Member's Only?

[scottfab]

Originally Posted by Z Factor

snip.........
First I will take the easy one. I grant you that the engine designations are not vital. Still most forums have ways of distinguishing "newbies" from "old timers" and/or active participants from occasional posters/lurkers. So our forums method is a Corvette related way of doing it. Some people view it as a badge of honor, others are, shall we say ambivalent.

Not really a fan of it and it has holes. It would seem to breed automatic newbie status to someone very experience with the ZR-1.
and other holes but.... no biggie

Originally Posted by Z Factor

As to the general designation of currently paid club members vs. former/non club members, I'm not sure how positive a thing that would be for the overall forums well being.
Would anyone be any less inclined to read and/or respect the view of a former member than a current one? Lets say a respected tuner like Mark or Scott made a technical contribution to the forum, would it carry any less weight than if they were a paid member. Are the positive contributions of non club members any less valuable than those who are current club members? I think we would need to answer those questions for ourselves to see how useful it would be for everyone to know.
Without having thought it through, one concern I would have is that some might start taking an us vs. them mentality.

I know it may seem not positive but would reflect fact. Non members always have a choice to pay the very few $ to be a member.
Does it take away from anyone's technical contribution? Not at all. I don't think anyone would think that and I certainly did not imply or say that.

Originally Posted by Z Factor

The forum has always been a place where everyone is welcome to enjoy and learn about ZR-1's whether they are a budding enthusiast, own several, or are former owners who still enjoy coming here and contributing to the forum.
So while it is certainly something to consider, we would not want to do anything to create fractious dissension, or to change the aforementioned open arms tradition on which the forum was founded.

I can see your point and agree this is a place where all are welcome to learn and help support the car. What better reason to show that support then to be a member. And while this simple designation (ie Member or Non-Member) would not make diddly difference to me personally if it were shown on my profile, I do see that many would want to not have it known they are not paying members. As I understand it, our dues pays for this forum, I mean what costs that there are. I see that "Moderators" have special designations and yet that does not divide us. How can the designation "Member" do so?

Frankly, I'm really not sure why I should pay dues when I could just drop out and get all this free and no one reading my post would know I'm not paying................ so....... hmmmm. Something to seriously ponder.
Any way, it's just a suggestion not really a criticism from a paid up member.

[Z Factor]

Originally Posted by scottfab

Not really a fan of it and it has holes. It would seem to breed automatic newbie status to someone very experience with the ZR-1.
and other holes but.... no biggie



I know it may seem not positive but would reflect fact. Non members always have a choice to pay the very few $ to be a member.
Does it take away from anyone's technical contribution? Not at all. I don't think anyone would think that and I certainly did not imply or say that.



I can see your point and agree this is a place where all are welcome to learn and help support the car. What better reason to show that support then to be a member. And while this simple designation (ie Member or Non-Member) would not make diddly difference to me personally if it were shown on my profile, I do see that many would want to not have it known they are not paying members. As I understand it, our dues pays for this forum, I mean what costs that there are. I see that "Moderators" have special designations and yet that does not divide us. How can the designation "Member" do so?

Frankly, I'm really not sure why I should pay dues when I could just drop out and get all this free and no one reading my post would know I'm not paying................ so....... hmmmm. Something to seriously ponder.
Any way, it's just a suggestion not really a criticism from a paid up member.

I know what you mean about newbie status for old timers who are new to the forum.
I've received my share of questions/comments about it, such as "I've owned Corvettes before you were even born, so why start me with a lowly L98".
The funnier ones have said "my ZR-1 has it's original engine, so it should read LT5, not LT4". This of course not knowing it is just tied to their post count.

For some it is a big deal to reach LT5 status, others not so much. Believe it or not, the forum was not always this busy. Mom and I were trying to come up with every and anything imaginable to stimulate participation. So it was actually a positive inducement for some to post more to reach the top status. I suspect the same is still true for some. Heck every once in a while a forum member will post like crazy to reach LT5, then drop off to practically lurker status.

I see your point on the member designation in that some might want to display it as a badge of honor. Also it might be important for some to become a paying member to feel as if they were able to visually show their support.
It is probably akin to those who put their membership status or club officer position in their signatures. Different things have meaning to some such as post counts, reputation points, titles such as "King of the Vette Babes"(I wonder who that might be) .
To others, they prefer to keep a low profile, and forum titles/designations mean nothing.
As you might imagine we do get complaints from some members that actually say "poster X is not even a member of the club, so he should not be allowed to voice an opinion". Of course they are speaking of criticism, not compliments. Needless to say humans are tribal by nature, and it does not take much to start the us vs. them mentality.
Still it is something to consider.

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by Z Factor

Ok, I read your suggestion, however do not understand your reason for suggesting it.

What means to an end would doing that provide?

I am new here and the difficulty I have other than my inherent peronality flaws where I find humor in almost anything......

What is List Server?
I know about the Zr1netregistry.com site and the associated Maintenance section....and I think there are sections over there (zr1netregistry.com) that only Paid Members can visit (you need a password).

I am also confused regarding the comingling of what are called General Members (those with IDs) and Paying Members (those with IDs as well as having paid annual Dues) with Passwords.

My Biggest difficulty is keeping up with the "jargon" used and missused on the Forum as I do not know what guys/gals are talking about exactly most of the time.

Same goes with Technical Jargon.....which I always try to explain the "Jargon" first in posts. I did not even know what HOTB stood for.

I am now even confused what PM stands for

I am also confused that threads can start in General Members (those with IDs) section and then those threads be moved to Paid Members (those with IDs and Paying Dues having Passwords) section just when I was getting interested in contributing (some call it debating).

Which makes that thread move to Paid Members section (those with Passwords) the same as thread CLOSURE for those General Members (those with IDs but not Paying Dues) who had an interest in the thread.

Cliff

[A26B]

I like scottfab's idea of identifying Registry Member & would suggest it be placed just as "administrator" is under Z Factor's name.

The "Join Date" could be modified to Forum Member since: 02/10. No need for a Registry Member date.

I think when lurkers or forum members see "Registry Member" it will spawn a question, what's that/ how do I get to join the Registry. There are many forum members who are of the mistaken belief that they are Registry members. it could be an asset for recruitment of new members.

Good discussion Scottfab & Z Factor!!

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by A26B

I like scottfab's idea of identifying Registry Member & would suggest it be placed just as "administrator" is under Z Factor's name.

The "Join Date" could be modified to Forum Member since: 02/10. No need for a Registry Member date.

I think when lurkers or forum members see "Registry Member" it will spawn a question, what's that/ how do I get to join the Registry. There are many forum members who are of the mistaken belief that they are Registry members. it could be an asset for recruitment of new members.

Good discussion Scottfab & Z Factor!!

What is a Registry Member?
What is a Forum Member?
What am I?

Jerry if you would kindly respond.....

See my post #26 above....

Thank you,

Cliff

P.S. It appears to me you guys want visible labels now going from "Reputation Points" which was a label indicating Forum/Thread contributions to a label indicating if you pay dues or not

Which Reputation Points were Eliminated by DaveK apparently unilaterally.

[A26B]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

What is a Registry Member?
What is a Forum Member?
What am I?

I think you know this already, inasmuch as you have been both at the same time.

A Registry Member is a current member of The ZR1 Net Registry organization and may also be a Forum member if desired.

A Forum member has a user name & password for the The ZR-1 net Registry Forums and may also be a member of the The ZR1 Net Registry if his membership is current.

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by A26B

I think you know this already, inasmuch as you have been both at the same time. And not even knowing it
That is tantamount to being married to myself

A Registry Member is a current member of The ZR1 Net Registry organization and may also be a Forum member if desired.

A Forum member has a user name & password password if the member has paid dues? for the The ZR-1 net Registry Forums and may also be a member of the The ZR1 Net Registry if his membership is current. If his dues are paid in full?

I just do not understand what a Member of the ZR1 Net Registry organization is??

[WB9MCW]

Different things have meaning to some such as post counts, reputation points, titles such as "King of the Vette Babes"(I wonder who that might be).

Proud to be a founding member, regular yearly member and regular forum contributor!
Almost forgot the best one A ZR-1 OWNER!!!

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by WB9MCW

Different things have meaning to some such as post counts, reputation points, titles such as "King of the Vette Babes"(I wonder who that might be).

Proud to be a founding member, regular yearly member and regular forum contributor!

Bryan

There is only one King of the Vette Babes

Is that a ZR-1 or ZR1?

[Aurora40]

Originally Posted by Z Factor

Lets say a respected tuner like Mark or Scott made a technical contribution to the forum, would it carry any less weight than if they were a paid member.

I think Scott has struck on an interesting and simple idea. And as he stated and you acknowledged, no one would dismiss their technical information just due to that, anymore than they would due to their low post count or "L98" rating.

But if someone is saying "Hey, the Registry website is way out of date, someone should get off their lazy *** and update it" or "the current state of the newsletters is shameful", it seems that their membership status is rather more relevant.

Forum members are already grouped by their membership status for access to members-only areas. This would simply make it more visible to others.