Is this site dead?

[JMortensen]

Terry sold his Z and bought a Manta, which he did up to an even higher level than the Z. It's just awesome!
http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/pictures?userid={7DC317B0-8EDB-4B2E-A837-F708D07C9769}&AlbumId={B0B466A9-4204-4F78-BC4C-DEBD9966B5B9}&GroupId={E9BD2EDD-A388-43BD-B264-DFF5CB43B8E2}&nt=a

I still see Pete posting from time to time. Katman was moving away to focus on engineering on more modern racecars, E36s at the time. I assume if he's still in it he's probably working on newer stuff than that. Mike Kelly sold his Z after several failed attempts to put an engine in it. No idea on Denny. I miss Coffey. We emailed or FB'd with each other on a weekly basis.

As to miata.net, they allow for the newbie questions over and over. I haven't seen the antipathy that you describe towards those posts. Seems like there isn't a "protect the searchability" drive like we have here. I know when I got my 99 I searched and found so many threads on my particular issue that I posted again and immediately got an answer with no admonition to search. Turns out coils were dead, killed precat, killed cat. PO had replaced coils and left it like that and I had to go through the exhaust to fix.

[Michael]

Miata.net itself admits that its search-function is subpar.  Recommendation from the more venerable members there, is to search for a topic via Google, thereby finding the right Miata.net thread.  For purposes of troubleshooting or getting advice on repairs or minor upgrades, it's fantastic.  For things like V8 swaps into Miatas, the utility of the site is more suggestive than explicit.

 

Then there's miataturbo.net.  Rather sophomoric and dismissive attitude by veterans towards newbies, but the intent is noble: they're trying to keep the site technical and useful for rigorous instruction, rather than water-cooler blather.  Much of their content leans toward electronics and tuning... probably of use to the turbo and fuel-injection-oriented people on HybridZ.

 

And yes, that Manta is spectacular!

[260DET]

The problem for informative forums like  his 'grate sight' is that people come for the information and then yak about it on social media without contributing here. In other words this site is used but not replenished.

[Tony D]

I come back every time I'm banned...with this year meaning of the prior three months  I've only been on FB maybe a total of 14 days. They are seriously PC and nobody can take a joke. They are also EXTREMELY Eurocentric-Communo/Socialists and anything that deals with anti-communist or anti-socialist in any way will get you scoped and flushed.

They also are Anti-Goodwin, with the mere mention of Adolph, or even his face in a humorous meme poking fun at his stupidity will get you banned for 30 days.

Then, while you're gone, apparently they assign some snowflake to comb through all your posts and start tagging ANYTHING that they NOW deem offensive.

The Best one was last year they tried to ban me for a post that showed up in one of the FB "7 Years Ago Today" auto-posts... Go ahead and share it and BOOM BAN! not even 15 seconds. "Hey, YOU GUYS SENT IT TO ME!" Whiskey Tango Foxtrot???

The upside is, I have a lot more time to do other things. For the first time in years my Quicken is up-to-date with proper balances on ALL the accounts!

[clarkspeed]

This site is still pretty amazing. It is hard to believe how many generic auto terms I Google and HybridZ pops up in the search. And as far as dead, I think there are too many other distractions now so volume is understandably lower.  HybridZ is the last place I would go for chatting, looking at pretty pictures, and meeting other Z people, but for hardcore tech questions, HybridZ still seems to be the best solution. Due to the lower volumes, responses take longer, but you can still message an expert if needed.  As far as the community, look back at old posts and many of the "newbies" now have 10-15 years experience with this platform.  Personally I have been building and racing these cars for 13 years now and I know a hell-of-lot more.  For the most part, I solve my own problems now. But I still visit periodically and don't respond to threads that already have multiple correct answers or have detailed search results available. 

 

So what is the future of this forum? Technology is always advancing, venders come and go, parts become obsolete and then available again, and what was once an expensive solution can be applied for a fraction of the cost. And no matter what you have seen before, someone will innovate and set a new standard.

[madkaw]

I’m sorry that I even posted this thread- but like I said - my settings were screwed up and so I wasn’t seeing any new content .

Glad it’s ALIVE !!

[Michael]

2 hours ago, madkaw said:

I’m sorry that I even posted this thread- but like I said - my settings were screwed up and so I wasn’t seeing any new content .

Glad it’s ALIVE !!

 

On the contrary, your initiative forms a sensible and useful basis for updating our perceptions as the ensuing months and years roll by.  Of course this site isn't completely "dead", but its volume of activity is a paltry fraction of what it was in 2000-2005.

 

Now a comment on the topic of Facebook supplanting forums for automotive discussions.  Recently I relented and joined Facebook, via a placeholder account (not my real name, no personal information).  The sole objective was to join automotive discussion groups.  While occasionally there's an informative or amusing post, the predominant trend is daft and episodic journalizing of recent events... I went here, I saw that, hey neat, let's collect digital affirmations.  The technical questions tend toward the elementary (why won't my car start?).  The user-interface seems to be aimed at being colorful and pleasing to the eye, rather than conducive to searching for information, for archiving it, for having any sort of stewardship.  In other words, it's a pale and pathetic facsimile of forums.

[madkaw]

It’s a quick fix sometimes , but not sure it’s worth the shot. Though Hybridz got a bit sticky with its rules , it did tend to keep on topic . I use to post all the time because I was stuck in hotels and thought it was fun to share my projects and learn . Back then I toted a laptop with a real key board . We’ve lost a lot of talent that use to be here often also. Well things seem to come to full circle , so maybe folks that want real knowledge will come back to the forums . 

[seattlejester]

Forum posts are pretty time consuming to assemble compared to snapping a picture and posting to facebook or instagram. For the effort, a youtube video would be more permanent and even result in some financial game if you could get it monetized. So that leaves those who do it to share. Who like the format and threading. Seems like fewer and fewer appreciate the standard.

 

I know some forums have a wall type mechanism where someone can only see a post or two before having to sign up. I know some others have gone completely behind a pay wall with an annual fee allowing access. Not sure that fits the technical discussions that we have here. I like to think keeping it open allows anyone to feel like they can contribute. 

 

I will say when I was on a Facebook page there were some who at every turn would downplay and warn people against visiting hybridz, like anytime it was mentioned. I've gone back and found some of the posts that seem to have triggered such anger and sometimes it is hard to see how it could spawn years of hatred, but yet every single post it seems like they find and comment how terrible a place it is. 

[clarkspeed]

I love facebook also. I am a member vintage racing Z's, datsun classifieds,  vintage imsa racing, race parts for sale in southeast, and maybe the most impressive is homebuilt cars from scratch. Its mindblowing and puts every build show on TV to shame. And I am only mentioning a few along with maintaining my own garage page. These communities are great, but no substitute for a good build thread or detailed model specific explanation or sticky you can find in a forum. Hell I put "forum" as a search term for every question I google about any vehicle.

Hybridz really is a nitch group with limited audience. I am sure all the stuff better served by other platforms has all moved by this point. But I really hope that this group continues smaller but stronger.

[Michael]

I absolutely detest Facebook.  It's an awkward format, evidently aimed at housewives vying to impress each other with the most fluffy cake-batter mix.  There's no ready means for an extended discussion that's not sullied with inane comments and sprinkles with graphical objective that are ostensibly decorative, but really are only distracting.  And then there's the ads.  

 

The idea of combining a camera with a portable telephone remains lost on me.  Yes, I have a "smartphone", but it takes putrid-quality pictures.  Anything presentable requires a proper SLR, and subsequent editing in Photoshop, on a computer.  As a person who sits in front of a computer all day, I find its keyboard and user-interface to be far superior to those of a phone.  Thus, it is forums, and not some other medium, that are easiest to use, whether as a mere reader or a contributor.

[260DET]

On 7/25/2019 at 11:00 AM, clarkspeed said:

I love facebook also. I am a member vintage racing Z's, datsun classifieds,  vintage imsa racing, race parts for sale in southeast, and maybe the most impressive is homebuilt cars from scratch. Its mindblowing and puts every build show on TV to shame. And I am only mentioning a few along with maintaining my own garage page. These communities are great, but no substitute for a good build thread or detailed model specific explanation or sticky you can find in a forum. Hell I put "forum" as a search term for every question I google about any vehicle.

Hybridz really is a nitch group with limited audience. I am sure all the stuff better served by other platforms has all moved by this point. But I really hope that this group continues smaller but stronger.

 

HybridZ is what you want to make it, I've found that there is always a great response when I have a query on a variety of topics, some quite technical. And that is current. I've yet to run across any source of Z info better than is available here. There is a big difference between this solid source of information and the numerous superficial alternatives no matter how hard they try to be real, lots of shiny paint over rust and filler.

 

Hi Michael.

Edited July 26, 2019 by 260DET

[Tony D]

Fascistbook is the warren of the butthurt and the snowflakey... If they have a visceral hatred it's because it can be whined to the highest heavens with supporting ilk in a safe place.
It's pathetic when you consider most who are butthurt are upset because they were CORRECTED and resented it.

I don't know, I appreciate being correct. If you're not corrected, you are giving bad information and that's the last  thing I want to do is give bad information.

 

And therein lies the rub... Many weren't out to give out information, they were out to make a name for themselves.  I bought a shirt recently that is black with white block letters:

IDK
IDC
IDGAF

If I could have had "if you click like and follow me" it would have been perfect!

[Tony D]

COVID-19 will make Facistbook go savage eating the young...and people will get bored at the nonsense... and flick back to see what's up.

Hell, JeffP got with Cometic an had them make an all-new gasket to his specs!

[jessejames]

Im always here, lurking and reading. I just don't post very often. I often reference the site. 

[a_z_story]

This is my third rebirth into auto tuning forum life.  From Honda, to BMW and now Datsun.  There is so much tribal knowledge that exists in these forum sites that do not pass over to youtube, or current social media platforms.  (HybridZ is social media, old school btw) So far I'm really impressed by the wealth of knowledge and the helpfulness of this community.  I dont think you get the same long term commitment from followers on the traditional social sites, although I do participate there as well for the classifieds.  If anyone in Colorado wants to share their knowlege, resources, parts (mehehe) with me post pandemic, hit me up!

 

@a_z_story on instagram 

Edited April 7, 2020 by a_z_story

[Michael]

And now the "is it dead?" thread is itself knocking on 3-years longevity.  Meta-irony?

 

The present viral crisis has convinced me that no form of media, "social" or otherwise, can replace direct personal contact.  The way to learn automotive skills isn't through you-tube videos, facebook, or forums... even forums as replete with useful-facts, as this one.  Nothing replaces direct mentorship and camaraderie.  My best experiences with this site were via meeting other members in person, befriending them and spending years together.  Unfortunately most (all?) of those friendships have declined, petering-out in some way.  A fellow whom I've met 20+ years ago - even before this site was created, before it moved from an e-mail list to this newfangled format called a "forum" - was a treasured mentor.  Then an event happened that obliterated so much of my own life and career... and collateral damage included this friendship.  I still regret it.

 

Just today I came across a posting by a local fellow asking for help with a traditional V8 swap.  Such posting can easily draw scorn, as being "newbie" or contrary to some rules.  I disagree!  Online resources are fantastic, for well-versed people who need specific pointers on specific platforms.  Doing a suspension modification to race Z's in autocross?  Great!  There's fantastic data on alignment-settings on this forum.  Also wheel/tire choices, discussions on bumpsteer, on one kind of bushing vs. another, and on and on.  But what if you just found a ragged Z on Craigslist, and have no experience removing a suspension bushing?  What if you don't even know the difference between a bushing and a bearing?  Rectifying that, is going to take some actual mentorship.  For that purpose, this site is a portal and a conduit, rather than an end in itself.

 

And that is the tragedy with modern social media... it's become a replacement for physical contact, rather than a jumping-off point.  Good social media should be like online dating: people scope out the possibilities, agree to meet, and then real-life begins.  Instead, and especially now, people are retreating into their digital cocoons.  Business-travel and college graduations are being replaced with Zoom meetings.  It's a miracle that cars themselves haven't been supplanted with video games.  Or have they?

[AydinZ71]

I’m here because of a few reasons:

 

1) seems to be populated by more seasoned, experienced people 

2) I don’t do Facebook... too much political content and trolling. 
 

I do Instagram though. I post pictures of my work, and just unfollow people when they post a political (left or right) image.