How would you make FerrariChat.com better?

Can't use the term; CliXX Notes. Cliff gets mad. So does A n d y G u m p.

 

What exactly is the point of this thread?

 

I had the idea that each model of Ferrari could have it's own WIKI, that would be very easy to do, but I would need a lot more support before I propose it to Rob again.

I feel the same way you do, I'd love to be able to access info on each model by year, where it lists how many were made, what to watch out for, what needs to be fixed or replaced, what was changed from one year to the next, and so on. The owners would be what drives it, them, and folks like me that would cull all the postings and add to the Wiki when we see items that apply.

I had no idea some 512's have bad axle housings, 355's melt the taillights, F40's have leaky fuel cells that need to be replaced, and so on. Crappy fuse blocks in 308's, etc.

And like the others, I have found the 'search' function to be useless.

 

I see it as a general feedback thread for Rob, so that's how I've been trying to use it.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Sounds good, that's what I want. I use ferrarichat more for the information than to socialize but unfortunately it is set up more for the latter.

 

I own several phpBB pieces on various websites and while it is a stable platform and handles lots of users well, the extensibility is not that great. This might be opening up an unwelcomed can of worms but....targeted search features would be great. Being a web developer, serach indexing is sort've the achilles heal because ultimately you must bow at some propietary throne and play by their rules. I'm not a big fan of the phpBB admin control panel, perms overlap in rather annoying ways and persistent users can drive you nuts. But here it is.

Ferrari specific buttonized indexing. Like...a button for vintage that ran a canned routine based on the criteria under the button...like..."365 - Restoration - Frame - Wheels - Suppliers.' Maybe check boxes by concept. But that's really the holy grail because it requires lots of custom coding and there's no guaruntee that phpBB won't chew it up and spit it out, especially while running the user space. But....it is an idea and that is the one thing that would be great in this already outstanding forum.

The co-mingling of concept, content, and code was originally the claim of XML but we see it's been relegated to a series of optional tags that don't actually execute anything but, again, contain information in a static way. But maybe there is promise. I don't see that happening with the phpBB product though. Pardon the ramble, just my highly marginal two cents worth.

 

How about the "New Post" feature in the upper right hand corner? It makes it much more convenient to just pop on here and check to see if the threads you frequent have been posted in. I understand that this forum is larger than most however so it could be off to keep speeds up.

 

If you go to the "thread tools" drop-down menu at the top right of the thread, you can subscribe to it. Then just click on "User CP" and you can see the updated threads you frequent listed there.

Furthermore, in the User CP, you can go to "Edit Options" on the left-hand side, then scroll down to "Default Thread Subscription Mode" and add an automatic subscription protocol for when you post in a thread or create a thread. I have mine set to "No E-mail Notification", so everything is automatically subscribed to my User CP, but I don't get 70 e-mails a day about updating threads.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Thanks, haha I suppose that's even better. I've been on several forums and never used that feature. You've practically doubled my forum efficiency!

 

I'm glad I could help.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Two thoughts -

1) subscribing to threads - I noticed on fat wallet, there is a single click to subscribe to the thread, would be easier than click, drop down, subscribe, wait for refresh which takes you to the first page, not where you were.

2) I seem to unsubscribe to forums often. I use the user control panel as my go-to page and when listing out the forums, 'unsubscribe' is beneath the forum text. It happens on the ipad/iphone often, and also on the desktop too. A few pixels off and click, I gotta find that forum again and resubscribe to it. Suggestion - make an 'X' to unsubscribe to the right or in a column for unsubscribing?

 

Thanks! All these years I've been using an "advanced search" to find threads I posted in. I knew about subscriptions (which seemed a pain to do) but not the default.

 

This was sort of my idea with this thread and this thread. Have a single thread or forum where models are listed (chronologically or by V8/V12 or by road car/racecar/Dino, etc.), and from there, the model you want to learn more about can be clicked on, taking you to a vast page or sub forum of information, breaking down details such as serial number range, options and colors available when that model was current, known issues with said model, franchised and independent outfits who specialize in the repair and/or customization of said model, etc.

FerrariChat is already the premiere Website for Ferrari owners and enthusiasts alike, so why have that information somewhere else? This place is already a wealth of information; adding to it only makes it that much more amazing

 

Tell me what needs to be done. I don't know all the technical stuff (like how to fix a 355 manifold, or how to tell when it needs to be fixed or replaced) but there are scores of people here (Dave Helms, Terry Phillips, etc.) who have that knowledge and could contribute. I have all of the information from the two aforementioned threads that can be implemented, and the contributions of a bunch of people who I'm sure would join in once they project was underway. How do we begin?

 

Can we start with the data that I've compiled, and then continue adding to it? Surely it's more than enough data to begin...

 

I hate the amount of time before all of the unread posts become read posts. What is it, maybe 10 minutes? An hour seems reasonable, even 30 minutes. I don't visit five times a day, I usually visit once a day and often skip days. Sometimes a thread pops up with a bunch of posts and by the time I'm finished reading the forum things I've been away and all of the unread high lighted posts are no longer. If something has a video link or two in the thread, forget it. I try to rememebr to play the tricks to keep the session active, but that dumb. When posting more than a few words I frequently find that I've exceeded that time limit. That just encourages lots of short posts in a row (not that there's anything wrong with that, Bubba).Really, who needs a 10 minute update on what they've missed? Make it 30 minutes. Or make it settable.

Ok, gotta post this before my time expires.

 

Rob and Whisky, could the "Wikis" be here, somewhere on FerrariChat, rather than on Wikipedia? I'd rather enter the information here, than on Wikipedia where someone else can register, go in and alter information 'cause he heard that a 360 can go 200 miles per hour, or that there really are only 400 Enzos worldwide.

Rob, is there a place here - even just sticky threads at the top of each sub forum, where this data can be entered for future edification?

 

+1

 

A forum seems to make the most sense; moreso than a blog, since a forum is more easily accessed and its constant appearance is taken more seriously than a blog.

So how do we start?

 

I like the idea of sticky threads in the various Model related forums.
Please use a separate thread for each Ferrari model.
Please use a standard naming convention for the thread names.

So, perhaps thread names like:

"Model info: 348"
"Model info: 355"
"Model info: 360 Modena"
"Model info: F430"

etc.

.

 

This makes the most sense to me.

 

Next to "you know what," perhaps the most common question on Ferrari Chat is, "Hey, I've been looking at buying a Ferrari XXX and want to know what to look for."

So in addition to just a pure listing of specs, you may wish to have a separate sticky per model that lists the things that break the most. Unfortunately, it will be a long list.

Dale