Why is the Z community so fragmented?

[tlorber]

Part of the reason that some old posts appear inactive is that pretty much everything has been done on these cars. You may find old posts that are of great value and that are accessed frequently, but just not added to.

[260zCaliCar]

Part of the reason that some old posts appear inactive is that pretty much everything has been done on these cars. You may find old posts that are of great value and that are accessed frequently, but just not added to.

I was thinking along the same lines, this forum is primarily dedicated to people that want to keep their Z stock. That's a specific goal. Once reached, then it's a matter of keeping it running and as close to stock as possible. So posts here are about what is stock and what isn't, and then what it takes to resolve "mystery" problems. Most of which have been described and addressed in old posts.

A site like HybridZ, where the goal is to "modify" really has no finite end point and therefore is significantly more active since everyone is always chasing something new.

Interestingly, I think this site is getting more active... In the past when I'd log in, there would be 80-100 users online. Now there is generally around 120. If I go to the page that allows me to see what each person is doing, most are browsing old posts, not posting new items so it only seems less active.

This site is an incredible resource for keeping a Z stock, and shouldn't be diluted with added discussions/threads about non-stock issues. It that way, I suppose the fragmentation of the Z community is great.

FWIW

[Indri]

I did notice that a lot of the Z enthusiest on this site are geared toward keeping their Zs stock. Maybe it's a nastalgia thing with you old timers

Here shortly, I will be the owner of a v8 swapped Z - I know, I know - but I'm not the one who ripped the heart out! For the price and condition, I don't think I can find a better deal.

Maybe I'll be lurking on the HybridZ forums as well, but from first glances it seems this site has plenty of useful information to look over (I am, after all, just getting my feet wet).

Carl - how long have you been around Zs? I've seen quite a few of your posts around and they're always very well informed.

[SteveJ]

Carl - how long have you been around Zs? I've seen quite a few of your posts around and they're always very well informed.

Rumor has it that Carl has been around the scene SO LONG that he refers to Mr. K as "Son".

Indri, if you go around Hybridz, do a lot of searching and reading before posing questions. They aren't fond of re-hashing old topics. (Frankly I like that attitude.)

[Carl Beck]

Hi Indri:

Thanks - I bought my first 240Z in March of 1970 - and I've been driving them ever since. Still have the 72 240Z that I bought new at the end of 71. {along with a few others now}.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Carl Beck]

Rumor has it that Carl has been around the scene SO LONG that he refers to Mr. K as "Son".

Hi Steve:

That is too funny...

In a few months Mr. K will be 101 years old! He is very computer savvy.. and simply an amazing individual. I guess age is to an extent relative.. I once remarked to Mr. K that I was starting to feel my age and he ask how old I was - I told him and he said - "I have children older than you".

[Indri]

Carl,

Wow! You're the originaly owner of a 72? I hope that thing sees nothing but the inside of a car cover, in a garage, under ground....in a nuke shelter! Of course, that wouldn't be very fun to own, now would it?

Steve,

I try to search before asking technical questions. I'm no where near the car ATM, so as of right now I lurk the forums and spend my days Chit-Chatting. I like following other people's build threads - it gives me ideas for when I return. I know in the Rx7 forum I was going to throw an e-brick at the next person who asked what FB, FC, FD stood for (series designators).

Edited June 11, 2010 by Indri

[Jeff G 78]

Hi Lee:

Actually - the original community was formed around "the Z Car List" which goes back to about 1985/6. In 1987 Bob Weissman set up our first "List Server Software" on a Mainframe at Boeing. As I recall we had about 400 people on that e-mail based Z Car Discussion Group by 1992.

In 92 - John DeArmond suggested that the discussion group become a "Club" so that we would qualify for Club Discounts offered by several vendors at the time. Thus the Internet Z Car Club was formed. Paul Richer simply took the names from the list and assigned IZCC Membership Numbers to them as list subscribers let him know that they supported the idea.

In 1994 Salman Shami built the first "Z Car Home Page", while working on his M.E. at Melbourne University in Melbourne, AU.

By the late 90's - we had about 2400 people on "the Z Car List". It covered all generations of the Z Car and the list traffic was very heavy. People were complaining about too many e-mails per day, and many did not want to know everything about ever generation of the Z Car. They were more narrowly focused on their own car.

One of the first "splinter" groups was this one. People that wanted to discuss ONLY Classic Datsun 240Z's broke off and established "the Classic Z Car Club". At that time, they did not want anyone other than Datsun 240Z enthusiasts and only people that wanted to keep their Z Stock. They didn't want to hear about Fuel Injection problems, nor V8 swaps ;-) Next it was the Z31 Group that split off, then the folks at HybridZ and the 90+ Generation with TwinTurbo...

The bottom line was - the Z Car Community because so "inclusive" - it failed to retain the following of the more exclusive interests of the individual members. Everyone felt that they had approached "information overload" and they really wanted to devote their time to their interests, and share their interests with like minded people.

That Indri is the main reason all the Z Car Forums don't converge into one... Kind of a "Big Bang" that happened long ago and in a far off Galaxy as it reached critical mass....

Of course we older people are less "computer-savvy" as well..

FWIW,

Carl B.

Hey Carl, when did the mailing list finally go away (I assume it's gone)? I gave up on it in the late 1990s once ZC.C, and CZCC got established. It was simply too hard to do everything in slow motion with the mailing list. Personally, I kinda like having the three main S30 sites. ZC.C is the general, catch-all site, HZ.O is the serious-mod site and CZCC is the mature crowd/purist site. I visit all three for very different reasons. I spent most of my time on ZC.C until recently when they made a software upgrade. I hate the new look and gave up due to its shortcomings. The crowd over there is getting more and more immature as well and most of the old-timers have left for good.

[Arne]

I too rarely visit zcar.com, too broad a group, and too hard to find anything I'm interested in. (Much the same problem as the mailing list, seems to me.) I go to hybridz now and then, if I'm looking for something in particular, but rarely post there. CZCC.com matches my needs and interests better than the others, that's all.

[SteveJ]

I tend to fall in with everybody else. The signal to noise ratio is best for me here. I have looked for a couple of things over at Hybridz. I rarely post at zcar.com anymore. As the nefarious Tony D has pointed out, that site is flooded by immature types about any time there is a school break. They always ask the same questions, and they become incensed when anyone suggests that they could search for an answer.

[prilofx]

I have to say that this is the mellowest forum I've ever been a member of. I sold Avon for a few years, and Avon provides a forum for their reps, and those ladies are <i>crazy</i>.

[Powderkeg]

I used to visit the Zcar.com site but most of the informative (entertaining) people have left, TonyD, Blue, Kammy and if you ask what happen to them, your post gets deleted.

It seems a large majority of people who ask questions are given lectures about the use of the "search " button.

There seems to me that there are less stupid questions asked on this site and when one does occur, the offender isn't given a PH.D dissertation about the evils of misinformation.

Anyway, enough of that!

Have a good weekend!

Dave Ruiz