Why I hate Corvette Forum

[dmd]

1. CF has factually inaccurate "articles" so badly-written they read like a high-school book report on what they call the Corvette Truck (aka Chevy SSR). It is an embarrassment.

2. CF has "mod suggestion" pages for C4 that have every single known-ineffective mod listed, and say it all adds up to 70hp.

3. CF has forum posts from idiotic users asking about the "2010 LT1 Grand Sport"

4. CF actually has an article comparing the C5 to a Toyota Prius. It's an absurd comparison that won't convince anyone of anything, and an affront to the marque no matter how well-intentioned.

5. There are so many ads on every forum page on CF that it's sometimes difficult to sort out the signal from all the noise.

This is what happens when a forum site changes hands to one of these big corporate congolmerates who have no clue about the car or what makes it special like the enthusiasts who started it.

The site quality slowly degenerates, and before long your NAPA has turned into AUTOZONE. Digital Corvettes has also recently been sold and it too will suffer the same fate.

Don't let this happen to CAC!

 

[Rob]

Rest assured, I have no intentions of selling the CAC.

 

[2VettesMike]

I very much agree!
CAC is like the NAPA of Corvette forums where the counter guys picking out the filter for your car as you are driving up.
CF is like Advanced Auto where you wade through the ads, banners and flyers to get up to the rotating menagerie of high school kids behind the counter who think carbs are something you eat and points are something you get on a test.....

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Red Vette]

I am happy that Rob says he won't be selling the CAC site. To ensure that he doesn't, more members should become supporting members (Rob did not solicit this from me nor does he or the other administators and moderators "push" supporting membership). As a supporting member, I urge more of the CACers to become a supporting member. Now that I have said this, let me wade in on the CF.

I am a member of CF and find some data, technical information, and general posts to be of use. However, I have been "flamed" several times and chose to ignore the comments. Others have been "flamed" and when I read their reply, I try to answer the questions posed as the person may be a newcomer, or just needs more info. Another reason to hate the site is the way c4c5specialist's advice is panned. I am extremely thankful that Paul is a member of CAC and a wonderful resource, as are most if not all CACers. He takes the time to answer all of the questions asked and will research them if he does not have an answer in his memory (I think he knows everything about Corvette). I am not a CF supporting member, nor do I intend to be one.

I learned last week at the Z06Fest at the NCM that the site, Z06Vettes.com has been sold to a commercial company, so I probably will not be a supporting member there either. But I do visit the site and have gotten some good information.

So, my take on this post is that one can "hate" the CF, but don't ignore what is posted. Be thick skinned and use it for what it is worth, a lot of good information with some bad info sprinkled in. Personally, I like the way Rob has set the CAC site up and I enjoy going to it each day. I have made many friends thru the CAC and hope that I make more. You meet the nicest people on the CAC site and at our Cruise Fests.
Barrett

 

[chiavet]

Glad to hear CAC is not for sale. I don't come out to CAC very often but when I need information about a particular Corvette this is the first place I visit and never have to go any further.

I am a member of both dc and cf, CF since sept 1999. Pretty much quit going to those as I didn't like the flaming that went on. Actually felt sorry for what appeared to be newcomers just asking for help and knew that my being a woman and having limited knowledge and I couldn't help them out. But I have seen flaming on all types of boards it exsists everywhere. I choose to ignore it when it has been directed towards me.

Anyway glad to know nothing will change out here on CAC. Thanks Rob for doing such a good Job..

 

[hotmtrsports]

I agree with this.

Nobody should be afraid to give their opinion or ask about advice without the threat of being flammed, ridiculed, made fun of, etc.

Corvette Forum has quite a bit of info.

In my opinion, CAC is the best of them all...Thanks, Rob!

Chuck M

 

[jrose7004]

Rest assured, I have no intentions of selling the CAC.

I doubt that was Jim's intention on CF either.

 

[vett boy]

I doubt that was Jim's intention on CF either.

So your sayin' Rob might be tempted if he was offered 8.3 mill . Nah ,Rob wouldn't sell .

 

[dmd]

I am happy that Rob says he won't be selling the CAC site. To ensure that he doesn't, more members should become supporting members (Rob did not solicit this from me nor does he or the other administators and moderators "push" supporting membership). As a supporting member, I urge more of the CACers to become a supporting member.

The trouble with this arrangement is that there is no guarantee that the site won't be sold off after one pays to become a supporting member. If I'd paid to be a supporting member of CF I'd have been furious when it was sold, rather than merely lamenting its slow deterioration. Every one of those sites that has sold memberships and then sold out should be offering a refund to those members who paid to keep the site noncommercial. It's only a matter of time before this type of situation ends up in the courts in a class action.

 

[Rob]

The trouble with this arrangement is that there is no guarantee that the site won't be sold off after one pays to become a supporting member. If I'd paid to be a supporting member of CF I'd have been furious when it was sold, rather than merely lamenting its slow deterioration. Every one of those sites that has sold memberships and then sold out should be offering a refund to those members who paid to keep the site noncommercial. It's only a matter of time before this type of situation ends up in the courts in a class action.

There's only one supporting membership here which is strictly voluntary. It's $25.00 for a year.

The only reason why I set it up was because several members wanted to financially help support the site to offset the operational costs.

I built this site from the ground up and I've owned and operated it since 2000.

I have received offers in the past to sell and I've declined each time.

Yes, everyone has their price, but there are some things in life that can't have a price put on it. There are some things in life that you have put way too much blood, sweat and tears into just to sell it for a dollar amount. The CAC is one of those things for me.

This web site, is a one-man operation - me. These forums are operated by the Administration here - strictly voluntary - simply because I don't have the time to Administrate these forums, and the CAC doesn't make enough money to pay the Administration.

 

[Rob]

Every one of those sites that has sold memberships and then sold out should be offering a refund to those members who paid to keep the site noncommercial. It's only a matter of time before this type of situation ends up in the courts in a class action.

Not necessarily.

If the Supporting Membership is strictly voluntary, and it's spelled out that no refunds will be made - then you are making the decision to become a Supporting Member with full consent.

Also: you may not realize this, but the web is not free. Everything you see on it - someone is footing the bill for your access to it.

This web site exists on a pretty powerful server that costs A LOT of money. That does not include the high monthly hosting fees, bandwidth fees, etc. Add on top of that the licensing fees for software - this forum software, the Knowledgebase software, etc. Then there is my time here. Nobody has paid me to build this site. Nobody pays me to maintain it - and God only knows, I spend hours upon hours maintaining it.

Take a look at the ZR1 Registry here - there's over 2,300 ZR1s entered in the database. Who do you think entered all of that information? Me. Same with the Model Center here.....the Knowledgebase....etc. Who do you think added all of that information? Me. Nobody made me do it - and nobody paid me to do it, but all of that information has made this site what it is today, and those two sections of this web site are some of the most heavily trafficked parts of the site.

I don't make an income off the CAC, but sometimes, I really wish I did because it's almost like another full time job and I already have one of those.

 

[Guy]

I seldom even lurk on the CF anymore, however,
I'm proud to say I've had one of my few threads locked on the CF a few years ago. :harhar


Guy

 

[Remo]

I Like Them All

But I love the CAC. They each have their own unique qualities and that's what makes them interesting.

Remo:cool

 

[catbert]

But I love the CAC. They each have their own unique qualities and that's what makes them interesting.

Remo:cool

Remo - Since when are you so PC???????

 

[Yoda]

Remo - Since when are you so PC???????

Rich give Remo a month :eek ! (Remo's silver beauty goes into hibernation) :W

Bud


(REMO...You know I luv ya Bro )

 

[catbert]

Rich give Remo a month :eek ! (Remo's silver beauty goes into hibernation) :W

Bud


(REMO...You know I luv ya Bro )

Nah! He just started his Winter meds early.

 

[Kenny]

I very much agree!
CAC is like the NAPA of Corvette forums where the counter guys picking out the filter for your car as you are driving up.
CF is like Advanced Auto where you wade through the ads, banners and flyers to get up to the rotating menagerie of high school kids behind the counter who think carbs are something you eat and points are something you get on a test.....

Thanks,

Mike

Mike please dont take any offense but I have been with Advance Auto 16 yrs and I am also ASE certified. Advance probably has the most ASE certified employees of any parts store out there. They place a high priority on ASE testing but still the knowledgeable parts guy is getting harder to find. There is book smart and there is experience. There are still some good guys out there but we are getting harder to find. I have a following of customer who will deal with no one else.

Just stirin' the pot a little lol
Ken

 

[2VettesMike]

Mike please dont take any offense but I have been with Advance Auto 16 yrs and I am also ASE certified. Advance probably has the most ASE certified employees of any parts store out there. They place a high priority on ASE testing but still the knowledgeable parts guy is getting harder to find. There is book smart and there is experience. There are still some good guys out there but we are getting harder to find. I have a following of customer who will deal with no one else.

Just stirin' the pot a little lol
Ken

No problem, glad for your efforts. I'm stirring as well. Maybe you can transfer to my home town. For any others just change the store to the local "wax and oil only" stopping point....

 

[Red Vette]

Not necessarily.

If the Supporting Membership is strictly voluntary, and it's spelled out that no refunds will be made - then you are making the decision to become a Supporting Member with full consent.

Also: you may not realize this, but the web is not free. Everything you see on it - someone is footing the bill for your access to it.

This web site exists on a pretty powerful server that costs A LOT of money. That does not include the high monthly hosting fees, bandwidth fees, etc. Add on top of that the licensing fees for software - this forum software, the Knowledgebase software, etc. Then there is my time here. Nobody has paid me to build this site. Nobody pays me to maintain it - and God only knows, I spend hours upon hours maintaining it.

Take a look at the ZR1 Registry here - there's over 2,300 ZR1s entered in the database. Who do you think entered all of that information? Me. Same with the Model Center here.....the Knowledgebase....etc. Who do you think added all of that information? Me. Nobody made me do it - and nobody paid me to do it, but all of that information has made this site what it is today, and those two sections of this web site are some of the most heavily trafficked parts of the site.

I don't make an income off the CAC, but sometimes, I really wish I did because it's almost like another full time job and I already have one of those.

Rob, I guess I owe you an apology for bringing up supporting membership in my post above; I did not want it to have a life of its own requiring you to have to take time to respond - I put it in the thread because I appreciate the site very much and wanted to encourage others to become supporting members. Even if you sold the site (heaven forbid), I would only be out $25 and could drop back to the member class. Some supporting members have done this. I know CF offers a lifetime membership as does Z06Vettes, and if the CAC ever did this, I would become a lifetime member - it's only money and not that much. But reading the threads on this, I can understand why the CAC does not offer lifetime memberships.
Let me also say that I can't thank you enough for you effort and the energy it takes to do all that you do for the site. Many CACers may not acknowledge your work, but I am sure that they all appreciate what you do, and if they ever met you (say at Cruise Fest), they would even be more impressed.
Enough said, with my apologies again for starting this discussion on supporting members - you don't need any grief, just kudos.
Barrett

 

[Evolution1980]

Rob, I guess I owe you an apology for bringing up supporting membership in my post above; I did not want it to have a life of its own requiring you to have to take time to respond

(not entirely trying to speak on Rob's behalf)
I don't think Rob responded because he felt like he had to. Just like Supporting Memberships, he replied because he wanted to.
I think most people understand that there are costs involved, but very few people fully understand ALL the monetary cost to own & operate a website. It ain't like "the old days" in the infancy of the world wide web (1996 and on) where a website was simply some text files posted in an HTML page. It's actually quite mind-boggling when you start to learn how much goes into a website from start to finish.
So anyways, I don't think you need to apologize. But that's just my opinion.
That aside...

As for CF and the others... years ago I checked out some of the other vette sites. And back then I saw all the same issues as today. Except back then it wasn't as much flaming newbies as it was simply bragging about how great their car was. Too much "bench racing" and not enough helpful info.
Yes, there are good people on every site. And, yes, there is good information to be had when and if you can find it.
That's one of the things that sets aside the CAC. For solid technical advice or just being able to feel comfortable asking a question, there are few venues better than the CAC.

Now, as for a selling price of the CAC. I don't care what Rob says. EVERYONE has a price for something. They just haven't met Rob's unstated asking price yet. :L
Just like me and my car. Is it for sale? No. Would I sell it? Sure, for the right price. BUT...my price is way beyond what the market value is, so unless someone comes along with more dollars than sense (cents), the car will remain mine. Similarily, the CAC won't be sold anytime soon because no one would offer the amount Rob would require to walk away from it. There is a price out there, but only Rob knows it. :cool