I just noticed the inclusion of C6/C7 ZR1s

[Z51JEFF]

When did this happen,I thought the power's that be were dead against this.

[BigJohn]

When did this happen,I thought the power's that be were dead against this.

What, difference ZR-1 or ZR1 let us not discriminate please!

[spork2367]

There's already been a C6 post in the C4 forum. I'm not exactly excited about this, but I suppose it's somewhat of a natural evolution to include them.

[Tripler]

If we start adding the newer cars , this site will become confusing when trouble shooting our cars and theres . Not discrimination. It just keeps searches specific to our vehicles .


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[spork2367]

If we start adding the newer cars , this site will become confusing when trouble shooting our cars and theres . Not discrimination. It just keeps searches specific to our vehicles .


Sent from my SM-A205W using Tapatalk

It won't matter. This is the worst search on any forum I've ever been a member on in 20+ years. It's useless as is.

[Erik]

It won't matter. This is the worst search on any forum I've ever been a member on in 20+ years. It's useless as is.

Probably time to pass the hat to update the forum software.

[Subfixer]

Their inclusion won't dilute the C4 ZR-1 stuff. They have their own sections (C6 ZR1, C7 ZR1).

[Z51JEFF]

I'm not criticizing the decision here,the consensus in the past was the directors were just not interested in going in that direction and now it's done.

[Erik]

Their inclusion won't dilute the C4 ZR-1 stuff. They have their own sections (C6 ZR1, C7 ZR1).

Well, yes and no.

As pointed out above, the search engine in this antique version of vbulletin is questionable now. Imagine typing in a term like "clutch". Now you get a huge number of posts on C4 ZR-1 clutches to search through. In the future, you will get a mishmash of C4 clutch info, plus likely, a whole bunch more modern LS based stuff.

So yes, this site, as a haven for C4 ZR-1 folks, will get watered done some. We will also add a bunch of likely younger, and very enthusiastic C6 and C7 folks who will introduce us more to newer cars, and very likely, some really great people.

Is it worth it? Up to each member to decide.

[Ccmano]

There's a lot that went into the decision to include C6/C7 folks on the forum and, as Registry Members will find out at a later date, how the Registry plans to expand to include C6/C7 owners. I can only say it was a decision that was not taken lightly. I will say that I am satisfied that the plan will allow for the focus to remain on C4 ZR-1's while at the same time allowing the C6/C7 owners to build their own parallel structure.

As for the search function I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. This, I am told, is the same vbulletin version utilized by Corvette forum. Searches can be conducted across all the Registry Forums, within a single Forum, within a forum section or within a single thread, on both a simple or advanced level. As such, when properly done, this reduces the possibility of getting spurious results. Is it perfect, far from it. We have spoken numerous times about it internally. In the end the only way to really improve it is to move away from Vbulletin. While that may sound simple on the surface of it, the entire history of the forum and its knowledge base would be at risk. To date, that risk has out weighed the necessity of improving the search function. I'm sure this will continue to be a topic of discussion both on the forum itself and with the board on a regular basis.

2020 has been a record year for Registry membership with over 750 owners and supporters from all over the world choosing to become members.

We are, as you can see, expanding to include C6/C7 ZR1 owners. Expanded membership in the future will give us the wherewithal to do things that have long only been a topic of discussion.

For the first time the Registry has setup a Facebook page both to keep up with the times and to compliment the forum and Registry website. 540 people have signed up for the Facebook page to date, many, like on this forum are not Registry members. Both the forum and the Facebook page now help drive Registry membership.

The Registry Website, long neglected, has been and continues to be updated.

There is finally clothing merchandise worth having in the Registry store.

Further refinements are scheduled for the Registry forum that will make accessing the knowledge base simpler.

Had it not been for COVID, a 30th Anniversary Gathering in Bowling Green was in the making like none before it. That will still happen in either 2021 or 2022. West coast gatherings are now in play again, once COVID subsides, along with the numerous other events around the country in which the Registry participates.

Over past year, since the start of COVID-19, we have been supporting our vendor sponsors with free advertising on the website, the forum and in the HOTB. Normally they would have paid for that advertising and sponsorship. We felt it was an important time to support our vendors businesses in light of how vital they are to our collective interests.

More initiatives are in the works.

While I wouldn't expect much of this to be known outside of the board, I suppose if we are guilty of anything it's not doing a better job of making known all the great things that are happening. I sincerely hope that some of those who were disillusioned with the direction of the Registry in the past will once again join us to make the Registry a better place for all ZR-1 lovers C4/C6/C7 and someday C8.
H
:cheers:

[DRM500RUBYZR-1]

Years of thought and discussion have gone into these topics and decisions.
The board is to be commended for their work.
Controlled growth is good to keep the Registry relevant and vibrant.
Well done!
And, Thank you!
:cheers:
Marty

[spork2367]

As for the search function I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. This, I am told, is the same vbulletin version utilized by Corvette forum. Searches can be conducted across all the Registry Forums, within a single Forum, within a forum section or within a single thread, on both a simple or advanced level. As such, when properly done, this reduces the possibility of getting spurious results.

I'm on a dozen or more vbulletin forums. Whatever the issue is, it's specific to this forum, not vbulletin.

For example, go to the advanced search and search for posts with: valve spring. None of the top three results contain the phrase "valve spring." It doesn't matter whether you search "valve spring" with quotes, valve and spring, or just valve spring. Same results. It's not searching for one post with the combination of valve and spring.

Go do the same search at corvetteforum and look at the top three results. Every one contains the combination of valve and spring. Put quotes on "valve spring" and the results change. Here they do not. It's a registry forum issue and it makes the search function useless.

[Erik]

There's a lot that went into the decision to include C6/C7 folks on the forum and, as Registry Members will find out at a later date, how the Registry plans to expand to include C6/C7 owners. I can only say it was a decision that was not taken lightly. I will say that I am satisfied that the plan will allow for the focus to remain on C4 ZR-1's while at the same time allowing the C6/C7 owners to build their own parallel structure.

As for the search function I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. This, I am told, is the same vbulletin version utilized by Corvette forum. Searches can be conducted across all the Registry Forums, within a single Forum, within a forum section or within a single thread, on both a simple or advanced level. As such, when properly done, this reduces the possibility of getting spurious results. Is it perfect, far from it. We have spoken numerous times about it internally. In the end the only way to really improve it is to move away from Vbulletin. While that may sound simple on the surface of it, the entire history of the forum and its knowledge base would be at risk. To date, that risk has out weighed the necessity of improving the search function. I'm sure this will continue to be a topic of discussion both on the forum itself and with the board on a regular basis.


We are now two generations of VBulletin behind. Which in of itself is not a bad thing, as the two newer releases of VBulletin have been disasters.

The original VBulletin team left and set up Xenforo, which they are continuously updating and improving. In terms of functionality and usability, it's about as far ahead of this software, as my brand new iPad Pro is compared to my first Palm Pilot. Plus, Xenforo is always updating for the best levels of security.

I've been through two migrations from VBulletin to Xenforo, and both went relatively smoothly. It really comes down to how much customization has been done to the VBulletin along the years. I don't see much of that here. Migration is usually not totally smooth, but there is no reason to expect the info in the database to go missing. Attached pictures seem to be the biggest issue, but that can also be mitigated.

Xenforo is now the industry standard. If anyone on the board would like to see how it all works, shoot me a PM, and I can show you my site with the latest updates.



We are, as you can see, expanding to include C6/C7 ZR1 owners. Expanded membership in the future will give us the wherewithal to do things that have long only been a topic of discussion.
:

It's an interesting challenge, as the C4 ZR-1 has about as much technically in common with the C6 and C7, as it does with my new Mustang. The only real similarity is in the names. The C4 ZR-1 was truly an outlier from anything else GM, or Lotus, made.

[Erik]

I'm on a dozen or more vbulletin forums. Whatever the issue is, it's specific to this forum, not vbulletin.

For example, go to the advanced search and search for posts with: valve spring. None of the top three results contain the phrase "valve spring." It doesn't matter whether you search "valve spring" with quotes, valve and spring, or just valve spring. Same results. It's not searching for one post with the combination of valve and spring.

Go do the same search at corvetteforum and look at the top three results. Every one contains the combination of valve and spring. Put quotes on "valve spring" and the results change. Here they do not. It's a registry forum issue and it makes the search function useless.

Search functionality has improved dramatically over the past few years, which becomes painfully obvious as you try to navigate here, once you have spent any time on newer fora.

[spork2367]

Search functionality has improved dramatically over the past few years, which becomes painfully obvious as you try to navigate here, once you have spent any time on newer fora.

I've been on vbulletin forums since 2004ish. A few of the large ones have always had decent search functions. I wish I knew more about the inner workings to give more constructive criticism than "the search here sucks," but I don't...and the search here sucks.

[Ccmano]

I've been on vbulletin forums since 2004ish. A few of the large ones have always had decent search functions. I wish I knew more about the inner workings to give more constructive criticism than "the search here sucks," but I don't...and the search here sucks.

Sorry, this is beyond my feeble capabilities. But be assured this will continue to be a topic for future improvement with the board.
H
:cheers:

[Tripler]

It won't matter. This is the worst search on any forum I've ever been a member on in 20+ years. It's useless as is.Not true . The stickies from Dynomite are extremely helpful and yes , it can be a bit of a chore to find your exact issue , but its still beyond helpful and I really appreciate his hard work setting up those stickies .

Sent from my SM-A205W using Tapatalk

[geezer]

Dynomite + 'Stickies--- Priceless!!

[Erik]

Sorry, this is beyond my feeble capabilities. But be assured this will continue to be a topic for future improvement with the board.
H
:cheers:

Let me know if I can help. I wasn't able to run for the board this year, but I'd still like to do my part to keep this place running.

[Vette Guy]

Hi Erik,

We are very interested! Ted Feder will be in touch!

Regards,
Mark

[spork2367]

Not true . The stickies from Dynomite are extremely helpful and yes , it can be a bit of a chore to find your exact issue , but its still beyond helpful and I really appreciate his hard work setting up those stickies .

Sent from my SM-A205W using Tapatalk

Which has nothing to do with the search function. Again, the search here, compared to other forums on the vbulletin platform is very ineffective. I gave an easy example of how anyone can test that out.

[Vette Guy]

I spent some time earlier today doing some research. I did try the "valve spring" search on the other forum referenced here and received the same result. Others with the same version of software as us have reported the same issue with this release's search engine - as found on the vendor's own forum. We will continue to look into this.

As Erik stated, the newer generations of software were very problematic. We made a conscious decision not to upgrade to these platforms until a sorted out version is released. The other forum referenced is based upon the last released 3.8.xx version, but with customizations.

Regarding receiving results for your search outside of C4s, this does not occur if you search the current forum. Search the current forum (C4 ZR-1) and you will only receive results posted for C4s.

More importantly to us is preserving Dynomite's Soultions. I spent time on the recommended forum software site learning about it. I'm not done researching, but quickly realize that a migration to another software will completely change the links in the "Solutions", which would be a very time consuming process to repair..... Cliff has invested a ton of work into this over many years, and is a huge factor in any migration we may consider.

Regardless, this is the first we were aware of any issue with the search feature and will work to find a solution.

Regards,
Mark

[ghlkal]

FWIW, I welcome the inclusion of C6 and C7 ZR1s.




More importantly to us is preserving Dynomite's Soultions. .... Cliff has invested a ton of work into this over many years, and is a huge factor in any migration we may consider.



Agreed. This is an extremely valuable part of the site.