240Zed Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 It's a damn shame when members feel they have to delete every single post they made when they want no more to do with a website. Same thing happened with classiczcars a few years back, so they modified the system so that you could only modify a post up to 5 minutes after posting it. After that its a part of history. Forums like this are an excellent source of information. Deleting that info shouldn't really be an option. Adding a follow-up post saying something like, 'this is all out of date, so take it as it is or leave it', instead of removing it completely would have been a better option, and maybe a bit nicer to the 99% of people on this site that didn't abuse the guy. Damn shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8ZRACER260Z Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Sorry, I have been away front the forum for awhile and missed all the drama. Ernie aka RacerX was an excellent sorce of info. I personally will be sorry to se him go. I to would like to get hold of those responsible for loosing his valuable skills here. I have been a bodyman/painter for many years and have since moved into the management side. I had looked into replying to body questions in the past and always found RacerX's replies to be honest and straight forward. There really isn't an outdated way to do body work & paint. Some of the newer techniques are easier and/or faster but not necessarily better. If I can be of assistance to anyone on paint & autobody questions in his absense please let me know. I look forward to Ernies return one day when those responsible are no longer allowed to visit our family here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 I can respect Ernie's thoughts on "old versus new technology" if he really thought the new technology really was a superior technique. But I also have to say that Metallicar's comments also hold great weight, and are along the lines of my thinking. My job requires me to update to new techniques almost all the time. Thing is many of the equipment I service and maintain are built 30 or more years ago. In many cases, buys ONLY taught on new techniques will have absolutely NO idea WHY any of the existing modifications are on any particular piece of equipment. I work with Engineers that have worked on this stuff in many cases for 30-40 years. They are continually amazed that I pick up stuff from old supersceded technical bulletins that are still applicable to newer equipment. It's referred to as 'institutional heritage'---at another site where 'technical information' can and many times is spurious at best, pulling an old post is not a big deal. But when the information is historically correct, there IS a place for it in the archives. Sure someone can say 'they haven't done that for 20 years' but if you are doing it on a 20 year old piece of equipment, and you KNOW IT LASTS 20 YEARS... See where I'm going with this? Manny techniques that are 'new today' may not be known to last more than 10 years...which is a commercially acceptable timeframe in the trade. But some of the old techniques have been known to last 20+ years... Which do you prefer to learn? Something that is current, new, and may last 10 years? Or something old, that you know will last at least 20 years? If Ernie really did think it was a technological update worthy of abandoning the former technique, I would say the preferred note would have been an '' notification at the beginning of the post warning about an updated superior technique that is available. That is what I would do, and probably is a better than simply removing the whole post or series of posts, as you can see what kind of impression that can make. As for printing in PDF, I don't know about 'Docucom PDF Driver' which came with my HP scanner software, but I have been VERY happy with my Nuance Software that came with Paperport 9.0 and above versions (up to V11 I believe). I have used it to print and generate PDF's for years. It's a driver that shows up in all your 'print options' and allows you to make paperless PDF's of anything you could normally print to a printer. Paper Port allows you to edit all PDF's as well, and it's OCR stuff with a companion piece of software works well from what I've been experiencing (Omnipage 15). Many pages and documents are 'printed' this way when I'm on the road, and it's a GOOD idea when archiving pages such as these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_furious Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 This is a real shame. I've actually been visiting for years(since aux began his rotary swap), and I've always regarded HybridZ as a true exception among automotive boards, in that the signal to noise ratio was FAR better than most. No posturing, no silly brand loyalty, ego contests or 'all show no go', just pure dedication to speed & craftsmanship. A few bad apples can ruin it for the whole bunch. It would take some serious BALLS for the guilty party to come forward and post a public apology. Better to do that and gain back a little of the respect you've lost than to be outed and shamed. Ernie, sorry to see you go. Wish I could have read some of the stuff you put up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 I would like to hear any personal commentary on Ernie’s actions kept to those who knew him personally. Those who did not should state that, and make their comments in that context. If you know without a doubt that malice was intended in the post removals, then have at it, but speculating and insinuating that he did this with malice is bordering on the reason Ernie left. So...let’s keep our comments in a positive light, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 I agree with Terry there. If you want there is a LONG article that I found written by Ernie about bodywork... Just search. (it is not on HBZ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strotter Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 If you want to find any old posts, just go the the "Wayback Machine" ( http://www.archive.org/index.php ). It's a "snapshot" of the internet at times in the past. For instance, you can go to Hybridz.org just before Ernie deleted all his stuff (the end of June, 2007) here. Note that the "search" feature doesn't work "inside" the Wayback Machine (you're not really in a vBulletin forum, just an image of one), but you can navigate to the "Body Kits and Paint" forum just like normal, and look manually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Maybe he should grow up. Its a website. Not everyone is going to like you. If 95 people like you and 5 dont are you gonna say F you guys and take your ball home and quit playing? Give me a break. I have a feeling there's more to it than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I would like to hear any personal commentary on Ernie’s actions kept to those who knew him personally. Those who did not should state that, and make their comments in that context. If you know without a doubt that malice was intended in the post removals, then have at it, but speculating and insinuating that he did this with malice is bordering on the reason Ernie left. So...let’s keep our comments in a positive light, please. Terry, did his photo deletions of the "old school" racing cars, the thread he created, count as "outdated" material??? I'm still wondering about that. However... Terry, I do know (did know?) Ernie personally. I worked mere minutes from his home in Daly City and we'd meet up and have lunch on occasion. Well, I know his personal philosophy isn't to harm or damage anyone or anything, but one day we found that he had deleted an extensive amount of information from HybridZ. The info here is shared freely and really isn't anyone's particular "property" except the site's property if you think about it. His deletions came and we decided as a group to "not give him the option" of deleting anymore of his posts. Decontenting this vast resource of information and knowledge contained on this site didn't cut it for us, whether we knew Ernie or not. It doesn't matter what his intentions were and we made a decision to protect the site. I like Ernie and still consider him an acquaintance. I probably should not have let the cat out of the bag earlier in this thread, especially if it leads to "Ernie bashing" or something like that. I won't tolerate that, especially when he can't speak in his defense, but since I'm an admin, I am including the facts here as I know them to be. Again, I still consider Ernie an acquaintance and would always break with him again, photos or no photos. I never wanted him to leave and I still don't know the extent of what he went through with the PMs and email from negative members. It must have been a lot. I created this sticky in 2006 to help with some of what he was experiencing http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=115242 but it obviously wasn't enough. We lost a great member in Ernie. I wish things were as they were when he was still here. He was always helping people here and treating us as Ohana. Too bad. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Thanks DavyZ for the neutral comments and administration. I wished this string could have been avoided, but that's life and perhaps he will feel that some time in the future he can return. I REALLY regret the deletion of the historical Z related photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Thanks DavyZ for the neutral comments and administration. I wished this string could have been avoided, but that's life and perhaps he will feel that some time in the future he can return. I REALLY regret the deletion of the historical Z related photos. Terry, in retrospect, I should have kept my mouth shut to begin with. I'm not sure what prompted me to make my other post, but what's done is done. I'm feeling the same as you and wish Ernie was still around. He answered a lot of questions for me and we had some good times when I lived near him. I think you're a lot like him in that respect. I remember at least 10 years ago (?) that you sent me a bunch of photos of your car when it first appeared in Kit Car magazine. Yeah, you're one of the good ones too. Thanks for sticking around the site, Terry! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two40MuscleZ Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Davy: I just had a short telecon with "OX", and I am going to give Ernie a call to see how he is doing. For all of us who knew of Ernies' whit and wisdom, we shall all certainly miss his commentaries. Ernie aka RacerX was like one of the "Original Gangstas' here on this site. Owen aka God Father, DavyZ, Ox BlueOvalZ, SuperDan, Tim240Z, Pete Paraska, MileKelly, JC @ BetaMotorsports all have played a major role in the formation, maintenance, and continuation of this site. The new fish on the block, have much to learn and this site can benefit them greatly. However, to those of you who do not understand or agree with this sites Mission Statement you can piss off! This site is not a bashing ground, and I am certain before any more menbers become disenchanted, or decide to opt out because of someones rudeness most if not all of the above will come to their aid. Be personable, be professional, but most of all be a constructive part of this site. Thanks to all of the old timers for all they have done and continue to do for HybridZ. VAN, aka Two40MuscleZ President, HybridZ SoCal Chapter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Sorry, I have been away front the forum for awhile and missed all the drama. Ernie aka RacerX was an excellent sorce of info. I personally will be sorry to se him go. I to would like to get hold of those responsible for loosing his valuable skills here. I have been a bodyman/painter for many years and have since moved into the management side. I had looked into replying to body questions in the past and always found RacerX's replies to be honest and straight forward. There really isn't an outdated way to do body work & paint. Some of the newer techniques are easier and/or faster but not necessarily better. If I can be of assistance to anyone on paint & autobody questions in his absense please let me know. I look forward to Ernies return one day when those responsible are no longer allowed to visit our family here! Wow! Haven't heard from you in a long time! How is that wild Z project coming? Thanks for stepping in with the paint & autobody questions, it's always nice to get a professional's point of view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZHeadV8 Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 As a member of the UK Z Club, I spend my time posting on the UK forum but as my project is based around an LS2 / T56 combo I have received MASSIVE help over the last couple of years with input on threads from pretty much all of the "Old Gangstas" (that is soooooo American, not British at all ) who started this site for which I am very grateful. Some of you have been kind enough to give me help by PM on more specific topics. We have had similar experiences in the UK where some SERIOSULY clever, decent guys will not be part of the club because of unnecessary crap - we all lose out as a result. I never met or spoke to RacerX offline, never PM'd him but I did enjoy his posts and I learned from them ..... some people should be ashamed right now. It is obviously a mark of his character that he rose above "naming and shaming" the people concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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