Pelican versus Rennlist - why can't we all just get along?

[Wayne 962]

To Rennlist / Pelican BBS

A bunch of posts on the Pelican Board, and messages on Rennlist were recently brought to my attention. I think that the topic of debate is a bit silly, personally, as John and myself both run very good websites with various pros and cons to each one. I myself have a great deal of admiration for John and the community that has grown around Rennlist.

While we may be competitors for Porsche owner's eyeballs (yick), the fact of the matter is that we've managed to carve out very distinct niches in the relatively new world of the Internet. Pelican, and myself personally, owe an un-ending debt of gratitude to John. He heard about Pelican, and helped us out by hosting our website for quite a while in the very early days. If it wasn't for John, then Pelican would not be where it is here today.

We're active supporters of the Rennlist. It wasn't my idea to stop sponsoring the 911 List - we we're booted because John didn't want us monopolizing the list (*sniff, sniff*). Again, Pelican owes a lot of its success to the Rennlist, and the community that has developed here.

So, I find all of these comments a bit troublesome, since I really feel like we're all part of the same family. I apologize that it's taken me so long to respond, but I've literally been locked up in my room at home working on the next book (911 Engine Rebuilding...).

Just thought I'd share these thoughts. Thanks again John...

-Wayne

[Paul Franssen]

Good of you, Wayne, to clarify this.

It wouldn't be the first time that unknowledgeable relative onstanders, lacking insight -but great in numbers- distort the facts, thereby causing unnecessary harm but without even intending to do so.

Such is the way of all "media": stories leading a life in itself, and of course the internet is a very very powerful such medium...

[kstar]

(message as posted to Rennlist mailing list)

In the aggregate, I think the "Pelican vs. Rennlist" thread at the Pelican BBS was pretty fair; many folks find valuable and redeeming qualities to both resources. I know I greatly appreciate both Pelican and Rennlist. Of course, there were a couple of posts on Pelican that I felt were unfair to the good folks at Rennlist.

Likewise, I found some of the Rennlist mailing-list responses to that Pelican thread unfair as well.

There was a recent thread at the Rennlist BBS on other Porsche web resources and, IMHO, one might find the same level of fairness and some 'attitude' as well towards Pelican.

I think a fair minded Porsche folk would appreciate both Rennlist and Pelican because they each offer expertise in different areas of the Porsche "experience" - and some knowledge that overlaps across the two resources.

But, communities are communities and it is not uncommon to experience cyber-turf battles among the members of each respective community. The cool aspect here is that there are probably more folks who enjoy both Pelican and Rennlist than those who are partisan to one side or the other.

I would guess that there are a significant number of folks like me who are Rennlist members who greatly appreciate the resources of Rennlist who also peruse, learn and post at the Pelican BBS. I have also had great experiences buying parts from Pelican and appreciate Pelican's recent "price matching" campaign.

FWIW, I think both John and Wayne are doing a great job and I thank them both. I will continue to support both Rennlist and Pelican and will be thankful that I have such a knowledgeable group to call upon when I find myself looking for a '72 T window crank.

Best Regards,

Kurt


PCASDR #20020445673, RLM #001216-2309, PelicanHead

[targa911man]

Also posted on Rennlist.

I am a new member of both and think both are excellent. Given the expense of parts and mechanics fees, we Porsche owners need all the help we can get to do-it-ourselves, and I greatly appreciate the time the administrators put in to both boards to get knowledge to us. I also appreciate the fact that both boards minimize the petty putdowns you see from posters on other boards. Of course, credit goes to the users as well. Different responses in the threads I read have the feel of brainstorming as opposed to arguing, which is the way it should be. I'd rather have Wayne devote his time to addressing the mechanical problems of Porsche cars than the ego problems of Porsche owners. Wayne's response to the negative threads shows his class, and the participants in those threads ought to emulate him.

[Jim Sims]

Just as I visit and patronize both independent bookstores in my little town I visit both websites. Pelican seems to have more traffic but I believe there is a lot of underground traffic at Rennlist (e-mail lists, etc). Sometimes, I think these threads about which site is best are put up by bored people who want to see some traffic generated. I think instead, they should go out and clean and refurbish their oil tank or replace their hood shocks or install a new headliner. Then they'll have some real issues to discuss. Cheers, Jim

[PDACPA]

I am fairly new to both boards and I will say that both have given me information that was right on point. I find that I many times post on both to make sure I cover all the Porschephiles.

I have also started doing some of the mod's myself and these boards and FAQ's helped quite a bit and lead me to believe I could do it and not require an expensive mechanic to do some minor fixes and upgrades.

Perhaps a merger of the boards is in their future!