Member Feedback

[Eryck]

Great site. One comment is that the "know-how" sections are a bit unorganized. Require a lot of searching before you find the specific topic that you are looking for.  Anyone seen the BMW 8 series site? Now that is one organized site where it's very easy to look up topics.  Just my two cents....in any case, I am greatful for this site!  I feel less lonely (don't know anyone with a Pagoda in Hong Kong).

[gwuisman]

Rod,

Just to make sure there is some interest in your wish to improve the site. It could be considered to put the e-mail adresses in the list. Perhaps in stead of 'Last post'. I don't know what advantage that information has.

Gerard Wuisman
1970 280sl

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by Eryck

Great site. One comment is that the "know-how" sections are a bit unorganized. Require a lot of searching before you find the specific topic that you are looking for.  Anyone seen the BMW 8 series site? Now that is one organized site where it's very easy to look up topics.

Eryck,
What is the URL fro the BMW 8 web site?
By "know-how" sections, do you mean the "technical articles" that are seperated into sections?
We would love to better organize the site's static info.  We were so happy to have a good Search tool that manually organizing all that data took a back seat to other things.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by gwuisman

Just to make sure there is some interest in your wish to improve the site. It could be considered to put the e-mail adresses in the list. Perhaps in stead of 'Last post'. I don't know what advantage that information has.

Gerard

Gerard,
In the list of members, I agree that the "last post" might serve little purpose.  I'm not sure if we can modify the contents (columns) on this page.  To send an e-mail, or see a user's profile, just click on the users ID in the list.  Then click on "Send this user an e-mail".

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[hands_aus]

Hello Rodd,
Could a "PART NUMBER DATABASE" be established on the home page along with the other databases?

I am sure if each of us contributed the part numbers and descriptions/names and applicable car models of the parts we have already gathered, there would be a very useful database that all members could access.

This would reduce the need for people to ask for part numbers.

I know the obvious solution would be for everybody to own a parts booklet but that is not always possible.

I am not sure but I think as an early 250sl owner I would need a book for the 230sl and the 250sl.

Obviously I don't have either book yet.

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[n/a]

Hello Rodd,

I think Bob suggestion is a brilliant idea if it's ever possible to gather and implment it. I for one have being trying to get part numbers for some of the things I would like to order from MB but they too  are not able to provide any assistance. I guess it too much hassle for them to waste time on one individual. I am sure that it there is such a database on the web site , it will help solve lots of questions.

In Malaysia,I believe there are only about 10-15 pagoda on the road and the car repairs shops here are not familiar with the parts as they are more used to dealing with newer MB cars.In most cases they quote for the whole power sterring set when what you are looking for is just a bush kit.  They say they get the pricing from Germany and they claim thats how the German's quote (whole package).

I wouldnt mind buying one if there's  such a details book on each parts with the photo(It helps).

Nasser

quote:Originally posted by hands_aus

Hello Rodd,
Could a "PART NUMBER DATABASE" be established on the home page along with the other databases?

I am sure if each of us contributed the part numbers and descriptions/names and applicable car models of the parts we have already gathered, there would be a very useful database that all members could access.

This would reduce the need for people to ask for part numbers.

I know the obvious solution would be for everybody to own a parts booklet but that is not always possible.

I am not sure but I think as an early 250sl owner I would need a book for the 230sl and the 250sl.

Obviously I don't have either book yet.

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[A Dalton]

quote:Originally posted by hands_aus
[

I know the obvious solution would be for everybody to own a parts booklet but that is not always possible.

I am not sure but I think as an early 250sl owner I would need a book for the 230sl and the 250sl.

Obviously I don't have either book yet.

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

 Bob,
 Actually , the 230 and Early 250sl share many parts , but they are also very different on others..
 The Book you want for Early 250/.043. is MB-10128/Type 250SL/Edition"A".
 Hard to find , but settle for no other .I will keep my eyes peeled for you and if you need a specific #, I have those books...

[hands_aus]

quote:Originally posted by A Dalton

quote:Originally posted by hands_aus
[

I know the obvious solution would be for everybody to own a parts booklet but that is not always possible.

I am not sure but I think as an early 250sl owner I would need a book for the 230sl and the 250sl.

Obviously I don't have either book yet.

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

 Bob,
 Actually , the 230 and Early 250sl share many parts , but they are also very different on others..
 The Book you want for Early 250/.043. is MB-10128/Type 250SL/Edition"A".
 Hard to find , but settle for no other .I will keep my eyes peeled for you and if you need a specific #, I have those books...

Hey Arthur,
Thanks for the number of the book. Does it also cover the Engine?
I see on the MB Classic site that they have a parts book for the 129 engine. Does it have numbers or just pictures of the engine?

Which edition of the Technical Data Books should I buy?

Yes please keep your eye open for me.

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[bjudd]

I think it would be helpful to have a "beginners page" for peope like me who are just getting to know their cars and the site.  I could see a "do & don't" list of all the common early mistakes of novices - starting of course with the oil filter mishaps and going on from there.



bjudd
1969 280 SL 5 sp

[keesing]

Looks like its been awhile since anyone posted here...
I would like to send out my sincere appreciation to the organizers and members of this site. I began surfing here several months ago, just for something to do... this week I bought a '67 250SL! It was the Pagoda SL Group, all of the great information and the specific help from the members here that got me to this point. EVERYONE has been so helpful and a true pleasure... helped me make my decisions, gave me guidance and saved me money and heartaches!
THANKS

 

[hands_aus]

I propose that the Pagoda World magazine be archived in some sort of format (PDF?) and make it available to all to read online.

Each new issue could be archived one month after the magazine has been distributed to all full members.

This way the casual members of this site could be referred to the wonderful articles that are available to ‘full’ members.

The information should be available to all.

Reason for this proposal……
I was re-reading my Pagoda World magazines and I realised how valuable the information they contained was.

There has been questions from people about various topics that were covered in detail in the Pagoda World magazine eg., pre-purchase inspection of a Pagoda, replacement of heater levers etc.

Mostly ‘we’ refer the people to the search function.

Instead they can be referred to a COMPLETE document with all relevant information (usually including part numbers and often pictures).

I know that the Users Manual will cover these topics but until it is available, this seems to be a sensible interim arrangement.

Any thoughts?

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[Ed Cave]

Bob:

Seems to me, if you got the benefits of Pagoda World and didn't have to pay the annual dues then there likely would no longer be a Pagoda World because few would pay the dues and without dues, it would not be possible to produce and distribute Pagoda World in the first place.

I may not be in the majority here but for a club like this to prosper and continue to provide its membership with good, quality information it is imperative that there be some revenue to offset the cost of doing so. I actually lean in the other direction and believe that perhaps more of the information that is now provided without cost to everyone should be limited to those who pay the dues, encouraging more people to ante up and submit the $30 (less cost than a single tank of gas). Giving everything away for free will not allow a group like this to sustain its viability and bring its membership increasing value.

Ed Cave
Atlanta, GA


1971 280SL
1973 911S
2004 A4 3.0
2006 GS430

[JPMOSE]

I agree with Ed Cave 100%.  From my experience belonging to other on-line clubs, if there are no perks with membership, one will simply join the forum for free.  Eventually, the site may languish to the point of shut-down.  

On that note...Cees...are back issues available for purchase?  I would like to buy an entire set for my reading pleasure.

Best Regards,

J. P. Mose
1968 250SL

[Cees Klumper]

We did consider making PW available as a .pdf or otherwise, but for the exact reasons Ed mentions, the board decided not to. We do depend on the proceeds from the full membership to pay the site's expenses, which are the bulk of our expenses to be covered. I noticed that the 190 SL Group offers back issues on a CD-rom and they charge for that.

I do still have a few back issues left of numbers 1, 2 and 6, that are available for sale for $8 each plus postage. If interested, please drop me an email.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[hands_aus]

quote:Originally posted by cees klumper

We did consider making PW available as a .pdf or otherwise, but for the exact reasons Ed mentions, the board decided not to. We do depend on the proceeds from the full membership to pay the site's expenses, which are the bulk of our expenses to be covered. I noticed that the 190 SL Group offers back issues on a CD-rom and they charge for that.

I do still have a few back issues left of numbers 1, 2 and 6, that are available for sale for $8 each plus postage. If interested, please drop me an email.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

Hey Cees, J.P. Ed

OK, it was decided to not allow basic members the possibility of viewing the whole magazine.

My suggestion was to make life easier for the people who generally respond the most to the articles/questions posted.

I really only want the technical stuff available to all members.

For example, that article about pre-purchase inspections is great and should be able to be a reference for prospective car buyers.

Surely new members should not have to search for bits and pieces of information, given that the article exists, is complete, and very comprehensive.

I must say that the Ponton site idea of selling a CD rom with the back issues is something this site could explore given the lack of hard copies of some of the issues.

Ed,
I disagree about limiting the availibility of information to only full members in the hope that it will encourge basic members to become full members.

J.P,
With the amount of activity this sites generates it seems highly unlikely that it will languish to the point of shut-down.

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[J. Huber]

A little off-thread but can I talk whomever is mailing out the latest PW to include a couple more decals for me? I use mine to cover a small but unsightly crack in my soft-top window...But the folding kind of wears it out...Thanks.

James
63 230SL

[rwmastel]

Bob,

Yes, it was decided from the beginning by the Board to make Pagoda World only available through purchase (membership dues or purchase through back-issue).  Hear out the reasoning.

The Board wanted very much to have a tangible aspect to the Group.  In creating this Group, we wanted to be more than just "an internet group", we had that with the Yahoo! system.  We wanted to be a "real" group (car club) with a magazine, local and international events, a web site, and everything else that goes along being a "real" group.  So, providing a nice magazine to paying members sounded proper and we thought it would provide a valued service.  Besides, not all Pagoda owners are Internet surfers.  We wanted to attract them as well.

The Board decided to not make Pagoda World available electronically because that midium is so easy to copy.  If hundreds of members pay to get their copy, and one "rouge" member copies his electronic file to hundreds of non-members, or the whole World by posting it on a seperate web site, then there's no point in printing it.  At least, that was the reasoning.

The Board uses Pagoda World as the main incentive to attract paying members so we can have income to pay for:
- Pagoda World (printing, envelopes, international postage, etc.)
- Membership Packets (welcome letter, membership card, window stickers, envelopes, international postage, etc.)
- ISP Web Site Hosting (so we can have this conversation right now)
- It's also nice to have some cash on-hand so we can reduce the risk of undertaking initatives.  A primary example is the Group Poster.  We also launched an on-line Group Store.  I'm sure there's more that I've forgotten right now.

Let me know your thoughts after reading this.

Thanks,

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[hands_aus]

The Joe Alexander 'TOURS' would make a very good basis for a W113 handbook.

The 'TOUR' information could get buried in general discussion
because of the number of posters who 'steal/borrow/divert' the topic.

I think that members who have something personal to discuss further to one of the 'TOURS' created by Joe A. should create a new thread.

Often regular contributors refer us to other threads with a similar theme.

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[ptomey]

I can see nobody has been on this topic for a while but it is still up here on a sticky sooo....

I am totally addicted to this site. I check it out on most days at least 3 or 4 times just to see what's new. When I do have something that I think is worthwhile, and I post it, it's amazing how fast, meaningful and well intentioned the responses are.

I did wonder about the classified section. It doesn't seem to have much activity given the activity on the general info section. I also belong to a few Porsche sites and a club racing site (Shameless plug: www.apexspeed.com ). Some of these sites don't hold a candle to the Pagoda SL Group as far as new and active threads. But they do always seem to have a lot of stuff for sale on them. Just curious why on such an active site as this, more members aren't taking advantage of the marketplace aspect.

Paul Tomey
Tierra Verde,FL

1968 280SL Light Ivory (Enjoy)
2002 Porsche 996TT (Track)
2003 Van Dieman Formula Car (Race)
2006 Yukon Denali (Tow Cars and Haul Kids)

[Saltydog]

Drive on Boss (as we would say locally)
Great site, ggod info, nice to share

good links like PDFs of old 280 manuals that so many people seem not to have. Mercedes should provide this FOC and without rights assigned as it promotes their brand prestige.

A local link to a site of registered parts with images controlled by the site administrators.

A list of site GURUs. This should be a role to be earned like jedi master, wealth on information on a subject.

Thats my twopence worth, drive on and let no one stop you,

SaltyDog

quote:Originally posted by Douglas

It's only been a few short months for this club and this site, but these are very important, formative months. We'd like to know what you think so far. Please share your thoughts with us so we can understand what members want.

SaltyDog

[hands_aus]

Hi,
I was doing a search and the message below, showed on the screen.

I was searching for 'steering play' on member name 'ja17'
Is this MY PC or the website problem.

It happened 3 times

quote
2,3,4,5,7,8
Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers error '80040e31'

[Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver]Timeout expired

/forums/search.asp, line 376

unquote

Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[waqas]

I get the same message fairly often these days. I used to think it was an occasional glitch. Now it happens all the time.

Too bad we're not using the phpBB web-forum software (available at http://www.phpBB.com). It's open-source (GPL), runs on apache and mysql (does NOT require a windows server!), and best of all: it really works well. Oh well....

Waqas in Austin, Texas

[Peter van Es]

Dear all,

quote:Originally posted by waqas

I get the same message fairly often these days. I used to think it was an occasional glitch. Now it happens all the time.

Too bad we're not using the phpBB web-forum software (available at http://www.phpBB.com). It's open-source (GPL), runs on apache and mysql (does NOT require a windows server!), and best of all: it really works well. Oh well....

Waqas in Austin, Texas

Here's the official answer from your administrator. The fact that we get this message is because we are a victim of our own success. As the number of posts increases, the time taken to search the forum takes longer. As it takes longer, it times out more frequently. Advice: search when usage is lowest. Given our predominant US based membership, search at a time when ALL of the US is asleep.

We are currently paying a fair amount for webhosting, but clearly not enough for a very fast processor. I could see if I could get better service with a more expensive subscription, but doubt it: service levels of ISP's are notoriously bad.

However, this is also one of the reasons why we are setting up the Technical Manual. As that is better structured, it should be easier to find things there without increasing the load on the servers.

Waqas, does the fact that you know about phpBB mean that I can enlist your services for co-admin role on this board? I could sure use some help...

I am also an Open Source afficionado, but I am also realistic. We currently have some 7500 topics (and many more posts than that) on this board. As there is no automatic Snitz Forums to phpBB converter, moving to phpBB would mean losing all that content. When the Technical Manual is nearing completion, we could contemplate doing that, but at the moment it is unrealistic. I am not going to spend that much effort (writing conversion software etc) for relatively little gain.

You might then wonder, could we not have the old forum coexist (closed, inactive for posting) with the new forum? That's not very practical, as then you cannot post an additional question to a pre-existing thread on the old forum.

As I've now supported this board for two years, I know about the problems people -- our users -- have. Switching to a new forum software will not be easy, and having new forum software co-exist with the old, is going to be more trouble than it's worth. The fact that this site consists of a general site and a separate forum is already a major source of confusion.

The Technical Manual / Wiki platform is Open Source based and growing in importance. I am planning to move some of the content of our home page http://www.sl113.org/ and other sections there to the Wiki as it is so much easier to maintain than the home page. However, the net benefit of even that will be limited as redeveloping e.g. the signup and payment pages will cost me lots of time for no real improvement in the site.

If you have any other views, I'd love to hear about it.

Peter



1970 280SL. Also known as 'admin@sl113.org' and organiser of the Technical Manual.

[waqas]

Peter,

quote:Waqas, does the fact that you know about phpBB mean that I can enlist your services for co-admin role on this board? I could sure use some help...

Absolutely!  In fact, I just went through setting-up a web-forum for another organization (I don't exactly do software for a living, I actually design integrated circuits).

quote:I am also an Open Source afficionado, but I am also realistic. We currently have some 7500 topics (and many more posts than that) on this board. As there is no automatic Snitz Forums to phpBB converter, moving to phpBB would mean losing all that content. When the Technical Manual is nearing completion, we could contemplate doing that, but at the moment it is unrealistic. I am not going to spend that much effort (writing conversion software etc) for relatively little gain.

No need. There are already conversion scripts for moving a forum from Snitz to phpBB. However, it is no easy task, and many man-hours would still be needed. Thus, a specific benefit needs to be identified and justified before deciding to undertake something like that.

I don't know enough about Snitz (besides this site), but one of the major improvements phpBB has to offer over Snitz is the ability to arbitrarily decide what file-types to upload (PDF, XL, DOC, etc). Perhaps this option already exists in Snitz, and we've just chosen not to use it.

Also, little thumb-nails can be automatically created for the pictures, so that linked-pictures are not just another URL. (easy to quickly find that one uploaded figure you're searching for).

Finally, phpBB has one of the largest (if not THE largest) 'mod' community, i.e. folks who have contributed modification/customization scripts to the main source tree.  This potentially provides almost unlimited capability in the future.

quote:You might then wonder, could we not have the old forum coexist (closed, inactive for posting) with the new forum? That's not very practical, as then you cannot post an additional question to a pre-existing thread on the old forum.

I completely agree, it's hard enough to search through one forum, let alone two!

quote:The Technical Manual / Wiki platform is Open Source based and growing in importance. I am planning to move some of the content of our home page http://www.sl113.org/ and other sections there to the Wiki as it is so much easier to maintain than the home page.

To be clear, I'm not specifically advocating that we migrate to phpBB, but I just wanted to place the idea in the minds of people, so there can be an opportunity if there is a strong feeling.

In reality, the Wiki project may eventually make the forums effectively obsolete (or at least, a secondary focus of the group), further making a moot point of whether to stay with Snitz, or what not.

I visit the site quite often, and I'd love to see it continue to flourish! (besides, I have a vested interest with these bottomless money-pits I call my cars...)

Do let me know if I can be of service. (I'm still putting together stuff for the Wiki, albeit at my usual glacial pace...)

Waqas in Austin, Texas

[Paddy_Crow]

I conducted an experiment a few weeks ago. I kept getting the same error message when I searched from the main index page. When I entered a discussion prior to searching, the search seemed to return some hits only from within that discussion. But it didn't time out.

No guarantees, that's just my experience.

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch...