Last night, as every other Friday for the last 12 years, I spoke for 2+ hours with my very best bud (35 years!), 1970 Neun vierzehn. We chitchat like old ladies every 2nd Friday about 914's, model railroad stuff, and ties to Cincinnati.

This time, a large part of the conversation was dedicated to the nailed threads of this forum. They are helpful (I hope), but disjointed (our opinion), and aren't a "ready reference". Oh, you can dig through them and maybe find the info you want, but you may need to dig through 2, 3 or more of them.

Here's our thought - and it means quite a bit of work, but may be worth it.

Instead or categorized 914 areas, which cover all years of 914's, what about re-sorting all the posts in those nailed threads to be model year specific? Instead of all engine compartments/interiors, etc being in one location, what about ALL items associated with a model & year 914 in one nailed thread?

Say you have a newly acquired, or in-resto 1970 914/6. Instead of searching through interior/engine/etc threads for info - we put everything in one nailed thread. You want info on '73 front bumper tits - go to the '73 models thread. Need to know what correct wheels are for a '72 four or six - go to the '72 thread.

With that in mind, what are your felings about the change? I would like to think of the nailed posts as a history binder for CW's of all vintages.

How would you structure it? All comments are welcomed and appreciated.
Pat

They could go into a subforum like the Parts Vault.

What about tagging them in a site like del.icio.us so that people can find what they are looking for more easily?

Skip

Hmmm, sounds like a pretty good idea! But I'd like more opinions first.
Pat

I second that!

[quote name='Pat Garvey' date='May 3 2008, 03:25 PM' post='1027796']
....... I would like to think of the nailed posts as a history binder .........for all (MY 914) vintages.

[quote]

I think having original information on each model year together (front trunk, rear trunk, interior, engine compartment, and front, back, and side views for the MY would allow this information to be accessed easier.
What made me think of this was Marks' request last week for some interior pics of an early 914/6. Running through all the interior photos didn't turn up anything, and of course there were shots of 914s from all model years shown.
Recently I read a request for a good photo of vacumn line hoses/colors/routing which ought to be able to be retrieved by model year. Once again, the Forum member should be able to open, for instance, 1973 914 and find the photo information for just 1973 914 models.

Paul

I don't disagree with a a thread for each model year. In fact that could be done, and the way I would do it would be to assign someone the task, and have it a locked thread; that is, only the thread starter and an admin would have access to modify the thread. Most threads tend to fall apart as everyone adds their 2 cents worth. Much better to have one concise thread on a subject. I would also place that thread in a subforum. We could move all the current 'sticky' threads in to the subforum, and have the concise model year specific threads as the new "stickies" in that forum. Much like our 'classic' threads but more concise. Any errors and omissions can be forwarded to the thread owner with proof for addition to the thread.

Guys, guys, guys... By setting up a static structure you're presuming how people are going to want to search the content. Also, by keeping all this within the 914world site you effectively require people to know about this site before searching. If you do something which exposes the site/forum to outside folk you stand a chance of snagging new people, make searches more flexible and provide the opportunity for this scheme to be easily used outside this one forum (garage, sandbox, etc).

Skip

Skip, I'm a little unclear here.

Are talking about something similar to a wiki?

I can see the basic purpose, but Roadglue has done this & I doubt that it has increased the mebership there of any sigificance.

Please explain in detail to an idiot (that would be me) how this would work. Also, please help me understand how the World would have it's intellectual property preserved. I'm not challenging you, just need some help understanding your proposal.
Pat

Pat,
Do a trial thread on your own 914. It's an original, unmolested, no-mods example of a 1972 914/4 1.7. You've got excellent photos of just about everything on that car. Without going overboard with this concept, send up a trial balloon as a regular thread on this Forum, see how it's received and critiqued, look to see how it can be tweaked and improved, and reference this "sample" in the Garage Forum to see if the general rank and file would find merit in it.

Paullie

I think I like this concept. We have "experts" on every model year, as well as those who know all about everything 914.

But here is where I show my ignorance - how do we do it?

Moreover, is it necessary to do it? Is what we currently have acceptible?

I don't want to re-invent the wheel, just seems to me that it could be made more concise.

I won't attempt to do anything if the general opinion is to leave it alone. It was just a thought between two old timers with over 70 years combined 914 poop in thier heads!
Pat

Nope, just tagging posts/threads with meaningful keywords (meaningful to us, probably to other Porschephiles as well). I don't use del.icio.us much, but I do have a page with my bookmarks:

http://del.icio.us/smontanaro

Click on some of the tags in the right hand margin. I have two items in my toolbar related to del.icio.us. One allows me to tag the current page I'm viewing. For example, I visited this thread on front trunks just now:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=55355

I then selected the "post to del.icio.us" link in my Firefox toolbar. It prompted me with a form to enter notes and tags. I skipped the notes. In the tags field I entered:

porsche 914 1970 front trunk originality

It then returned me to the thread. I revisited my smontanaro page and refreshed. It shows me in the right hand margin that I have now used several new keywords (e.g., "1970", "originality", etc).

Now, once again on the smontanaro page I enter

porsche trunk

It lists the page I tagged as well as other pages tagged with those two keywords, none of which seem to have anything to do with 914s. Now search for

porsche 914 trunk

Voila! Only the page I tagged shows up.

Now, how might this work in practice? The easiest way would be to convince one of our friendly neighborhood admins to add a del.icio.us link to the page template for the thread display. That way anybody who wanted to could easily associate keywords with any and all pages that interested them.

Skip

is it really neccessary though?

We dont have too many pages for each topic yet that needs to be covered.

It could be a good move, but at this point, does it seem necessary to subdivide each category if all you have to search through is a few pages?


It could be good, and i do like wiki's, though i could never figure out roadglue's, but i think that is becasue it might not be really complete.

My opinion is I think either way works. If we got really detailed, and had alot of photos, and really showed each in and out of each year, it would probably be better for the long run.

Pat,
Basically I propose a subforum, it could be called Model Info.
There would be a series of sticky locked threads, one for each model and each year: 70 914/6, 70 914/4, 71 914/6, 71 914/4, 73 2.0, 74 1.8, etc. Specific variations like the LE cars, and the Silver Series could also be documented that way. A general template for each thread would be useful so that they have the same appearance. Guidelines for picture size and color depth would be useful , but perhaps overkill. Generous use of keywords would make searches easier. We could include links to other specific resources. We could also add literature for that model in the thread.
Those threads that are currently stickies, would be moved to the subforum, but remove the sticky status.

with Dave
It's nice to have the area-specific threads (trunks, interior, etc), but we should have model specific threads which are built in the fashion of the 914/6 differences thread.

Dave,

I like it! Not certain how to pull it off, but it makes sense. Need some help here to make it work - suggestions? Do I need to remove the "nails" to get it started? If so, I'll do it tonight.
Pat

I love this site and don't contribute as much as I could

BUT

we could use some nailed threads that do not get modified. Actually, threads that do not get "answered."

So if a thread showed an original trunk, we could skip some of the "way to go" comments and just have stuff that is offered as FYI only. The author of the thread (or moderator in Pat's case) could receive PM about a specific question or issue and then modify that nailed thread.

It would make things so much easier for reference.

Paul

Paul, exactly correct. That is why I suggest the threads are locked.
Pat, first to do is to create the subforum, and move the stickies there.
Then create a thread format for the way you think the thread should be laid out. We can talk that over and settle on a plan before actually starting a thread. I think we will get a more pleasing result with some advance planning.

I'll have to create the subforums. And, to be honest, subforums will really 'hide' the information for new people. It's great for organization, but really poor for ease of use. What I can do is make a text box at the top of the page that would house links to the model threads. That way the threads would still be easy to navigate, without being moved into a separate area or being nailed. See the top of the parts vault section to see the type of text box I'm talking about.

Do I understand that a heading, under the, say, Parts Vault, would read, for instance 914 specific model information, and then when you click on that thread, you'd get the various model catagories, i.e. 1970/6, 1970/4, 1971/6, 1971/4, 1972/6, 1972/4, etc. etc. If that's what you mean, I would think that could be a useful source for original, model specific information.

Paul

I put up a test version to clarify, but now that it's up there, I'm not sure I like it...

PM sent
Pat

No more ideas?

I think the concept has a real value and merits a (slightly larger) banner at the top of the page, but............

I think it needs to be determined if this material should consist of good pictures of the specific cars (yes), precise, specific, clear, direct language pertaining to the individual model (probably, i.e. "note that MY 1970 and 1971 /6s had the ignition switch on the dash, to the left of the steering column. MY 1972 /6 had the ignition switch on the right side on the steering column")
Should these model year topics include the friendly banter, sarcasm and kidding that most of us enjoy on this Forum (probably not).

The 914/6 example posted as a "test" shows some real promise, but it needs more specific pictures, some editing out of non-related material, and a format that would show:
A) an overall outside view of a car, front, back, side, maybe 3/4 views with specific areas like wheels, bumpers, valences to be added later as time and contributions permit.
B)interior views w/dashboards, seats, door sills, consoles, etc. presented.
C)front trunk w/ and w/o spare, details around the gas tank and m/c
D)rear trunk w/ and w/o insulation pad, carpeting, jack variants
E)engine compartment w/ overall views and specific areas as needed and/or required (i.e. stickers, air cleaners, coil, etc.
F)miscellaneous (owners' manuals, service books, tool kits, accessories era appropriate for the MY.

As whoever will be in charge of formating this, as improved photos become available, their addition and/or deletion of prior material shold be at their discretion. As I had indicated previously, Pat Garvey's 1972 1.7 could serve as an ideal template for that specific model. Correct paint, presented "as built", with lots of detail photos, that car would serve as an example to someone as to how a 1972 914 looked when delivered new.

Paul

I still think the tagging idea merits at least a little testing. In addition to the other stuff I mentioned earlier, it allows the load of applying tags to be distributed across the readership of the forums. You need not rely on one or a few people to do all the heavy lifting.

Skip

I've been giving this some more thought, aided by several of this forum's stalwarts.

Here's the consensus proposal:

Under the title of "Model Specific Information" will be eleven succint threads - one each for 1970, thru 1972 914'6's, one for 916's, one each for each 914-4 model thru 1976.

Each thread will be locked & controlled by the writer/"threadmeister" (as well as the forum admin).

All "threadmeisters" will be responsible for all posts to that thread, fielding suggested info & posting those items appropriate to that thread. This would be accomplished via PM's, since each thread will be locked.

Each of the eleven threads would be responsible for providing the same information, in a similar format (to be determined):
Page 1 - general shots - front, rear, side, plus general changes between years.
Page 2 - options, color, price.
Page 3 - front trunk.
Page 4 - rear trunk.
Page 5 - interior.
Page 6: appearance group/performance group - if applicable.
Page 7: special models withing the MY.

For now, all pic's would be approximately the same, and of the same pixel range - so comparisons are easy. This pixel range will be determined by the site admins, since they must control the functionality of the entire site. Future Threadmeisters will be advisedmof these constraints & how to deal with them,

The point here is to generate a "true" history - both pictorial & text, for each model and model year. Not intended to be a wiki, as those can be violated. We WANT pure history.

Yeah, I know, it sounds a little cumbersome, but once it's made - it's bible. And... it will be here - the World! We will build it, we will confirm it. It will become gospel.

Now, I could call for threadmeisters right now - and we have numerous experts here. BUT, I want general feedback first. I am only this forum's Moderator - not an Admin. I'm a hireling, well I don't get paid, but am answerable to the Admins.

But, I want to get this rolling. Do away with all the nailed threads, etc. Create a REAL digital history of the 914.

Comments?

Any people out there volunteering to Threadmeisters for specific models/years?
Pat

Pat,
I'll volunteer to be a "threadmeister" for 1974 model year.

Tim

After thinking about this for a couple of days, I suspect (from a historical standpoint) that we may want to include histrical 914 race cars as another category. Anyone care to comment?

I'm on vacation, so I'm online seldom. Next week, we'll get this settled.

Just wanted to sow the seeds.
Pat

Along similar lines, I think more general information would be useful. Like, known vendors, websites with more info, etc.

Check out
http://fmtunerinfo.com/

They have lots of info on the splash page...

For instance, how about a "definitive" page on which batteries fit in the stock position, which model of Optima battery is necessary, the specific battery hold-down, etc. I mean, how many times are common questions asked?

Paul

Biz,

I hear you, but that's easily gotten from other threads or forums.

My (and others) purpose here is to provide a "pictionary" of the differences, from a historical standpoint, between the models. One stop shopping.

Interested in a 1971 914-4? Go to that model-specific thread. See everything specific to that model - in one thread, from experts. Some would say - do a wiki. Problem with wiki's is - anyone can screw up something that's created correctly. So, we create our own pictionary right here, protected by experts for each model, and also protected by those fortunate few who know it all! No one individual can corrupt the history. The information is kept virginal (oh, I'll be this elicits responses!).

Questions/opinions/quirks would be submitted to the general forum aboout specific models, and addressed by the threadmeister for that model. He/she would determine inclusion into the base thread.

All pics would be formatted similarly, if possible, so that year-to-year comparisons could be easily made.

That said, I'm not going forward with this until I get positive feedback from the members. If you don't want it, fine. If you think it would help people more easily get the info they need, tell me so.

This won't be particularly easy for us to put together, so we're not going to make the effort if it isn't well recieved. We'll also need "expert" to step forward & commit to being "threadmeisters".

So far, I'm not getting a warm & fuzzy feeling.
Pat

Pat, as I have suggested, I think the thing to do is to do ONE first and in so doing, set the pattern. I think that perhaps you should do yours as the first. Not that you will have to do it alone, it could be a collaborative project. Once we have one done to our satisfaction, then the others will be almost copies with different photos. After that it will become a matter of refining what has been done. The hard work is always with the prototype. Start with a plan as to what is to be presented, then how to present it. Follow with a text writeup, then embellish with photos to illustrate the points made.

What were the changes made for MY 1972? Seats for one thing. Then go on from there.

Yea, what he said!

Paul

i think the way you suggest, pat, would be good for concourse guys and hard on someone looking to just find out why his vacuum advance doesn't work properly(probably bad example). not trying to drop a turd on anyone, i guess it may come down to what works best for the group or maybe whats easier to use. that may just be my ignorance speaking though, i still can't use the search

mike

OK, I'm back on topic.
I think it's great to chronicle the individual model years.
Pat's 1972 would be a great place to start.

Standardizing pics would help everyone. Could even mix up individual cars: my 1974 is pretty much stock and I'd be willing. Maybe my trunk is more stock than someone elses?, etc.

Go ahead Pat, try one thread, please.

Paul

Kenny, this is not a fixit thread, that is what the Lapuwali Classics are for.
These threads are for originality, AND the progression of the model from the introduction through to the last cars.

Paul, there is no requirement that the photos be from only one car for a particular thread. In some cases it may make it easier, and others more difficult. Lets try to help Pat flesh out a plan for the first thread.

Well, I envision 1970 as the starting point - particularly from the exterior shots. Why reinvent the wheel by showing the base again? Show the changes from one model year to another. Ex: changes from the rare angular license area of the 1970 rear bumper, deletion of the passenger footrest, etc. I mean, it's nice to see various 914 bodies, but they are very similar to a point.

Or, maybe I'm off base here. Open to any & all suggestions, so long as we keep it a visual history. Euro 914's must be included too - how do we handle that?

Anyone with a 1970 (and we can start with a four or six) willing to step forward to get this started? We'll all hold each other's hands to get through the initial phase.

Pat

o.k. pat, i think i see were your going. i think we all have some year spacific interest in us. maybe i could help somewhat if this happens, i guess my interest is in the first 1000 1973's, slated for european market but sold in u.s.. i've researched and contacted many of these owners and put together info. would this be what your looking to do? let me know if i can contribute. thats what i like about this group of spacific car inthusiast

mike, (kenny-orange914's pop)

Now you're with us Mike! You WILL be contacted!

What about you 1970 Neun vierzehn? Care to help us start this thing? If you are, let either me or DaveP know. Yours is the perfect starting point for a 1970 four.

What about you sixers? Who has a '70 to help start this thing?

I'm starting to get excited! This could be great!

Pat

I'd think a good, clear profile photo would be a good starting point, but there are three things wrong here with this particular 1970 914/4.

Oh, come on - you have hundreds of other pics.

Volunteer! Remember, you can create a legacy here.

And it can be an invaluable informational resource for future owners. Think back to when you wanted to know the lineage of a 914 - many, many years ago. You have the opportunity to become history here. Think about it!
Pat