[Shale]

ZOMG. PHASE TWO GOGOGO.

So for those of you that have been here since the beginning, you'll remember we're now in our third year - and at just shy of 200 members, we can safely say that DOBC isn't going anywhere. Unlike many smaller fringe clubs, we've weathered low body counts and malicious intent, moved on from free software and are now recognised by the biggest Subaru club in New Zealand as a sibling rather than an offshoot. We're pretty much on the right track for the main goal.

That goal, for those that are a little newer on board, is to grow a strong, reputable Subaru club that focuses on restoration, motorsport and general respect for our cars, the road, and other road users; we welcome all but have a stronger focus than most on our Subaru roots, and have a huge sense of brotherhood amongst our ranks. We are not elitist, just more strongly bonded than the larger clubs.

This is our history. We can now say we have one! Now we look to the future, DOBC; where do we go from here?

Obviously, ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED is simply to become an MSNZ-affiliated club, able to hold our own motorsport events and able to help other clubs that are yet to achieve this. For that we need member numbers, funding and resident qualified experts. We'll get there.

Phase Two of our existence is beyond forums; it's time to look at a proper web presence, and that's what I am currently drafting up. We're going to have a great-looking, dynamic and regularly updated home page. www.dirtyolbc.co.nz is going to lead to a real web page instead of just to the forums!

This is where you guys come in. I'm deciding on features, and looking into 1) what is possible, and 2) what the community wants.

At this stage, I'm considering the following:

1) Home page, with obvious links to key areas and a news feed
2) News page, which will deal with DOBC, NZ auto, Subaru and motorsport news
3) (Potential) Blog page with guest writers, as we get bigger
4) Garage section, possibly directly related to a "Member of the Month" feed. Yay/nay?
5) The Forums, which will NEVER die (but will probably get a few new skins for you guys to play with)
6) Direct contact page, so that myself and a few other key people that want in are far easier to contact

Down the track, there is a rather powerful tool in development; not gonna say much, but I am exploring a custom shirt builder - available for paid members. No ETA, a lot of research is gonna have to go into this.




With the usual overly huge write-up above out of the way, what is everyone's thoughts and feelings about our upcoming home page? How much or how little do you want to see on it, and what would make you check it as well as the forums on a regular basis?

[DCVR]

good farkin shit..........i like the direction and vision

custom shirt builder sounds interesting

[Shale]

hells yeah. Shitload of work at my end but it'll be more than worth it in the long run.

[wgtn-bc]

This sounds really good. Like the idea of a blog, and perhaps a quick and obvious way to share images and video.

From my point of view, a homepage that aggregated info together (a little bit social media styles maybe) of whats going on, both in and outside the club would be cool. Regardless though, really like what you guys are doing.

[boostin]

How hard is it to just do what you think is best, then tweak it from opinions?

[Reuben]

I'm liking all of the above. Like Ryan says, just do what you think is best.

[Shale]

boostin, on 31 January 2012 - 7:48 PM, said:

How hard is it to just do what you think is best, then tweak it from opinions?

Given the plethora of things that CAN be done, and the fact that I see several completely different sites a day given my job... it's not that easy There's plenty to consider;

- Are people going to bring up the plates debacle about a public gallery/garage?
- Who's gonna whinge about what's not on the homepage?
- Who's gonna bring up RSS?
- Is someone gonna gripe about the regular blog posters?
- Are people going to ask why the hell we need a blog, and make me actually use my brain bone to answer?

I'm sure there'll be a torrent of feedback as soon as I put something up, which will be good. With design, it means I can just add on. Thing is, I'm gonna have to build the back end of this shit which is NOT my area of expertise, and I don't want to under-scope and have to completely rebuild if we find I've missed something huge due to lack of planning. At the moment, it looks like Wordpress (shudder) will do a good job of what's listed. If it doesn't grow much, sweet. If big plans rock on up, it might be more of a job for Drupal - which befuddles me, and means complete reconstruction. But is immensely powerful.

So all I'm doing is making sure

What I think is best, is to build something that's actually useful to people. So in short, I'm asking... what would you use? If just news, looking at other peoples' cars, the occasional guest blog and the forums...then cool, I have something to work with.

[boostin]

Shale, on 31 January 2012 - 8:06 PM, said:

boostin, on 31 January 2012 - 7:48 PM, said:

How hard is it to just do what you think is best, then tweak it from opinions?

Given the plethora of things that CAN be done, and the fact that I see several completely different sites a day given my job... it's not that easy There's plenty to consider;

- Are people going to bring up the plates debacle about a public gallery/garage?
- Who's gonna whinge about what's not on the homepage?
- Who's gonna bring up RSS?
- Is someone gonna gripe about the regular blog posters?
- Are people going to ask why the hell we need a blog, and make me actually use my brain bone to answer?

I'm sure there'll be a torrent of feedback as soon as I put something up, which will be good. With design, it means I can just add on. Thing is, I'm gonna have to build the back end of this shit which is NOT my area of expertise, and I don't want to under-scope and have to completely rebuild if we find I've missed something huge due to lack of planning. At the moment, it looks like Wordpress (shudder) will do a good job of what's listed. If it doesn't grow much, sweet. If big plans rock on up, it might be more of a job for Drupal - which befuddles me, and means complete reconstruction. But is immensely powerful.

So all I'm doing is making sure

What I think is best, is to build something that's actually useful to people. So in short, I'm asking... what would you use? If just news, looking at other peoples' cars, the occasional guest blog and the forums...then cool, I have something to work with.

Um, yeah. Just do it.

[Shale]

boostin, on 31 January 2012 - 8:09 PM, said:

Shale, on 31 January 2012 - 8:06 PM, said:

boostin, on 31 January 2012 - 7:48 PM, said:

How hard is it to just do what you think is best, then tweak it from opinions?

[ LOTS OF TECHNICAL BLATHERING ]

Um, yeah. Just do it.

Guess it's Secret Santa time for DOBC then. Unless anyone comes up with something they desperately want in the interim.

[Drunkenmonkey]

I think keep garage to the forums, could have a gallery section of members cars and have plates blanked compulsary but full on garage section should be kept to the forum less chance of theives find loctation details etc

Blog I'm not fussed about could be interesting everything else sounds good no matter what you do amy it will look awesome!

[Reuben]

Regarding plates... I don't really see why we should bother, given that we drive round everyday with them on...

[matdaymon]

I likes the sound of this!
Would definitely be nice for a motorsports/subaru/general car news section so I don't have to search the whole bloody interwebs when I want something inspirational to read. That said I would happily help source stories and other cool shit to read at the drop of a hat (least I'd be able to say I'm more active in the club then )
Basically I hear homepage and mental image of something :shudder: msn.co.nz like with off shoot links and shit and a features section mid page comes to mind. But then I'm no interweb type person and I'm sure whatever you find possible will be kick ass and look the bee's knees anyway Amy.

T-Shirt creator - sounds the business. Get me my SF5a!

[Wiretap]

Reuben, on 01 February 2012 - 9:09 AM, said:

Regarding plates... I don't really see why we should bother, given that we drive round everyday with them on...

You can also no longer just go out and look up someone's information without providing ID and such, so it is more secure from the govt standpoint anyway

[Shale]

Yes, despite how bloody inconvenient it is to us, it's also bloody inconvenient for opportunist thieves. I think we need a pop-wow re: plates in any official garage for that very reason; it's not just forum members that will read if we have a Member Of The Month system or similar, especially given the idea is to brag about the awesome work someone's done on their car. I dunno. It's great fun truly introducing long-time members with a magazine-spec article and photoshoot of their ride, but there are security things we'll need to talk about before ploughing ahead. I know for one I'd be uncomfortable displaying my Impreza on the open side of a website without a little voodoo first.

BRAINS. THOUGHTS. HNRRRRGH.

Also thinking of different people that'd be fun to have write for a blog - our resident techs especially.

[WorkshopMgr]

Given how much has already been done to get DOBC to this point I am very happy to go along with whatever the suggestions are.

You see "I don't know what I don't know" therefore I really have no idea on what might be ... you and a few others on here do (at least a lot more than me!).

I am willing to enjoy whatever developments come along, without criticism.

Just do it and bring it on!!!!

[Familyman]

FUCKING LOVE ALL IDEAS SO FAR!!
Plates, I say "MEH!!", I'm not fussed either way but for a PS whiz like Amy and Reubs, it's not a big ask.

As for a public garage "pin-up" each month... ACE!!! The magazine feature-style would be ace! Kinda history of the build, appeal of the car in the first place; not just a list of mods as many local magazines tend to write their articles into. See Street Machine style of writing for example. This could have the link to their garge thread at the bottom if reader wants to know more... with the previso that you must join up first!!

Blogs would be cool, but who would we get? Tech experts like Andre Simon? Subaru afficionados like Emma Gilmour? Marty from Mighty Mods coz he's mental?

News section: I totally agree with Sir Day. A one stop shop about Subaru new realeases, motorsport news, LTSA law reviews, etc would be mint and with a well indexed list of tags, help DOBC to show up in Google results more readily.

One semi-negative thought I have is the proposed custom t-shirt idea. An idea like this which is cooler than Antarctica dipped in liquid nitrogen, needs to be very well thought out in regards to time/personal effort. You do not want to start this, have it prove popular, then too popular, then pull plug due to time/fiscal issues. This will lead to a DOBC version of Syria!!

[Shale]

LMFAO omg Mark, I am going to HAVE to have you as a blog contributor... your way with words is just exquisite. But you knew this.

With the MOTM sort of feature, it would definitely be a big undertaking and would involve a few writers; there'd be a litany of standard questions, and the interview would definitely be with someone that was relatively familiar with the car of the month so a proper article could be written. In true DOBC style, I would want to see every one be a trial and tribulation sort of thing, never necessarily finished. Yank some heartstrings, happy and sad. Only after the reader is gripped, would the facts and figures come out. In time I could see this + the news and a few other things being a mini-magazine, which GOSH I KNOW NO ONE THAT IS QUALIFIED TO DO THAT. A lot of work, but it's huge value to an awesome group of users. So no, no NZPC garbage. REAL articles.

Blogs, I would definitely love to outsource. At first it would be local experts, possibly things as simple as going through some of the step-by-step threads with one of our own DOBC techs. Others might be a rant about something in the motorsport/auto world that's relevant to users. One of the first things I'd wanna go through if I get this shit up in time is the new road rules, and someone qualified to talk about them to go through and educate. After that, totally keen for all your list plus many more to become contributors

As for the shirt builder...yep, that is one loose cannon waiting to happen. It'll be Flash built and available only to those of you with blue 1337 pips; most of my time post completion and testing will be redrawing a vast array of accessories to add to it, so people can replicate their own vehicle as closely as possible. Flash and my drawings are both vector, so this can export in some way to .PDF which can then be sent to a printer, ideally without me touching it. You pay the printer, they send you the shirt, DOBC gets a commission that keeps the servers going and the new domain names ticking over.

Oh, by the way. New domain names, in case you're all either having lazy or derp days - we now own www.dirtyolbc.co.nz. www.dirtyolbc.org.nz, and www.dobc.co.nz

[matdaymon]

many good points from Familyman there am I the only one who is shocked at this development?

you'd sort of want the shirts to be a members only thing too wouldn't you? don't want any bad apples reppin' dobc in an un-approved fashion drawing negative media attention

[Shale]

Indeed, which is exactly why it'll be PAID members only It'll be a private access thing. Pay up and BOOM, new stuff That's exactly why it's like that - last thing any of us want is tards reppin'. So far every person I've sent a shirt to has been a good bugger. It's best if it stays that way.

[matdaymon]

helps to not be an easily distracted typer around these parts don't it? (oh a strange old man is wandering along my driveway!!!)

I'm sure if we approached our current experts and piggybacked off a couple of other sources we could get the magazine style/blog up and running reasonably well with tinkering going on to continually improve its content and style to that which suits our audience and one which will draw in more users via google as familyman suggested