Big things in the works for tamon.org

The latest Team MightyBoy news and updates, plus your ideas and feedback
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Brayden
Posts: 9101
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2004 3:09 am
Location: Canberra ACT
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Hey guys, I'm pretty excited about some website changes going on behind the scenes, and I wanted to get your thoughts.

Basically TAMON has been around since 2002 and the website formula hasn't changed much. Now that's not a bad thing, but the web has changed a lot since the last upgrade and there's some stuff that I'd really like to take advantage of. So while changes are being made, I thought it would be good to ask everyone on the forum if there is anything you'd like to see added/removed/changed on the site? Bear in mind that the cost of the site comes out of my pocket, so there are some limits to what can be done, but if you have an idea I'd like to hear it!

While you're thinking, here's some of the stuff that I've already planned:

1) Upgrading the forum.

A bit of a no-brainer really. phpBB3 has been out for a while and has tons of improvements, the best one being that you can upload images directly to the forum without having to register for a gallery.

2) Owners section gets the axe.
This section of the site is a bit of a relic, and doesn't really add anything useful to the website. Sure you can big note your mods, but if other people are interested enough they'll share that info on the forum anyway!

3) Expanded "guides" section.

I'm pretty excited about this bit, because it will be our chance to collate all the useful info on the website into pages that can be easily accessed without digging through the forum for ages. (I've already started on a couple of badly needed tech sheets.) Ideally I want this to be an area that anyone can edit, but we'll see how difficult the security side of things gets.

4) Expanded "media" section.

As far as I know, my collection of MightyBoy magazine articles and brochures is now complete, and I'll be sharing as many of them as possible. This includes a 5 part series on customising a MightyBoy, taken from an 80's Truck & Van magazine. I'll also be linking directly to YouTube videos of MightyBoy related shenanigans.

5) Adding a general website FAQ.

My god, this is possibly the most badly needed addition. A page that answers the questions we all get sick to death of reading!

Of course there are a bunch of other things (some not related to the website) that I'm keeping a secret for now, but they are all very cool. :D I thnk the heart of what I am trying to get at with the latest changes is to increase the amount of stuff that you can do with the site, with less reliance on me to assist.

As I said though, now is your chance to comment on anything you want to see changed on the site, so lets hear it!
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
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Tez
Posts: 1176
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:38 pm
Location: Croydon, Vic

Hey Brayen...
1. - Fantastic - having to set up an external gallery and link is a major bummer - I'm on an entirely different discussion group and plonking photos directly into the thread is a snap and sooo much better. - Just a word of advice - that group, wary of too many megs of HDD space being gobbled up on their server with images have set two limits - maximum image size of 75kb - this can be a bit limiting, and many members struggle with converting their (often many megs) image into something under 75kb... but with some tuition, most manage. The second limitation is a maximum of three images per post - this can be a real pain... maybe 6 or 10 would be better... 10 images in a post is really over the top anyway...
2. Personally, I've looked at that section several times and wondered why it was there...
3. Great! - I'm all for "sharing the knowledge" - Dont limit the guides section to mamoth tasks - members will get great benefit from the smaller things detailed too... - Engine transplants? - yeah great, but "replace a wing-mirror" - useful too! - I'm sure there are many members who could do a write up on so many aspects of maintaining/upgrading our Zooks...
4. Media Section - a thoroughly interesting read (the historical stuff) and the reference stuff is indispensible - more stuff converted to pdf would be great! (yes, I know it's a mamoth task!)
5. FAQ - The sooner the better! - Links within the FAQ to guides would make sense.

Generally though... I reckon you've done a bang-up job so far.

Yes, there is a lot of info within the archives - some takes some serious searching to find, and oh, my, there is so much repetition (probably guilty of that myself).

Keep up the good work... For those of us that care for these aging cars, this is an invaluable resource.
Tez
So the adventure continues...
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Brayden
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Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2004 3:09 am
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Thanks for the feedback Tez.

We're pretty fortunate that the web host for tamon.org has very generous limits in terms of file size. The only limitation that I will be enforcing on image uploads to the forum is dimensions. Pics will be automatically resized to something like 700x500 to keep things neat.
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
gilly
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nice work, phpbb3 is a huge improvement, but if you mod it, be prepared to spend lots of time maintaining it when upgrades are released.

Im the webmaster for the gsr-evo-club forum and its a huge job - epsecially if you get behind on updates.
1988 Suzuki Alto Works RSX F5A Gearbox - FOR SALE!
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Brayden
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I steer well clear of mods/hacks for that very reason. ;)
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
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Brokenshire
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As usual Brayden your direction for this forum so far has been spot on so any up grades yoo think will be benificial probably will be.

I'm all for it.

I know you don't think it's neccessary but it has been done on other sites. Set up a paypal account and put it out there for donations - run the site, Get stickers printed etc. Make it by donation. We could alls ome some crap on ebay from the back room and transfer the funds for a better cause!
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CameronMinns
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Location: Brisbane, Queensland

In the media section will members be able to upload their things. because things like owners manuals for old cars are kinda hard to come by. And I have one for a Suzuki Carry. Might be good to be able to upload things from different models??

But yeah sounds great. Can't wait for the changes to happen!
The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
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Brayden
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If you scan in the manual and email me the PDF I can put it in on the website right now. ;)
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
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holk
Posts: 555
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:30 pm

On a light note, Brayden

You should consider a "Billy says" forum :D

Doing some pretty basic calculations, using the user statistics with the daily number of posts Billy will overtake you in the number of posts within 5 years.

:lol:
[img]http://www.tamon.org/gallery/d/11796-1/holk3-1.jpg[/img]
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Billie
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LOL.

Time to slow down :)
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Brayden
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Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2004 3:09 am
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Billie's blog perhaps? :lol:

On the topic of changes, I'm getting excited to say everything is almost in place for the upgrade. I aim to have the last few things sorted out over this weekend, so it shouldn't be long now! :D
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
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holk
Posts: 555
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:30 pm

Great,

I think everyone is looking forward to the improvements
[img]http://www.tamon.org/gallery/d/11796-1/holk3-1.jpg[/img]
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Billie
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I like the idea of Billie's Blogs. :lol:
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Brokenshire
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Billie's Blogs
:bow: :bow: :bow:
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Jermaine
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hahaha... oh nice interestead to see what u come up with brayden
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