technical library

Basicly ,maybe a bit more thought put into the thread title to make searches for the relevent info easier to find ?. Our moderators do a great job when you consider they all have fulltime jobs .
Maybe some volunteer Members with a bit of time on their hands could be given a bit of training to modify titles . Just a thought .

It can't be done effectively. For a start, there's a myriad of tech issues that overlap, so people don't know where to put items, and they end up in the wrong area.

Secondly, you're talking about organising a bunch of volunteers. Anyone who has ever tried that, knows that it's like rounding up cats.
Everyone has their own idea, and goes off on a tangent, or gets a different idea of what is required.

Thirdly, the info needs time, lots of time, to scan and post. Only a few people have that amount of time to do that. Most people are working, trying to maintain order amongst screaming/fighting kids, organising food, shopping, fuel, parts, meetings, etc, etc, etc.
A few people will attempt to put up info, run into problems or run out of time, and it gets left.

What's worse is that after you've gone to the trouble of posting up a pile of tech info, you suddenly realise that no-one was particularly interested in what you posted, and they wanted something else instead.
And then, there's the realisation you're spending all this time, putting up info for people who often show little thanks for it .. and you're doing it for nothing.

Finally, it boils down to the issue that some appointed individual has to organise the flow of tech info, and arrange it, so it's readable.
A lot of people can't spell properly, so items can't be found with a search, because they are mis-spelt.
Not trying to denigrate anyone who has trouble spelling .. just saying it's a fact of life, and other people have to correct mis-spellings, if the info is going into a permanent webpage.

We tried this on the ACME forum. I scanned and posted lots of info, numerous others did the same .. but then it all just stalled.
No-one got any feedback on whether anything they put up was wanted, read, or just purloined by blown-in visitors.

The idea is good in theory .. in practice, it doesn't work out, because forums are just people with a bit of spare time, swapping knowledge and yarns, showing off pics, and answering questions as they pop up, as best they can.
To try and alter that to a more formal, dedicated, organised database, requires time, money and dedicated individuals who are prepared to monitor and organise a database. On a public, free forum, it just doesn't happen.

All I was meaning was Altering Thead titles ,
Insteed of something like "help brakes don't work ' to once the vehicle is identifyed to read "dodge AT4 mastercylinder problems " or something along those lines .

Then the issue would be to work out what the correct subject line should be.

The other point is that it may not help much as to change the name of the post in a folder you need to change the subject line on the initial post. Then you end up with a strange thing with the intial post saying one thing but the subsequent post subject saying another!

To use your example the first posts subject would be "dodge AT4 mastercylinder problems " and any replys would by default for the subject be "Re: help brakes don't work ".

Always got the forum search engine to find things!

Yes .. and the problem with the search engine attached to this forum program, is that it takes minutes to find something you're looking for .. and then, often doesn't find it .. whereas, if you type your search into Google, and add "hcvc", the answer will appear in seconds!

Like all search engines just need to work out how to use it!

This has been addressed else where but always use the search button in the forum not the quick search. Always search all posts and ask it to return only once per topic.

This is how I do it anyway!

Google has a proper Database and optimised search engines both of which the forum doesn't have! :'(

Hi,
I agree with Swishy, If there was a tech section it might be under the heading "where do I get it", and split in 2. One section would be as it is (when you need something ask !)
The other could be BY MAKE, factory brochures, factory wiring diagrams, factory catalogues, factory, colour schemes info, we've all got manuals, PDFs, wiring diagrams etc, this is what I'm talking about (not joe blow posting a hand scrald diagram of a Mack trucks ecm unit)
I'm only suggesting factory documents which have been scanned, If you got information you put it here, if you want back and forth comments you use the normal forum posts. As stated early K100 club's documents are all factory information. don't know how they upload onto that site by members (still figuring it out.)
Just a another though could you not just have a technical research library from the HCVC home page, you still sign in to gain access of course
Put information out there and you get more people on a website (+ search engines list it higher as well)
Geoff

Taken from rokwiz
a technical research library from the HCVC home page

WHAT A GOOD IDEA
and have the Forum like it is now as well.

I'm leaning at this stage no for the forum as it isn't really designed to do what is needed for this. And the current admin's and moderators don't have the time to do it justice.

I think for it too work it would require another bunch of people to look after as well as ensure consistancy. Really you are talking more like a Wiki type of thing.

The other problem I see which the HCVC if we were to host such a thing is having enough space on our host to store all the scanned documents! This can be very large. Regardless if stored in a document or picture format.

However if the HCVC web admin or any other admin wish to take this task on I'm sure that all the members of the forum would support them.

But I think the whole idea of the question, discussion and answer sequence that occurs on the forum is the best for the forum at this stage. As it provides a dynamic and varied information source.

Hi,
How about doing a poll on it.
Geoff