doesn't take long to tell who does this as a regular thing. Do it enough times and not many will be checking your posts out.

I vote to keep it all one board. Like everybody else, there are posters that I always check in on.

I mean who could resist a post by Germ?

Like someone said a while back, it's not always about the cars. This place really is like kicking back in your garage, a few folks over - guys in my garage most times and if we get lucky, the girls join us sometimes - coffee pot on or fridge full of cooling libations and let the subjects fall where they may.

I do note that posts to a particular subject stay on-post pretty well and if they do wander a bit, the folks who are knowledgeable on that particular subject don't wander too far astray.

As far as the HAMB goes, let me say it like this . . . Mr. Ryan, you're doing a better job than you think you are.
Much appreciated.... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[InjectorTim]

I think your doing a great job, and the proposed improvements sound good, but I think that having separate hot rod and custom sections would lessen the feeling of comraderie amongst hambers.

[KIRK!]

P.S. A calendar of events would be an obvious good idea. If you go the money route and feel guilt for some dumb reason, think about being an SP. I bet alot of these guys would like to have coolguy@thehamb.com or ultragreaser@jalopyjournal.com or noimthemosttraditional@hamb.com

You get the idea.

[Flat Ernie]

FIRST - Nothing NEEDS to be changed, but since you asked...

I'm generally NOT in favor of separate forums for different types of cars/trucks/bikes/hot rods/customs/whatever. Don't do that. Also, don't have a separate forum for O/T posts - delete them as you & your fellow moderators see fit.

Having said that, however, I would like to see carefully tailored specialty forums like you've done with the HAMB-O-DEX & TECH-O-MATIC - very specific, very well employed, & very useful. I would like to second the motion that one of these be created for Shows/events/runs/etc. One stop shopping - I think it would be a good thing if these had some fields to fill out before they could be posted like location (city & state) and date to make searching easier. Maybe they could automaticaly update your HAMB calendar (or not).

Photo-hosting sounds like a lot of bandwidth to me. There are too many "free" photo hosting sites to bother diluting your/our valuable bandwidth.

Speaking of bandwidth, consider archiving older posts to speed up the main board somehow. I'm not web savvy, but there's got to be a way to save space, bandwidth, and time while not losing valuable info.

I think you may need to acknowledge the size of this thing & consider giving more control to moderators you trust. I'm thinking of your time, energy, & effort. I'm not saying you should just be the boss/manager & let your underlings do the work, but it is obviously a shitload of work. I know how much time I spend on here & I'm just a user. How you are able to effectively sort through all the posts I ignore, moderate, & perform the upkeep all while holding down a real job with a real family & your own projects is beyond me. Delegation is a form of leadership, not weakness.

Like it or not, I think you should have a merchandise section. This will require volunteers on our part. Perhaps another one of the specialty forums. Calendars, stickers, shirts, patches, whatever - one stop shopping if you will.

We need to educate newbies a bit rather than just chew them up (although that is fun! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) - I liked that film from that other board ( Posting & You (http://users.adelphia.net/~kamel/Posting.html) ) - something along those lines, mandatory viewing, etc. This may be a lost cause because you can't legislate common sense, but might be worth a try - although all in all, I think we're pretty good as self-regulating.

I'm sure I'll think of more - much of which is probably not technically feasible or realistic, but... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Most importantly - THANKS!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[NVRRDUNN]

a separate forum for bashers, and trash talkers is not needed...ya let in a bad seed and pretty soon all ya got is a field full o' weedz. Nah...bad idea. keep things car related instead of porn suggestions, etc. (wait...what am i saying!!!) When I first discovered this joint, I liked it cuz it was like walkin' into my buddy's garage, grabbin' a beer, and layin down on a creeper, slidin' under the car, twisting a wrench and gettin' dirt in my eye, and lovin'every minute of it. And with the present format (outside of the picture improvement idea)it still conjures up that feeling. It aint broke very much, so dont fix it very much, ok? Thats my story and ahm-a stickin' to it! Again, you're doing a Great job and many, many ku-do's to you and your helpers. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[stangzilla]

i can remeber a time when i would have to wait to look on the hamb until i got to my little brothers house.
it was like a mag id get on there and look at all the pics and try to plan out my projects.
the difference is that on here we can talk with one another.learn from our mistakes and try to save someone else from making the same ones.
as time went on i met and became friends with alot of hambers. i had no internet acsess so i would use my inlaws computer to sign on i spent more and more time on here while i was building my car sometimes id just take a break look on the hamb for some motivation then log off and go back to work.
it took about 8 months to get it on the road and without this place and alot of good friends it may have never happened. for that i have to say thank you ryan
i think that the board is fine it has been for a long time
its the people that need work
as soon as some thing is moving into the mainstream
it struggles to remain cool
any changes you make will improve the hamb im sure
but i wouldnt say that we need to chop it up
the idea of a separte fourm for a show calender and swapmeets sounds like a good idea
keep your head up your doing a fine job


kenny

[JimC]

For my part..
This place rocks.

You're not going to eliminate some of the jerky things some people say, or some people getting their feelings hurt.

I hope you DON'T set up seperate boards. The cross posting is part of what makes the HAMB what it is.

Jim
quoting Buzzard

[Roothawg]

I think the questions forum needs to go away. No one really uses it like they should..........it confuses the simple minded. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[ray]

you should just DO it and leave the whining from people that don't like what you did for later.

more forums would be good, so things like picture posts stay around longer, not so many "let's see your bellflower style rat rod" type posts from newbies.

as far as OT posts, have a lounge, entry is based upon the agreement to NOT PM you with complaints about what is contained in it. if you don't like the lounge, stay the fuck out.

[Samantha]

I would vote against a separate board for OT...I think it would get totally out of control. The people who don't "get" what the HAMB is about would just set up shop there & it would become a neverending discussion of vw's...the origins of the iron cross & the best pomade to use in your pomp. I like the way the HAMB is now...but maybe put a strict limit on how many times a week a new member could post? The paypal button idea is great.

[steevil]

Ryan, I am a newb here still and I think what you have created is great.

some suggestions;

1, A separate forum for newbie introductions

2, a FAQ covering as much of the repeat questions regarding defenitions (ex; what is a traditional rod, why the term "rat-rod" isn't edeared, etc...) it certainly should include the flick "Posting and you"

3, Maybe make the O/T forums only readable when you are logged on thus preventing spies or the great unwashed from seeing some of the more contriversial posts. Possibly make it an invitation only to view the O/T forum.

4,anybody that wants to sell something should donate via a paypal button.

regardless the HAMB is stil a great place.

[curbspeed]

Ryan, First off. Thank you for your awesome commitment. I will never fully understand why you would want to take on a task such as this thing. Be that as it may, I commend you. I have been looking at this thing for a number of years now and I must say I get a lot out of it. I don't like useless pyscho babble that means nothing to most and little to a few.(usally in caps with some dumb trademark symbol). That stuff doesn't belong here and I wish some here would not encourage it.I have a few people that I know that are lurkers that will not post and add their great wealth of knowledge because they think there is so much petty b.s. on here. Overall I can live with most of it. I would suggest(for my own self interest as an event promoter here in the northwest) that there be an event page with fields provided like suggested earlier. I like the suggestion for multiple attachments on a post so you could add pics. I would do some more tech stuff if it was easier. Thank you again and appreciate the chance to weigh in. Hope to meet you someday and shake your hand. Good job!

[296 V8]

The question I have about the photo album is, wouldn’t it effect photos in all the old posts. By that I mean, I have moved photos in my own personal albums and it makes them disappear from posts on here I have them in. Wouldn’t the photos in all the old posts be gone if people move there photos and closed there personnel albums?

On the OT thing its kinda like TV, don’t like? Don’t watch / read. That’s what I do anyway. The bad part is cool stuff gets pushed down real fast.
I think people are going to go OT wherever the most traffic if no mater what. My opinion is if you want to bs with your friends that’s what the PMs for. If your doing it out in the open you are just a show off and deserve to get your post deleted.

I could go for some fresh art work at the top of the page ( around the hamb logo ) every now and then.

[CruZer]

I gotta go with the majority,Ryan. This place is great just the way it is.I don't read every post,hell I don't look at most of them but I'm on here just about every day and I like the freedom to select what I look at on one board.

I think you need help from other computer geeks who can take some of the load off AND..... definitly,Paypal. I feel guilty all of the time that I don't $upport the HAMB better.

[slazzen]

Thanks Ryan I am very happy to see this post!! first off I think the B.S forum is a must. The intro police need to be abolished. A art forum and store is a must this is what sets the HAMB apart fom any other board. It has the best art around. a rule that any HAMB logo related items only have a 10% mark up to support the HAMB this makes it fair and afordable for all. Thanks for the opertunity for letting me be apart in improving the HAMB >>>John

[Ryan]

Couple of things. Thanks for all the nice comments. I appreciate them. Adn thanks for the suggestions - they are all going to be taken into consideration. We might even vote on a few.

Now, I know there are guys out there that have STRONGER opinions. I really appreciate KIRK! for being blunt and I would like to hear more of that. Don't be afraid to say how you really feel - this is all constructive and no one is going to take it the wrong way. Be fucking mean man. It's cool.

In my opinion, I stopped listening to the people that count (you guys) and let things get out of hand. We need to figure out together how to make this place continue to get better.

[Digger_Dave]

Ryan, take a BOW!

I have been around for a couple of years; and to be honest, I don't think the HAMB needs ANY improvements!

Thanks for making it possible! I have met new people, found needed parts and LEARNED a hell of a lot!

THANKS AGAIN!

[Artiki]

I must echo everybody that has mentioned a Paypal button. This would mean that it is easier for interntional users to contribute. If at any point you are uncomfortable with the amount of money that is coming in (ie. too much) it could always be disabled for a time.

I'd be wary of splitting the forum up too much. I also frequent a tiki-orientated message board http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/ that has been divided up into eight seperate forums. The beauty of a board such as the HAMB is that you can view the title to everybody's post at the same time and chose what you want to read, not have the decision taken away from you until you view a different area of the board. It becomes a drag.

You've created a monster here. You should be very proud.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

3 pages already.

ok, I'le bite.
1) if you dont own, have built, or are building a hotrod, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
2) if you dont own, have built, or are building a custom, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.

5,000 of the nearly 6,000 posters here need to be axed and return to lurker status. I'm glad you all like hotrods but go away.

take your bugs, falcons, brand X, and B list crap and blow them out of your ass. I work real hard all day and I dont want to read about broke teenagers re-inventing the definition of hotrods because they have no money. Tough shit, too bad, sorry you were born late but quit posting it here.

On topic posts replied to by people that have never built a hotrod is.... well, a bunch of people guessing at shit they heard about once.

This place is like the Great White concert right before it caught on fire.

This post will get quoted and re-quoted and torn apart..... so in advance, let me say fuck you too. that 6 page gang rape of JimA was all class. thumbs up, way to go!

[Phil1934]

Separate posting boards tend to get ignored. I know I don't check the classifieds 1/10 as much as I'd like. Maybe offer up a few pinstripes or photos for avatars so everyone will cease with the animated ones. I know speed is an issue for me with dial up. One thing I would like to see is a garage scene where one project would get its own subject line. Not a separate board, but maybe a sticky with ties to the subject so you could recall them without searching for a project when you've forgotten the builder. I know I would like to review Jeem's dream truck/sedan but couldn't find the post. These photos could also be saved a little loingeer this way? When someone wants photos of something, everyone posts and I ignore, again, too slow with dial up.

[SnoDawg]

First Ryan Thanks for this board I have been posting here for a short time. As far as suggestions goes I like it as it is as far as the multiple pictures in the posts keep in mind that some of us are still using dial up and that can make a string take a while to download for us. The paypal button idea is a good one..

[38pickup]

Ryan, these are just ideas, I feel that the HAMB is great just the way it is right now. I am just thankful that a place like the HAMB exists.

I think the papal button, is a great idea. I also feel a board upgrade might be a good thing. An O/T area could help separate the junk, but could suck a massive amount of bandwidth, so maybe have it moderated. I think a Tech area for Tech related posts, an Events area for car show, swap meets, etc would help. This goes with the Calendar. Maybe have an Introduction Area just for New members, to post introductions, and have a FAQ sticky post, a Rules sticky post, etc. Just some posts that give new members an idea of what expect. The Photo Area would be really cool, but could take huge bandwidth away from other areas of the site. Maybe have a limit on the amount each person can post to it. I also think maybe a "merchandise" forum would be good.

Tony

[himmelberg]

Like Clark and others I'd leave the format open. If someone abuses the O/T stuff you can deal with that person individually as in the past.

The calendar idea is good. So, too, is the photo album. Combining the two... as in maybe linking photos to what was listed on the calendar. Losing the question/suggestion forum is a good idea.

The rest seems to take care of itself, Ryan. There is much energy from the varied topics as long as the main focus is on what you prescribe. In other words, the art stuff works just as well the tech stuff does.

My old hot rod truck makes me feel somewhat free of some of the "rules" and conventions of the rest of the world at large. Breaking up topics, giving everyone a "slot" would probably suck the energy out of this place.

Thanks for asking. himmelberg

[Mr 42]

I dont like the split suggestion.
but i would like to have the possiblity to put a tag on my Message. I.e Tech, Kustom, Rods, etc.

Then it should be possible to search /select the tag i prefer.

For instance during tech week by the end of the week a lot of good tech stuff is lost on page seven or eight.

And i usually only go back three or four pages..

[CherryBlossom]

*For newbies, a list of questions/profile type crap that MUST be filled out before posting, so an intro isn't always "neccesary".

*No more crap about what 1lowd saw on ebay. Who cares. If we want to look on ebay, we will. We dont need him to "show us the way".

*As much as you guys WANT to look at whorish chicks perched on cars, most of the girls on this board DONT want to. We don't say anything, we just shut up and don't look. Maybe some of you should take that advice. Can you imagine if the girls on the board started posting pics of half naked men on anything car related...that would go over swell I'm sure.

*Can you make it so all pictures post the same size? For those of us with dialup, sometimes the art show pictures are big enough we have to scroll left to right to see the pics - those take forever to d/l. Enough to the point that some of us just don't even look anymore - even though its one of the best parts of the hamb. Dunno if there's anything you can do about that though......


*being able to search by state, for local hambers near you. :P

[Muttley]

Leave it the way it is, the only thing I like to change are my underwear and socks. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[DuckusCrapus]

Man....you aren't doing a thing wrong. You can't please everyone. Seems like you please a great majority though. There are so many car sites out there, but there is only one HAMB.

I would add something new and see how members like it. If you change a whole bunch at once, people go into shock. Most of us are fragile when it comes to change of something we are used to and comfortable with.

Keep up the great work!

[Flexicoker]

I think its all been said before, this place rocks just as it is. You do a fantastic job Ryan.

One thing I can think of that I haven't seen mentioned before is having something to automatically resize your photo when you post it. so anyone with a photo, no matter how large it is can post it and it will automatically be resized to save space and it will make it much easier on the less computer savvy folks to post pics.

Again, this place rocks, and you rock

[jay]

Hey Ryan I dont post alot on here..i spend alot of time on here but it seems kind of funny how most of the changes people want are from the guys that have a newer register date..where are all the old timers?? I still see a few post. C9, Roothawg, Killer once in awhile. Axle hasnt been heard from in i dont know how long. I keep in touch with Radshit..But i guess you guys can rip me a new one but when i came to the H.A.M.B. it felt more like a family a disfunctional family sometimes but everyone was pretty tight. Now this thing is going off in 20 different directions it has gone to be more user friendly it doesnt seem to me to have the raw edge it once had it used to be as dangerous as the cars we were working on and no i'm not talking safety wise. I like the board the way it is no sense on making different places for people to accomodate them all. I like to still street race and yeah i caught alot of flac a few years back on the subject..but guess what its still part of Hot Rodding and its still a rush.. The one change you could do is bring back those little animated poke man dudes from the other board..see how many guys remember those. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[38Chevy4door]

Ryan,

I took a break for about four months on health stuff, but I'm back, so I thought I'd throw in my opinions, since you're asking.

1. Paypal button is a great idea. I think it would be nice to have it in our face a bit that money is involved.

2. Don't separate the board. In fact, the questions category got on my nerves, as some people apparently can't read a simple description, so I wound up giving up on it, even though it may have had some informative posts, I don't know. There's talk of the HAMB being the next great magazine, and it is. So, who wants to read a book by going through the index?

I'd suggest making the icons letter of the law, and add one that absolutely says the thread is off-topic. You post an off-topic with anything other than the 'this is useless off-topic ranting' icon, you get absolutely flamed by HAMB-members. This will keep people more in line, and quench the thirst for blood. I'd also suggest a strike list that HAMBers can post to. Enough people do enough antagonizing and BS, there'll eventually be enough strikes to justify a banning. That way, there's incremental monitoring, instead of just getting banned only when you go postal.

I didn't see what happened to JimA, I just saw him saying he was headed out, and I hated to see it happen. That guy knew some traditional stuff, to be sure.

Thanks, and I look forward to actually contributing something, someday.
Steve

[BELLM]

I really have no complaints. But if you're gonna twist my arm, Gooch makes a good point. My son lurks here, but he doesn't have a hot rod or custom. Calls me up all the time, did you see what so & so posted. Should be mandatory to complete profile before becoming a member. Have something to contribute or just be a lurker.
I like the HAMB like it is, I never really had an interest in customs until I got on here, now that 53 Victoria I hauled home yesterday is looking like a lot of potential. I read about 1/3 of what is posted, everything about 20 HAMBers post, and when I can't sleep at 3 in the moring, like Friday night, I read everything. Twice. Some of the drama is funny. The "my Dad is in the hospital or my Mom died" definitely needs to stay. We are a family. When one of is in pain or needs a hand we need to be able to reach out and find some comfort from our friends. Sometimes it is not available elswhere. Do away with Questions, leave the rest as is. Maybe add an Events section where we could post shows, swap meets, etc.
I like the idea of more "user friendly" pic posting. Then I wouldn't have to bother 30Roadster when I want to post a photo. Paypal to send you money for auctions would be great.
Thanks for this place. It's a real world. If not for the HAMB, and going to the HAMB drags, I would not know a ton of people, all over the world, that I now know personally, have met FTF, and am proud to call my friend. You included.

[fordnutz]

Ryan, I try to only post on here when I have something relevent to add. The board is great as is, but if you really have to change something, a paypal address for you would help us as we all can't win the auctions but would like to help out anyway. Newbies filling out their profiles to join would eliminate the intro police. An easier way to post pics, I still can't figure out the resize thing, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. OT posts in the regular forum are ok as I just don't bother with them unless there is nothing of interest to read, although they do make relevant posts disappear faster. Ebay alerts should be restricted to the classifieds. Nutz.

[oldchevyseller]

this 6.5,, people are already freaking out about is the whole "FOLDER" thing next to each post ,I am a legacy Threads user, and it is still by far the best system out there.
Ok here is the situation. When a user comes to a thread that already had new posts on it, no matter where they may be in the thread itself, either in threaded or flat view, this little icon:

newfolder.gif

shows up for all new posts. Which is a good thing. Now, when you click on any of those posts to view them, all other messages that were new are now marked as read, leaving you unable to figure out which thread is new and which one isn't.

This currently happens in both of my installationsof 6.5b4 as well as on this board. When I came here, there were two new posts. I clicked on your new posts, and the other one is now marked as read.

So there you have it.

anyhow with this upgrade ,are we gonna have all this going on in here also? changeing the way you lay out the threads and posts , gonna be some angry people, i know the ability to tune it is gonna be there but you will be out here posting again asking ," how should i run this or that."i would just be ready to ave a lot of hambers wondering what happened to the post the were reading and now cant find it?


throw us some tech stuff about your servers and i believe alot of us hambers understand ,but the bug list for 6.5 is long,and i thinkyou will be busier manageing it,just my 2 cents.
oh yeah my nephew is a microsoft geek,runs his own operation in our area and has dedicated lines coming in his house,

[tommy]

[ QUOTE ]
Couple of things. Thanks for all the nice comments. I appreciate them. Adn thanks for the suggestions - they are all going to be taken into consideration. We might even vote on a few.

Now, I know there are guys out there that have STRONGER opinions. I really appreciate KIRK! for being blunt and I would like to hear more of that. Don't be afraid to say how you really feel - this is all constructive and no one is going to take it the wrong way. Be fucking mean man. It's cool.

In my opinion, I stopped listening to the people that count (you guys) and let things get out of hand. We need to figure out together how to make this place continue to get better.


[/ QUOTE ]

OK asshole! I'm selfish as hell. I don't want no f'in OT board to tie up all your time trying to put out fires from the REAL assholes that would just be encouraged by such a board.

I don't talk the same way in your kitchen as I do in your garage. A fair warning about the language when you sign up should do. Nobody has a right to be here.

I know you aren't fishing for compliments. I'm no ass kisser either. If you are having a confidence crisis..get over it!

Use your delete key when you feel it in your heart. You've done a great job so far. You will never please everybody. Don't try. Go with your gut. Your gut will tell you when an OT is OT.

There have always been great minds with fountains of knowledge that were too timid to speak up in a group. We are limited to peabrains like me that talk too much.

It is what it is and I love it. Don't fuck it up!

P.S. sorry about the asshole stuff...It is my STRONG oppinion! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Greezy]

Ryan this place is fine as it is. The only thing Ive really had a problem with lately is the Ebay alert bullshit...and car bashing. This should be monitered by the poster them selves, some of them cant take a hint.

Maybe an artist forum could be added, where the their work could be showcased and questions answered by our fine panel of artist.

As far as the onslaught of newbies goes they should fill out a complete profile. This would also cut down on some of the pranksters signing up under another name just to start some shit with dumbass posts. although some them have been pretty entertaining. Im hear to learn as much and gather information about our hobby as possible. Alot of the guys who had something to really contibute to this are gone, and thats too bad.
Oh yeah put in a damn paypal account...people are willing to pay for this place let them.

[McGrath]

[ QUOTE ]
Use your delete key when you feel it in your heart. You've done a great job so far. You will never please everybody. Don't try. Go with your gut. Your gut will tell you when an OT is OT.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thats what I think too. If the Post doesn't belong, or is causing major arguments, Delete it. Quit trying to keep everybody happy. They will either get the picture and straighten out, or they will leave. It would be no great loss 90% of the time...

[Dreamweaver]

Ryan,

First of all, you and this place rock!

Gonna add my newbie .02 just because you asked.

Maybe add some sort of 3 strikes and your out for a while, ive seen it on other message boards. The offending party gets a check or frown face next to their posting name, I know this would add work to you and the other moderator but it might keep down the OT, rude, or down right porn type posts.

Maybe add a few more moderators of the folks you trust.

Would adding a members(fee based) small website hosting section be cool? Folks could keep their build photos and completed projects there.

A Paypal button for donations would be good.

Make the site free to lurk, but monthly fees to post, maybe include the personal web page in that fee. For those that can't afford a fee, have a review board for sponsored memberships.

You've being doing it fine for a long time, but sometimes the garden needs to be weeded!

[mikes51]

I agree with two previous posters.

1-You should actually be a car owner/builder or previously owned/built a car to post. As in the real world, one can't participate in a car run or drive in nites if one doesn't have a car.

The goal being to get more posts about something happenning to an actual car. I.E. like a Tech Week every week.

As to how to accomplish this screening process, I don't have any ideas. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif


2-If you want to have a self moderating board, you probably have to make it a pay site.

Years ago, when the board was more like the wild west, anyone who posted OT would have been flamed into oblivion. Now that the board is more civilized, that internal moderating force isn't as strong.

3-If it stays a free site, I'll accept it the way it is even with all the OT stuff. It's still better than most forums.

[jay]

The pay pal for the auctions and for donations is a cool idea..but if you start charging people to belong and to post that kinda falls into a line where they think they will own some of the space and can post and say what they want right??what are you going to do if that said person gets banned?? are you going to refund their money?? I just went through this nightmare with my old car club. money makes things very nasty..what starts out good turns to evil pretty quick.

[zman]

I think it's going pretty good as it is, but you asked so here it is:

1. Ditch the questions section, it doesn't get used correctly or at all.

2. Paypal button, seriously do it...

3. Tags for posts i.e Custom, Bike, Traditional, Suspenion, Art... whatever you desire.

4. Delete the way O/T shit right off. There are a few guys here I know you can trust to help moderate. There is a place to for some O/T stuff but I don't f#ckin' care about some ugly shit on eBay... I don't care if I posted it...

5. A pinned FAQ about what is or isn't acceptable. Required reading when you register...

6. You did great with the classifieds, maybe tags for WTB and FS and Freebie...

7. I gotta think the Pic section is going to be a bandwidth hog. Maybe a section with walk-throughs for hosting with ImageShack, PhotoBucket etc.. Also a size limit for photos hosted elswhere. It'll smooth everything out as well...

Other than that I can't think of anything else at this time. There is still some self moderation going on, but there are some of the newbies that come on here all tough guy and such, I say let them get what they deserve....

[Foul]

I like some of Steve's ideas and suggestions. I guess I'll throw in my two:

I think what you're coming up against is the size of the HAMB. Scaling and getting every feature you want is always a problem with systems and software. Sure, you could keep it simple and perhaps restrict new members to invite only, or restricting any members without a traditional rod or kustom, or something like that, but that's like sticking your head in the sand and ignoring progress.

shit, I liked the board a lot when I first signed on. Learned a ton. Then you improved it and I still learned a ton. I guess those who want to stay will stick through with you, and that's the message I'm reading in all these replies.

I'm sure bandwidth and the cost of running the site are two big considerations. I'm sure splitting up the topics may help a bit on curbing back the bandwidth some, but the site's always gonna get bigger.

Some actual suggestions then:

* Search members by location - yes. And let's also search by club membership and by year/make/model interests/specialties

* calendar - hell yes

* OT category - no. But if somebody makes an OT post and doesn't stick those two letters in the Subject line, a) the moderators need to do that for them, and b) the original poster needs some sort of slap on the wrist.

* further categorization - no. I'm with the fellas who said they wouldn't have had the opportunity to see some really cool things if they'd been split off into areas they wouldn't have normally visited.

* Paypal button - yes. The minute I'm not broke, I'll actually use it.

* Photos in profiles - yes. I sometimes need a scorecard to tell who owns what car/truck. This would go a long way toward filling that need.

* merchandising - on a very limited basis. who the hell wants to see the HAMB become the next OCC? Think we're being overrun with newbies now? Wait til every monkey with a credit card is wearing a HAMB shirt.

* the folders that indicate new posts since your last visit - please keep these, I'd have even less of an idea what's going on without 'em

* stricter moderators - yes, as long as they refrain from becoming bullies

* weeding out members who haven't posted in, say, six months - yes. I think somebody figured out the actual number of HAMBsters, and it's something like 500 rather than the 4k everybody seems to think it is.

I'm thinking about that slap on the wrist I mentioned above. I know some boards have a kind of karma points system. We seem pretty good at doing that for ourselves, but it may be necessary the bigger we get - who knows. we can give stars to posts, should/could we equally rate members, both positively and negatively?

BTW, thanks for building the HAMB into what it is, and thanks for listening to our concerns.
dan

[BELLM]

I know the E-bay alert pisses a lot of people off but if MP33 hadn' posted "look at this old roadster on e-bay" about a year & a half ago I would not have the remains of this cool old east coast style 30 roadster on a 32 frameback built in the 50s that is # 3 in line for projects that was about 50 miles from my home. If you don't like a post don't look at it, I skip about 50 - 60% of whats posted. Too many varied interests on here to start nit picking.
Oh yeah, MP33, I still owe ya man!!
Ryan, one other thing. Shut the board down completely for about 6 months, thats the only way I will ever get a car finished! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Mongo]

A photo album would be great!! I think a seperate Art section would also be cool.There are some great artists on here and i hate waiting for fridays to see the new stuff.An events calender with upcoming HAMB and other car events and get togethers would be good, and maybe a mapquest link for each event so you can quick look and see how to get there.

[Artiki]

....and I 've just thought of something else. Can we have an 'instant graemlin' that indicates sarcasm please?

[willowbilly3]

I am going to comment without having read the whole thread. Things never stay the same, change is inevitable. A new look is nice but won't cure the ills. No one likes more rules but humans just aren't very good at self governing, someone has to make rules unfortunately. An off topic lounge might segregate the non auto related talk so the guys that just want to talk cars don't have to see threads disappearing off the front page at the speed of light. But eventually you will have more and more asswipes signing up just for a place to talk trash. I saw it happen on another board that got big. And unfortunately sometimes small groups will splinter off and start their own thing because they don't like the growth. You might consider some kind of probationary period for newbys so they know they can't just sign up and talk trash or start yammering about stuff we aren't about. Let them know we don't give a shit about their phutney-creach land yacht. If you want to talk about your jacked up Avalanche pavement pounder take it somewhere else.
More people means more rules or more chaos, you can choose how far either way you want to lean.
And thanks for valuing our opinions.

[kentucky]

An events forum would be good. Perhaps the poster could enter an expiration date so they drop off automatically after the event? I'm no PC genious so I don't know if that's possible or not.

I think an O/T forum isn't the best idea. If people want to talk about getting screwed on ebay or something there are probably message board out there for that.

A "Lifestyle" type board would be OK though for people to talk about upcoming concerts, art, and other related stuff. Yeah, I know the name is gay http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I also think the geographical search would be good, so we could look up members in our area. However people would have to stop filling out "location" with stuff like "In bed with your mother".

I've learned more in the few months I've been here than I ever knew about hot rods, this place rocks.

[slazzen]

Ok guys Ryan didnt ask to be put on a pedastool he has had plenty of those posts already.
This is serious for him he wants the HAMB to be here for the long term.
As we know there are many other message boards. As many of you know I posted about the Ol Skool Rods forum last week and many HAMBERS singed up over there.It isnt a perfect world and the HAMB will never be either.
There are serious problems on here one is that persons think they are unoficial HAMB moderators or the Ryan unknow rule enforcers??? Ryan you need to put a stop to this!!! It breeds hurtful discusting remarks that may have been ok and aceptable during a smaller infantile stage of the HAMB.But this is a grown up known spot now.
We had a post not to long ago about the hotrod buildoff. and had the wife of the builder get on the HAMB.
The HAMB needs to adapt or the newly inspired will find somewere else.
I like to laugh at the humour and ribbing and BS as much as the next guy. But if that the only contribution you have and when you constantly site some untold rule as your excuse and Ryan cosigns it you are not a asset anymore and Ryans credability is sold out as a result.
The tech post's dont get half the hits as posts flaming someone do. This is why there are 6000 members and 1000 contributors not everyone is a alpha male.
then when i want to find a tech post that i dont have saved that i really need good luck finding it I dont have time to look thru 200 pgs!
we need to split up the HAMB to make it user freindly.
we need to use the polling feature more often too Ryan I am sure you get contless sugestions about the HAMB make us feel its our HAMB give us a say.
This will also help with the Ryan hit sqaud that drives people away.
these are a few things off the top of my head i will be thinking of more and will post them if i feel they are important .
Thanks you Ryan for asking me peronaly to not hold back. >>>John

[metalshapes]

The HAMB is the only thing I go to , so I dont know how it compaires to anything else.
But what completely blows me away is the fact that somebody that hates comuters as much as I do, will want to spend as much time on the HAMB as I do...
So yes... the HAMB is special to me...


I like the fact that there seem to be a lot of " unwritten rules " ( once they are written down the Rottweilers amongst us will do everything they can to enforce those rules by the letter.)

I think the donations system should stay, but let people know when you need more cash to keep this thing afloat ( if you would charge a fee, some people will feel they have got rights. We have already seen that from guys that have donated in the past )

I like that I can chose my words on the HAMB like I do in real life.

I like that we can have lively discussions about cars, the style they were built in and the modifications that were done to them, but I dont like it when people cant control theyr emotions, and a good discussion turns into something petty...

I could personally do without the whole " Intro " thing, I just dont think is an effective way of selecting who would be a asset to this board, and who is not... ( maybe you could give newby's some sort of a " learners permit "instead.)

If somebody gets out of line enough to be banned, then do it and announce it ( pin it on page one ), to let people know it can and will happen...

Ask people to figure out for themselfs, that if there is a problem with the HAMB, are they part of that problem or not...

This is just my take on things, and just one way of looking at it.
You might get better answers from somebody that doesn't like it here anymore, like the guy that just left...

Thanks for creating this thing Ryan.
To me, it is a learning tool first, and a place to relax and hang out second. ( but I do go here for both reasons...)

[Chandler]

Im a newbie and want to thank you for what you do with the HAMB. I have found so much help in the short time that i have been a member.Change or no change i think you are doing a very good job. than you

[LOST ANGEL]

The Pay Pal button is a must! Other than thet, this place cranks the way it is. It has a way of self-cleaning in the long run.-MIKE http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Flat Ernie]

[ QUOTE ]
Can we have an 'instant graemlin' that indicates sarcasm please?

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gifis close & so is http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Kinda takes the fun out if you telegraph your punches though, don't it? Besides, you know us Yanks aren't any good at sarcasm or irony http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[thirtytwo]

[ QUOTE ]
I am going to comment without having read the whole thread. Things never stay the same, change is inevitable. A new look is nice but won't cure the ills. No one likes more rules but humans just aren't very good at self governing, someone has to make rules unfortunately. An off topic lounge might segregate the non auto related talk so the guys that just want to talk cars don't have to see threads disappearing off the front page at the speed of light. But eventually you will have more and more asswipes signing up just for a place to talk trash. I saw it happen on another board that got big. And unfortunately sometimes small groups will splinter off and start their own thing because they don't like the growth. You might consider some kind of probationary period for newbys so they know they can't just sign up and talk trash or start yammering about stuff we aren't about. Let them know we don't give a shit about their phutney-creach land yacht. If you want to talk about your jacked up Avalanche pavement pounder take it somewhere else.
More people means more rules or more chaos, you can choose how far either way you want to lean.
And thanks for valuing our opinions.

[/ QUOTE ]



i agree.... the hamb IS a great place (you have done well ryan) its just not a garage in west bumperfuck anymore now its in like downtown LA very populated with lots of opinions and differnt walks of life and intrests (some stirring the pot )some are big city people some are not nothing you can do....i actually like a lot of the off topic posts but willow billy might be right anothr forum for them might be better????



DON'T APOLIGISE FOR THE GOOD THING YOU CREATED...sucess is the only villian here

[Artiki]

Yeah Ernie, the http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif is almost there. I don't know what sarcasm actually looks like, but that can't be far off.

[Skate Fink]

........Christ Ryan..............do what you want and are able to do and we'll just continue to enjoy and TRY to act civilized and let you know how much we appreciate your efforts!

[Upchuck]

someplace to post tech stuff exclusively that don't need a moderator to put it in the actual tech department, lots of good stuff been lost or forgotten or not read due to the fast turn over as previously mentioned, once in a while the Moderator could sort thru and transfer the best of the tech to the tech department never to be lost, it might be easier for a moderator to move stuff from there rather than try to keep up with putting stuff in there? all that drivvle make sense? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I for one like to browse the tech threads and admire some of the enginuity and simplification people came up with to solve problems

[seldom scene]

Ryan I think you are doing a great job. I would like to see more real info on members. Location : yo' mama's house, doesn't get it. I think you should delete people w/only 1 or 2 posts in 6 months or so. I think an events calendar is necessary, our club put on an excellent event any many guys said after the fact "I didn't know when it was" because the post kept getting buried. I don't think we should ban those who don't own cars, we need to encourage them to build one. Politics, Religion, and non hot rod related writing practice don't belong here. Thank you for creating my favorite garage. Billy.

[Kev Nemo]

lets-
-photoalbums would be keen-the posts with pics are hard to go through and this would put it up right there.
-how about a history section with guest moderator every month telling us about their perspective and giving tips? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[plan9]

im gonna be blunt... i appreciate what ryan setup here, its not his fault some people are idiots.

newbies dont bother me, but arrogance does. i dont claim to be fully innocent, but my shit talking is limited to a reaction of bad attitudes. since coming here its gotten worse... in part by the veteranos of the board spewing their bullshit to the new guy. it turns into a High School "Senior vs. Freshmans" game... rinse and repeat as the newbie gets a little senority.

there is also a whole lot of bashing going on by people who have only been here for a couple months, who the fuck are you? why are some of you badass's? does your 4dr run 10's on the strip? it is pathetic.

suggestions with questions:

if someone is asking for an opinion or some help, why be a smartass? let the person get some help for christ sake... shut up. period.

if someone is expressing their opinion and you NEED to reply, shut up and save your energy. when people excercise this level of restraint, youd be suprised how fast the whining stops, and The Board will again police itself.

gentler and kinder HAMB? why is that some of the badass's on this board stay quiet or have left? i can guarantee it isnt because of the Gentle and kind folk here....

how about *we*(myself included) make a concious effort to make this place a little more professional? i dont mean to suggest we go completely soft, but perhaps excercise some restraint on the shit we post... do research before asking questions, or stop posting OT altogether. it sucks balls trying to sift through loads of stupid posts for a good one.

[Tony Bones]

I hear ya' Ryan. Upkeep of a little site like bobbertown takes me quite a few hours each month. I can't imagine what it takes for this place.

Suggestions:

1. Photo Album
2. Off topic forum

I'm a little leary about the OT forum as it may change the flavor of the board...but you can always axe it, right?

[jerry]

i still miss the very first board!

that used to be a tough crowd on intros, just ask lulubelle or shiva 69. where you guys at?

seperate boards just would be a waste of time. o/t needs to be self moderated alittle more. if notthen ithink it should be deleted if it gets out of hand. repeat violators taken care of. not the family type posts but the "e-bay abortion" types.

just remember the bitching when this board version was announced!

i still feel it is a priveledge to be able to get on here.


jerry

[OGNC]

Ryan, the technical aspects of the board are awesome. In fact they make up everything that is right about this place.

What works...

The board works great.
The features are just fine.
The layout looks fabulous.
In fact from where you sit you really don't have anything to worry about on the web end of things.


The problems?

A lot of people who post just to see their number climb.

People like 1Lowwhatever posting a link to every other page he visits on the internet and none of them have to do with hot rods are kustoms.

A Perfect example of what's wrong: Take a look at how many posts where people are looking for technical help slip right off to page 12 while pages 1 through 11 are filled with posts about how ugly some car on e-bay is and other random crap.

And it is getting to the point where it is tough to wade through the chest deep, drama laden crap to find the on-topic posts. To be honest, who even has time to do it anymore?

One Solution.

More moderators to nuke O/T posts that are just taking up space on the board. Or at least to lock them so that the 40 greaserific dorks that usually reply won't be able to.

[40Tudor]

- paypal button - good

- calendar - good

- subject tags - good

- more forums - bad

- Questions and Suggestions - eh. Nice to have a place to practice picture posting.

- required full profile with a real picture - good (not just newbies, either - everyone)

- periodic houscleaning - good. delete all the new users with no posts in 6 or 12 months

- more active moderation - good. I know it's a lot of work, but I think the crap that leads to people leaving is preventable by you and your goons. Remember the original RRT with no moderation? Move/delete/lock posts, rough up the ignorant and be visible about it. Severed heads on sticks send a clear message.

- text only mode - good. So I can look at work without attracting the attention of the HR mob. And so I can look at picture intensive posts on my dialup at home. I'll use the 'attachment' hyperlink when I want to see a picture.

- If you do a separate 'Drama' forum, it will be moderated by our resident Drama Queen, won't it?

- Search could be better - just show me a list of threads containing the word(s) in question - not every post. Let me use quotes + and - like I can on Google.

-I'd really like to see us keep the good tech closer to the top - the ability to filter by subject tag might get you there.

Oh yeah - trust your judgement - it's been pretty good so far.

[DrJ]

[ QUOTE ]
i still miss the very first board!

that used to be a tough crowd on intros, just ask lulubelle or shiva 69. where you guys at?

seperate boards just would be a waste of time. o/t needs to be self moderated alittle more. if notthen ithink it should be deleted if it gets out of hand. repeat violators taken care of. not the family type posts but the "e-bay abortion" types.

just remember the bitching when this board version was announced!

i still feel it is a priveledge to be able to get on here.


jerry


[/ QUOTE ]

What he said....
and
If ya can't take a joke, stay off the fuckin BEACH!

(And if you work for a publishing Corp. that doesn't like it's employees voicing personal opinions and "editorializing" on the net, don't go blaming it on others here at the HAMB. (If you don't understand that, it doesn't apply to you))

[OG lil E]

I've been around the HAMB for quite awhile now. I remember the Pokemon board--it was the format when I joined up. First off, this isn't the Disney Channel. These politically correct days we live in are bullshit. I like it when a person can say what's on their mind and not be penalized for it. You newbies have no idea how it was here back in the day. At times it was brutal, but all in good fun--most of the time.

I think separating the board to different catagories is a mistake. I check out a few other boards that have been subdivided and they are a drag. It takes forever to see everything and the posts stay on the same page for days. The variety of posts here is what makes the HAMB so much fun. I would say I'm a kustom guy first, but, I still enjoy seeing pics of hot rods, choppers, wild paint jobs, etc. Plus, the technical information here is the best ANYWHERE! If the board was split up, a guy could never see everything. It would take days! Also, why another board for O/T posts? Usually when someone posts, they put O/T. If it sounds interesting I might check it out. If not, I pass. Some of the off topic stuff is useful and informative. People here need to use their own discretion and decide if they want to read what is in the post or not. Life in America is about choice--you decide.

I miss posts from alot of the OG HAMBers. Guys like Brewsir, Killer and =Mike= come to mind. Sometimes I think the OG Hambers can't relate to the huge flow of newbies coming in. Or, maybe they're out in the garage turning wrenches and not here pecking at the keyboard. There definitely is a difference in posts now compared to a few years ago. More whining and less useable information. I haven't seen much of the decension(sp?) that has been mentioned, but maybe those are just posts I miss for some reason or another. All the wierd, O/T or whining posts doesn't mean the HAMB isn't the best place going though. This place is addictive and entertaining. Every once in a while somebody posts something that has me laughing my ass off! The big thing is that the mainstream world that reads magazines and watches TV has found us, and it will never be like it was. All we can do is try to adjust to the changes.

I guess that the only changes I'd suggest is an easier way to post pictures. I'm on dial-up on a 7 plus year old computer, so posting pictures and surfing efficiently is tough.

Also, on the member profile, make it a necessary to put your location in. Some of people's choices are very entertaining, but it would be nice to know at a glance when somebody lives in your neck of the woods.

Alot of the OG HAMBers are still out here, Ryan, and we're totally behind you. I'm sure what ever changes you decide will be fine. Just don't make it more work for you to where your personal life suffers. Thanks......................E

[Mai Ki-Ki]

Love it.

Only suggestions..don't seperate the types of cras...the variety on the main board is refreshing.

Seperate ART forum is a good idea. I feel I miss a lot of the art on here..and it will free yup the main forum a bit.

Manditory filling in of details...hate seeing newbies with fucked attitudes that havent bothered to spend 2 minutes filling out a form!

Members each get a "ride" photo as part of their profile?
Cos I t hard to keep up with whoes got what sometimes.

BUT I SEE THE ONLY PROBLEM ON THIS BOARD IS THE OCCASIONAL IDIOT...apart from that it's awesome...as for speed, i think some ppl have SLOW connections cos it alwasy flies for me.

cheers

MAIKIKI

[Ryan]

Hey fellas, can't thank you all enough. I'm gonna leave this post going for a few days so that everyone has a chance to comment and give an opinion. I can't stress enough how important it is to be honest and direct here. Please don't hold back... Honesty will save a lot of time later.

The only comments I have thus far are:

1. The HAMB is not about money. If anything, I would like to stress that point more. Auctions and donations are not neccessary. I don't mind footing the bill if the content is here and that is what we need to concentrate on.

2. Going with the above - The HAMB is not about older guys with money or younger guys without. We are about keeping tradition alive and helping each other out. Frankly, I'm a hack out in the garage and I need all the help I can get. I still want it to be accessible as possible for guys that need to learn... Just not as accessible for guys who don't care to.

3. Alot of talk about mainstream and underground. Maybe we are mainstream... If so, lets strive to get back underground. I'm much more comfortable as an underdog.

4. I'm a leader and a manager at work. I don't want to be that here. Maybe it's time to pass the torch. Something to think about.

Keep the ideas coming fellas and don't put any boundaries on them. Something good it gonna come from this.

[Bass]

I really don't have much to add to this post, becuase I like the board as it is. The reason I check in on a daily basis is because it DOES move fast, and that keeps me interested.

As said before, tech info is second to none. I think I've gotten an answer to almost every question I've asked on here, and at least 9 out of 10 answers are actually correct. I think that's amazing.

As far as making the board better, one thing I haven't seen mentioned is the "Search" feature. I'm really glad it works now (some members probably don't even remember when it didn't work). But I've noticed when I type in two words, such as "Ford Coupe", it brings up every topic with the word "Ford" OR "Coupe" in it, not just the combination of the two. It's kind of annoying, but I can usually still find what I'm looking for.

That's really the only thing that I can think of I'd like to see fixed. But if it doesn't get fixed, it's no big deal.

I first logged onto the HAMB in the latter part of 1999, and it has consistently improved every year while still keeping its character. It's up to the people that post here to make the content better, and it shouldn't be your job to BABYSIT. It sucks that you have to do that sometimes (well, a lot of times), but I guess it's a necessary evil.

I've met you (Ryan) in person, and even from the short amount of time we talked, I know that you are the kind of guy that's passionate about what you do...and you're going to do what's right and what's necessary. That's why I'm not going to give you any real advice on how to do your business.

Keep up the good work, and do what you think needs to be done. If some people don't like it, they'll leave...So what. Maybe then guys like AV8 will feel like posting more often.

-Brian

[53Chebby]

Well, I think the board is pretty good like it is and I have just one suggestion that isn't so much for you, but to the HAMB mainly and this might have been posted earlier. (I didn't have time to read through all the posts.)

When people post in the classified, especially for wanted parts, it would be better if they could list a short description in the title. There are a lot of just WTB or NEEDED! posts. I like to print out the first 3 or 4 classified pages when I go to the junkyards so I have an idea of stuff to look for for others. The guys that just post Wanted or Needed will miss out since I just print out the page with the post titles. If everyone included a short description of what is needed in the title I might be able to find more parts. Another option would be to have a forum where people could just post a list of parts needed that is easy to print. I just don't want to have to print out all the different posts when I head to the junkyard.

Anyway, thanks for giving us this great place to learn about traditional Rods and Customs Ryan. It is much appreciated.

[Crosley]

This board is good as is.

There is no way to reduce the idiot factor on any board, unless you have several moderators cleaning up stuff.

Any thread topic with OT in it...... I ignore.

People with slow connections, slow computers and gripes about speed of the board.... step into the year 2000 with your computer

[metalshapes]

I dont think the HAMB is mainstream.
To me, mainstream means dumbing everything down to to the lowest common denominator.( like lots of strict rules to control a large group...)
Somehow you have been able to avoid that.

What Jerry said hit home... If anything, make more people realise it is a privilege to be here...

[TagMan]

Ryan, this place has become a big part of my life since I joined - I've met several of the inmates and corresponded with more, learned a TON of new ways to do things, new things to do and how to do them. I found parts and learned how to salvage stuff I wouldn't have thought were salvagable. I've tried stuff I never thought I could do, screwed up, asked questions and completed the projects with the help of guys I'd never have a chance of talikng to, without HAMB. Amazing stuff here on HAMB - even after spending 40+ years in the hobby, to learn how much I don't know! I live in fear that HAMB goes away and I'll have to start reading Street Rodder and mags like it for my "fix"!

Changes ? I kinda like it like it is. I certainly wouldn't want to see one board for rods, another for customs, etc. I like 'em all and it's easy enough to scan the titles and tell what's O/T, drama or of interest.

Add the PayPal button! There's no way you should foot the bill for us.

Above all, unless you're burned out leading all these different lives, stay involved with the HAMB - you're the heart and soul of it.

[CJ Hilton]

I know I’m new to the H.A.M.B., I think the site is good the way it is, and Ryan your a great programmer/designer. I designed sites for a number of years, and held down a full time job, so I kind of know what you’re going through, I ended up selling off my clients, though I still do a ton of imaging and that keeps me busy enough.

I do have 1 suggestion though and that would be to put a filter in place for the 4 letter words, not that I don’t curse, I do, more then I should, but it’s hard to sit down with my grandson and cruse the message boards with him reading everything word for word, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif know what I mean?

Anyway, awesome website, and if you favorite member jetted because of the way the site has been maintained, then maybe he wasn’t worth having around. Keep up the good work. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif CJ

[jimbob]

We have a photo bucket linked to our hot rod forum here in Australia and it works well.

Cheers and beers
Jimbob

[Cadillacin Marcus]

I DONT KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT...THIS PLACE IS GREAT..NO COMPLAINTS HERE EITHER..????? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Glen]

We should police ourselves.

If it is an OT post dont reply to it.

The AR-15 board members always start hitting an OT thread with "IBTL", meaning "In before the Lock" this sets up the moderators to lock the thread without feeling guilty, because the board members are saying "Lock this thread"

A "general discussion" section would run the bandwith thru the roof.

Thanks for your efforts Ryan.....

[desertdroog]

Make it so that when a person posts a picture that blows out the horizontal scroll, that it does not cause every post in the list to follow suit.

This could be done by separating the individual posts into tables instead of tying all posts on one page into one table. (HTML junkies understand what I am saying)

That way when a person posts an image it only causes his post and text to scroll horizontally but allows all other posts in the threads to be read by 600X800 web standards.

That is all I request. Good job and thanks for the HAMB.

[CherryBlossom]

[ QUOTE ]
People with slow connections, slow computers and gripes about speed of the board.... step into the year 2000 with your computer

[/ QUOTE ]

Would you like to pay for us to have a cable connection? It's not available to some of us at the present moment - how would it even matter to you if the pictures were the same size, you obviously have a "better" computer/connection than me, so you wouldn't even NOTICE a difference.

[metalshapes]

[ QUOTE ]


I do have 1 suggestion though and that would be to put a filter in place for the 4 letter words, not that I don’t curse, I do, more then I should, but it’s hard to sit down with my grandson and cruse the message boards with him reading everything word for word, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif know what I mean?



[/ QUOTE ]

I strongly disagree CJ.
The world is not governed by infants, nor should it be.
What does your grandson have to offer the HAMB, if we have to cater to him?

[zman]

[ QUOTE ]
-
- required full profile with a real picture - good (not just newbies, either - everyone)

- periodic houscleaning - good. delete all the new users with no posts in 6 or 12 months



[/ QUOTE ]

Full profile - I agree...

Periodic Housecleaning - Sure, but do it by Log In so as to not penalize the lurkers.... Hell I lurked for a long time... Learned a lot that way...

[palepainter]

I know I havent been around here to be affected by the complaints other have had. But I am going to open my mouth anyway.
There is not one greater pull of information out there on the web. NONE..I debate that there is any other site out that has the volume of information.
With that being said. How about fund raising with a percentile or payment system with the classifieds. It could be a great fund raiser and skim off some of the bullshit.
There is always going to be debate as to what is cool and what is not. So why make it more flagrant by adding classifications of cars.
The art pages could also create some revenue for this site as well. Find members like myself willing to donate services to enable some of the features that will make this better for you to manage and for the user to understand.
I know you have your hands full here dude. I am setting up a forum of my own for my airbrush site. Im not looking forward to the moderation of it. Fortunately, my wife will do a great job.
In closing, it is a growing entity. You have handled the growth fairly well in the year that I have been lurking here. And by the way.... I didnt want to become a member until I OWNED my own rod.....

Great job..Best of luck with the future of the HAMB

Mike

[Roothawg]

[ QUOTE ]

I'm a leader and a manager at work. I don't want to be that here. Maybe it's time to pass the torch. Something to think about.


[/ QUOTE ]


You may not want to be a leader, but you HAVE to, or things get out of whack.


Prime example....something you can relate to. OU football.

Recently, Bob Stoops let an All American defensive player, Dusty Dvoracek(SP?) go after he had some problems off the field. He didn't want to, but he knew that if he kept him around it would only complicate his life more. So, he boots him. This sets the tone for all the other players. They will now walk a tighter line than before, seeing someone who was thought of as "secure" get the axe.

Just a thought.

[CJ Hilton]

[ QUOTE ]
I strongly disagree CJ.
The world is not governed by infants, nor should it be.
What does your grandson have to offer the HAMB, if we have to cater to him?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Metalshapes,

We were asked for suggestions and I gave one. No one said anything about the world being governed by infants, nor was anything said about catering to my grandson, I merely gave a suggestion.

P.S. One day he will have something to contribute, he’s only 10 yrs old now, but he knows a ton about early American made cars & hot rods, between me, his Dad who runs a ’50 Austin on the strip, his Mom, my Daughter also runs on a 1/4 mile, the world of hot rodding is in his blood.

[willowbilly3]

[ QUOTE ]
This board is good as is.

There is no way to reduce the idiot factor on any board, unless you have several moderators cleaning up stuff.

Any thread topic with OT in it...... I ignore.

People with slow connections, slow computers and gripes about speed of the board.... step into the year 2000 with your computer

[/ QUOTE ]
I have a good computer, just stuck in a town with only dialup available except that high dollar satellite thing and we have so many storms here that it would be down alot if it works like my TV does.

[JamesG]

I know this is no VW board, but take a look at this place and see what you think. Theres some really good ideas there......p.s.-be sure to register so you can check out the Rants and Raves section. It's a great place to blow off a little steam.
theSamba.com Forums (http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/index.php?sid=d823d5af1a520f51e28f09f629157ff2)

[TimW]

I'm still faily new here and for what its worth this place probably works as well as its ever going too. The biggest problem that I have ever seen is some of the bullshit bashing that goes on for pages and pages. You can't stop that, only the guys that bash can control that. I lurked forever, I joined when I was looking for advice and I found it, good advice and damn fast too. There are a ton of very smart people on here and the questions from the newbies bring that information out, but the assholes who bash the guy that ask the questions, start the post on a downhill slide. I know that you want this board to stay our board, but when you made a few rules for the classifieds it helped out a lot. Maybe you need to lay down the law, as much as you want this to be our board, its YOURS! Take charge and if you don't like some of the crap thats been going on put a stop to it, kick a few off if you need to. The old guys that have been here forever will always be here, most of them seem to stay out of the b.s. Most likely if you have to give someone a kick in the ass it will be someone we didn't need in the first place. I know that you want to keep this a free site and I appreciate that, but that may be where some of the problems start... whatever you decide to do all of the die hard guys will stay because there is no other place like this. Its got to be a headache and I applaud all that you do, but it'll never be perfect. Thanks for letting us state our opinions.

[metalshapes]

Dont get defensive CJ...
You made a suggestion, and I suggested we dont...
Sounds like your G/S is well on his way to become a Gearhead himself.
At age 10 I just started my first car with help and guidance from my dad ( a knowledgeble car guy that cursed like a sailor...)
I just did not expect the world to cater to me, thats all ( I still dont...)

[earl schieb]

I still sorta feel like a guest here, but you asked......
I'll keep it short and free from ass-kissin' http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif


Leave the HAMB alone. It has a life now, and will most likely guide itself(with some moderator course adjustments)

Dump the QUESTIONS section.
Replace it with a TECH/HELP forum. People needing tech help("Help,my car won't start/run/steer/etc") won't have their posts pushed to page 6 in an hour(I know---I'm on here 3-4 hours a day http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif) Tech posts could go here as well("New way to cut/weld/polish/etc") and not disappear in 24 hrs.

Call the tech forum what it is---TECH ARCHIVES--the place for timeless tips/procedures.

So then ya got HAMB(back of the garage), TECH/HELP(front of the garage) and TECH ARCHIVES(the tool box)

I'll go to the front of the garage first, usually, to see who's workin on what, and see if I can help.....then to the back of the garage to drink beer and shoot the bovine feces(I'm watchin' my language http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif). If I need a tool, I'll go to the box.
Oversimplified?

Thank you for your TIME and FORESIGHT, Mr Cochran http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

mid-tenn mike

[slazzen]

to clarifie my sugestion about the art store
it was not to benifit the cost of the HAMB
but for new and acomplished artist to sell there stuff to HAMB members
it also fits with Ryans thought on bringing the HAMB back to the underground
as these pieces would be HAMB exclusive no e-bay lnks allowed
if the HAMB was capable of policeing itsself there would be 5 pg tech posts instead of Von Dutch clothing ones that is reality

[k9racer]

If it was not for this place I would not keep a computer. I am a puter dumb ass. The problem with pay pal is some of dont have it. I only got a credit card last year. Thank You..

[2tall2beahotrodder]

I think you should make a board just for Updates.. I love to see what people are up too, but when normal Bs, or OT posts bring them down the page, it justs anoys me..

other than that, its GREAT!

[Nick32vic]

I think ole Rat Rodder is on to something. Thats a good idea about a page just for updates.

Nick

[glassguy]

this is probly a retarded question, but i keep seeing stuff about new people like me trying to get there post #'s up. what would they or i bennefit from that?? just curious.. i have absolutely nothing to complain about, if something is o/t or i dont like the subject i use my back button for the main index and look for something usefull, or funny. i got enough bullshit in the real world to waste energy and time stressing about shit talkers and tuffguys here...ps did my post # come up ??

[k9racer]

I just want to add one thing about the OT if it were not for one of those OT post a very popular HAMB member would not been able to find a half brother he had never meet.This is a very helpful place and I have meet some wonderful people because of this place. Thank You again.

[JamesG]

If you see something thats OT, you dont have to click on it.

[Petejoe]

Well Ryan, I'm glad you left this post up for a few days otherwise I would have missed it.

My vote would be to keep the Board as it is. You may have lost a member that you have liked and respected but rest assured he will be back. sometimes we all lose our temper and get alittle too emaotional. But the good ones always see their faults and either appologize or just let it slide.

Ryan, you have created the most informative and entertaining board on the planet! The speed of responses to technical problems here astonishes me! You can actually be in the middle of a job and have a problem, post it, and in a matter of minutes have a tool back in your hand to fix it.

And at the same time laugh and spit all over the monitor over some funny entertaining input that some dickwad entered.
If the boards were separated alot of this would be overlooked. Boring........

I would suggest that you get more help in moderating.
Its obvious your feeling alittle guilty for not keeping up, and as you said, you dont want to be the leader here.
Give a few levelheaded guys an axe to swing and let them get after the riff raft here. Alot of young guys here spend way too much time in off topic areas. A brush over top of their heads with this axe will keep them in line.

Regardless of what changes you're contemplating. I would suggest you have a poll so that we may vote on these changes. Ryan..... I would like to meet you some day, You do a hell of a job here and I want to personally thank you!PJ

[Justin B]

i really like the suggestions of the photo gallery and maybe even photos in your profile. also the suggestion of the update page, after all when i see someones update it usually influenses me to get off my ass and get to work, the more of them that get grouped together the more motivation it would give.
and just a suggestion for the classifieds. would it help if the adds would be deleted after it hadn't gotten any responses for a couple weeks or a month. with that many adds it's got to be taking up some of the space on here, and i don't really see a reason to save old adds that haven't gotten any interest or the item has already sold. if someone has not sold their item they could always bttt it so it wouldn't get deleted. you could limit the number of times it gets bttt also. i don't know if that would help any or not but i figure it would free up some space.
i also agree with the donation button especialy since you are going to be spending even more time doing updates, you need to get paid for your time, i wouldn't even mind an annual fee of a couple bucks, that might even keeps some of the random people that stumble on here from posting stupid stuff.
anyways thanks for this place and if you don't change a thing it will still be the best thing out there for traditional car people

[Boones]

Ryan, for the past several years this has been my home, you have introduced me to so many new friends and I have gained so much. I love this place but I have seen a steady decline over the past year. I am not sure where it started or how it has gotten to where it is. I do know there is a discontent with a number of member, me included on what has been going on lately. Why? well its not so easy to say but I have a few reasons of my own that I will try to put into words. The board has grown to big.


My biggest gripe is all the negativity and member bashing that seems to be growing. When this was a smaller board most of the members were friends, we talked as friends and did not jump on one another when something was posted that was not inline with someone elses thoughts. So many of the newer members love to bash and get their noses in a bunch when someone posts a topic that they think threatens their life style.

Personal Attacks:
So many newbies have jumped on the Traditional Hot Rod bandwagon and joined this board as we all did but there is a difference, lack of respect for others. Some just can not fathom someone posting their opinion, for example: that in the early days most strived for a nice car that was painted or not a POS floor missing pile (true or not…is not the point) the results are what bother folks…. the words start flying and folks take it as a personal attach when all it was meant was a observation from someone who lived in those times, not some 20 something who was not even born in the 70’s let alone the 60’s or 50’s. I am also tired of the’Gold Chainer’ bashing, its not good for the board and only makes us look like punks. Who gives a shit if someone had a car built or purchases a part new from a store. If that is how someone wants to enjoy this hobby then who are we to say they are a lesser person. Sure building your own car is more what this board is about but should that mean others are not welcome or should be trashed. I know of a member that has done so much for this board and is afraid to post pics of his ride because it is not traditional (its not billet either), why because he does not want to be ridiculed or harassed.

Board Management:
You have to be the Big Dog (part of owning this board) and must keep a tighter reign (or have select members that can help) on the bullshit. . I realize you like most of us have a fulltime job and a family to take care off plus a thousand other things to distract you. But you chose to create this world and with it come responsibility and must therefore play god from time to time. No one likes being a bastard but sometimes its required. I think until someone has been on here for some period of time, they need to be on probation, someone complains and they could possible loose the privilege to participate, yes it’s a privilege to be here, like having a drivers license.

Off Topic Posts:
The ratio of ‘off topic’ to ‘on topic’ posts seen to be on the increase. There are good times but then it goes into a slump (and that is when it needs to be corrected). If there is nothing Hot Rod to talk about then the board remains quiet until there is. It will keep the “On topic posts from falling three pages down in an hour. I am really tired of all the off topic bullshit post, such as look at this POS on ebay, or I hate VW or look at this overpriced gadget. If someone posts an off-topic post then we should try and not put a reply so it falls off the page and dies a rightful death. OT post were OK in the early days because we only had a few hundred members and only a few that posted on a regular basis. Now that it’s a few thousand members and hundred that post on a regular basis, it gotten to the point where they need to stop. The family has gotten to big

Now I am not saying that all OT post must stop as there are appropriate OT posts. Deadtaven being one, or post about a family member, we are human and sometimes we just need a little communication to get us thru the tough times. Machines we are not, we just love them.

On Topic Posts:
SO what do I feel are appropriate topics, well any tech help (tech week) or request for tech help. Posting about shows (notices about shows, feedback about a show etc), show coverage pictures. Generally, any topic that has something to do with Hot Rods (that is positive) belongs.

We have lost more valuable members then we have gained over the past year. Some super talented members no longer post and that is a shame. It is to late to save those members and I am sure you will lose a few more but there is always hope that some of the value added members will stick around and more will join. I know i have been spending less and less time here

Thanks for asking and letting me voice my concerns.

[plmczy]

Oh boy here I go......Somebody mentioned that if you don't have a car, don't sign up. If that was the case I would be a newbie right now. We need to encourage those that show an interest in what we love. If a newbie wanted to ask a question about a car they want to buy(or anything else in general) and it shows up "anonymous user" they would automatically get bashed upon. How about when a newbie goes to sign up, they have to read a general rule list, so they know what and what not to post before they sign up.

We definately need a event calender. That would be sucha great asset to us. Nothing would be lost in the shuffle and would keep the board clear.

About the O/T posts, we can only talk about cars so much http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif. We are like a big family here.

Somebody mention about bringing your computer into 2000. I have dialup, my connection is 28.8, it usually never goes above that. I don't have many options for DSL, only one available in my area and thats $50 a month, hell I'm lucky I can afford what I have now. I deal with what I have and make the best of it. It sucks at times but at least I have it some people don't have it at all.

I don't have paypal so the button wouldn't help me but it will for others, so thats a good idea. Maybe post a address where we can send donations or auction payments to for those of us that don't have paypal.

Ryan, don't sell yourself short. You have done very well with what you have here. This is the first and most time the only place I go to when I get on the web. When I seen how old you were, I was surprised, you have a very level head on your shoulders. Hell, I'm 33 and I still don't know what I want out of life, I just wing it from day to day. Keep up the good work, I love this place. later plmczy

[Rocky]

I'll chime in for my opinion too....
This place didn't get this big because there was something wrong with it. I'd like to see the main structure of this site remain about the same with Rods and customs in the same forum. I'm so computer illiterate I don't have a clue if hosting your own photo storage site would be less hassle/expense for you [Ryan] or not but I'm in favor of doing it the least costly and easiest way. If that means sticking with our present arrangement, so be it.
And as far as making things easier for you?.....well, you already stated you are putting in a huge amount of time here. If you make this site even more attractive to new people it seems that would make more work for you....not good.
I don't think we should promote bashing on one hand and yet I really believe the arrogant, self absorbed, know-it-all newbies should be put in their places by us, the membership. If they don't have enough sack to take a little ass kickin at the begining, I don't really want to talk to them anyway....besides, it's a tradition here.....a rite of passage to absorb a ribbing at first--as a test...
The calender-of-events idea is a really good one, I think. I'd like to be able to post our own local events in it...open to everybody who posts here and if anything other than listings of events shows up on the calender, the moderator has the ability to delete it.
I still don't understand why people post "off topic" stuff on this board. We've all been nicely asked not to do this and still I see [O/T] designations in post titles. Sometimes there are 5 to 10 of these on one page! I'd like to see that stopped. If the post doesn't pertain to traditional rods and customs, it doesn't belong here.
Also, I'd like to see Mud banned.....
what?

[hollywud]

A Question,Suggestions,and O/T section for those who have a major problem with the O/T posts,as long as the O/T posts dont get out of hand..I agree you can only talk cars for so long,I think its kinda nice to see something Unrelated once in a while.Take for instance the O/T Indian Larry died,How MANY of you READ it and REPLIED to it? Really ,how many of your lives revolve around TRADITIONAl hot rods?Im sure some of you have even a little O/T in your life huh?
BTW Ryan,Thanx for giving me a place to learn A thing or two from some very wise and noble people,and Thank all of you for your wisdom.even though I tend to get mouthy ! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Nick32vic]

Well, I agree with every thing Boones said. I feel exactly how he does.

Personal Attacks:I dont really think anybody whos anybody likes to be made fun of. I know i dont, i think it sucks. Sometimes i get really mad on here and sometimes i show it in my posts, wich i would never do in real life. I try not to do it on here but it just happens. Ever time i see someone saying somethin stupid i just think that if i was talking to them face to face i would never get mad at them. I guess its just written words and how you take it. Well, im getting off the subject... so, I think a good way to cut down on the newbie bashing is to educate them about rules and whats good to post and not good to post. Like when they sign up, make them go through a page of simple rules and tips. I can honestly think of at least 5 or 10 true car builders who will never post anything because there so scared of negative feedback. Everybody always says "i dont give a shit what people think, i do what i like." well I and a shit load of other people actually do care what people think.

This one guy Im friends with builds some of the coolest Low-Buck nostalgic drag cars i have ever seen but he doesnt want to post becuase everyone is so mean-hearted here. He also built some very bitchin 32's in the 60's and 70's.

I really think a page of rules when new people sign up would help. But it would have to be short and sweet so peopel will read it. As for all the people that are already here that just cant refrain from being an asshole, well, i cant think of a solution for tht. maybe more moderators? I dunno.

I really do like layout and setup of the board so i dont think drastic changes would be needed there.

*Pay Pal Thing
*Rules page for newbies
*more moderators?
*Event Calender
*Less Off Topic posts

Those are some things i would like to see.

Nick

[Zeke]

One,you are too fucking nice a guy. Cut the dead weight around here.Members that post mostly OT and bullshit should be booted. If newbies see that B.S. isn't tolerated there will be less of it. That might take more moderators but as long as they are fair,most wouldn't mind I don't think.

Mulitiple boards is good for some things but I don't think it fits the HAMB's personality. Tech-O-Matic, Classifieds and the HAMB are fine. the add on boards for events are good too. No need for a OT board because it would end up as a flame O matic and a headache for you

Also I noticed that about 1/5 of the members haven't posted or have less than 5 posts. Dropping anyone that hasn't posted in 6 months would put the member count about where it should be and free up some server space.

Resticted membership????
I'm on a couple of MBs where you have to be approved to join. I'm not sure about that one because I'd hate to see us lose the next C9, AV8, Tinbender or 60sStyle because of a membership restiction. But then we might get more if members are more accountible for themselves on the board. On my favorite chef board the members know the rules and know that they have to follow them or the get booted after a warning and repeat offence.

[Hackerbilt]

No complaints if you left it the way it is now!

Suggestions...
OK!
I'm a 4x4 enthusiast as well as Hot Rods. I often poke around on the multiple boards at PIRATE4x4.com.
They have a system in place where as you scroll over each post the first 30ish words of that post appear in a box to give you some idea of the content of said post.
REALLY neat little idea that would make it easier to sort thru the drivel without opening each post to check it.
Personally I like the HAMB now but such a system would make "Look at this..." posts easier to weed thru etc!

If you DO go with multiple forums, keep them to a small number.
Maybe just a separate ART forum. Some of our members are incredible and a dedicated forum might allow them to post more often. Just a thought.

Thats about it I guess... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Broman]

let me get a little mean.....

I read O/T posts. I don't care if the stay here or not, they've always been part of the main board. How many of Germs 5000 posts are on topic? And I still read all of his stuff. And this place IS like a garage, right? We should talk like we're in the garage - anything goes if you ask me - all topics stay and swearing is part of the garage, always has been and always will be.....

Categorizing cars is a stupid idea. A car is a car - and I can learn from a how-to on anything regardless of what it is. If you don't like VWs or whatever - fuck off and go to another thread...as long as it's old enough for the context of our vein of the hobby.

You know what I want? A fuckin' mute button for some of the dipshits. Might keep me out of trouble at the same time. Like when the same people bitch about when the Friday art show starts on Thurs every week.....get over it numb-nuts!!!

New features don't always float well - like being able to start polls - noone uses it, even if it is a cool ability. How about something similar to the star rating, if people want you to STFU they push a button, if 2/3 or more of posters agree you're muted for that post.... then again that might get stupid when someone tries to "play" with the power.

Maybe instead of muting or otherwise punishing a person for mouthing off, we should reward good posters.....we could have personal ratings by our names and when you post something good or whatever, people can give you a point. Guys with a lot of points should be treated with some respect. It would show on a light-bar under their profiles and it wouldn't be easy to get a high rating. That is the root of a lot of the evils on the board now. The newbies don't respect the old guys and visa versa. Post counters don't work well cause there are guys who have been here from day one with less than 200 posts and there are guys who've been here for only a year and they have 2000. If you saw a guy with low post #s but high recomendations you might respect his word better - even if you don't remember reading any of his posts....

A paypal button would be good.

Selling merch is gay and will surely lead us above ground (if we're not there already).

I like the classifieds the way it is - with the new rules...

I like the way folks have been using the Questions section to "practice", even if that isn't/wasn't the way it was intended to be used. Maybe it needs to be re-named.

I love the HAMB-O-Dex. If there is anything to improve - it could be alphabetized or categorized into products.

The Tech-O-Matic kinda sucks.....it feels unorganized. It should be put into categories - no quetion about it. I am a member on another board that breaks it down like this:

Body/Paint

Brakes

Suspension

Wheels/tires

Frame/Chassis

Interior

Electrical

Engine/Tranny

......That way we will know what we need more tech on at the same time. In fact we could make it a monthly "game". Find Tire/Wheel tech for Oct. Etc.. winner gets giftX and HAMB gets more tech. The moderator/admin cleans up the entries and puts any "good" & complete info in the Tech-O.

If you otherwise want to submit a post/reply to the Tech-O it should be submitted for review and posted only when it is reviewed. (I don't need to know how to check my tire pressure or something stupid like that).

More gremlins could be useful. Sometime the one I need is one we don't have here - but I wouldn't die without them so whatever....

If I think of anything useful I'll post it later....

[swazzie]

[ QUOTE ]
Couple of things. Thanks for all the nice comments. I appreciate them. Adn thanks for the suggestions - they are all going to be taken into consideration. We might even vote on a few.

Now, I know there are guys out there that have STRONGER opinions. I really appreciate KIRK! for being blunt and I would like to hear more of that. Don't be afraid to say how you really feel - this is all constructive and no one is going to take it the wrong way. Be fucking mean man. It's cool.

In my opinion, I stopped listening to the people that count (you guys) and let things get out of hand. We need to figure out together how to make this place continue to get better.


[/ QUOTE ]

O.K.? In that case , enough with the kinder gentler HAMB shit. The reason I joined this board was because the snapperheads were hazed out of here if they were assholes .The guys ( and dames ) that made this place what it is were here for one reason and the off topic still somehow seemed relevent .I read this board for a year and a half before i joined up .I knew the rules and kept my mouth shut for the most part and learned more about customs and traditional rods in that time than I ever knew was possible. I've read your stories and seen the pics you've posted and even spit my coffee on the screen of my computer a couple of times. My point is i suppose , that it takes care of itself for the most part and you make it happen.You can't touch this fuckin place for what it is and everyone knows it. Shit! they're all right. . . . . . .

[Crease]

Tech century perhaps?

Need to cut down on the O/T. Don't just deal with the folks that post it, deal with the folks that respond to it.

If you're bored with old hot rods go away. Feel free to come back when you want to talk about old hot rods again.

[Hot Rod Ron]

Ryan,

First I want to thank you for inventing this place and giving all of us the time to tell you how we feel. I have been here since the very first hamb borad with Jerry, Axle, Zombie, and Shag. The main purpose of this board is traditional hot rods and customs. We are all into other types of cars or motorsports that does not belong here. You need to be a MAJOR HARDASS on nontopic posting. YOU need to make sure YOUR appointed helpers do the same or lose the title. This is not a place for PC attitude. YOU need to make it easier to post pictures so we can all enjoy TRADTIONAL HOT ROD AND CUSTOMS. YOU need to make it a first elimination of non posting right away. I don't care if you make a millon dollars you still need to take the money that is donated to you and say thank you, so put pay pal up here. I am not smart enought to make this type of magic happen but you do. The HAMB is why I am canceling all of my subscription to the big mags becuase they do not feature what I like. I think the guys like me that have been here since the very start should not have to go throught ranking. Just because someone has posted 10,000 times does not make them better than the ones who have posted 300 times, look at the registered date those are the ones who matter and have been with you through thick and thin. Put up a show posting for info on shows around that focus on tradtional hot rods and customs. If you feel that you have lost your way on what this is all about look at you issues of Hop Up and you will know what I am talking about. Thanks for taking the time to hear me and the others who have been here since the HAMB started.


VIA LA HAMB

[jonnycola]

I guess I'll throw in my two cents in....I really dig this place.... For the most part I think it really works well, at least for me, but....

And it really doesn't bug me, but the questions thing really doesn't get used, like everyone says.

The HAMB clock bugs the shit out of me for some reason, it doesn't seem to follow any normal clock out there.... maybe I just dont get it?

One side of me really dosen't want an offtopic discussion area, and part of me thinks it wouldn't be too bad. I mean, if this place is to be used as a tool and as a discussion forum for HOT RODS then we really shouldn't have one. At the same time, if it is becoming more of a community then I suppose it is something to consider.

Maybe some kind of screening process would be a good idea... granted, I may have never made it in if it was around when I joined.......Ah well...


I can just as easily see it stay the way it is....


Jonny.

[kustombuilder]

i would'nt get too carried away with too many seperate forums. maybe an ART forum, and it might be easier on you if we were able to post directly to the TECH forum. i suppose an OFF TOPIC forum would help some of us that have to "weed" through it all to see the stuff we want to see. just not enough hours in the day to read everything that gets posted. unless your job allows you to play on the internet all day and you never go into the garage. lets face it. there is a HUGE amount that goes on on this board.

good luck is all i got to say... but hey, you know me. if i have a strong opinion about something, you'll hear about it http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif...

Mike

[SinisterCustom]

What Broman said above pretty much sums it up for me.

Josh

[heyitsnate]

"it's not a lifestyle board."....bullcrap.this board saved my ass many a time with very good answers to tech questions,but it seems lately the tech posts,have been getting buried with lifestyle posts.i build cars.i like tech, cars (even greaserrific ones),and i don't like e-bay(spam),and it bugs me when the only reason people reply to a post is to talk smack.i don't know if that helps,but there it is-less smacktalk,lifestyle section.

[PEDDRO]

One post for newbies....that's all. 6 pages of hazing (for the new guys) and 12 pages of drooling (every time a chick shows up) is pathetic.

"O/T" shouldn't mean "I can post whatever the hell I want now"....

I'm reading less and less posts these days, due to the volume of crap, although coming in today looks pretty good. Lots of hot rod stuff.

[zonkola]

- Events calendar - A great idea

- More moderators - The job is just too big for two guys with jobs and lives

- A HAMB store - If I see one more pointless 10-page post on "Let's make HAMB t-shirts/stickers/whatever" that results in exactly zero t-shirts/stickers/whatever, I'm going to scream, puke, or attempt both at the same time. HAMBers want t-shirts, etc, and we've got plenty of talented HAMBers who could do the design and production. Sell 'em online to help fund the HAMB. (But no voting on designs, please. You know who the kick-ass artists are, contact them directly and give them control.) As for the HAMB becoming too popular due to t-shirt sales, get over it. Once Britney Spears starts wearing HAMB t-shirts to the MTV Music Awards, then you can start worrying.

- Better search capabilities - Ditch the reinvented wheel. Make HAMB searches work like eBay or Google searches, which are slightly different flavors of the same scheme.

- Multiple photos in a post - I like this idea as well. Great for tech posts and show coverage posts.

- A bilt-in speeling cheker - Not necessary, but a nice thing to have up your sleeve while posting.

- No politics on the HAMB - I know it's already a rule, but lots of guys seem to ignore it. I come here to read about hot rods, not ignorant political rants (or for that matter, insightful, well-informed political rants).

- More posts about body art - After all, nothing says "I got bent over in the big house" like a neck tattoo.

Shit. Did I say that last one out loud?

[Mass Butcher]

Unfortunately you are the man in charge, as well as your moderators. I believe by keeping the existing rules and maybe adding a few more moderators most of the major issues would be resolved. Moderators would only enforce whatever existing rules/policies that you have.

OT crap and loudmouths w/attitudes are part of the net and messageboards, and hard to police.
As far as OT posts go, yeah there are alot, but the reaction some get are dependent on WHO posts them. If a senior member posts something OT, or a FNG posts OT, you'll get 2 different responses.

So I say leave as is, add a few moderators to enforce existing rules, and leave the rest alone.
As far as auctions and donations, I say keep it going. It's a great way for us to give back to a board that gives alot to us. It doesn't take up much space and if it helps offset some of the cost of the board, don't screw with it.

[CURIOUS RASH]

[ QUOTE ]
1. The HAMB is not about money. If anything, I would like to stress that point more. Auctions and donations are not neccessary. I don't mind footing the bill if the content is here and that is what we need to concentrate on.

2. Going with the above - The HAMB is not about older guys with money or younger guys without. We are about keeping tradition alive and helping each other out. Frankly, I'm a hack out in the garage and I need all the help I can get. I still want it to be accessible as possible for guys that need to learn... Just not as accessible for guys who don't care to.


[/ QUOTE ] <font color="green">Jeez,

I need to get access at home.

I take the weekend off and you damn near sell the place.

We really don't care if you want our money or not.

I would rather donate a couple times a year and keep this place here for EVERYONE, whether they donate or not.

I would hate to click the HAMB button someday and nothing happens because the cost became too great and you said NOTHING about it.

As far as the extra boards...

WHY?

I haven't read all the other replies, don't have time on a Monday morn, but I will.

O/T posts will pop up in every forum no matter what.

SHIT, we have people doing intros on the "Questions and Suggestions" forum as it is.

The pic post add is a good idea but I can't see why you would want to add that much work when there are other free sites out there, if people would just take the time to figure them out.

Multi forums will do nothing more than create more work for you, there will need to be more policing of these forums or they will all turn out to be a muddled mess, nearly identical, and what good is that?

I dig it the way it is.

People need to grow some thicker skin.

Have I ever told you your my hero?

Your everything I wish that I could be.

You Sir, are the wind beneath my seat.

I think the biggest improvement you could make would be to ban me. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

LOVE, RASHY </font>

[porknbeaner]

I wonder how many people would actually visit an off topic board.
I read about everything that says off topic and for the most part it is on topic in some form or fashion.

I know this is gonna sound petty but you should be able to keep someone from makeing their first post a class add.I read them anyway and sometimes it appears that there is a good deal to be had but it would cut out a lot of the drama (mine included) if you could do that.

I think that your biggest problem is that most of us are pretty oppinionated, face it we're hot rodders and come from a lot of different backgrounds. Add to that a distinct lack of tact. I don't know that there is much that can be done about that.I guess you could make me stand in the corner for awhile http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Whatever you do I'm sure that it will be fine, you got a good head on your shoulders for a guy that has been skateing the same line since 1976. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Slide]

I thought about the separate board thing back when someone mentioned having a "Kustoms" section. At first I liked the idea, then I thought of how much crossover there is between rods and kustoms (or customs, whatever). I think we'd all be missing out on a lot of good info if you split it up.... but...

I wouldn't mind seeing an "Post Your Events Photos Here" section. That way we don't get 14 threads on the same "Car Show at Happy Burger this weekend!". Maybe even the "roll calls" could go in here, too? (Maybe someone has already suggested this, but I haven't had time to read thru all 4 million replies yet...)

I also like the idea of multiple photo posting without using a separate photo hosting site, but I'm perfectly content with it the way it is, too.

For that matter, I'm happy the way things are. Thanks, Ryan!

[flash]

[ QUOTE ]

1) if you dont own, have built, or are building a hotrod, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
2) if you dont own, have built, or are building a custom, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
5,000 of the nearly 6,000 posters here need to be axed and return to lurker status. I'm glad you all like hotrods but go away.
take your bugs, falcons, brand X, and B list crap and blow them out of your ass.

[/ QUOTE ]

I second that motion. And unlike many of the replies here, I will keep it short and to the point so it doesn't take Ryan a month to read them all.

Perhaps we need a brief description of what this board means by "traditional hot rod and custom" because obviously a lot of folks don't get it. Also a brief set of instructions that pops up automatically when you want to post. Example: Make sure your post title is descriptive of its content.

Eliminate anything that does not enhance the speed, functionality, and style of the board. Just like building a hot rod or custom.

[raven]

"A calender with the schedule of events through out the country would be cool."

This would be high on my wish list.
The only other comment I would have (other than great job and thanks), would be concerning people on this borad that don't have a clue.
It gets tiring to see so many posts that have nothing to do with old cars or customs.
The 'show us a pic of yourself' post comes to mind.
Personally, I read this forum for two reasons.
1. To find out how to do something.
2. To keep up on others' projects and see how they did things.
I can occasionaly add to a tech post or answer a question that is tech related (read how to here).
That being said, I have met a lot of great folks here that have helped me more than I deserve and I know that I have helped others directly or indirectly in the process.
FWIW
r

[glassguy]

i will third the above motion

[hell_fish_65]

Without reading the 7 pages of other posts, here is my thoughts. The big one is the "Questions &amp; Suggestions" forum should be renamed. Its confusing as a newbie. As for other forums, I think that Rods and Kustoms should be in the same and a OT forum maybe a good idea. In torn where the art post should be, I guess under OT. This board is great, but don't add a ton of forums. Keep It Simple! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[caffeine]

Im a newbie, but id like to see......

a motorcycles forum
a OT forum
and an art forum

an events calendar

thats about it for me.

[moondisc]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think you need to do better...WE need to do better!


[/ QUOTE ]
You are a wise man Clark!
The multi page post on the primered Mazda is a perfect example.
I wanted to add to that post telling people to stop wasting bandwidth on this shit, but I held back, hoping it would die a natural death.
As of this moring I see it hasn't.
If you see an OT bullshit post let it die.
A seperate board for tech questions or suggestions is a great idea. It would keep them from getting buried.
An OT board would be a waste of bandwidth.
Photo albums too. There are lots of free photo hosting sites to link to. Granted, having one here would be easier.
Some OT posts are relevent. Like someone asking for prayers for a bro or family member. We're a big community. We care about our friends, even if we never met.
Ryan, You've said several times you don't do it for the money and don't ask for anything.
That's all well and good. But some of us have gotten so much from the HAMB, we want to give back.
So just take it and shut yer yap.
Let us feel good about ourselves for once! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Ryan]

Thanks fellas... Keep it coming. This is the only OT post that I am gonna keep up this week. After another day or so I am going to reread everything and start makeing some tough decisions as to where I want to go with this thing. Afterwards, I will make a list of changes and post them.

[moondisc]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

1) if you dont own, have built, or are building a hotrod, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
2) if you dont own, have built, or are building a custom, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
5,000 of the nearly 6,000 posters here need to be axed and return to lurker status. I'm glad you all like hotrods but go away.
take your bugs, falcons, brand X, and B list crap and blow them out of your ass.

[/ QUOTE ]

I second that motion.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd hate to tell some 16 or 18 year old kid that loves hotrods that he's not welcome here just cause he doesn't have the money/place to build one yet.
That is of course he's a real PITA that post shit about Limp Bisquick or somethin! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[oldandkrusty]

Well, Ryan now that you have asked:

1) I like the HAMB essentially just the way it is!

2) If you are to change some facets, I like the notion of a seperate Art Forum. That way, it wouldn't neccessarily be limited to Friday submissions (althogh Friday is Thursday in Australia - I really like Hoodaky's stuff).

3) Perhaps the use of "Delete" could be used a little more often. Nothing gets your attention faster than a "Post Deleted" when it applies to you! I know, and it certainly worked to essentially keep me on topic. Use it!!!

4) I like the idea of a Paypal button. I don't see that you should shoulder the entire financial burden for this site when it is a great deal of work, hassle, heartache and heartburn dealing with a bunch of half-crazed car nuts. Let us help if we can.

5) I really like the Tech discussions and think that we all are VERY interested in seeing what others are up to. Although I haven't submitted my own tech ideas as yet, I do have some brewing and once I figure out the picture posting deal, I'll be more active there.

Sooooo, as I said initially I like things the way they are and if no change is made that's okay. If change is made, small ones are good.

But mainly, Ryan I want to thank you so very much for providing us this forum. Do whatever it takes to remove the stress from your life. It isn't good for you or your family. You are a young guy, try to push the BS to the side and get on with the business of having fun.

Just my thoughts,
John

[Ryan]

Just a side statement that is relevant. I will never shut down the HAMB to new or young folks. The whole goal of this thing was to spread the gospel... That said, I do think there needs to be better control on how new folks are handled either by me, the HAMB, or the members. I'm working on that.

[plmczy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

1) if you dont own, have built, or are building a hotrod, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
2) if you dont own, have built, or are building a custom, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
5,000 of the nearly 6,000 posters here need to be axed and return to lurker status. I'm glad you all like hotrods but go away.
take your bugs, falcons, brand X, and B list crap and blow them out of your ass.

[/ QUOTE ]

I second that motion. And unlike many of the replies here, I will keep it short and to the point so it doesn't take Ryan a month to read them all.

Perhaps we need a brief description of what this board means by "traditional hot rod and custom" because obviously a lot of folks don't get it. Also a brief set of instructions that pops up automatically when you want to post. Example: Make sure your post title is descriptive of its content.

Eliminate anything that does not enhance the speed, functionality, and style of the board. Just like building a hot rod or custom.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then if that is the case, we will have cut our own throats, there will be no future for the traditional cause. I thought we were here to preach the gospel of traditional rods and kustoms not stiffel it. I know there are people that ask stupid questions, but that is how you learn. Some of us(like me) need a little more help than others.Not all of us have the "vision"to make it happen.Just my feelings on this. later plmczy

[moondisc]

[ QUOTE ]
People need to grow some thicker skin.



[/ QUOTE ]

Amen!
You ask for opinions people are going to give them.
[ QUOTE ]
You Sir, are the wind beneath my seat.

[/ QUOTE ]
You're calling Ryan a fart?
Guess we can't call you a suck up! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[flash]

No one here said kick out young people, in fact no mention of age was made in that post. The point was about if whether you are currently building a traditional hot rod or custom or have done so already. Then this is your place. If not, take a hike.

I was working on my first hot rod at 15 years old. There's no reason why a teenager can't jump in and start building and ask many questions along the way. I think the point was directed at the people who are not into working on their own cars, or are into other types of cars but post here, wasting space and time.

[Plowboy]

I keep my mouth shut about a lot of stuff, but several of us were talking at the pileup about a lot of shit that goes on on this board. This is no doubt the best place to be on the internet, but I know a lot of people who WILL NOT get on here just for the amount of bullshit on the main board.

People say to just not reply to off topic posts and whatnot, but honestly people, drama is what some people like and strive for. I do not have a TV at work, but if I feel the need to catch up on my "Bold and the Beautiful" type drama, I know I can find some on here and make some snide little comment, chuckle about it, and move on. A lot of this goes on with every one of us on here. I think A separate category titled "etc." or even better "bullshit" would be great. We all like to bullshit with like minded individuals, and I think this would be a good place for intros as well so the "Heyimjohnnyscene" or "iamagirllookingforamanwithabigpenistofixmycar" flamings can go for 3 pages without knocking off the automotive subjects. That way I don't have to talk about how I am more queer than the next guy to keep a post at the top of a page.

Drama applies to everybody, on topic posts only apply to groups of individual people into differnt types of cars. Anybody who has taken a statistics course can figure out what kind of shit will stay at the top.

If OT and Drama isn't really wanted, then why does it stay at the top? Get real folks, embrace it, and give it its own home in an "Other Bullshit" topic section!

I am sure those striving for attention, will still get plenty over there. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Ryan]

Yeah, so better control. I got this one on the list for sure.

[slammed]

[ QUOTE ]
Just a side statement that is relevant. I will never shut down the HAMB to new or young folks. The whole goal of this thing was to spread the gospel... [ QUOTE ]


[/ QUOTE ] Thank-you. As For the 'blue-blood's' their own board titled "The Elite" would better suit them. A full screening and majority aprroval to gain membership. Creating the most too-cool-for-school, all-star line-up to date. Location: On the Beach, where else?

[plmczy]

I didn't mention anything about age. My point was people that have an interest. If we told everyone that had a interest to piss off we would not have some of the great builders we have today. Well, I own a O/T car and was into it before joining here. I liked hot rods and such before buying that car but I was told by my father I should get this car to learn on, so I did. Now I have learned some stuff by doing that and I'm here to learn more. Maybe you have shown me the light, that I do not belong here at all. I see some of your points that you have made and agree on some. I'm sorry if I have affended you Mr. Flash. plmczy

[sodbuster]

I like the events area, If everyone could just post the state before the event, so that way you could figure out where it was at without reading all the "Event" post's.

Is there anyway you could add a negative star system that only you or Kevin can see? That way if there is a wasted post a couple of guys could "Negative" star it. Also, so you don't have to go thru 300 PM's to find out that one of the posts is two guys bickering back and forth.

PAYPAL? I like the auction's and the end of the year dollar raffle (Isn't that coming up).

It is kinda funny, Jen mentions that "The HAMB" is like the movie "Fight Club". If you you know about "The HAMB", then you know, but if ya' gotta ask about it. You have no clue.

Chris Nelson
Kansas

[moondisc]

[ QUOTE ]
No one here said kick out young people, in fact no mention of age was made in that post. The point was about if whether you are currently building a traditional hot rod or custom or have done so already. Then this is your place. If not, take a hike.

I was working on my first hot rod at 15 years old. There's no reason why a teenager can't jump in and start building and ask many questions along the way. I think the point was directed at the people who are not into working on their own cars, or are into other types of cars but post here, wasting space and time.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm the one that mentioned age, not Plum.
If you started building at 15, good for you. You had the support in place to do it.
My dad wouldn't give up his garage space for more than a week at a time.
For that reason I never started building complete cars until I had my own house and garage, at 24.
Like Ryan said, spread the gospel. Even to those who can't start a traditional project just yet for whatever reason.
Now if you're talking 40 year old guys with 6 figure incomes and billet and tweed dripping streetrods who have no desire for a traditional rod you're right. They're in da wrong place! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Plowboy]

I forgot to add that a "projects" area would be AWESOME too. A spot where you could just update your project post with pictures and tech so you don't heve to rehash stuff you have already done and posted about months before. You could actually see who is working on stuff too and who are are just talkers.

I don't know shit but in my opinion:

PROJECT AREA = COOL
BULLSHIT AREA = COOL
SPELLCHECK = COOL
CALENDAR = COOL

It sounds like a lot to do, but with the amount of content here and growing, something is going to have to be done before more valuable people give up the goat and leave (ironhunter comes to mind).

[Mutt]

I was thinking along the lines that Sodbuster mentioned - a way that people could flag posts that were a waste of time and space, and allow you to avoid reading every post to look for them. People wouldn't have to post a response, just hit the flag to voice displeasure. It could even be automatic - if a certain percentage of viewers hit the button, it disappears. You could even select members to have that ability - not everyone needs it. It would be even better if those who had it, weren't aware of who else had it. That way it's an honest opinion.

I always thought the HAMB was for everyone who appreciated traditional rods and customs, ownership not required, and no age restrictions. I've put a lot of kids in my car at the strip for pictures, and the smiles tell me it's worth it. Maybe some day they'll come to the HAMB for help in building a hot rod.

There will always be chitchat amongst friends, OT talk that may enter into an on-topic post - and there's nothing wrong with that. But the blatant posting of "ugly cars", "goldchainer rides", and other crap that people post, apparently to make themselves feel superior to someone else, sucks.

A calender would be nice.

Paypal would be nice.

I wouldn't want to see HAMB merchandise available to the general public.

Mutt

[four-thirteen]

Is this place about the people, or the cars?

[Kevin Lee]

[ QUOTE ]
Is this place about the people, or the cars?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes.

[Rand Man]

There is no way I can read through all these posts at work. I don't really know how these boards operate but could there be more posts per page? Sometimes a post falls to page three or four in an hour or so. I can't believe you guys run this thing in your spare time. It's great, as-is!

[zonkola]

On not allowing people on the board unless they own a hot rod or custom: I don't think that an enthusiastic guy who is dreaming of putting a hot rod together should be banned from the board just because he doesn't have any old tin in his garage yet. A board like this can help him decide what kind of car/parts to get in the first place, and there are plenty of guys here willing to help out a sincere individual. Are on-topic hot rod posts from a non-car-owner really a problem?

Also, Mutt said: [ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't want to see HAMB merchandise available to the general public.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think there's some merit to this, but I don't think there's a good reason to not sell t-shirts to active HAMBers. Perhaps the HAMB Store would only be visible to a logged in members who have been registered for a couple of months?

[Hot Rod To Hell]

Maybe with the shirt deal, it could be like a "club".... you're a probate for 6 months or 100 posts or something...

If you make it through the probationary period without any major fuck-ups, you can buy shirts...

Don't ask me... I just work here. (But I am PROUD to be part [no matter how insignificant] of this group of HOODLUMS, and I would sport the "colors" with PRIDE! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif)

[38pickup]

[ QUOTE ]


Also, Mutt said: [ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't want to see HAMB merchandise available to the general public.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think there's some merit to this, but I don't think there's a good reason to not sell t-shirts to active HAMBers. Perhaps the HAMB Store would only be visible to a logged in members who have been registered for a couple of months?

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with the above. I feel that the merchandise should only be visible to HAMBers.

[VolksRodder]

Ryan,

Here's just a couple suggestions I can add that seem to work well on my board. One's that have been already mentioned by others in one form or another.

I don't like to see a board all split up into different categories bacause I think it splits the community up too much, so I have everything lumped into one main forum much like you have here... with a couple exeptions that I think help looking up folk's projects, etc...

I have a section titled... " Members Intros and Project Updates (http://volksrods.com/forums/index.php?showforum=6) "
In this section, members are able to keep their own journal of sorts of their progress, and others can just easily look it up to check the latest project updates and read that member's intro anytime they want to.
No replies from other members allowed, to keep it from getting cluttered. Just a thread specifically for a single member to post what they want about themselves and their projects. Works great.

Secondly... an ongoing and updated " List of Upcoming Events (http://volksrods.com/forums/index.php?showforum=5) " with a Calendar (http://volksrods.com/forums/index.php?act=calendar) for showing the goings on.

As far as the O/T shit... I didn't see the need for an entire section devoted to it. In the main forum, I have a floating single thread simply titled "SH*T". It's about 60 something pages long, and it's where everyone posts their off-the-wall O/T stuff. Aside from a few instances of my moderators or myself having to merge a few straying O/T posts into that one... the members are pretty good about keeping the O/T crap in there. Keeps clutter down.

Lastly... an updated list of " Members Rides (http://volksrods.com/1.htm) " on the main page along with a smaller section off of that one that I put the " Latest Updates (http://volksrods.com/id55.htm) " on... so folks don't have to scroll through pages of pictures to find the latest progress shots of the member's rides.

Bottom line though... is that also have 4 moderators to help me with this. The HAMB is WAY larger than my place. I don't know how you can do it with only Grimlock and yourself keeping everything in line.

The actual member participation in helping make all this work out, is a BIG part of it too. I'm pretty lucky in that aspect and makes my job a lot easier.

I've like the way it's been working the last few years I've been here... but just a couple suggestions that have worked for me since you asked.

Keep up the good work. You've done a killer job with how much the HAMB has grown.

~Steve

[Flat Ernie]

I've seen at least 3 people ask for a way to flag bad posts - it already exists. Look at the bottom of the post labeled "Post Extras" - it's the 3rd icon, "Notify Moderator" &amp; looks like a circle w/slash through it.

Now, having said that, I don't know what happens when you hit that button!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

EDIT - I just hit the button on this post &amp; it asked me if I was sure if I wanted to notify the moderator(s). If this post disappears, we'll know they saw it &amp; deleted it! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[TINGLER]

[ QUOTE ]
1) if you dont own, have built, or are building a hotrod, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
2) if you dont own, have built, or are building a custom, delete yourself from the members list and never post here again.
5,000 of the nearly 6,000 posters here need to be axed and return to lurker status. I'm glad you all like hotrods but go away.
take your bugs, falcons, brand X, and B list crap and blow them out of your ass.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[/ QUOTE ]

When Ryan takes the little pic of the FALCON in the upper left hand corner of the HAMB and BLOWS IT OUT HIS ASS....
Then I'll take my Fairlane and blow it out my ass.

'till then, I'll be right here doing crazy ass things to a 1963 FORD FAIRLANE.
(BTW Ryan, please don't ever get rid of that little pic now....)

I like the way the place runs. I think people like to wax nostalgic about the "old days" and say things like "boy, things sure aren't like they used to be"....

Well, I've been here for 2 years and things are exactly the same now as they used to be. I love the HAMB. As was said earlier, I think people are generally full of shit and love to generate their own drama. I like to get in the fray and sling some shit, but afterwards, I laugh it off. Most of you out there are just like me and don't know your asshole from your elbow. I've gotten some good advice, some bad advice, and some shit that just doesn't make any sense at all from this place.

ITS ALL GOOD. You just keep going and shrug it off. Jeezus, who the hell out there is taking any of this that seriously? You really need a reality check.

Ryan, don't beat yourself up over the way things are. I think its going very well.

Just my .02

VT.

[Dakota]

Ryan, After bgeing a part of the online community for a long time, i have been on and off lots of boards.

The biggest thing here is i think you need to add a few more Moderators, out of some of the members here. Make them police themselves. This had bothe made and broke alot of boards though too so you would have to bee choosey on who you picked.

Dont add more boards, its hard enough to keep up with everything on the main board as it is. I like to read it all, as alot of people do. And if they see something they dont like, they can pass it over just as easy as anything. if they dont like it, dont click on it.

I have not been a member long, but i hagrown to really love this place. I hope i can contribute to it as well as others do.

~Aaron

[Ryan]

VT, that image is actually getting ready to change real soon! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Kevin and I are working on a new HAMB design that quite frankly kicks some serious ass.

That said, you are one of my favorites so I don't think you have anything to worry about at all...

[praisethelowered]

Suggestions-

1. Some kind of parts wanted section where the items are listed in the title would be great- that way we can all help each other find parts. It will help combat the e-bayification of the world and give us another way to help each other out. And that is what binds us together.

2. Avatar pictures- NO PORN! I leave the HAMB on as a background at work and look when large files are regenerating. I want the HAMB to look as generic as possible from five feet away.

3. Avatar pictures- Not to be a nazi or anything, but if everyone had to post a picture of thier car it would be way easier to "consider the source" when reading people's comments. Our cars are how we communicate and it will keep the jokers who haven't built anything from spouting off. In the real world I make more of an effort to talk to someone when I like thier car because it has alrerady coimmunicated to me that we have something in common. It would help if we could use our cars to "speak for us" a little bit on the HAMB as well.

4. The search function is the only real technical problem. Like bass said, more optionsd for filtering searches would be great.

5. Somebody else mentioned "no merchandise" and at the risk of opening a can of flame on myself lets just say I second that. The world has too many t-shirts with logos already.

6. Several have suggested a requirement to fill out the user profile. I agree. Again it would indicate pretty well who is interested in traditional cars and who is interested in clogging up boards with O.T.

7. I'm conflicted about the idea of splitting the board. I too don't see why the hamb should provide a place for any O.T. discussion. However, I am pretty sure if there was a tech only section I wouldn't go anywhere else and all of the coolest hambers and best posts would end up there.

[TINGLER]

[ QUOTE ]
VT, that image is actually getting ready to change real soon! Kevin and I are working on a new HAMB design that quite frankly kicks some serious ass.
That said, you are one of my favorites so I don't think you have anything to worry about at all...


[/ QUOTE ]

OH no!.....uhhh....I was just joking about blowing the Fairlane out my ass, folks.

How does one go about doing that anyhow? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Coupe-De-CAB]

Ryan,
Congrat's to you and Grimlok for a job well done on the Hamb... this place rules and glad i found it with my new passion with these cars and owning/driving one as well:) I have already learned many things here and i have to say this is the fastest moving board forum i have ever been to and seems people are always lurking, responding and contributing here... which is great!

To help... i wouldn't mind if you charged to be a member on the Hamb and i would gladly pay to support what you guys have created here:)

When my new "skate deck" comes out in a month featureing my Ford coupe on it, i will donate it to be auctioned off to contribute to this place.. can't wait!

best wishes and be proud.

good points... Paypal- calender of events.

CAB

[porknbeaner]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Is this place about the people, or the cars?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good answer.

[FoMoCo_MoFo]

as far as i see it the HAMB need little fine tuning. i like that it's not super high tech and state of the art it is similar to our cars. simple and easy to use.

O/T section would be good, because the moderators can always transfer whatever they feel is trully O/T over to there. By way of doing this, newbies etc. will get a feel of what is actually on topic for the HAMB. it would work kind of like a toilet. all the off topic SHIT can go there.

CALENDER of events is good...

i like the auctions...but the paypal button could be a good thing too.

RIDES I always like to see pix of cars. but would employ an "up to 1964" rule.

Here's an idea for you. It's for the idiots that start shit or post too much off topic. Slapping them on the wrist and babysitting them would just be a pain in the ass for Ryan. Put these people on a probation by limiting their posting. If they only have say 1 post and 6 replies a week maybe they will think more before using them. Might be good for newbies too. Maybe give them a little more til they get used to the place. If you still use your probation posts for OT stuff and drama.....kick em to the curb!

Sorry I can't be harsh about the board. I like it the way it is. It's just a few people that like to start shit. I'm guilty of pickin on friends and when I try to joke with someone I don't know I try to make it very clear I'm joking. I came in to this place when most of the newbies got a good hazing when they came in. I was dissapointed I wasn't given a harder time. Newbie posts have sorta lost their fun. I check them out from time to time to see if they have a nice car or they are a local person. Most of the time I only have time to check the posts that interest me.
Some of the suggestions I've liked...
Car pics in the profile page
Spell check (my spelling sucks!)
Event calender
Paypal page (you deserve to get paid!!!!)
Clark

[Sailor]

Im member no.60 or so, and got to admit that Im not nearly as much around as before. The reason for this doesnt have anything with the way you run the board, Ryan, -thats all good. The reason is more the scale of it all these days, I think. What used to be a corner on the web populated by a bunch of great personalities one could get to know (in my case without actually meeting them), is now a huge mall with thousands of almost identicalposting types writing the same ON-topic stuff about the same cars. The standard-issue IronCross-thread is coming up more and more frequently so to speak, and its getting hard to spot the types whose posts I love to read, -ON-topic or not (and yes; JimA is one of these)

I have no idea if this is really is an objective problem that needs fixing or how to fix it, -Im just pointing out what it looks like from my corner without bitching and moaning too much.. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Joe Riot]

I didn't read everyones post but I'm sure someone had mentioned it already. How about a page where we can upload photos of our cars. A photo gallery section.. or something?

[GomezGarage]

Being a sorta newbie I dont have much to say. I came here from the Muscle Car era scene. The only thing I can think of is a "Hamber's Rides Section" You could search cars and get ideas. Other than that is a rough crowd sometimes but thats what makes it cool.

[Boones]

Sailors note got me thing of something I did not post in last nights note but should have in my section about OT as an example of something that some may consider OT but in reality is not. .Germs postings. I think more of his thoughts/postings are needed (not posers or imposters typing like him) if folks just thought about what he is saying they might get whats going on.

Ryan I am not sure how I think about your suggestion of having more subtopics. I lean both ways. One aspect if it keeps the board more focused on Hot Rods that is great but Rock-N-Roll has always been part of cars and a post about a new bands or album is not so bad.

[sawzall]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think you need to do better...WE need to do better!
A photo album would be nice but seperating the Forum would not help. Make an off topic forum and people would still use the main forum cause only a few would read the off topic section.
Clark

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally agree, one other board I frequent has like 25 seperate forums.. (metalmeet.com) amd its actually more difficult to follow for me..
I like the idea of a photo album, but how can you keep people from uploading files to your server and then using them for activities other than the hamb? (like ebay auctions)

anyhow RYAN. I need to publically thank you for this place.. without it many of the friendships I have made over the last 2 years would not exist..

thanks sawzall jeff

[Broman]

I would like to amend my reply.

When I first started lurking I used to drool over the different "stories" at The Jalopy Journal and the cars in the "Reader's Rides" section. I know it just makes more work for you to keep it up and fresh, but I miss that........

Maybe you could take submissions for something like that. Put it together with some art submissions and have a whole gallery for the expressionistic side of the web-site.

My previous advise was more of a "If I HAVE to bitch about something - then here goes.." post, but in reality I think the HAMB is top flight as-is. I don't mind the opinions and OT stuff and the current format is pretty good. People take stuff too seriously sometimes when it comes to outside opinions. Speaking of opinions, sorry about sounding like such a dick before - the wife was bitching at me and the kid was yelling......makes for an edgy poster. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Anywho, these suggestions merely take the "web-site" part of things a little farther. Which is probably more of an aesthetics issue for outsiders and passers-by as opposed to the message board side of things. I am guessing this post will carry no weight compared to the message board suggestions....not that any of my posts carry any weight. (VT - I'm thouroughly jealous! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif)


ohh and BTW

C9's multiple pic posting issue is a great idea.

I still hate the idea of selling merchandise.

Paypal - a must

...other than that I am fresh out of good ideas.

[bootie]

i don't mind the O/T or the check this out posts - just wish they had better titles so it makes it easier to sift through - other than that i don't have any complaints
cheerz

[Kilroy]

Strong Opinion? Ok.

There has been so much whining on here lately it makes me fucking sick. The HAMB has never suffered idiots well and the thin skinned usually didn't last long. It's also what made the HAMB lean and mean. New people learned real quick that we didn't care about how other people did it, we wanted it done right. They knew that they'd better hit the ground running or shut up long enough to figure out what went on here before sticking their foot in their mouth. I learned a lot from that and truely respect those that I may have butted heads with in the past. I value the HONESTY more than anything else.

Now you have people that have been here for years, and should fucking-well know better, getting PUSSY-HURT and leaving. I say the same thing goes for them that goes for the new guy that says "F-You" and leaves...
Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

That's another thing that made the HAMB great... IRREVERANCE! We also didn't care WHO you were, if you sounded like an ass, you had your hat handed to you. That goes for long-time HAMBers too.

JimA spent most of his time here justifying his decisions and his life. If he had just shut up, he would have been a lot happier. He always seemed to think because of who he was or what he did, or how long he'd been here, he should be treated nicer than anyone else on the HAMB. That's just another type of Billet-style elitism.

So, I say keep the HAMB what it is. If you want to change anything, maybe a little blurb about the mission of the HAMB as you sign on. And maybe a 1 week delay before you can post after you sign on. Give people a chance to get to know the place before they do something they might regret, and get rid of folks who just want to come on here to sell shit.

Also, as stupid as it sounds, you need to define what is a "Traditional Rod" as it applies to the HAMB. If you say a VW is a Traditional Rod, then those of us who don't can take it or leave it. We won't bitch about VW posts if they pop up if they are sanctioned by you.

What you say goes. You're doing a job I cant even fathom on here. Don't take any crap. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[firengine103]

Holy crap Batman, If there's one thing I respect is a man who says what he feels. I agree, after being on several auto related talk groups, it's great to be here where word is "word". If you screened the incoming for political correctness or off color remarks, it would just be another BORING talk group. I would hope readers and posters are old enough to use the computer without a parental watch program installed. I'm still a new poster, but long time browser. Keep H.A.M.B. as it is. Need donations? Just ask.

[TheRev]

Ryan...thanx for what you've done!!I'm amazed you'd even ask all us opinionated bash-tards! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I didn't read all the responses............ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
For the same reason i hardly ever read the classified's
Sooooo on that note ....the only thing i think would make my life easier is.........
(and it prolly already been said) http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif..but..
would be too break down the "for sale" stuff,maybe!!
1-driver cars,2-project cars,3-parts n pieces,4-trinkets,5-rubber n round things,6-power n parts..
Dats my 2 bits worth!!and as somebone else on here says"and i owe ya change"!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Thanx Ryan and crew.

[Rocket88]

Sailor, for me you what you said hit the nail on the head.
We've always had drama and shit going on, now it's just magnified by the sheer numbers.
I'm looking forward to the changes you have planned.
With out the HAMB my car would be what it is so far.
I've met a lot of cool people and learned a great deal, keep up the good work.

[McGrath]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, as stupid as it sounds, you need to define what is a "Traditional Rod" as it applies to the HAMB.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can see why Ryan has not made any Rulings about what should or should not be talked about on the HAMB. It's kind of hard to make a call on all the "Off-Topic" stuff because the interests here are so diverse. For example, Tiki Bars and Skateboarding don't have much to do with Traditional Rods and Customs, but both subjects are well recieved on the HAMB.

Some O/T things seem obvious, like Muscle Cars and Street Rods, but more and more "Street Rodders" are starting to build cars in the Old Styles. If they keep it up, the line is going to get blurry there too. What will be the defining point then? Cost? Whether it was built by the owner or not?

I think VT's Fairlane fits in just fine. What if I build a Gasser Style '62 Impala? Will it be a Musclecar or a Gasser?

[Bruce Lancaster]

We have the BEST auto magazine on the planet, instant and loaded with real experts on every branch of automotive work, design, and history. If I need to know how to rebuild a hydromatic, weld a razor blade to an anvil, or chop a '53 Chevy, I can get immediate, experienced information, usually well illustrated, right now. HAMB has a thousand times the technical expertise and authority that Primedia has.
I see two problems: First, too much off-topic garbage, and second, a lack of permanence--this is, in effect, a magazine that has only a current issue, so the info does not cumulate except for the few treasures that go into TechOmatic. If I remember an article from six weeks ago that I could now use, it's gone--at best I can beg for repition from an overworked expert or perhaps a copy from someones personal files. If a way can be found to put the best of HAMB into an archive, we will have the best auto rag on the planet, one that will draw in people as they discover the source of the info they can find in a web search. What I suggest: A massive overhaul of the Techomatic. I see a first page of Tech that just shows clicks for topics--early Ford tech, brakes, steering, suspension, etc. Each click will lead to a menu of techomatic posts--Early Ford to a page showing brakes, brake swaps, flatheads, four bangers, wishbones, steering...
Other departments would lead to Nailheads, Hemis, Rockets, etc, and whole clusters of more generally usable info on brakes, sheetmetal work, welding, suspension mods, formulas, and so on.
Each category would have its own editor, moving the best materials posted in his area into TECH, deleting the useless bits and adding new info as it appears. Someone looking for cowl steering or split rod info would find a whole page of the best of HAMB on his topic, and the real experts wouldn't have to rewrite the same basics over and over again. These pages would cover most repeat inquiries and also serve as a jumping-off point for further info and new ideas. Imagine the power of a magazine as good as HAMB with all the best of its back issues readily available!

Badly OT postings or stuff that's pointlessly profane or abusive should be killed and deleted at once. If a good post goes bad, lock it after cutting the garbage. If a post starts out bad, kill it and lose it. Send out warnings at once, eject the culprit if necessary.
The policies on this should be posted across the first page right above the first articles, posted in sight and not in a post needing to be opened. HAMB is, of course,a family and community, and this policy does not need to apply to decent social posts or community responses of support to bereavement, troubled lives, and personal triumphs even as non-tech stuff is rooted out. No community can survive on tech alone! Also, it has been suggested that there be a separate forum area for bull and chat--not a bad idea.
Anytime trouble increases too much, declare "Tech Week!"

Little stuff:
Put the searching instructions up front on the search page--the stuff like "+1932 + Ford", rather than hiding them.
Make picture posting easier.
Make HAMBage like stickers and T shirts readily available--this always gets so complicated and confused I give up.
Money--a big archival operation with pictures obviou$ly costs a lot. Make $ contributions easy, have a suggested yearly upkeep contribution, be sure members know this is a costly operations. All the times this has come up, I have been so confused by the pages of discussion I am unsure whether HAMB actually needs money or not!
I spend $5.00 over and over to buy Primedia mags I frequently don't even open--what would I pay for HAMB? Lots!

To get back to my main point, think what HAMB could be with its past and present readily available. How awesome would Hot Rod and R&amp;C be if we could readily search out 1953 engine swaps and such? We could do that right here! Bruce

[Mel]

If you add more boards, a new post search function is helpful... otherwise the boards will move creep along as people get into the habit of checking just one board. In light of that, separate art, o/t, and general boards could be helpful in keeping tech at the top. I don't think it's necessary to separate into hot rods, customs, ect since the info is fairly universal.

Anyway, whatever you do, I'm sure it will rock...
I'll be looking forward to the calendar function http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[slazzen]

add to my list NO E-BAY no links, no post about, no spam just plain no e-bay period.

I think one thing you need to respect is that if Ryan Receives money from a paypal button this becomes Taxable income and a bussiness
He is already border line auditable and I belive he has expressed he dosnt want the hassle!!!

also a miscatoragized button that sends a flag to the moderators to view a thread like on craigslist

there are alot of good ideas from craigslist that can be learned it is the largest message board info line for free in the world

I agree about this place being better than any magazine but the differance is that if i remember a article i can just go pickit up and get my answer. on the hamb if i remember something i need to see again good luck finding it

[ray]

an option to IGNORE certain postes might make Ryan's job easier. you add a button, so people can selectively ignore posters and/or topics they don't care for, it's like they don't even exist. that way they deal with the issue themselves, and not cry to ryan everytime oneload posts something they don't like. probably a bandwidth hog though.

[LiL' NiCk]

I have had problems contacting you. My hamb'o dex took a while, but most recently I tried asking your permission to make HAMB t's-all I wanted was a go head or a No way can't do. Maybe if people knew what kool to ask you and how many weeks is needed for a response.

Subject categories:
I remember being part of requesting a HAMB art show 2 years ago. I post art less now, but have noticed it blew up-in to ways stripin &amp; auto art. Maybe a separte link to "kustom Kulture/ Hot Rod art" would be appropriate. I know you say this is for cars. But without auto-rendering, such I &amp; others do, we wouldn't know what it might look like.

Auctions:
Ryan ya must be delighted for all this donated money!!
Could we have a Auction/ Hamb donation link?
And with no/ response to my PM's, all your auctions, and personal friend's pm's....Is there a way to get help with general &amp; basic replies?

Alll in all you don't have to change anything if you don't want to. This place is GREAT, and surreal!!!!!!!Ryan, look at what you've DONE!!!- You've created an entire culture, I've meet people from around the USA &amp; world because of you!How could you improve that accomplishment!!!!!

THANK-YOU RYAN
Hamber carartNICK

[oldchevyseller]

Ignore lists,, this deals with the whole dynamic content vs cached pages issue almost every page on the frontend is cached. it is extremely difficult to make some post and users posts appear for some users, but not others,,this is gonna be on the admin functiond to give permissions,


for people who don't know forum site manageing is the shits, you live it, breath it, and die with it, so profs out to ryan ,as i have told him .about the running of this site and it 's ability to even be here with out endless crashing and so overrun with crap that is no use to anyone,

do some web search , anything on ubbthreads, or a place called evedev, forum admin sites, the geeks hangouts, very cool and informative,and read about this 6.5 ubb he is planning on upgradeing to, The 6.7 version is going have some new stuff, computer language is always changing and hackable,menaing tweaking it to your likings or the users liking,

[Lionheart]

I agree with most everything Bruce Lancaster had to say.
It makes sence and would make the HAMB easier to navigate
and find topics again that interest you.

Forget the intro---make EVERYONE fill out a COMPLETE, NO
BULLSHIT BIO. Then if anyone wants to see a little info on someone, you don't have to waist time finding their intro.

Hope you figure it out Ryan, i'm sure you will. Good Luck.

[Nads]

Everything's cool just the way it is.

I wish you would charge a subscription, that way you could seperate those that WANT the HAMB from those that NEED it.

I'd put my money where my mouth is.

Thank you Ryan for giving a home to my big fat mouth, I love you brother.

[50dodge4x4]

I kinda new here too but,

I don't like the idea of splitting up the board. I've been on other boards that have split OT and Tech. People with limited computer time tend to go to the OT board to keep up with what is going on first, then often don't have time to look at the Tech end of it. The result is fewer tech gets answers, less answers evolves to less questions, which makes more go to the OT board. One of the great things about the HANB is the quick Tech answers.

I think the biggest problem here is the jerks that wait for an oppertunity to ambush anyone they can. It doesn't matter if they are new or have been here since the begining of time, if all they want to do is bitch and complain, and try to belittle others they need to leave.

Off Topic posts are a fact of life. They need to be identified as OT. If a tread turnes into a pissing match, it needs to be locked/deleted long before it gets to 2 or 3 pages, and all the parties involved need to be warned. a predetermind number of warnings needs to be established before someone is shown the door, unless things are really out of hand, that way everyone knows where they stand.

I think all treads need to be identified as to the subject in the tread heading. (including the clasified section) If the heading doesn't explain what its about, delete it. It that would make scanning what we want to read easier and faster.

I think the pay pal button would be a good idea, if the guys with money want to give you some, you might as well take it. If there is a tax concern, set up the HAMB as a bussiness.

Make filling out the profile required for new members as well as old members. The posters ride pictures would be cool.

I really like the calendar of events. List by date, reagen, state, city. Also preregistration date, prices, and show restrictions. A mapquest link to the show would be a nice function as well.

This is a neat place, even if I have no idea what some of you define a "traditional rod" as. I like it here, and I'm planning on hanging around for a while. Gene

[Preacher]

ryan,

a buzz word in the field of sociology right now is "authoritative communities"

here is an article on the subject that i thought had tremendous cross over for the hamb. you have done a tremendous job creating what sociologists have tried to perfect and have not been nearly as sucessful as you. i thought you might find this particular quote interesting:

"The Commission explained its choice of the word “authoritative,” noting, “First the word refers to a strong body of scholarly evidence demonstrating the value of that particular combination of warmth and structure in which children in a democratic society appear most likely to thrive. Second, the word comes from the Latin auctor, which can mean ‘one who creates.’ We like that. Authoritative communities just don’t happen. They are created and sustained by dedicated individuals with a shared vision of building a good life for the next generation.”

In order to create an authoritative community, one must understand its features. The Commission lists what it considers to be the 10 main characteristics. They include:

It is a social institution that includes children and youth.
It treats children as ends in themselves.
It is warm and nurturing.
It establishes clear limits and expectations.
The core of its work is performed largely by non-specialists.
It is multi-generational.
It has a long-term focus.
It reflects and transmits a shared understanding of what it means to be a good person.
It encourages spiritual and religious development.
It is philosophically oriented to the equal dignity of all persons and to the principle of love of neighbor.
In light of these 10 characteristics, the Commission states as a primary goal “to deepen our society’s commitment to those values that build and sustain authoritative communities, and to reconsider our commitment to those values that often replace or undermine them. The former include enduring marital relationships and family connectedness, community action and civic engagement, and concern for the moral and spiritual well-being of all children. The latter include ‘me first’ and consumerism as ways of living, materialism, and the notion of the individual person as self-made and owing little to others or to society.”

ryan... keep up the great work, truly you have embodied what it means to be community

here is the link to the whole article (http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:eWLTV4GNRO4J:www.drrobertbrooks.com/writings/articles/0405.html+AUTHORITATIVE+COMMUNITY&amp;hl=en)

[oldchevyseller]

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gifsorry but i get this cartoon bubble from the nurturing community ryan post,"our creator", sort of a version of 2001 with the monkees with the bones, pounding, on a roadster body smoothing a crease , ,

i like the post preacher,
that "is "what he did, intended or not

[Drewfus]

Structurally(ie web layout, design, format etc), I like the HAMB as it is, my only suggestion would be to modify the ‘members profile’ area such that it could cater for a short intro, a couple (2 or 3) of photo’s of the members ride(s), and or a project. No more 'intro's as such...

Over the last couple of years I’ve struggled to see the ‘great’ info available due to the sheer volume of ‘threads’. I appreciate that with the volume of people we now have, more people want to talk, but unfortunately the choice of topics that we as a group contribute to seem to be at the detriment of the core focus of the HAMB (to ‘spread the gospel of traditional hot rods and customs to greasers world wide’ ).

This is my ‘core’ issue, as the following points affect this………..

• More unnecessary ‘attitude’ or repetitive opinions added to threads, which more often than not aren’t of any grand importance eg 6 pages referencing an intro compared to ¾ page for informative info or project progress reports

• The continual finger pointing at various ebay ads, individuals, cars and groups, whinging and whining, and generally mocking. A joke/ribbing is cool but it’s only funny if everyones laughing…..

• The neverending threads saying ‘look what I brought home’ with pages of photo’s (generally 4-6 photo’s of a bare, flogged, shell sitting on a shed floor) &amp; ‘at-a-boy’ remarks. I’m not suggesting that this type of thread is bad, just the sheer volume of photo’s/reply’s which eventually push all the ‘great’ stuff further into the archieves

Instead of talking about issues which promote, educates, or builds up the members and their daily life issues, we seem to focus our attention on trivia, fighting like swine in a mudpit . I appreciate that this is the HAMB, not just a text book, so just looking for a 'balance' as such that's all.

We are responsible, and we must be made accountable (as opposed to either Kevin or Ryan).

As to make the ‘HAMB’ more user friendly…….I don’t have an ‘easy’ solution, my only suggestion is to make individuals more ‘accountable’ for their actions, and hang their heads on a post to remind others.

As for the suggestion of a HAMB subscription, I’m of two minds, I’d certainly put my money where my mouth is and cash up, but also, if I was a newbie, how would I get to experience the HAMB, hence rendering the ‘motto’ usless as we wouldn’t be promoting to the new…….

As a compromise, I’d propose to have a similar arrangement to a few boards whereby the members suscribe to be able to post photos. Whilst I recognize that this won’t slow down the volume of threads, it would have to help financially, and certainly reduce (to a point) some of the crap that’s posted…..

‘spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and customs to greasers world wide’ Long live the HAMB……..

Cheers,
Drewfus (Australia)

[I go pogo]

Hey Ryan
Don't beat your self up! This is a fun place and if you'r not having fun, I am sad. I think you guys are doing a fine job and any thing you want to do more will be appreciated. More rules will mean you will have to work harder to enforce them and that is no fun at all plus I know who to read and who to let slide as do most.This forum has, as you well know, grown under your guidence and of Its own volition.It will never be perfect or maybe it is now, but some will dig it some won't. Please figure out a way to start having fun again or you'll jet and I think it's you that holds the HAMB together. Pogo

[51Hg]

How about updating show coverage and hamber's rides pics. That's all I ask?

[Zodoff]

What mr Lancaster said!
I think the board rules,but its HUGE.
Its (I think)the same level of o\t versus tech as it always has been,only more of both.
What about adding some "tech-flags" for us to use?
We'll do the job for you,pointing them out so you can put them where they belong.

Once again,thanks for the HAMB,and the opportunity to learn so much more about what we are truly addicted to.

(P.S: a spellcheck function might make it easyer for you folks to understand us scandinavians... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )


Z.

[willowbilly3]

The main problem is basically the flood of new members. They should read the thing they agree to but shit, really who reads those things. Make it arbitrary to fill out a profile question sheet on sign up.
Somehow this board encourages talking trash, I even do it more here than anywhere else. And if you read those posts like the one on the Mazda pickup you will find much of it is people defending other peoples right to own what they want. Come on old timers, if something like that crops up how about just saying something like "That's not what we are about so please delete it now" instead of a bunch of derrogitory remarks. We seem to love to dogpile the poor saps who stumble in here without a clue. Rough them up a little? sure, but after a couple of the old timers have done it that's enough. And you guys who have been here from the beginning and only have a couple hundred posts need to contribute more, you are taking and not giving back. You want someone else to do all the work so you have a place to glean ideas? Maybe you are just busy building cars and don't spend that much time on the computer. Take time to share what you are doing.

[willowbilly3]

[ QUOTE ]
No one here said kick out young people, in fact no mention of age was made in that post. The point was about if whether you are currently building a traditional hot rod or custom or have done so already. Then this is your place. If not, take a hike.

I was working on my first hot rod at 15 years old. There's no reason why a teenager can't jump in and start building and ask many questions along the way. I think the point was directed at the people who are not into working on their own cars, or are into other types of cars but post here, wasting space and time.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was building my first at about the same age but not all budding gearheads have the resources. He(she) might be living in an apartment with a single mom who doesn't drive or even have a parking spot.

[klazurfer]

I was thinkin` maybe the "Post-icon" selection should be mandatory (?)( No post unless a "Post-icon" is choosed ) , with fewer choices , like :"TECH" , "TECH-Q" , Meet-Info"
"OT-But still Cool ", NEWBIE" , "Adventures" .. and some more .. Just a thought .. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Action Girl]

Here's an idea...

How about purging everyone from the list who has never posted or hasn't posted in the last year. They can sign up again of course, but looking over the list of members... there's tons of people that never post at all, or are obviously not legitimate...

It would get the list pretty clean and give you a real idea of how many active members you have.

Stacey

[46stude]

My opinions-

If a post is OT, then we need to label that post as OT in the title. The post icon requirement would help remedy this.

Require the bio to be filled out before registration is completed. That way if theres a newbee posting, the "intro police" can look at his bio &amp; see who they're talking to. If we didn't have all the "intro" posts, more tech would stay at the top &amp; less bandwidth would be sucked up. If they fill out the bio w/ crap answers, then let the "intro cops" eat the newbee alive.

We need a little more direction as to what constitutes a "traditional rod". Half of the cars here aren't what I'd consider traditional. To me trad is a car built in the style of the early '60s or before. When guys get blasted becuz they post about building a Bug Rod or something like Crow's Jeep project, then other guys are posting about their mid-'60s sedan w/ a straight axle &amp; getting praised for it, I get confused. I love straight axled rides &amp; plan to build one someday out of a Falcon, but is it "traditional"?

I think you need to "clean house" on occasion here. Anyone who doesn't post after 6 months needs to be deleted. Newbees who post here just to sell something &amp; then never post again have no need to remain registered. This would promote more people to stay involved if they really wanna be part of the HAMB. I also think any OT thread needs to go away after about 6 months or so.

Posts like the severely chopped &amp; channeled A that keep coming back around need to be whacked quickly. I may like that car, but it belongs on the OSR's message board- not here. This place doesn't need to have all the numerous pages stuff like that post generates. More mods would fix that problem. Two men watching this whole board just isn't enuff IMHO, esp when Ryan has such a full plate in his real life. Grimlock needs some back-up from guys he &amp; Ryan can trust.

No need to split up the forums into anything more than whats here now. OT posts labeled as such will let us chose what to look at &amp; what to read. Temporary forums like the HAMB Drags or DOTD or Roundup or Deadtown shows are the only extra forums we need.

Banning people for causing problems was mentioned a while back. I think thats an excellent idea. Give them a warning, then exile them for a month or so the next time. If problems arise again, then ban 'em. This is something only Ryan should be capable of. Mods can inform him of the problem &amp; he would have the final say. That way no one can whine that the mods play favorites.

Overall this board is fine as-is. All of the problems here are the direct result of us as members.

[Ryan]

Ok fellas, thank you so much for all your help. I especially want to thank the guys that were so frank and from the hip.

We have put together a comitee of sorts to build the improvements and I am confident that we are going to do some amazing things. I don't know if you guys realize it or not, but this thread will most likely influence the direction of this place for a long time to come. I am really fucking amped at the prospects.

[Munson]

LOOK YOU O/T IDIOTS... haha

I am a member of a message board with 167,958 users. It has 206 forums ranging from everything in life you could be interested in. Kinda neat but NOWAY as cool as the HAMB!

The HAMB has 1375 users w/100+ posts. Thats 458 people per the 3 postable forums that only cover cars, for sale, and oh yeah, the other one doesn't get used (Q&amp;A). If this takes up more that 30mins/day of your life than its a BIG part of your life and "1" discussion forum isn't enough. Lets get real!!

As this board grows (# of members) people who want to share their lives don't really have a place to do that. Thats why I check the HAMB less lately. I scan the main board for interesting "car related posts" not what happened at jims last night.

An arena for this needs to be made.

A vote on what HAMB members are interested in and would like to dedicate areas for should be discussed.

I like cars, photos, and classifieds.
**Would be interested in bikes and a regional forum to keep in touch with my local brethren.

Thanks for reading, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[lownrusty]

the bio's should be filled out , whats there secret about where they live and who they are,and a return email addy would be nice as well. just my 2 cents.

[ray]

you touched on a good point munson, some times i check into the hamb for tech, sometimes for show coverage, sometimes just for the fuck of it. problem is, if you only log in to check out a particular topic, ALL posts get turned into "already read" posts, and the "posts since last visit to the topic" gets reset. different forums would help that, and help those who are just popping in for whatever reason to find what they need in a hurry, ie. the tech forum, or show pictures. if we had a forum for show coverage, you would still find all the picture posts from the hamb drags and the hunnert car pileup on the front page of that forum, not fifty pages back on the main board.

[38pickup]

[ QUOTE ]
you touched on a good point munson, some times i check into the hamb for tech, sometimes for show coverage, sometimes just for the fuck of it. problem is, if you only log in to check out a particular topic, ALL posts get turned into "already read" posts, and the "posts since last visit to the topic" gets reset. different forums would help that, and help those who are just popping in for whatever reason to find what they need in a hurry, ie. the tech forum, or show pictures. if we had a forum for show coverage, you would still find all the picture posts from the hamb drags and the hunnert car pileup on the front page of that forum, not fifty pages back on the main board.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totaly agree ray, the same would be true for a Introduction forum... So when a new member posts in the main form we can look at his introduction or his bio and quickly know who he is, and what he is all about, etc.

[RPW]

HAMB has grown big, maybe too big, and due to that it is not as comfortable as it once was. Way too many posts are similar to each other, just echos.... (this one too I guess!). But an advice to many who posts: Think twice when posting and the HAMB will improve.

Im a long time HAMB´er, and I guess one of few who had stayed that long, but Im a custom guy and not into flat black paint, pinstriping or tattoos at all. Some times I post, but more often I just read. There used to be more custom guys around back in the early days, by percent, not by numbers. Yes, I think its time to separate things: Separate boards for art, rods, customs, tech...
I would no longer be a regular if there was a board that could handle the customs in a good way, but until then I will stay here, but mostly I will stay silent.

[DrJ]

I've only got one suggestion...
You know where the replier's name gives the date and time of the reply?
Would it be possible to put the date (and time maybe) of the original post where you have the name of the originator poster's name?

That way we will know when a title says "Even more new pics of *** show!" we can recognize it as the ones we've been returning to repeatedly for the past five days before waiting, again, for our dialup to show them.
KnowhatImean? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

[CURIOUS RASH]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
you touched on a good point munson, some times i check into the hamb for tech, sometimes for show coverage, sometimes just for the fuck of it. problem is, if you only log in to check out a particular topic, ALL posts get turned into "already read" posts, and the "posts since last visit to the topic" gets reset. different forums would help that, and help those who are just popping in for whatever reason to find what they need in a hurry, ie. the tech forum, or show pictures. if we had a forum for show coverage, you would still find all the picture posts from the hamb drags and the hunnert car pileup on the front page of that forum, not fifty pages back on the main board.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totaly agree ray, the same would be true for a Introduction forum... So when a new member posts in the main form we can look at his introduction or his bio and quickly know who he is, and what he is all about, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]<font color="green"> You can already do that.

Just click on the users name, you will see the bio, if they fill it out. Then click on the "show all useres posts" tab.

Look for the post at the bottom of the list and it should be an intro. </font>

[Unkl Ian]

I help moderate a couple boards,and hang out on too many others;
so I know how difficult it can be to Moderate things effectively,
and what happens when things are not moderated properly.

Since you asked:

The rest of the entire Internet is available for Off Topic posts,people should be "strongly encouraged" to use it that way.
"The HAMB is dedicated to Traditional Hot Rods and Customs,
if you want to talk about something else,do it somewhere else."

"Look at this ugly POS" posts don't add anything positive to the board.

Some simple,straight forward rules,prominately displayed,like in the HAMB classifieds,
would be a big help IF the were enforced.
A workable definition of "Traditional Hot Rods and Customs" would be helpfull.

Mindless bullshit threads need to get locked,or deleted sooner.
They reach a point where all they are doing is pissing people off,and wasting space.

I don't expect everyone to agree on everything,all the time.
Healthy debate is good.But anyone really looking for a fight should be on the outide looking in.

There will come a time when additional moderators will be necessary

Let me know if I can help.

[Spedley]

[ QUOTE ]


Since you asked:

The rest of the entire Internet is available for Off Topic posts,people should be "strongly encouraged" to use it that way.
"The HAMB is dedicated to Traditional Hot Rods and Customs,
if you want to talk about something else,do it somewhere else."

"Look at this ugly POS" posts don't add anything positive to the board.

Some simple,straight forward rules,prominately displayed,like in the HAMB classifieds,
would be a big help IF the were enforced.
A workable definition of "Traditional Hot Rods and Customs" would be helpfull.

Mindless bullshit threads need to get locked,or deleted sooner.
They reach a point where all they are doing is pissing people off,and wasting space.

I don't expect everyone to agree on everything,all the time.
Healthy debate is good.But anyone really looking for a fight should be on the outide looking in.



[/ QUOTE ]
I agree wholeheartedly with this. The only thing that tends to get on my nerves a bit is when newer members, like ones starting this year, like myself, start bashing people if they dont do an intro like they own the place. Leave that up to the old skool folks. In my opinion, everything is cool, and whatever you think is necessary to fix this board, do it, it is yours Ryan.

[Broman]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's an idea...

How about purging everyone from the list who has never posted or hasn't posted in the last year. They can sign up again of course, but looking over the list of members... there's tons of people that never post at all, or are obviously not legitimate...

It would get the list pretty clean and give you a real idea of how many active members you have.

Stacey


[/ QUOTE ]


I might be acting a little rough here but that's just a silly idea.

There are dozens of old timers who have WAY more knowledge than the regulars on this board who just don't post a lot. Moriarity hasn't been here for more than a year, but I certainly wouldn't want to toss his membership just for a (very tiny) bit of server space.

If he decided to come out of the garage for a change and post up new pics of his newest Ed Roth re-construction I wouldn't want him to have to go through a hassle to re-issue his membershit.

That goes for a whole slew of OG HAMBers as well - some who have thousands of posts, but just haven't been around lately for whatever reason. (I always hope they are lurking).

Besides who cares if there are 4000 "fake" names on a list?

Not being a jerk - just pointing out something....


Whatever happens with the changes, I am looking forward to it. There is so much good happening that it can't really go wrong.

....to make an observation here - it seems to me like there is a lot more bitching about OT than there is actual OT posts. Whenever folks start crabbing about "too many OT posts", I go out to the post list and count the first 100 posts and it never really pans out....we could just shut our cake holes about it and it would seem like the problem vanished.......It's like when people say some generalization and folks just start to believe it is true.

[Flat Ernie]

I agree with you re: the purge - need to be careful. I think we should have two purges. "No posts w/in 2yrs AND <100 total posts" the other would be "<50 posts AND newer than 2yrs".

[ QUOTE ]
it seems to me like there is a lot more bitching about OT than there is actual OT posts. Whenever folks start crabbing about "too many OT posts", I go out to the post list and count the first 100 posts and it never really pans out

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not so sure the "bitch" is as much about O/T posts as it is to the speed with which "real" posts get pushed to the bottom. It "seems" to me that it is because the few O/T posts get the most response &amp; never seem to die the way they should. I'm not saying I haven't got blood on my hands - I think the vast majority of us have contributed to it - I think it's frustrating to need to check in here every few hours to keep from missing stuff.

Personally, I only scan the titles &amp; click on stuff that interests me. If I'm bored (or have the time), I'll go through some of the other stuff. I know I've gone back &amp; missed stuff because of the sheer quantity of posts.

I'm also fairly confident the definition of O/T varies with the user... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[demonspeed]

more tech weeks. and stricter rules for tech week too. theres still too much bullshit even when its tech week. i also like the no intro idea. they take up too much space and i never read em anyway. just have ppeople fill out a profile or bio or whatever so we can just click it

[CURIOUS RASH]

<font color="green"> I like the intros.

Just seems like common courtesy to me.

A little blurb when someone signs up to let them know where to do one and what might be included could help.

I like them just so I can see there is a new guy and check to see if they are in my area or not.

I just saw a smart-ass comment (I know, I know) on another post, FNG with no info in his bio, looked at his posts, no intro and all his posts are either selling something or smart-assed comments.

Who is he, why is he here?

Purging the list.....

Ahhh what a mess that would be, however, there are some perfectly good screen names tied up in there and we are getting an awful lot of names that are hard to remember.

I was "thinking outside the box" the day I signed up! Well, outside the bottle anyways! </font>

[Bruce Lancaster]

I'd be real careful about purging--some of those lurkers may be kids or beginners on here to learn something, people who as yet feel they have little to contribute but want to grow.
I can remember when I was young reading HRM articles I couldn't even understand, letting the information soak into my brain until pieces started to add up...

[Kevin Lee]

Yup - I was so excited about this place I posted straight away. Then when it actually hit me what was going on here I just sat and read for a while...trying to learn. And I would have been full blown bummed to get the axe.

[AHotRod]

Ryan,
There are more good ideas and comments in this thread than I could add to.
So, I'll just say that I have enjoyed myself and new friends on here over the past several years.
I look at this way, I particapate in what I want to, and do the "filtering" on my own.

It is truley sad to see allot of the "Old-Gang" has dropped off to mostly lurker statis do to numerous issues mentioned.
It may not be possible to be what it once was, be WE can make a differnce.

NEWBIE"S: Fill out the profiles correctly, and leave your bad attitudes in the shit'r, or be prepared for the rath-of-the-old-timer-HAMB'rs! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks for all you have done and do Ryan.
Glenn
AHotRod

[zman]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd be real careful about purging--some of those lurkers may be kids or beginners on here to learn something, people who as yet feel they have little to contribute but want to grow.
I can remember when I was young reading HRM articles I couldn't even understand, letting the information soak into my brain until pieces started to add up...

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree, but there should be a log of when the last time soemone logged in. If they haven't even logged-in in the past year they may nned to be purged... Posting isn't a big thing but they need to have been here.

[DrJ]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd be real careful about purging--some of those lurkers may be kids or beginners on here to learn something, people who as yet feel they have little to contribute but want to grow.
I can remember when I was young reading HRM articles I couldn't even understand, letting the information soak into my brain until pieces started to add up...

[/ QUOTE ]

Assholes who only registered so they can post their SPAM website like this one http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/showprofile.php?Cat=&amp;User=5178&amp;page=1&amp;what=showmem bers should be purged.
Better yet, cyber-burn their site and computer just for committing the "crime" if anyone has the hacking knowledge to do it! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

[Unkl Ian]

I can think of more than one person wo would escape any "purge" attempt,
based on the number of posts made in the past year.

Too bad only 1% of that persons posts actually made a positive contribution to the HAMB.

There are some serious heavy hitters out there,with a wealth of knowledge and experience,
who are too busy to sit on the HAMB for a few hours every day to keep their post count up.
And when they do post,it's like a beam of Sunshine breaking through the clouds.

How about we get rid of all the people who's cars are too Shiney ?
Or not Shiney enough ?
Or too expensive,or not expensive enough,
or some other narrow criteria to reinforce the Elitist Social Order ?

Kind of sounds like Germany,before The War.

[stoggie]

I consider myself still very new compared to some of the guys and gals that have been here for the duration. So I am sure my .02 is not worth that much. I skimmed most of the thread and it has some great ideas. I think you have created something far better than you ever thought when you created the HAMB.
I do not post a lot because I do not feel I have a lot to add. I did sign up because I saw some things I could help with and did not want to show up as anyomous - the friendships that showed also seemed worthwhile. I also am pretty new to building early cars. There are a lot of people on here that have a chip on their shoulder about people who ask "dumb" questions. You know I have an 81 Malibu with a blown small block, Baer Brakes, Koni shocks and so on. It has been in a couple of magazines - I think I get the general concept of building cars. I hate the attitude from guys that believe they know more - they probably do. I came here to learn - and I am building the car as the budget allows. The eliteist attitude from several sucks!! too goldchainer but not traditonal enough http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I look and learn a lot from all of the knowledge that is shared here.
My suggestions:
Have a "form" to fill out that forces new users to fill in the profile - make old users put something in theirs too! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Split classified to WTB and FS
- When I started looking here people really thought of each other. "If no one is interested in my part I will post on Ebay next week" and the like. I do not think everyone was out to make money off one another just help a brother out with something you could not use. Kindly tell everyone not to SPAM their Ebay auctions. Several other places have banned this behavior as well.
Same goes for the look at this POS on Ebay - I look there when I want to look. Do not come here to do so.

The paypal - annual fee type of thing may weed out some of the jibberish also. That is a great idea. Make it more prominent that people should make a donation. There are a couple of sites that send you an email saying please make a donation when you sell your part.

I am not sure I have anything more of value - or if that was. You do a great job and have created a great place.
I've said it before - thanks for letting us play in your sandbox!!! We really do appreciate all that you do!:D http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[TexasHardcore]

I liek the HAMB the way it is, much love goes to Ryan and everyone who lists &amp; buys auctions benefiting our beloved home away from home.

One thing I thought would be cool, much like the HAMB-O-Dex, would be a phone number listing by city/state. This way if anyone is traveling through or nearby and has any problems or needs some help or just wants to get together, they can call up the "locals". As much as I travel around Texas and have needed to call up someone to ask where a decent tire store is or something, I figured it'd be nice to be able to call up a HAMBer. Everyone knows if you're in the Waco, Texas area and you need help...I'm always willing.

[46stude]

One way to purge the member list but be fair about it would be to send out a mass email to all registered members. Inform them if they don't log on in the next 30 days, the member list will be purged &amp; they will have to re-register. The owner of MoparStyle does it every so often, &amp; the members that wanna stay members will log on. The ones who don't care will be gone. People w/ bad email addys would be inclined to update thier profiles w/ a good one.

I think it really would be good to purge the list. When theres as many registered members as there are here, alot of people don't feel they need to contribute to the auctions and such. I mean, 6000 members, so what would my few bucks help to do? People might be more inclined to participate if they felt they were part of a small group.

Just my thoughts.

[Flat Ernie]

147 new posts in the 12hrs I've been away!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif