Off Topic Posts - Why they are bad...

[beepbeep]

Hey guys, if i remember UBB-things right, OT-board probably resides on same database server as all other boards...so it shouldn't change anything.

Pesonally , i enjoy a little of trivia an OT-posts. It makes me feel at home...

[lucky77]

Wasn't this already covered? I think your problem is more with your platform than your BBS software.

[javier]

Wayne... sounds like it's time to invest in your business infrastructure vs bashing your 911 BB clients for OT posting.

The most notorious OT posters are not even on the 911 forum. I suggest your message is being once again, delivered to the wrong audience.

[carnut169]

Groesbeck- I would be happy to contribute a couple $$ to keep this forum unchanged.... I do kinda feel like I have contributed by ordering parts, but if that is not enough I suppose I am in favor of your idea.

The other thing is that by having a forum like this customer loyality is achieved, if whatever changes are considered part of the advertising budget for Pelican it would have to be cheap compared to what other retail companies pay to get the word out. My .02.

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Sean O.
Atlanta, Ga.
87 Carrera Cabriolet

[old_skul]

Originally posted by Groesbeck Hurricane:
How about a small one or two dollar contribution from the BBS patrons to help Wayne pay for the increased space on the 911 board? We all use it, and could all benefit. Wayne is in business to make money (as are most of us whether we work for someone else or ourselves).

Wayne: Can you set up such an account in your system?

Members: Is this a good idea?

Groesbeck,

Having spent literally thousands of dollars in parts at Pelican, I don't feel terribly motivated to pay Pelican a service fee for the BBS. Especially considering that I could have saved money by shopping elsewhere, but did not because of this BBS and the tech articles.

I agree with the above posters though Wayne - other UBBs out there have postcounts in the hundreds of thousands. For a small investment of money, you could have a nice box running Linux and MySQL - at least that way your expenditure would be limited to hardware and labor.

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2
1987 Escort 5-speed 1.9 RIP
The Porsche Owners Gallery

[cabman]

The customer is always right.

If I want to post why my ass itches and what the Porsche will do to cure that, then I should have the right.

BTW, this is an OT post too.

[Saffs]

I think we're fundamentally forgeting, it's Wayne's BBS! I mean, whatever the server situation, it's really up to him, isn't it?
I think it might be a little rude to say, the customer is always right, I'll post what I want, where I want: have some manners! Again, he's only asking us to post absolute OT posts in the OT Forum. Seems simple enough to me. Why complain, or be critical of is server software? We get a great deal anyhow, really. Putting stuff in the OT Forum is no hardship and it's not like he says no OTs at all. And important posts like RJ aren't moved.
I don't get the problem with it, it's just good manners to say, "OK. That's cool, Wayne".
And I'm not trying to become a moderator!

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'75 911S Targa
'81 BMW Alpina C1 2.3

[R22tech]

Keep the OT posts here. This BBS is definetely a community. In fact, I have organized 1 event for Pelican BBS members in Atlanta Ga. and am currently setting up another as we speak. The 1st one was a success, and if I have 2 more successful events(i.e. strong turn-out), then I was going to call you, Wayne, and see about forming an official "Pelican BBS Club" for my area! I believe this could generate business for you as well as providing enjoyment for us. Many of my PCA members either don't know anything about Pelican Parts or don't care because they ahven't experienced this BBS and the wealth of info. it has to offer! At the risk of sounding condescending, I'm not sure you are ready for a surge in business if you have to limit posts due to a memory shortage or whatever is prompting you to suggest this. Think of it like this: You started an online "club", which generates revenues with increased sales. I start a real-world "club" that promotes Pelican Parts, which will generate more business at zero cost to you. Then somebody else follows suit in another city...and so on... and so on. Pretty soon you'd be gobbling up the competition through acquisitions and fall-out just to keep up with the demand for your goods and services! Sounds good to me! Keep the OTs, they make it "real", Wayne.

Doug Martin

[bfranklin]

I'll speak up in favor of Wayne, knowing exactly what he is talking about.

The customer is always right.
If I want to post why my ass itches and what the Porsche will do to cure that, then I should have the right.

BTW, this is an OT post too.

How are you being a "customer" on a free BBS that we don't exactly pay for, a BBS that gives us the porsche "community" that we all should be GRATEFUL for. You know how much freakin work it is to a) put one of these up, b) maintain one of these things????

OT posts are great, but I'll also have to say that "post why my ass itches" is pretty close to some of the wacko subjects I see on this board.

I'm not trying to single out anyone (i.e. I'm using cabman's post as an example) or berate anyone, but I personally think if Wayne requests us to post lest OT stuff, we should take it to heart instead of protesting - I mean really, I didn't think it was posted as a questionnaire

my 2 cents (which is more than I pay for this invaluable source of porsche information)

Brad

[firecall999]

I think its fairly obvious that topics about Windows XP are so way OT that they dont belong here.

Topics about members of this board are aceptable I reckon. Even though its not directly about Porsches.

There is a fine line though, for instance:

"What music do you listen to whilst you are driving" should be fine. But just a post about "What music do you listen to" isnt really aceptable.

Of course thats all my own opinion and its aint my BBS.

I do reckon it needs full access to archives though. Its very frustrating. Especialy when you tell someone who has asked a newbie question to search the archives, only to discover the lenghty dicsussions are no longer there.

This board is more than a tech forum. Its more of a community. I dont read it everyday because I have a problem with my car.

Alex.

[rscupper]

Business is business. If Wayne wants to, he will. If not, he won't.

Really I don't think it's 'invaluable' (only Wayne can answer that one), and I don't think we have a 'right' (Jeez, give THAT attitude a break).

I do hope it keeps going the way it's been. I like it alot.

But Wayne, your original post does make it sound like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Good luck and sleep on it. And thanks for all the work - we all appreciate your efforts.

Brian

[black911]

I'm with Wayne. Off topic posts don't belong here. I think they suck and I don't read them.
Dean

[speeder]

I'm sure it is some work to maintain this board,(although I really don't know how they work), but I can only tell you that I found out about it reading a British Porsche magazine. Pelican is 5 miles from my home, I am a gearhead who knows my parts sources, and I had never heard of them. I've still never seen an ad anywhere. I consider this BBS an amazing promotional tool for Pelican, as well as an invaluable source for enthusiasts. I will be spending some bucks with Pelican this winter that would DEFINITELY have gone elsewhere had I not read about this tech forum,(then become addicted to it).

We should all do what we must to keep it vital. My .02.

[old_skul]

Originally posted by Saffs:
I think we're fundamentally forgeting, it's Wayne's BBS!

Mmmm, yes, but remember the fundamental nature of this website: it's to sell Porsche parts. Pelican (I won't single out Wayne here as I like Wayne) is a business entity, and as long as we "build" our "community" here at the Pelican site, Pelican is guaranteed a wonderful, captive, direct marketing channel.

To put it bluntly, you probably won't see posts here about how Vertex or Performance Products has a better price on a front Targa bar seal. On topic? Yes. Rude to post it on the Pelican forums? Of course.

So it's a symbiotic relationship. Pelican provides a great place for us to trade messages, be they directly on topic or a little off topic. (I'd love to join in the XP conversation - but it's too much trouble to go off to a different forum.) We provide Pelican with money, through parts sales. Those of you who complain "well, I don't buy parts from Pelican!"...well, I guess you still get marketed to, but I'll be damned if my voice isn't a little louder....

So it's a two way street. Those of you who don't like OT threads aren't terribly obliged to read them, so that's not the issue: the question is, "is the forum an integral part of Pelican's business?"





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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2
1987 Escort 5-speed 1.9 RIP
The Porsche Owners Gallery

[Rollins]

I think a good example of what some of the guys are saying is summed up in this short hypothetical scenario....
So you're at McDonalds enjoying your hamburger (which you bought) and you put three packs of ketchup on it. This same scene plays out a bunch of times over the course of a few weeks. One day the manager of the store comes up to you and says "excuse me sir, could you please use less ketchup?" and you think "well gee, I did pay for this hamburger, the ketchup costs him very little" Maybe it is a bad example, but you have to admit it does fit. It IS Wayne's board, however without us he wouldn't be as far as he is.

[Efrain68912]

Its Wayne's BBS.

Let him make the rules, and let us follow them.

After all, its HIS BBS.

Efrain
68 912 Coupe

[Rollins]

Yea but without US he has NOTHING.

[Roland Kunz]

Hello

This is Waynes world and he is god and just imagen the system will brak down due to overload and we all sit several days without any boards. This will be hard for boardaholics.

@82SC

Just rightclick "open in a new frame".
I usually open up to 40 then the computer gets slow and then I work offline.

I usaully load 6 boards including mostly offtopic and Porsche talk if they show new entrys on the startpage.

I´m also a bit anticycle and use the time delay or better said the quiter hours.
There is a messurable difference in the loadtime.


Grüsse

Originally posted by speeder:
I'm sure it is some work to maintain this board,(although I really don't know how they work), but I can only tell you that I found out about it reading a British Porsche magazine. Pelican is 5 miles from my home, I am a gearhead who knows my parts sources, and I had never heard of them. I've still never seen an ad anywhere. I consider this BBS an amazing promotional tool for Pelican, as well as an invaluable source for enthusiasts. I will be spending some bucks with Pelican this winter that would DEFINITELY have gone elsewhere had I not read about this tech forum,(then become addicted to it).

We should all do what we must to keep it vital. My .02.

Pelicanparts have had ads in both 911&PorscheWorld and Excellence.


BTW. I agree with those calling this BBS a "community". I like coming here for both Porsche stuff and OT stuff.

[Planter91C2]

38 replies to a topic designed to cut down on OT posts.

seems to me that upgrading the system to handle more is the cost of success.

there is a board at jeepsunlimited that has so much traffic it makes pelican look like a ghost town, and they aren't complaining.

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Daryl 964 Targa