Infiniti Online Mechanic- Do you go there?

[elwesso]

I will admit, that I'm not as good at moving threads as I think i should, but I wanted to get everyones feedback on how much people look at this forum.. I really like the idea of the IOM and I wish more people would use it, and I have some ideas on how to make this better... That will come with time (don't hold your breath, its only mildly interesting at best)... It made a lot more sense, for the old school guys when all we had for the infiniti section was Infiniti General and IOM... Since we added the Q45 forum, its becoming more nebulous...

Youll notice the poll below... When I say "visit", i mean anytime you sit down at the forum and browse threads.... In this case, checking the forum for 5 mintues to see if a certain thread you posted in has any new replies does not count...

I consider a visit, in my case, when I go through each forum I am in charge of, which as you can see, is quite a pile of them... I generally go on a posting rampage, and then move onto the next forum....

AS you all know, I take this stuff very seriously, but still remain laid back about it, if that makes any sense.... What ive been finding is that if I let a thread that was originally posted in the online mechanic, say for an I30, it may not get any reasonable replies, but if i move it to the maxima forum, it will get help instantly....

Please give me any feedback you have... I really like the idea of having the online mechanic, but im finding that people arent posting there because no one else looks at those threads (besides just a few of us)... its a viscious cycle, and our Q45 forum is getting busier by the day, and it really helps keep things organized, especially when it comes time to try and find something when you are searching.......

[Jesda]

I go there, but its redundant.

[Q45tech]

It makes me ill and dizzy every time I click on it because of the NAME !

On Line MECHANIC Must be replaced with TECHNICAN

[maxnix]

On Line MECHANIC Must be replaced with TECHNICAN

True, but most are truly do it your self wanna be mechanics, like me.

Without topic discipline by the moderators in this forum, people post up their operational (mechanical) problems without histories and without sufficent reading of the Articles and previous posts to know how to ask the appropriate question.

Thereby so much flotsam is generated and one must search both forums to an answer for an operational anomaly.

Remember when we only had Infiniti General?

[Q45tech]

We don't change components via the Internet, we diagnose the technical aspects and make recommendations, often these recommendations are way beyond the GENERIC [or geriatric] MECHANIC's ability or and require a TECHNICAN to carry them out. To get to the heart of the matter.

The WORD is what offends me, as members say "I'll take it to a MECHANIC" as a famous person said "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do".

More damage is done by generic mechanics than owners........as I say having a working Consult separates the men from the boys!

[96Qowner]

As I post, 11 people have answered, 9 of whom say they visit IOM every time they come to NICO.

I'm surprised.

I, too, have seen the steep falloff in posts to IOM and have wondered what it means. Clearly, most people with Q45 problems post to the Q45 Forum instead of IOM and I suppose that should be respected - sort of an organic, audience-directed thing. For all intents and purposes, all Q45 threads could take place here, instead of being split between the two forums. But that would leave IOM with even less purpose.

I'll be interested to see what you come up with, Wes. Meanwhile, I'll keep reading the IOM threads.

[lino]

Wes, you already know my opinion. I think it would be nice to have a header that reads "Q45", once you go to NICO, and then have all the links that pertain to the Q45 underneath that one header. For example:

Q45

Infiniti Q45 Forum Infiniti Online Mechanic VH and VK Infiniti Classifieds - Cars for Sale Infiniti Classifieds - Parts For Sale Tires, Wheels, Brakes and Suspension

http://www.q45.org

etc....

[DrewQ45]

I go there, but its redundant.

I side with Jesda here. Q45 forum is enough. Now the selfish side of me would love to see G50 as a separate forum from Y33 but I know it's not gonna happen.

...Drew...

[elwesso]

I side with Jesda here. Q45 forum is enough. Now the selfish side of me would love to see G50 as a separate forum from Y33 but I know it's not gonna happen.

...Drew...

You're definitely right about that!!! Theyll have to kick me off here before that happens!!

I get so wrapped up about answering people's questions, that I usually dont even notice what forum it is in... so its my bad....

[AZhitman]

Dennis, I'd replace it with Technician, except for a couple things:

One, the URL is InfinitiOnlineMechanic.com, as that's the term the uninitiated recognize and identify with (our target audience).

Two, if it was InfinitiOnlineTechnician, we'd have to have round-the-clock Tech coverage.

[kev1n]

Sorry to be OT, but that kramer avatar makes me sick. That mofo is an a**h*le

[maxnix]

Well, let's make an offer Infinititech1 can't refuse.

There was another one who has not posted recently, something like Tech43.

[elwesso]

Sorry to be OT, but that kramer avatar makes me sick. That mofo is an a**h*le

Yeah no kidding after that little incident....

[Q_SHIP]

I only use the Q45 section unless my thread is moved.

[99q45t_vl]

I side with Jesda here. Q45 forum is enough. Now the selfish side of me would love to see G50 as a separate forum from Y33 but I know it's not gonna happen.

...Drew...

Agree 100%.

[Q451990]

I think there's some value in having a separate technical forum to separate the "check out my new radio" threads from the true technical questions... but my life won't end if they're combined...

Heath

[Raxephon]

I browse the IOM section every visit!

As well as most of the other sections.

The only one I don't really frequent is "General Chat".

[carlosinseattle]

Wes, you already know my opinion. I think it would be nice to have a header that reads "Q45", once you go to NICO, and then have all the links that pertain to the Q45 underneath that one header. For example:

Q45

Infiniti Q45 Forum Infiniti Online Mechanic VH and VK Infiniti Classifieds - Cars for Sale Infiniti Classifieds - Parts For Sale Tires, Wheels, Brakes and Suspension

http://www.q45.org

etc....

I agree with Lino;I've owned a Supra and a VR4 in the past. Both of those forums are set up where you go to the car first, then to the different sections that apply tp the car. Because of the relatively small number of Infiniti's on the road, it may be nice to have one forum for parts. You definitely would do everyone a favor if Q45 mechanical/technical issues were in a different forum from the other models. That's why it's confusing, and far easier to start a thread in the Q45 forum, even for tecnhical questions. I do check the IOM everytime I visit, but since this car is still new, I don't have a lot to add...yet.

[lino]

What do you think about making a list of car codes, like G50, Y33, F50 etc and a person who is about the start a new thread can put a check mark in the box of the car that the thread pertains to, so that when people are browsing the IOM, they know from the title which model car the thread is about.

[ceningolmo]

How about something easier than that.... how about threads in IOM should start with the chassis code.

ie Y33: Power steering leak

or

G50: 1991 Q45a suspension needs help

Something like that?

[Falkdesigns]

I visit like once every blue moon just to see what's happening, like once every 2-4 months.

[johngalt]

How about something easier than that.... how about threads in IOM should start with the chassis code.

ie Y33: Power steering leak

or

G50: 1991 Q45a suspension needs help

Something like that?

Or just separate sub-forums (fora? :P) for each chassis style?

Then instead of having to search one big IOM post you could go ot the sub forum of your choice and search in there for more accurate (applicable?) results.

Yes, I know, you said no to that idea already....but at the very least as cen mentions, a designation in front of the thread to show someone viewing topic headings which chassis the question being asked pertains to would be very nice....

If you do it like an earlier poster mentions, then having a small JS code that would automatically do that based upon which chassis style you pick would make it easier than having to have someone moderate the forum and add the chassis style to each post after the fact...

[ceningolmo]

If you do it like an earlier poster mentions, then having a small JS code that would automatically do that based upon which chassis style you pick would make it easier than having to have someone moderate the forum and add the chassis style to each post after the fact...

Based on previous experience... people aren't any more likely to check on the appropriate "forum" or indicator before posting than they are to put the type of chassis in the subject line.

And, for us, its easier to just moderate that behavior in the forum than it is to ask our woefully overworked site managers to program in another piece of code for that specific area.

You had some great ideas though... keep them coming.

[johngalt]

Unfortunately, I see your point. Even if you put it in plain print, for people to read, and have something like an AUP or a Posting Preferences note that people have to read and sign / accept, they tend to either ignore what needs to be done or else ignore what they are supposed to do and just post as they want to in the first place.

Ah, well. At least this place promotes using correct terminology as much as possible, so that searching for items is not as hard (of course, I had to learn to search archived items for informational pieces when I first came here).

Also, even simple code such as JS to scan for particular terms, like G50 / '92 Q etc would probably bog the servers down tremendously seeing as there are so many visitors (and so many large pics!) every day. Server side scripting just doesn't seem to be the solution here.

And I seriously doubt that making someone a mod whose only job would be to go through every single post, discern the type chassis, and insert it into the subject line would be a very lucrative, huh?

[ceningolmo]

Lucrative? No.

Besides... I suspect it will be me who will moderating at least some of that information. And, I don't mind doing it...so, no big deal.

[Q451990]

It might be helpful to have the "car" field copy over into the left sidebar under the date joined, location, etc. I think one of the old revisions of the forum used to have this and it helped cut down on having to try to figure out what kind of car a member is asking about... of course people would actually have to fill in the field...

Heath

[elwesso]

im not sure if we can do that or not, i will look into it, i think it would be good too.... however, poeple can always put that info in their sig or in the profile (I always check there)

[redmanfx]

The WORD is what offends me, as members say "I'll take it to a MECHANIC" as a famous person said "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do".

More damage is done by generic mechanics than owners........as I say having a working Consult separates the men from the boys!

Ha! Ha! That is sooo true, especially with the Infiniti's!

I go when I want the knowledgable "techs" to help me out and not just the general Q community.