HereÆs a little æWhat ifÆ for ya:

What if there was one central website that contained all of our Isuzu links?


In one section, you would find all of the Clubs and BBS/email services, like:
4x4 Wire
Planet Isuzoo
ITOG
Pirate4x4
E-ZooZoo
VehiCROSS.info
(etc.)

In another, there would be the retailer links, like:
Darlington Off-Road
Independent4x
StinkyFab
(etc.)

In another, you would find Information Archive type pages, and various other Isuzu-related web link sitesà

In still another, there could be links to everyoneÆs personal web pagesà

And it need not stop there!



A number of people have already collected loads of helpful links, and are hosting some very good websites - I'm NOT suggesting that we re-invent the wheel, but rather that we put everything thatÆs already out there within easy reach. --- It need not be itemized down to the 'inth' degree, where the sub-category lists cover every single little detail (although in time, they could)...

No, I'm just thinking about the all of times when a new member to the community shows up, and we find ourselves pointing them toward the same information (again and again)...

So why not put everything under one easy-to-negotiate umbrella, and then have as many of the sites as possible post a link back to a main information menu site?



While itÆs certainly not set in stone, I propose that this site be called æISUZUDOM (dot whatever)Æ, consisting of Broad Band and Dial-Up versions - and that they be constructed, little by little, by any volunteers who care to step-up and lend a hand.


First and foremost: While I can contribute offerings such as THIS (which could be time-coded and used as the last segment of a Flash introduction/welcome/opening page), I am wholly out of my element when it gets down to the nitty-gritty of creating well-designed websites. û I could do a hack-job of it, IÆm sure, but I truly feel that this endeavor deserves far more respect and attention-to-detail than that! --- Nor do I wish to ride shotgun over the projectà

Mind you, I have all sorts of IDEASà But putting them into practice? û Well, thatÆs another matter entirely. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />



Anyway, rather than drone-on endlessly about what IÆve imagined up-to-now (which you all know I could very easily do! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" /> ), is anyone interested so far?


Cheers! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
Smiley

seems a little like reinventing the wheel to me.... why not host this information under one of our already established sites? i'm sure we could find some takers if someone is willing to collect/manage the information. it would seem to make more sense to me to have this infomation reside with 4x4wire or Planet Isuzu rather than go create yet another site and place for everyone to visit. These places already have a well established front that people now about, in a small community such as ours, i would try to take advantage of that rather than start from scratch.

FYI, historically the problem with this has been collecting/managing the information, not a place to house it. As you can imagine, this is quite a time intensive task, and not much has follow'd through from those that proposed what you are now.

at one time, there was a little pilot proj here at 4x4wire for a general FAQ section. Maybe rather than trying to create something new, those interested should look at bringing back to life and continuing with what was once started.

just my 2 cents.
-Rob

just go here http://users4.ev1.net/%7Esanaghan/main/Vehicle/Index.htm

OK, letÆs face ità
A click, is a click, is a clickà

It doesnÆt matter where a web link points you, because once you click on it, thatÆs where your web browser is going to go.


With buttons or banners being placed upon (at the very least) the major Isuzu Web Destination, they will effectively ALL be the ôhostöà

Possible examples:

[ For More Isuzu-Relate Information, CLICK HERE ]

[ Before you ask, see if you can find the answer HERE ]

[ See what else the Online Isuzu Community has to offer ]


By being a Stand-Alone website, one that gives everyone the same allotted space for their redirect link (and perhaps with these links showing-up on the list in random order) it would remove all potentially perceived bias and/or favoritism.

If hosted upon an existing Isuzu site, the list would become directly associated with ità and in so doing, it would NOT be thought of as an Online Isuzu COMMUNITY sort of thing, but rather as æThe PlanetÆs List of LinksÆ or æ4x4 WireÆs List of LinksÆ, etc. --- That perceived æpossessionÆ of the information might somehow diminish the importance of visiting the other sites (Which is the main goal here).


One sure-fire way to insure that this modest community of ours grows is to let it!






I think it's the word "Just" in 'Just go here' that I'm trying to address...

Yes, that would be ONE of the links that would be in the Isuzu Information Section (and a mighty dang fine one at that!)à

But THIS would be anotherà and the list goes on from there.



Look, if no one wants to do this, that's fine with me - But it's to our own detriment.


Cheers! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
Smiley

That guy's a jerk. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />

No, really I just have about 30 more links to update. I probably do need to put the VX'ers page on there.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade at all Smiley... I think few would argue the merit in this idea. In fact, since i've been around here, i don't have enough fingers to count the very same thing being proposed. Its this history that i suppose has me skepitcal.

as for a click is a click is a click, i agree and disagree here. sure, it doesn't take much more time to switch from one site to another, but how many people are going to do this? i mean, look how hard it is to point some newbies to the search feature and thats atop their screen.

i'd be cautious of trying to grow the isuzu web community into two many places to fast. people had the same concerns whent the PBB forum started. Again, in perspective we are a small group, and it doesn't take much to saturate it. I guess i just don't see benefit of scattering more information in yet another direction.

IMHO the number one problem with a project like this is collecting the information and putting this in a highly visable place. thats the only way something like this will take off. by utilizing currently available resources like 4x4wire or PlanetIsuzoo, you already have a high number of 'passer-bys'. in comparison, start with a brand new site, you have the hurdle of convincing everyone to come over there. Without that, it won't succeed, no matter how good and comprehensive the imformation is.

respectfully, <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
-Rob

Rob,

I feel that you have grossly misunderstood what IÆm describingà


ItÆs nothing overly complexà Just something more-or-less like this:




And all of the linked site owners would be welcome (encouraged) to post a banner or text web link back to the Main Community List.


ThatÆs it û Nothing too fancy (although visual interest wouldnÆt hurt!)à Just an easy-to-negotiate set of mildly categorized links that lead you to EXISTING ISUZU-RELATED WEBSITES.

(Sort of like a WebRing, but without all of the management headaches and system-required hoops to jump through û That, plus the added benefit of being able to make it look however you darn-well please)


Can you hear me now? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />


Cheers! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
(and also respectfully!)
Smiley

I think its a great idea! Everytime I try to find some info I had read before, it takes me forever using Google. I would want to have all those isuzu links ever found in one area. (if thats what you mean smiley). <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I understand the proposed plan -- a nexus of outlinks, with no actual content, just links. Presumably, such a site could be kept thin and small, so as not to require the kind of monthly bandwidth payment that 4x4Wire has.

I find myself kinda siding with Rob, though, just from a historic perspective. In the early 90's back when Kevin Langston was still running the Isuzu-Owners maillist out of frontier.lonestar.org, there were few Isuzu resources. Since then, more have started. Some remain, some have perished... and continually, through this, there are some folks who are more loyal to one site than another... I don't think that will ever change.

Over the years, I have mellowed from my original "why do we need ANOTHER Isuzu 4x4 site" to a stance of more of a live-and-let-live opinion. I do think that further fragmentation of our community is a real risk from each new node that comes into existence, but if the community grows apace with the multiplication of the nodes, it can stay self-sustaining, without needing to cannibalize existing readerships to populate new nodes. Some nodes won't achieve critical mass and will die... other nodes will thrive and flourish... and I hope this loose network of nodes will intermingle. In fact, that's one of the missions of the 'Zu Zoo gatherings, since the beginning -- bringing geographically-separate and community-diverse Isuzoids together, regardless of where they came from, or who they know.

Smiley, I don't object to what you propose, and would probably even use it, but conceptually, I think it rests upon a finding a few reliable volunteers (oxymoron, sometimes!) to generate it and maintain it, and that can be tough. Most of the easily-motivated Isuzu folks are already engaged at 4x4Wire, the Planet, ITOG, etc and etc. Finding staff IMHO would be a challenge.

Primarily, tho, my doubts revolve around the nature of the internet, which is different for almost everyone that slaps up a webpage. These very differences are the strength -- and the weakness -- of the medium, I think, and links pages are virtually guaranteed to be incomplete or out-of-date the very next day after they are published. Applying structure to an ever-changing list is complicated, even before you start to consider that many sites change their linking structure with some regularity.

In my opinion, the task set forward is too large, and the results are too limited... I'll just continue to use Google to find what I need, or links from this forum.

Randii

I've run into this problem (IMHO) while searching for info. on my g/f's Explorer...just too many forums and websites about them and I couldn't find a central place with concise information. I guess it doesn't help that they came with like 500 different drivetrain combos, either.
Well, that's what I tell her when she asks why I want to build a turbo-beast 4ZE1, but can't fix anything on the Explorer. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

On the other hand...when my Trooper blew its head gasket and I started searching around the 'net for info., I spent days searching through garbage before finding planetisuzoo.com and then the Wire (it was through somebody's cardomain page that I saw the proverbial light).
heh, maybe my Googling skills are lousy, but maybe one more website floating around with some good links would be a good thing and save some more 2.6 Troopers from the junkyard. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />