I want to start a revolution (important-mods read too)

[JackBauer]

want to start a revolution for this site? If possible- i'd like it if the mods would come on in and join in on this thread- hell maybe even MR. StandardShift himself.
I was thinking about changing this site around- obviously im just a peasant on this site- so its up to the moderators, but i want us to be better than that fancy standard shift sight that ive been hearing of lately. I seriously want this to be the most popular free MT forums out there. Ive come up with ways to achieve this in a number of ways which i will put in to detail now.

First: a face lift- this site is very down to earth-i like that , but a nice home page- wouldn't hurt. Maybe make the background black, and have sproty cars in the back ground. Something real car and technical looking. Maybe some girls? im sure IronicHumor and Tobi won't mind sending us a couple of pics

2) Name one thing that a manual transmission represenst? i'll do it- Love for cars/ and how to take care of them. THUS: I believe it would be a good idea if we not limit the FYI- to only an FIY- but extend it- to a DIY.
I mean a full DIY- with pictures. For example- oil changes, transmission flush radiator flushing, tune ups, car body- upholstry care (sypher will shine on this) etc. I'll do my best to donate to this- every time you do maintanence on a car- see if you can snap some pics and post it on here. Even if the diy has already been covered. For ex. if some one posts a diy on a GM- you can do it on a ford, or a 24valve VW engine/audi engine because oil changes are sometimes more difficult on those 24v euro engines.

3)'Advertise'- yup- advertise a free site. there are many ways to do this. One of the best ways ive seen thus far- T shirts. Ill wear SS boxers too. make good quality products and most of us will buy them. Also make video game clans under the SS name- on ps3 xbox live, PC, everything.

Minor improvements to be made:
--------------------------------------
-N the main page- it says the number of posts in a single thread- it would be nice to also see the name of the last person who posted.

-more smileys
-spell check would be nice
-better home page- with a new website color scheme. (as stated above)- we can vote on this together and come to a conclusion.
----------------------------------------------------------
A technical forum for racing- to attract racing enthusiasts.

With all these extra features- i think we'll have alot more members- but i like the way our members are set up now. We all know each other, and help each other. not only with car problems- but other things as well. Its nice to keep it that way- so no matter how many people come to this site- we must keep it that way. and it's nice that the mods don't go around banning everyones posts because tehy find it in appropriate. mostly because most the people on this site- have some sort of decency- and when a remark is made, we all understand that we are just joking.

that being said- we may need a new moderator- or 2. one to manage the fyi- to set it up and organize it- (if i may make a recomendation- i vote jomo on this one) and one for the DIY, and if the racing forum is a big enough hit to attract some true enthusiasts- one for that.

If we can- itd be nice if every one posts there messenger names so we can have a big group chat about changing this site a little, we can make this into a pretty nice site. (not that it already isn't )

If you tink i left something out- by all means add it.

i didn't want to write a whole bunch- because i am not sure how people will react to this.

[Prodigal Son]

-spell check would be nice

Use Google Toolbar. It has a spell checker for web forms that works really well.

I actually like the site the way it is. Too many flashy graphics-intensive sites out there already. Text is king! (Says the writer.)

[JackBauer]

it doesn't have to be flashy- this is the site that i buy every single preformance part for my VW from


http://autotech.com/

something like this

[tobigooddog]

Maybe some girls? im sure IronicHumor and Tobi won't mind sending us a couple of pics

lol lol excuse meee, I'm a freaking scientist, you want me to pose like "those" girls??? but you know, JackBauer, I've had a soft spot for you from the beginning, so it might be possible, just for you.

2) Name one thing that a manual transmission represenst? i'll do it- Love for cars/ and how to take care of them. THUS: I believe it would be a good idea if we not limit the FYI- to only an FIY- but extend it- to a DIY.
I mean a full DIY- with pictures. For example- oil changes, transmission flush radiator flushing, tune ups, car body- upholstry care (sypher will shine on this) etc. I'll do my best to donate to this- every time you do maintanence on a car- see if you can snap some pics and post it on here. Even if the diy has already been covered. For ex. if some one posts a diy on a GM- you can do it on a ford, or a 24valve VW engine/audi engine because oil changes are sometimes more difficult on those 24v euro engines.

This is good. I'm interested in DIY, I'd do it. This would be very good.

[Hatchman]

Call me old and conservative but I love this site as is. As John would say, "If it aint broke..."

[JackBauer]

Maybe some girls? im sure IronicHumor and Tobi won't mind sending us a couple of pics

lol lol excuse meee, I'm a freaking scientist, you want me to pose like "those" girls??? but you know, JackBauer, I've had a soft spot for you from the beginning, so it might be possible, just for you.

I'll be PMing you soon Hahah

[jomotopia]

have you seen the comments/suggestions forum?

but i want us to be better than that fancy standard shift sight that ive been hearing of lately. I seriously want this to be the most popular free MT forums out there.

we are, and i think it is

First: a face lift

StandardShifter is working on that.

Maybe some girls? im sure IronicHumor and Tobi won't mind sending us a couple of pics

now that sir is a fantastic idea . don't forget papyrus too

I believe it would be a good idea if we not limit the FYI- to only an FIY- but extend it- to a DIY.

excellent idea.

3)'Advertise'- yup- advertise a free site. there are many ways to do this. One of the best ways ive seen thus far- T shirts. Ill wear SS boxers too. make good quality products and most of us will buy them. Also make video game clans under the SS name- on ps3 xbox live, PC, everything.

pretty sure i've seen a few ads on the net and i know i've seen links. and remember? tshirts and etc are in the works

-N the main page- it says the number of posts in a single thread- it would be nice to also see the name of the last person who posted.

look to the right ---->

-more smileys

agreed. StandardShifter has made mention of new forum software.

A technical forum for racing- to attract racing enthusiasts.

there's a racing section but i guess it's not as detailed as you're thinking?

i like the way our members are set up now. We all know each other, and help each other. not only with car problems- but other things as well. Its nice to keep it that way- so no matter how many people come to this site- we must keep it that way. and it's nice that the mods don't go around banning everyones posts because tehy find it in appropriate. mostly because most the people on this site- have some sort of decency- and when a remark is made, we all understand that we are just joking.

amen to that. this is the best, most friendly forum on the web that i have seen and i want it to stay that way

If we can- itd be nice if every one posts there messenger names so we can have a big group chat about changing this site a little, we can make this into a pretty nice site. (not that it already isn't )

i think there's been talk of large chats before but the logistics are difficult. that's why the forum medium works so well anyway

[JackBauer]

Oh yea- can't forget papyrus and all the other girls who like to handle the stick But wouldn't that mean the guys handle the stick too.... off topic- any way- i think we need a time table for when this is going to happen. has there been any mention of when we can expect this to happen?

[julian]

Never change a running system.
Seriously I love this site the way it is-

[dklkse]

Never change a running system.
Seriously I love this site the way it is-

+1

I like it the way it is, also. I think that keeping things simple would continue to benefit the site and it's community.
Granted, a few forum upgrades would be nice. However, since the admins are already working on that, it's all good, IMO.

'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

[Johnf514]

Jack - work is being done to the look and appearance of the site, however, the functionality will remain the same.

If you are interested in starting up some technical conversations, I can talk to Standardshifter and see how he feels about creating another forum. However, this site is meant to focus on stickshift driving, and covering technical topics for every brand of car and every type of modification might be a bit daunting. That's why other forums exist for specific cars and brands.

I like the spell-check idea. We'll see what we can do. There are more smilies, if you click on View more Emoticons. Not sure if you saw that.

Please respect the women on this site, as they are stick-driving folks just like us. If you want "pictures" you can find them elsewhere.

Merch and ads are getting up and running, we should see something soon.

I moved this to the Comments and Suggestions forum, as it pertains to that topic. Please keep the recommendations coming. Thank you for your support!

[Hatchman]

However, this site is meant to focus on stickshift driving, and covering technical topics for every brand of car and every type of modification might be a bit daunting. That's why other forums exist for specific cars and brands.

Please respect the women on this site, as they are stick-driving folks just like us. If you want "pictures" you can find them elsewhere.

Merch and ads are getting up and running, we should see something soon.

+1 +1 +1

[LS1Leader]

If you want those changes, I suggest you contact Standardshifter directly and offer to help him with those things. Running a site takes a bit of work, and the only way he's getting paid is if he can get more eyeballs to this site and get more revenue from ads. johnf514 and a couple others already make a grassroots effort to spread word about this site.

I think breaking the forum down by brands, etc., would make things worse. There's already divisions among brand loyalists, and there's a million sites that specialize in information for each type of car. It's better if the site focuses on what it does best: provide information about how to operate a manual transmission. The only thing I could see might be useful would be vehicle-specific manual tranny info, but that's an extremely small niche, and there's so few siginificant differences in operation between all the trannies out there.

I'd love a DIY section, but vehicle-specific DIYs wouldn't really be worth the time, considering that it's probably been done elsewhere. Maybe just general DIY tips might work. Stuff like proper lifting/jacking procedure, how not to strip bolt threads, all the simple stuff that gets overlooked and intimidates rookies who don't want to try DIY because they might mess something up.

[Sypher]

Keep it simple..
But I do like some of the ideas suggested like the DIY sections.

[JackBauer]

LS1 thats exactly what i was thinking and said- nothing serious to scare ppl- just simple DIY. fluid changes, common part removal, special 'ghetto' tricks, how not to strip bolts, how to get stuck bolts out, etc.