online driveline

[Mike M.]

here we go again boys. the argument has been made that posting Driveline classifieds on this or a similar site would be unfair to the NCRS members who do not use the internet, and perhaps that is true of items that are "For Sale". However, i see no harm in having a "Parts Wanted" section online. with that being said, anybody got any 57 Oldsmobile Dog Dish hubcaps-- my olds needs a pair. mikie

[Pat L.]

Re: online driveline

Well, if fairness is a valid argument/condition, why don't they send my Driveline a week earlier because I live in Alaska and everyone else gets theirs before I do.

[John D.]

Re: online driveline

Dr.Mike,I have some extra dog dishes if you want one. That way I don't have to wash them everyday as I have a stack of them. Meanwhile this ain't no Olds hot line u no.heeeee. Also this ain't ebay. Read the fine print that old JW has above. I saw some nice Olds wheelcovers on an old hotrod at Fall Carlisle as it went by the trailer. Brought back memories. Boy was Carlisle hot. Almost as hot as the Corvette show. Wall to wall people walking around with extra deep pockets.
Saw a lot of NCRS members at the show. More than I expected with two shows back to back. Mac, Mason Dixon, Pittsburgh, Lake Erie,-all had deep pockets also. Lots of questions about colors of cheep fittings and colors of split lockwashers and other dumb questions. Missed the forums. You guys have really been bsing. I gots to read almost 500 repeat questions. Whew.
I personally like the Driveline in the mail as I can lay in bed or sit on the throne and read it. But lately I am more up to change so I personally don't care if it's on line on in the mailbox. Just as long as I get it. JD

[Don H.]

Re: online driveline

This subject (electronic version) has been beat to death. We have to support the National Board's decisions (or run for office). Don H.

[Tom R.]

Re: Not a question of one or the other..

but rather how to do both and make it pay. Look at the newspaper industry scared to death of internet...now they publish news on websites and have figured out how to maintain both each with a unique nich.

Leadership is about adapting to change...bottom line. Those unable to adapt get relinquished to dieing a slow death. Of course, the cavemen are making a comeback.

And what does NCRS do? Instead of embracing those that do use electronic media, we pass a rule that unless you're a member, you can't use the forum. The organization does not devise an application to accommodate the Corvette enthusist, non-member, electronic forum consumer but adapt a retreat mentally from the challenge.

[Greg L.]

Re: Not a question of one or the other..

Well I for one would like to see the Driveline available online for paided members. As far as it not being fair to those who don't use computers, well, right now it's not fair for those that live in Alaska or Canada anyways. We still get it but it's at least a week or so after many others get it first. The non computer users would still get their Driveline, just maybe a week or so after the computer users read it online...six of one, half a dozen of another so if you ask me that is not a valid excuse for keeping it off line.

Sooner or later the Driveline will be online whether those that choose to keep it off line now like it or not and I can't see how the NCRS is benefiting by going there later rather than sooner... We should learn to embrace technology and not be scared of it.

Just my two cents.

[Paul D.]

Re: Not a question of one or the other..

I can't believe that having the Driveline online is something our NCRS leadership is against. I do believe that putting it online is something that will require careful actions. I hope that the recent decision to restrict access to the DB is the first step towards a online Driveline. Call me a sheep if you like, but I have to trust our leadership to make the decisions on these things. I see a lot of hard work go into maintaining this organization, and I feel that what we pay in dues is a bargain for what is available to members. There are many aspects of the NCRS I have concerns with, but so many more I agree with and enjoy. To simply put the Driveline online without first protecting our membership enrollment would be disastrous to our organization. Just my opinion.

[Mark #28455]

As they said in the kids movie "Fox and the Hound"

"It's Education or Elimination" . When I joined NCRS, there were about 15000 active members (I'm # 28455). Now they're about to number 50,000 and we still have ..... drum roll please ..... about 15000 active members! Been to any meets recently? When I joined, the majority of the members at the meet looked about 10 years older than me. Guess what? Nowadays, the majority of the members still look about 10 years older than me!

My cousin bought an original Ford Model A in the late 1970's - boy they were cool then! How many people NOW collect Model A's?

Get the idea? With the current leadership plan, we EXIST - we do not GROW. In any successful business either you constantly make an effort to grow and capture a larger market share or you dwindle and DIE! I have personally never felt welcomed at an NCRS event - it's like an old boys club, they just stand around and gab (and if you try to join in, they just stare at you and act like you're dumb). The joke is that many of those same guys have never turned a wrench of their own and just pay somebody else to restore their cars.

The younger generation is the future - either we embrace them or they will surely pass us by and we will die off. As for me, I'm so fed up with the whole thing that I sold off my L88 and L89 this past year after owning them for 9 and 23 years.. I brought the L89 to Orlando for the past 3 years in Sportsman Class - never got my "Sportsman" plaque, and only a few members even noticed there was an original 49000 mile L89 (unrestored and crusty) sitting less than 50 feet from their own totally restored (by someone else) base engine car. Trust me, the younger generation is NOT impressed by a 250 HP midyear that they can dust off with a STOCK Accura!

Just my 2 cents!
Mark

[Mark #28455]

What good is a want ad with no audience?

Lets hurry up and pull the wagons into a circle - while great for defense, the wagons can't move while surrounded in a circle and the settlers still get killed, just a little slower! How about letting EVERYONE LOOK at the ads, but requiring them to pay a minimal fee to get the CONTACT info to call and buy it. That way, the great items for sale help boost revenue for the site? Oh yea, we don't really need the revenue as we give away thousands of dollars of interest money to charity rather than just spend it on a legitimate business expense like an online Driveline and the associated expenses of maintaining it.

Mark

[Kurt B.]

Re: As they said in the kids movie "Fox and the Ho

Mark,
A friend of mine and myself received the same "stand offish" treatment when we attended a regional very close to my home so when the national came to the same location we didn't even bother to go back. I got the impression that it was a closed club and outsiders were necessary but not that welcome. I could be wrong but first impressions are lasting. Unfortunate, because I was anxious to become active in the organization sinceCorvettes are my passion.
I have however experienced the exact opposite on this board and have received so much help, knowledge, and kindness from people I have never met that it really impressed me, and was the reason I finally, after many years, joined a local chapter.
Just my experienece, others may have totally different experience.
Kurt

[Verle R.]

Re: As they said in the kids movie "Fox and the Ho

Mark and Kurt,

In any organization you will find people who are "not responsive" for any number of reasons. They may be as you describe or they may be preoccupied with something. You will also find people who are open, friendly and welcoming. Don't let the bad ones run you off. You will miss a lot of other people who are interested in you and your car.

Not everyone who "just writes the checks" are aloof, not all wrench turners are friendly; they are all just people. If you pass by the aloof you will find the friendly.

A thought; approaching people on the judging field during judging is probably not the best time because they may be working.

A good place to start is your local chapter. Go to meetings, get to know the people, get involved, attend judging classes.

As noted, there is a wealth of knowledge in NCRS and most members are willing to share that knowledge.

Verle

I bust my knuckles and still have to write checks.

[Chuck S.]

It's True...

Both your comments hit the mark: Our meets are not exactly "new member" friendly, and I don't know how to solve this problem.

I have never felt more alone in a crowd than I have at some NCRS events...my wife and I may as well have been on the sidewalk in downtown New York City. Having my spouse to talk to was a blessing, but it probably inhibited my meeting other new people. The hospitality rooms SHOULD help us get to know each other, but in my experience, everyone forms up into these little circles...a few old time members move from circle to circle, but typically the circles laugh and talk until the food is gone or they've had enough.

I am not a person that is compelled to walk up to a perfect stranger and introduce myself, and that makes it tough to be popular. To a large extent, all of us are afraid of rejection...not only the new members, but even those that have been around for decades. Further, if we have managed to make a few friends in NCRS, we have a support group and don't need to meet new friends.

Without a doubt, I have gotten to know more NCRS members through this discussion board than in twenty-five years of attending meets. The meets, however are essential to our club goals...this is where we do our thing; and...we at least get to meet the people we've gotten to know on the TDB. Maybe our meet organizers should set up areas designated as a "Newbie Corral"...if you were a new member, or you just want to meet other NCRS members, you could go over there and "hang out". New members would at least be able to meet each other, and old-timers that recogize their responsibility to the future of NCRS could suppress their self-interests long enough to assess the new talent. (Dang, Mark...I wish I had KNOWN you had those cool old cars!!!)

As for The Online Driveline, I say "Bring It On!". Horseless carriages made buggy whips obsolete, electric starters replaced hand cranks, and print media is on the wane...If you resist progress, you will become an irrelevant historical reference. To those dead set on maintaining the hard media Driveline, I say "Get yourself a computer, or quit whining about your handicap."

[Kurt B.]

Well said Chuck *NM*

[Martin N.]

CHUCK....BULLSEYE! *NM*

[Dick C.]

You can try............

You can try to get to know your local members better by attending the social events that local chapters put on. The more you attend the better you get to know them. Try it it works.