AUTOPIA >>> STYLE * APPEARANCE * SHOW

B

Bobby G

New member
Dear Autopians,



The Autopia Moderators and I are pleased to announce an exciting change for our community’s future.



Since its beginning in 1999, Autopia members have gathered to discuss the appearance of their car. It is the fine art of car detailing – the core of our discussion and knowledge transfer – that creates a car with perfect appearance.



We believe that it is now time for Autopia to evolve to support a broader view of the car hobby. The natural evolution for us is “style� and “show,� as they come before and after “appearance�. Therefore, our new direction is “Style, Appearance and Show�.



What changes does this mean for Autopia as we know it today? Nothing radical. We have planned changes in three phases.



Phase I (now) is to consolidate several existing forum areas and complete features that are not working.



Phase II will add new forum areas to support “Style�. I will make a second announcement prior to this phase.



Phase III will add new forum areas and features to support “Show.�



This topic is also posted in the Hot Tub forum for open discussion.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I'm not really sure what this means. Can we get some elaboration?
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Mike,



I won't go into Phase III b/c it would be letting the cat of the bag on new features. Let's discuss Phase I and II.



Phase I will consolidate:



Autopia University and Detailing

Detailing Product Discussion and Ask the Manufacturer



Phase II will add four new topic areas for "Style":



1. Tires & Wheels

2. Body Styling

3. Electronics and Lighting

4. Interior
 
I like both ideas. Some of those categories were redundant, and I really like the idea of having forums for aesthetics (not just detailing) on Autopia given the level of experience a lot of the members have.
 
David: Awesome idea!







I meant to ask you this, so I will just post it right here. What about a "Auto Review" section? I know there are only a few that drive the same car here, which makes this place beautiful. I would really like to see thorough reviews on each and everyones vehicles. It could really give more meaning to "Autopia" and attract new clients. Just an idea.
 
Hi Sean!



The Mods and I discussed this, but we thinh getting too far off track from the original mission of the site is risky. There are a number of Makes and Models sites out there. Yahoo is about to announce their own Makes and Models site at SEMA. The rumor is also going around that CarDomain.com will be starting a Makes and Models forum.



For now, I think it is best that we stick to STYLE * APPEARANCE * SHOW. It gives me a lot of new topics to write about ;)



db
 
ZaneO said:
Not a big fan of the way Autopia has been going lately, but that's JMHO. :)
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Do you have a constructive complaint, Zane? The changes are about making the community better.



Ideas :idea are always welcome.
 
Well, it's not necessarily the visual changes to the layout or anything like that.



I think, for me, it has more to do with participation and members. I just find it to be a much less enjoyable place than it once was.



:)
 
Any word on the aBay? I keep checkin it everyday, just in case. lol

I would also suggest combinding the Body style and wheels and tires together and call it Exterior Styling or something. I just dont think a whole lot of people will be posting there (wheels and tires). And maybe add a engine styling type thing for dressing up the engine. Well actually that probably wouldn't be that popular. Thats all I can think of right now. Everything else I like though.
 
The recommendation to fix aBay is to upgrade to the newest version of vBulletin. I nned to run the upgrade against the test system then schedule an outage for Autopia.org.
 
Wow, now I'll probably visit even less.



I liked the Detailing forum because it was more advanced than the University forum. Less of the same. Wasn't the University forum created for that purpose -- keep the basics there, and the more advanced stuff in the Detailing forum? Why go back to the old way?



I don't under a concentration on body kits and wheels and crap. Too many different cars with different parts for each that I'm better off going to a car specific forum than hoping that someone here happens to have the knowledge that I seek. Detailing is generic enough that it applies to all makes and models, modifications are not.



Better to stick to your core competency and let others take care of the rest.
 
perry said:
Wow, now I'll probably visit even less.



I liked the Detailing forum because it was more advanced than the University forum. Less of the same. Wasn't the University forum created for that purpose -- keep the basics there, and the more advanced stuff in the Detailing forum? Why go back to the old way?



I don't under a concentration on body kits and wheels and crap. Too many different cars with different parts for each that I'm better off going to a car specific forum than hoping that someone here happens to have the knowledge that I seek. Detailing is generic enough that it applies to all makes and models, modifications are not.



Better to stick to your core competency and let others take care of the rest.
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I guess I'd have to agree with you very differently, Perry.



1. The Autopia University forum was created in response to senior members desire to keep newbie questions in a different location. As a result, 80% of all new "detailing" posts were created in Autopia University. Merging the two forums makes perfect sense for how the forums are being used in 2005.



2. The skills needed to customize cars, like detailing, are not car specific. This is a rich topic area that will help broaden the appeal of the community. Someone pointed out to me yesterday that 80% of the topics on the Make and Model forums are basically complaints about the vehicle. I'm not sure if the complaint threads are this high or not, but I know they are a significant part of the Make and Model forum discussions.



3. A quick look at Garage, Car & Driver, Car Customizing and the other new forum areas we added a year ago this month are a pretty good indication that this community is open to discussion beyond just detailing.



I believe that car tuning and modification is a significant part of today's car culture (as it has been in the past). We [Autopia] can embrace this culture and share our passion for detailing (appearance) with a wider audience or we can stick our head in the sand and pretend it does not exist. I plan to embrace it.



I'll be going to eXtreme Autofest (www.extremeautofest.com) in San Diego on October 1... anyone care to join me?
 
DavidB said:
1. The Autopia University forum was created in response to senior members desire to keep newbie questions in a different location. As a result, 80% of all new "detailing" posts were created in Autopia University. Merging the two forums makes perfect sense for how the forums are being used in 2005.
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Are you saying that in 2005, the newbs are not restricting themselves to AU, therefore defeating the purpose?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Are you saying that in 2005, the newbs are not restricting themselves to AU, therefore defeating the purpose?
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Mike,



It was the other way around. The senior members posted in AU more than in Detailing.



db
 
I don't know aobut the new layout-it may be ok. I do know this. Everytime I get use to one layout, it changes. That's more frustrating than anything. Most of the time when I'm on here, I just have a short amount of time (normally on the phone on hold), and now I can't find anything again!
 
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