Need everyone's permission

Peter Coomaraswamy

Peter Coomaraswamy

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The information on this site is too excellent to sit in an un-organized fashion, no complaints, but someone mentioned that we could "rival" Rob's book (without the Zen-life-lessons) if we put this information together in a way that could answer everyone's questions. I am currently working on a project at work and would like to use the content of the forum as the basis for this project (publication). It would be made available for free to any members-of course, and it would not be sold for profit, although it's something that the site admin(s) may consider in the future. I'm also not sure how long it will take but I would like to give it a try.

My initial thoughts are to have it indexed by section and published digitally with some hyper-link functionality and in-publication search capabilities. I have imbedded video into other digital publications so that might be fun also.

Please let me know if there are any objections.

With much appreciation to all!
 
Peter Coomaraswamy said:
The information on this site is too excellent to sit in an un-organized fashion, no complaints, but someone mentioned that we could "rival" Rob's book (without the Zen-life-lessons) if we put this information together in a way that could answer everyone's questions. I am currently working on a project at work and would like to use the content of the forum as the basis for this project (publication). It would be made available for free to any members-of course, and it would not be sold for profit, although it's something that the site admin(s) may consider in the future. I'm also not sure how long it will take but I would like to give it a try.

My initial thoughts are to have it indexed by section and published digitally with some hyper-link functionality and in-publication search capabilities. I have imbedded video into other digital publications so that might be fun also.

Please let me know if there are any objections.

With much appreciation to all!
Click to expand...

Great idea
 
Will is be a posting of the forum threads (bleh...) or a compilation/condensation of the information from each of the thousands of threads (yeah!)? How will the hyperlinks to valuable or interesting outside sites be handled?

Or is too early to know?

Sounds challenging!
 
Bwana said:
Will is be a posting of the forum threads (bleh...) or a compilation/condensation of the information from each of the thousands of threads (yeah!)? How will the hyperlinks to valuable or interesting outside sites be handled?

Or is too early to know?

Sounds challenging!
Click to expand...

Am a writer, working on my second book, happy to edit
 
Hi all,

My vision is that this would be a "publication" that is organized in the form of a "book" with enhanced "functionality" I am waiting on receiving "patent-pending" status for the project I'm working on so I can't be very forthcoming with the format of the information except to say that I would not have a bunch of threads linked together, it would be more like a traditional "book" with individual chapters; an example might be "Buying Used Parts" and then go through the forum and pick out all the things learned, for example I had no idea that the boomerang-looking chrome piece that goes outside/below the rear window is not the same for all cars/years and that they should be matched up before you spend 500.00 for a replacement on eBay that you can't return. How about what years/cars/ does the correct Getrag 5-speed need to come out of for a perfect fit with the speedo cable to fit? What is the best way to do an early bumper conversion? There is so much info on the site but sometimes it's hard to remember where it is.

I have an advantage in that I was/am a complete novice when I started my project but I have taken my car to some high-end shops for alignment and such and had some very nice compliments, conversely, sfDon paid me a visit and pointed out all the things I did wrong (most of which have been fixed), still I think Don was pleased that another e9 was preserved and driving around on a semi-daily basis.

The additional information needed can be pulled from new posts and the book can grow as new issues arise.

It does sound like allot of work, but so is putting one of these cars together and it's super fun! (I know we need to get out more- all of us!)

Anyhow, do you think Duane would be the best person to ask if this is OK, I would like to be able to use any pictures on the site that were taken by forum members and I don't want to step on any toes.

Thanks!
 
This is a great idea. Although there is one item that floats around in my head....if you were going to use post specific information, then the owner would have to agree with your terms.

Its probably OK since we assume responsibility when posting, but if you were to run into issues, it would be like a nightmare of tangled wires to clear up.

Keep it simple and direct and it should find wings and fly.

Cheers,

MF
 
OK, Here is what I'll do- I'll give it 24 hours before I start that way anyone who objects can say so, then I'll start the build. I'll post stuff periodically and those of you who are serious authors can make corrections and if we find mistakes along the way (trust me - with me at the helm there will be mistakes) we can fix them. When we think we're pretty much done I'll run it through my software. Once it is complete it will still be able to be appended and or corrected and refreshed to include all the updates. We will also be able to add additional pictures as time moves on. Once the main work is done we can just do monthly updates.

Deep breath, here goes!
 
Sweet, sounds like a knowledge base.
How about a 24/7 hotline that uses a script derived from that knowledge base?
Have you tried unplugging and rebooting your headlights?

Anyway, I assume you will be the curator. We do have a massive amount of wrong answers on the board, half of it authored by YHS...
 
Wow Peter I'm so glad to hear this.
I'm relatively new to the Coupe world and this forum and it's members are a great source of information and help for me and many others.

This is another BMW Forum I belong to for my E28 88 M5.
There is a wealth of knowledge here as well.
A few of the administrators decided to take the most common topics and put them together or at the top of a specific forum.
They call them stickies, kind of like post it notes on your computer.
There is one forum of just FAQ to help the newbies.

Take a look and this may give you some ideas.

http://www.mye28.com/

Thanks,
Gary
 
m73 said:
This is a great idea. Although there is one item that floats around in my head....if you were going to use post specific information, then the owner would have to agree with your terms.

Its probably OK since we assume responsibility when posting, but if you were to run into issues, it would be like a nightmare of tangled wires to clear up.

Keep it simple and direct and it should find wings and fly.

Cheers,

MF
Click to expand...

There is no reason to use anyone's name unless they approve of the use, I would imagine that if there are any restoration shops on this site that they would be happy for the plug....otherwise, I guess you should have a standard release form for anyone's specific photos, etc. I would suggest a non-corrosive brain rust protector for this project, whiskey comes to mind....is Karmann in that business?
 
I've been looking at updating the site/forum to a newer format. Site would probably be a content management program (like Joomla) and the forum would be updated with a newer version or a more radical change would be to a completely new program. The reason I've been looking into it is because a lot of the other automotive related forums include project blogs, better classifieds, "garages" for users to show off their rides, etc. I would also like to incorporate a world map that shows the cities where the members are located, which has been done but the programs/mods I've seen still have issues.

Bottom line is, I honestly don't have time to do all of this correctly myself, or I should say, I don't want to start it unless I know it can be done right.

When I hear talk of a "book" about our coupes done the way its been suggested I think its a great idea, but I naturally think about how something similar could be incorporated into our site.

Dan
 
I've been looking at updating the site/forum to a newer format. Site would probably be a content management program (like Joomla) and the forum would be updated with a newer version or a more radical change would be to a completely new program. The reason I've been looking into it is because a lot of the other automotive related forums include project blogs, better classifieds, "garages" for users to show off their rides, etc. I would also like to incorporate a world map that shows the cities where the members are located, which has been done but the programs/mods I've seen still have issues.

Bottom line is, I honestly don't have time to do all of this correctly myself, or I should say, I don't want to start it unless I know it can be done right.

When I hear talk of a "book" about our coupes done the way its been suggested I think its a great idea, but I naturally think about how something similar could be incorporated into our site.
Click to expand...
All great ideas to keep the site current from a technology point of view. Are there others on the site with relative experience that could help Dan out? divide and conquer...
 
Dang, If you would be kind enough to hang in there, As I mentioned I can't speak openly about the project that I am working on until all the patent applications have been filed but I think by the mere mention of Joomla we are on the same page. The work I propose to do can be made available on our product and once developed I think everyone might like it. Of course it would be your choice, but I'm really having fun with this project and I hope it helps me give back a little of what I've taken.

Peter
 
Peter Coomaraswamy said:
Dang, If you would be kind enough to hang in there, As I mentioned I can't speak openly about the project that I am working on until all the patent applications have been filed but I think by the mere mention of Joomla we are on the same page. The work I propose to do can be made available on our product and once developed I think everyone might like it. Of course it would be your choice, but I'm really having fun with this project and I hope it helps me give back a little of what I've taken.

Peter
Click to expand...

Going to have to start calling you 'Patent Pete'

MF
 
Peter Coomaraswamy said:
Dang, If you would be kind enough to hang in there, As I mentioned I can't speak openly about the project that I am working on until all the patent applications have been filed but I think by the mere mention of Joomla we are on the same page. The work I propose to do can be made available on our product and once developed I think everyone might like it. Of course it would be your choice, but I'm really having fun with this project and I hope it helps me give back a little of what I've taken.

Peter
Click to expand...

The way I see it, I happen to do most of the administering of this site but the content and importance of this site exists because of all the users/members. I'm open to anything that gets agreed upon by the group. When I worked at HP, most decisions were made by committee. Not always the best way, but it worked with the right mindset. ;-)

Dan
 
Started- Well, yes, a big job- I am starting with "buying an e9", of course these chapters can be moved around but I'm beginning with the rust prone areas diagram and then using pictures that people have sent in that show cars that "look good" but have rust underneath. So using the diagram as a guide I'm then moving to pictures of those areas in real life and drilling down to the nitty gritty. I guess I should put something together on a Google doc so we can collaborate, but I'm still trying to wrap my brain (the remaining 2 cells) around the project. Can anyone tell me the year and month that the forum was started?

Thanks,
 
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