Organization

[AZEqualizer]

This will be a subcategory for discussing Organization of the site

[AZEqualizer]

Some headers I thought might work:
Announcements & Rules
Venture Vehicles Discussion
Tech Forum
Activities
Regional Clubs
Classifieds - Vendors, Sponsors and Advertisers
Snap-Shots from the FlytheRoad official site.
Rumors and other Vehicles.
Other Topics –


Derwin’s Cigar Lounge

I would guess you can also have a hidden forum for those with moderator and up privileges.


Site management.

[Derwin]

These are all good ideas. Please discuss this with the other admins. When you decide what to do, just do it. You can have a free hand at putting this all together.

Derwin

[AZEqualizer]

Another Forum member suggested something along the lines of how the VV forum is set up.
<!-- Ainsworth Kohler 02/10/07 - Added <b> to forum_name() --> <!-- Ian Bruce 02/10/07 - updated --> <!-- Ainsworth Kohler 02/10/07 - Added <b> to forum_name() --> <!-- Ian Bruce 02/10/07 - updated --> <!-- Ainsworth Kohler 02/10/07 - Added <b> to forum_name() --> <!-- Ian Bruce 02/10/07 - updated --> <!-- Ainsworth Kohler 02/10/07 - Added <b> to forum_name() --> <!-- Ian Bruce 02/10/07 - updated --> <!-- Ainsworth Kohler 02/10/07 - Added <b> to forum_name() --> <!-- Ian Bruce 02/10/07 - updated --> <!-- Ainsworth Kohler 02/10/07 - Added <b> to forum_name() --> <!-- Ian Bruce 02/10/07 - updated --> <!-- Ainsworth Kohler 02/10/07 - Added <b> to forum_name() --> <!-- Ian Bruce 02/10/07 - updated --> <!-- Ainsworth Kohler 02/10/07 - Added <b> to forum_name() --> <!-- Ian Bruce 02/10/07 - updated --> <table id="forumlist"><tbody><tr><td>Announcements & Events (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=1)— Site announcements, as well as info about conferences, gatherings, and auto industry events.</td> <td class="num">
</td> <td class="num">
</td> </tr> <tr class="alt"> <td>General Discussion (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=2)— An open forum. Anything and everything related to alternative transportation.</td> <td class="num">
</td> <td class="num">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Style & Design (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=8) — The place to discuss alternative vehicle styling, desired features, and other options you'd like to see.</td> <td class="num">
</td> <td class="num">
</td> </tr> <tr class="alt"> <td>Environmental Issues (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=9) — Global warming, carbon footprints, traffic, and the impact of fossil fuels on our planet.</td> <td class="num">
</td> <td class="num">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Advanced Fuels (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=6)— Everything relating to bio-diesel, ethanol, hydrogen, and electricity.</td> <td class="num">
</td> <td class="num">
</td> </tr> <tr class="alt"> <td>Batteries & Hybrid Technology (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=5) — The place for gearheads, ampheads, and all things technical.</td> <td class="num">
</td> <td class="num">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Fuel Efficiency & Emissions (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=3) — Every single day, we fork over $800 million in US revenue to foreign oil cartels. What can be done?</td> <td class="num">
</td> <td class="num">
</td> </tr> <tr class="alt"> <td>Auto Tech and Clean Energy (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=7) — Where is the automotive industry going, and where should it be going?</td> <td class="num">
</td> <td class="num">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Politics, Incentives & Laws (http://flytheroad.com/blog/forums/forum.php?id=4) — Hybrid politics, tax credits, and regulations.</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Mark Tomlinson]

AZEqualizer, in your earlier post you mentioned Announcements & Rules. I assume that differs from Announcements & Events in that the first is regarding the forum and the second is regarding the V1.

Derwin, you may notice that the Admin Control Panel has an Announcement Manager. That is really useful for posting announcements and rules about the forum. This type of announcement can be made to come up in every forum or selected forums. They can be made to come up after a certain date and expire on some date. And they do not allow comments. For instance, "This site will be down next Thursday" would be just the type of thing to use the Announcement Manager for.

The Announcements & Events forum should have an announcement in it, reminding everyone to update the Calendar (http://flytheroadclub.com/forums/calendar.php).

[rogwild]

Once the "Upcoming Events" link becomes active; I believe we (Fly The Road Club) should schedule (and perhaps help V.V. plan) the "Official Launch" when the first V-1 is released to the public, hopefully with a 'mass formation' for publicity purposes. By then we should be able to decide questions like: Will membership be open to all enthusiasts or only 'owners'; will it be free, or yearly 'dues'; what type of 'memorabilia' (if any) we would want to sell; you know admin 'junk' like that. The "Official Membership Registration" could begin at this event. LOTS of TIME to PLAN.

Also I believe that a MAJOR EVENT should be planned to coincide with the beginning race of the 'Automotive X Prize' (assuming that the V-1 is entered). What better way to demonstrate the feasibility of this vehicle being 'marketable' than 50-100 V-1's lined up at the START LINE, with a crowd waving 'V-1' banners? Regional and National 'V-1 Flock-Ins' can be planned later.

[Derwin]

Hello! Access to this enthusiasts site will always be FREE of any charges. But I do like your ideas on the other matters. I would love to make club items. I have many contacts that can start making things NOW. But I don't know about the legal issues that are involved. I can start making coffee cups with the picture of the V1 on it and whatever words we wanted like FLY THE ROAD or whatever, but I just don't know if I can do that legally. My guess is that I cannot.

Anyway, I know we CAN do a lot to coordinate a big splash on this site as we get closer to the launch of this vehicle, and that WILL be exciting!

Derwin

[rogwild]

Derwin I totally agree that THIS site should be free and open to ALL Enthusiasts. I was thinking more in line of an "Official V-1 Owner's Club" that would be 'sanctioned' and closely aligned with V.V. (but not owned nor operated by them) for something in the future, then the 'copywrite' questions could be ironed out. May or may not happen, but in just the last few months we have seen the FTR forum, V1FOC, Yahoo FTR group, and now this great site; who knows what the future will hold (except perhaps Dr. E. Brown)?

[Derwin]

rogwild,

Well, we can always make a section of this club a "paying" exclusive section with premium items on it, but I just don't know what that would be about.

Yes, Ian and VV is going to be opening an "Official" club for this vehicle. They will be offering all kinds of items for sale connected to the club and vehicle. This is what I was told in a private email. parts of this email are posted to the FTR site, but I left out the name of the person that sent me it. I did NOT get his permission to divulge his name.

A lot of people make custom items using ford, chevy, and other car names, but I am sure they got permission. These companies are so big that they may not even care about these things....they are just glad to see there name being on everything. I don't really know. But VV is so small, they probably still want to protect thier images and copyrighted materials. I don't see any harm in making coffee mugs with a picture of the vehicle on it, but I don't know if it would be legal for me to do.

Anyway, I do look forward to the "official" club opening in about 6 or 7 months.

Derwin

[rogwild]

I really do not see any need or purpose for 'fees' on this site. Some BBS's offer increased storage and extra 'privileges', for a fee, but not sure, like you, if it would apply here. If it was ever required in the future to keep the forum 'alive' (or provide additional features) it would still be an 'option'. Your generous contribution of time, talent and resources have gotten this site up and running, and hopefully will sustain it.

Like you stated most companies are glad to get the "free publicity" from promotional items (unless they have plans to market like items for profit), so it is always good form to 'ask first', but not really sure about the LEGALITY.

I just hope that we get to see some good graphics in the near future; the wait and suspense is 'killing' me!

[Derwin]

I agree completely. The "fees" thing is not a good idea. Maybe we CAN have a section of this site for "owners only". I don't know!

About the promotional items.....I DID ask about this. The response I recieve was kind of mixed. He did not give me a green light, but did not say "no" either. He just told me that they have already "contracted" with a company to make up items. So I don't know where that would leave an independent person making up items!

Well, I think it is always better to play it safe when it comes to these kind of things. Unless I get permission from Ian or someone else at the company, I will not make any collectible items or mugs or anything else.

Derwin

[AZEqualizer]

How about this for a structure? I tried to combine several ideas and suggestions.

Global Forum




Welcome to the Club- Salutations to future Pilots

Rules

Thoughts and Idea’s to improve the Club Forum


Announcements for Forum (are done by the Forum announcement program.)



Venture Vehicles Discussion- Pilot Discussion Topics


FAQ of FlyTheRoad Club

Snap-Shots from the FlytheRoad official site.(VVAnnouncements & Events)— VV announcements, as well as info about conferences, gatherings, and auto industry events.

General Discussion— An open forum. Anything and everything related to VV & alternative transportation.

Tech Forum, Style & Design: The place to discuss alternative vehicle styling, desired features, and other options you'd like to see. Mods and customization.

Rumors and other Vehicles.

Activities

Regional Clubs

Classifieds - Vendors, Sponsors and Advertisers



Other Topics –


Derwin’s Cigar Lounge - Talk about ANYTHING on your mind!

Environmental Issues— Global warming, carbon footprints, traffic, and the impact of fossil fuels on our planet.

Advanced Fuels— Everything relating to bio-diesel, ethanol, hydrogen, and electricity.

Batteries & Hybrid Technology — The place for gearheads, ampheads, and all things technical.

Fuel Efficiency & Emissions — Every single day, we fork over $800 million in US revenue to foreign oil cartels. What can be done?

Auto Tech and Clean Energy — Where is the automotive industry going, and where should it be going?

Politics, Incentives & Laws — Hybrid politics, tax credits, and regulations.

[Derwin]

All of your suggestion sound good to me. Go for it! I just want ONE EXCEPTION, though. I want Derwin's Cigar Lounge to always be on top. I want this a major forum for people to go to. Heck, I love smoking cigars, and I want others to join in with me!

Derwin

[rogwild]

Unfortunately, some of us 'non-smokers' or 'chewers' will NEVER be there unless you change the 'rules' to allow virtual cigars, or 'spitting on the floor'.:(

You also need to check with ADAM, to see about adding some custom smilie's (did it on one of his sites). I know you'd love one with a big CIGAR.:):)

[Derwin]

Oh, yeah! I am planning on some very cool flash presentations and avatars for my Cigar Lounge. There will be a whole lot of virtual cigar smoking going on in there. Macanudo is king!

Derwin

[Timon]

AZE,

Looks like a good starting point.

[Mark Tomlinson]

Oh, yeah! I am planning on some very cool flash presentations and avatars for my Cigar Lounge. There will be a whole lot of virtual cigar smoking going on in there. Macanudo is king!

Derwin

Oh, oh. You probably won't let me in with my cheap Thompsons.

[Derwin]

Mark, You are cerainly welcome in, but you get the cheap seats!

Derwin

[Mark Tomlinson]

AZ, probably a good starting point. I can see where we may want to consolidate some. For instance, Battery Tech and Hybrid Tech may also fall under Auto Tech and Clean Energy. Advanced Fuel discussion may land there too. The good news is that vBulletin makes it easy enough to move threads around - even whole forums - if the current structure doesn't work out.

Also, we may want to take advantage of sub-forums. For instance,
- Other Topics
- - Clean Energy
- - - Batteries and Super Capacitors
- - - Alternative Fuels and Fuel Sources
- - - Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Mr. Fusion
Or something like that.

[AZEqualizer]

Thanks for the input Mark... I like it.

[Derwin]

Mark,

Yes, Welcome to the club! If you EVER have any ideas or suggestions for making this site better, PLEASE feel free to let us know. This site belongs to YOU and all those that join as members. Your help is very valuable to us.

Again, welcome to the club, and enjoy!

Derwin

[Miracleman89]

Hey derwin, have you had a Diplimatico or a Hoyo De Monterrey? Both are exquisite!:cool:

[MikeB]

Also, we may want to take advantage of sub-forums. For instance,
- Other Topics
- - Clean Energy
- - - Batteries and Super Capacitors
- - - Alternative Fuels and Fuel Sources
- - - Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Mr. Fusion
Or something like that.

Honestly, I don't really like sub-forums. I like having good top-level groupings, but not forums within forums.

For a sample of the type of problems they create, check out the front page where it lists the FAQ forum. It looks like the last post is currently "Please Contribute" by AZEqualizer, but that thread is actually in the sub-forum for Help with the FAQ. It gets confusing when trying to look for new posts in each forum.

Also, the Welcome to the Club forum has 3 sub-forums, but they all show up on the front page. The FAQ Help forum isn't on the front page, so you have to click-thru to get there. It's a little inconsistent, and that leads to confusion.

[Derwin]

MikeB,

Hello! I noticed the problem with that. I think we need to correct that "sub forum" status, and make them all individual forums on thier own. This has caused ME confusion, and I am the one who made the "Welcome" forum!

If you can, please tell AZ about this. I am sure he can fix this problem.

Thanks.,

Derwin

MM89, I have had the Hoyo De Monterrey, and found it very good. I also LOVE the FUENTE FUENTE OPUS X, but it is a little steep for my blood.

http://http://flytheroadclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1&stc=1&d=1193881018


I have settled on the Macanudo Baron DeRothschild. It runs about $7 to $8 which is in my price range. Very, very smoooooth and a great aroma.

[AZEqualizer]

Yep ... I see where this is confusing and will get it fixed... Sometimes things work better in concept than on the BBS software.

[MikeB]

I wonder if we've over-done the organization plan? We've got lots of individual forums, but most of them are virtually single-topic areas. I wonder if it might be a good plan to shrink things down a bit, at least until more traffic justifies it.

For example, we've got one forum that holds my FAQ, and another whole forum just to discuss additions to the FAQ. We've also got a whole forum to hold onto the endorsement from VV people, which will probably never be more than about 2 threads with a few posts.

Anyone else think that slimming down the number of forums might be reasonable, at least for now?

[MikeB]

Does nobody else have an opinion about too many individual forums?

[Derwin]

Well, I seem to agree that we need to "organize" this a bit. I am sure you can work with AZE concerning this matter. I would also suggest that this be discussed amongst admins and mods in the "private" forum.

Derwin

[DonnieMarco]

I am new to the forum and there is a certain irony to be found in the content my first post.

I was instantly confused and overwhelmed by the number of forums and had no idea as to where to post or which forum to read for the general VV discussion. I was then disappointed as to the amount of posts to be found in each forum, especially when you consider the content on the official site.

I could be talking absolute rubbish, but as an adult with acute ADHD, I really pay a lot of attention to a product or service's usability. I honestly believe that if you cut the number of forums drastically to 3 or 4 you will see a dramatic rise in the number of posters and your content.

If I wasn't so interested in seeing all things VV be successful I would have left the site never to return. The official forum is too simplistic, making it difficult to find posts, but this is too complex for a fledging community to get off the ground.

'Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler' - Einstein