HAMB Improvements... I NEED HELP!

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?

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

 

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.

 

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?

 

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.

 

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?

 

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

 

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.

 

- 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.

 

[ 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))

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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...

 

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.

 

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, 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. CJ

 

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

Cheers and beers
Jimbob

 

I DONT KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT...THIS PLACE IS GREAT..NO COMPLAINTS HERE EITHER..?????

 

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.....

 

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.

 

[ 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.

 

[ 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, 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?

 

[ 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...

 

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

 

[ 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.

 

[ 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.

 

[ 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.

 

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.
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