Any Ideas for the stie?

[Alex]

Do you have any ideas that you have?
You might as well tell us now while we are still creating the it.
We could need your help :help:

Thanks in advance,

Alex

[bugsoup]

How about a user supplied tech procedure area? We would be able to post step by step methods for modifications that WORK. Instead of always asking for suggestions, people could read these and peice together certain steps (measurements, clearances, compatibilities, etc) to make their project work. The main focus would be on exact (or close to it) measurements of parts that have worked on a particular vehicle. This could be linked to CAD drawings or blueprints to custom parts. I would be willing to help draw these if dimensions are included. I have used AutoCAD and Pro-Engineer so far and hope to learn more. I'm sure this could be expanded even further, but I will let someone else voice his/her thoughts on this.

[Alex]

Hi bugsoup,

this is actually planned but not as a user input area. We would ask you to submit it and we will post it to the Tech Article section of the site. We would be still able to monitor what is coming in, putting it in the right format and posting it to the site. Pictures would need to be formatted too.
There are already a couple of articles planned by me, Sandeep and Superman to cover certain Porsche brake conversions as well an article on how to install the SACO hydraulic clutch kit and Cup Braces. More will follow. Short videos will be done too at some point.
We also want to feature articles lf local events that people attend. Again you would have to write it up and submit it via email with the pics to us so that we can format it and post it.

The writer will get full credit for it of course but we have to be able to monitor what is coming in. Otherwise it would be easier to post it on the forum.
The idea is to create more like an online GL magazine.
What ever you have and think that the community could benefit from......foward it to us.

Thanks for your input,
Alex

[bugsoup]

Perfect. That's what I was hoping for.

Would there be a need for blueprints or engineering drawings? I believe that these would be very useful for a machinist to reproduce custom parts. Should these just be sent as pictures or the original drawing file (I think its .dwg for AutoCAD)?

[Alex]

I think high quality pics would be best. Do not know anything about those AutoCAD files and how to convert them.

We would really appreciate those.

Thanks,
Alex

[ricola]

There are some drawings of bearing spacers and the associated hub mods for early 944 brakes on my site that you can use...

[Steve Arndt]

Were you going to post my 901 5 speed article Alex?

[Alex]

Hey Steve,

on the tech article page which is linked form the main page that is not finished yet....but nearly. The "Enter" link is just linked to the forum because there is nothing else yet.

Alex

[Steve Arndt]

Sounds good. When can we view the main page?
The intro page looks really sharp, nice work!


Originally posted by Steve Arndt

Were you going to post my 901 5 speed article Alex?

[Superman]

The intro page looks really sharp, nice work!

I agree, pretty :D :silly: :goodness:

[Sandeep]

Hi all,

I will have the main site uploaded by Monday at the latest. I just have some minor issues to talk to Alex about. Remember, this site is DATABASE driven so here's an update:

The 'Members Rides' section is complete so be ready with the details of your car ! This section is user controlled so you fill in 3 forms and then 'Submit' to the database and your Ride is entered in real time. You have the option to upload 4 640x480 images....1 Overview, 1 Engine, 1 Wheel, and 1 Interior.

The main page of the site will randomly pull 2 members Rides from the database and display them in their section on the main page.

Other areas that will be randomly loaded upon first visit include:

1 random tech article, 1 random product review, 1 random car show review from the last month, 1 random member article (International columns...VW Culture, track stories).

We also have links to the 'Galleries' section.....Brakes, Suspension, Carbon Fibre, Wheels, General, Engines.

The next area to receive my attention will be the 'Galleries'. This will be searchable......After that...the Tech Articles.....

I hope to have a different section up and running every 5 days.

I'll post more updates during the week !

Sandeep

[Superman]

I like the random concept... keeps things looking new each visit.

[bugsoup]

How about adding a separate category specifically for tech article requests?

Here are a few suggestions in case that isn't needed and someone is bored and wants to write them:

1. rear torsion bar adjuster (mounts in the center of the beam)
2. frame head replacement or raising/lowering
3. super beetle suspension installed into a standard
4. aftermarket/upgraded seat install
5. fender widening in steel or fiber
6. roll bar fabrication or install
7. porsche gauge install and calibration

I could go on. And maybe I will when I can think of more. BTW, I'm looking for free advice, but I also plan to write an article when I finish my 996 brake upgrade. So I'm not completely useless :rolleyes2

[Sandeep]

Great ideas Scott !

When the site is fully operational (by Aug 15th), we can have a section where people can request a tech article.....or maybe we can have a forum dedicated to this subject.

Alex will be the man to decide that

Sandeep

[Alex]

Scott,

I like the idea. I will add it when the forum is running at the new host.

Alex

[Jeannot]

This may not be GL specific enough for this site but I would be interested in bodywork info. As my car is now I am sandblasting the chassis. Any concerns that I have here as I overhaul and uprate the front and rear suspension I should be able to have addressed through the forums dealing with suspension. The body is presently sitting on giant sawhorses. I need to replace the heater channels and deal with some rust and dents. I also want to prep it properly for a paint colour change. This is an area in which I shall have many questions. This is pretty generic VW stuff. It is, however, something that I could use some info on. Is this the right place for such a forum? Is anyone able to direct me to a site (or book) that could help? ... Thanks ...

Jeannot
'67 and '72SB

[bugsoup]

How about a page with personal webpages listed next to members names for easy access? I know they can be accessed through profiles, but it would be nice not to have to search all (38 at this moment in time) members' profiles to see if they do, in fact, have a personal page.

[Alex]

You can actually post this info in your profile. There is a field for it when you enter you car info.

Alex

[Chris Percival]

I have some suggestions:

1. Following on with what bugsoup was saying, I think at some point we will need some sort of search for the members rides section. Its growing ever bigger. It will also get to the point where the list will get too big to display at once.

2. I think it would be better if, rather than uploading 4 pictures for the different parts of your car, if you could just upload up to 4 pictures of anything. Also, I don't really like the 'sorry no image' pictures. Just plain text would be better, if there are no images to display at all. Display the 'first' image in the list maybe. I understand there is probobly a bit more coding to do these ideas though!

Otherwise germanlook.com really kicks arse! :)

[Sandeep]

Already in the works !

I've begun to write the code to search the members profile pages. I will have that element up and running by the end of the week.

I will also change the image uploading page so you can upload any 4 images of your ride.

rock on ....

Sandeep

[bugsoup]

Alex

I know this can be posted through profiles, but it would be nice to have a centralized list of personal pages for easier access. Right now, its quite a hassle to find those profiles that have a personal page listed.

[bugsoup]

That's strange. I was able to post as unregistered with my own screen name.

[Alex]

This is the only forum that allows not registered users to post.
I did this to get more feedback from people just browsing the main page and the forum.

In the news and announcement forum Sandeep posted a while back to post links so that we can build up the links page.

Some input would be appreciated.

Alex

[Alex]

Do you have anymore ideas for the site?

Please let us know to help this site grow.

Alex

[Chris Percival]

Am I right in thinking that all the images for a page are loaded and their thumbnails are just generated from the main images? I prefer the separate and quick-loading thumbnails, which are much better for people with lower bandwidth..

[Alex]

Sandeep has or will test the speed with a 56k modem. If the galleries are going to grow a lot bigger we might have to look into having several pages for each category.

Alex

[zen]

what about generating an email to the car owner when someone posts a reply to a member's ride? someone left a question for me on mine and it was days before i caught it. yes, using the recent posts link can solve this, but options are nice too.

also, what about putting a link to someone's profile page in their member's ride forum page. i.e. i was reading something on a member's ride question page and would have liked to just hit a link to pull up the specs and pics on their car instead of having to launch the section and find them.

[Sandeep]

Chris,

I'm addressing the thumbnail issue as we speak.

Zen,

I understand how that could be easier for the members.

I will upload all changes this weekend.

Sandeep