so this has been bugging me since it happend. the upgrades made it harder to follow the site. there just isnt a strong enuff community to occupy all these threads or keep the individual sections active enuff to live there. and no way to easily read each new post that happened while you were away. the specialization has made it hard to find info. for instance: say i did a write up on how to adjust timing and spark plug gaps for best performance. id have to post it in 1 of 2 sections cuz i own a 80,78,and a 75. now if somebody comes to this site and has a 89 they wont bother to look at the older forums. same goes with the older people showing up and seeing somebody hacking the crap out of a 87. so people needing answers wont find what they need. people tend not to search. the comunity is segregated to much, there is really minor differences in suspension, interior, and engine. ususally most anything done is some kind of custom trick to make it work that would apply to most any car or truck. now i totally respect the time and effort it took to organize the forums as is. thats why i waited so long, i tried to get used to it. but its just not working. so i submit a new option: a new forum tree suspension body interior eng/tran electrical writeups buildups (then some generic year specific forums) off topic site suggestions news i think making the site more user friendly will end up with more users, more interaction, and better info. if a change is gonna happen and i can help in any way let me know.
I can agree to a point. I like how the forums are laid out, but as u said, most of the years truck dont have to much different in the chassis department, engine, and maybe even in the body. But how to getting it all in one i think can also be a problem. the only other thing we could do it do write ups and make them posties.
I like the forums you can always just hit the new posts button and see only the new stuff regardless of section... we do need some stuff stickied though
Yea i think all the DIY and really helpful post should be stickied at the top of there section. Frequently asked questions should be stickied too. Like info on lowering. Seems to be lots of questions about that.
i think it might just be we are used to the way it used to be. i recommend this site to every new toyota truck i see on cardomain and minitruckin. Unless john beats me to it.
MOD response . . . Thank you for voicing your opinion, yes, it really does matter. Most forums are set up to cater to a specific year of truck or generation because its much easier for the standard member or the Newbie who occupy the forums quite infrequently to find their answers fast without using the search engine ( which I may note does nothing for someone who has no clue on how to submit something they have no clue about except for simple keywords and endless searching ) Now us lifetime members/addicts can tell you the size of a bolt on most any given part and probably tell you the exact steps to properly taking a fender off without asking. That said Im in full aggreement and can relate to the shared parts and interchangable stuff in and around some generations, I know I can go to the 84 - 88 section for chassis and find most of the answers I need to know or catch up on without doing a wild search for stuff. I submit that having a section for shared similarities on such items is a great idea but consider this. . . If Joe six pack comes in with a 75' Toyota and has a question on his chassis hes more likely to find it in his section than he will be to find it in a generalized category for chassis because of the way some threads are named - another member may call it ( leaf spring ?'s ) but thru reading it may list various years and subtle differences that can and will confuse any new member. Another thing Ive noticed is that when starting a thread name it to what best fits the problem - question - answer and that will surely help alote. That said, I totally agree that alot of these trucks share similarities to other models and some parts and such do interchange. Maybe to be considered is this. . . Keep the standard groups and maybe add a ( customizing or chassis base ) section where threads can be moderated if they are not in the right spot or dont fit the section. Many of you will remember the old Toyotaminis forum where everything was under basic listings and alote of people screamed to have it changed into groups so things will and would be easier to find for all, maybe an idea would be to start a poll, open a forum or thread ( which is already open ) and discuss these ideas which are all great and its super cool that it can be talked about. Another thing I cant stress enough and helped me in the early days of reading/posting here, check your preferences, try new settings on how you would like your posts presented to you, I selected oldest first and then I use the ( New posts ) icon to help me get to the new stuff to help me out. Also, please refer to your FAQ section http://www.toyotaminis.com/forum/faq.php and browse through the many options you really do have in regards to how your experience can be here @ Toyotaminis.com. Moving on, one thing that has been getting to me is when someone asks a question please help find the answer or direct them accordingly please do not write/post " Use the Search Engine as a response, it can and may distract the user/member from even trying further and may discourage them from stopping by, we are a great group with alote of talented people and zero drama, I know you and me both would love to keep it that way thats why most of us live here. As for Sticking threads, If you see one you like let me or Jeff know and we will discuss sticking it accordingly because yes there are alote of good ones - totally agree. . . As for when Im around, Im ON everyday, between 6 - 12 MST and read every post and have open public email and messaging, that doesnt mean I wont miss a message or a post, but, I am here everyday feel free to email me or PM me anytime, if I cannot solve a problem I forward it to Jeff ( administrator ) and we discuss the form of action required to what best fits the sites needs. Any questions, Anytime guys/gals Thank you for expressing your ideas and I respect them and will listen and will open and refer this thread to Jeff for further discussion. . .
member 4 life and as a example to the problem i see. i would like to repost this here, where should i post it? http://www.celica-gts.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16369
k i have been using the "new posts" button now and that helps, but its only good for the first session of the day. resets every time i come back, so if i dont have time to read everything i have to hunt em down. will check into the settings and see if i can fix my own problem. also just noticed the tech articles section, hidden WAY at the bottom. suppose ill post up there then.
i agree, i wish the new posts were more like unread posts. i have lost some when i didn't have enough time to get through all of them.
Very true with the new posts thing, Ive had it time out on me too, I wish it would just stick, Ill make sure to bring it up, great point!
wanted to bump this thread again. i dont have time to thoroughly check this site daily to make sure i dont miss a post. and you CAN NOT search for just posts in the last 24-48 hrs, you have to specify something to search for or a person. the cross posting problem is getting worse. there are threads in every specific generation forum for trucks of the wrong year, making the need for such specific forums even more ludicrous. it would just tickle me pink if this forum became easy to navigate and keep up on.
Hey man, thanks for bumping, it gives me a better chance to help. As for the search function, when you click the search icon, look for the advanced search heading and click that itll letcha set your parameters and search a lil easier. http://www.toyotaminis.com/forum/search.php As for the wrong year posts, I have only enough control for the 84 - 88 threads, the general, and the marketplace, I cannot do anything but move these wrong threads to the ADMIN chat and wait for an answer, Id SOO love to have one of you guys runnig the other sections, but, its very hard to keep ahold of the " higher power " Bear with me man, and as always, so love having your ideas and input, glad to have you here, your a total asset to your generation of minis and knowledge of engines, keep up the good work . . .
I keep seeing issues with interchangability... How about a cross bread section that these guys (and myslelf as I get more used to this) where they can document what can be swapped where, and keep it DIY/FAQ style.
My $0.02 on Forum Structure So, I have been thinking about how a good forum structure would work for our environment. I like how we have it sectioned off by generation, but I agree there is a lot of posting that is in wrong sections (I was even guilty of starting a thread in a wrong section when I thought I was in the right section). I also see a little information that could be somewhat repeated in some sections as well. So, my thoughts... Some of these engines range several different generations... Why not make an 'Engine' section, under it have Pre 20R R Engines, 20R Engine, 22R Engine, 22RE Engine, Repair and Troubleshooting Help We could still segregate other parts of the board by generation that are generation specific, but anything that could be cross generational should probably have it's own section. Or we could have our subsections become the sections of our forum with subsections that are generation specific and allow posters to post in the main section for anything that could be cross generational. It would be interesting to have a section on ride height with subsections on 'going up' and 'going down'. Just random thoughts I am throwing out while I am rebooting a server at work...
