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Car forums. I don't know how many of you guys are on-the-side petrol heads, but it's one thing that strikes me with the facebook generation - all the years of

Car forums. I don't know how many of you guys are on-the-side petrol heads, but it's one thing that strikes me with the facebook generation - all the years of lost knowledge when everyone pivoted from car forums to facebook groups. No longer can you quickly search up 'what's the best gearbox oil to use in my T56'... Oh no. It's an almost-hourly repetition of shitpost threads that contain no useful information for anybody. Need to know what diameter bearing you need? What part # for that o-ring? Good luck. And if you do happen to stumble across the hidden knowledge of a now-defunct forum, you're likely to be met with the next peril - images that are no longer hosted or available to see without the original uploader paying for an image hosting account on photobucket etc. I feel like all the collective knowledge from the years of 1999 - 2009 is basically lost to the sands of time.

defterGoose 8y ago
I think my brother getting me into cars and my subsequent delve into bimmerforums in the late-naughts is probably one of the big reasons my interest in Facebook started to wane around the same time. My interactions there were largely based on technical questions, but the humanity and humor contained in those interactions were so much more genuine, and indeed, kind, than anything I've seen on FB/tw/insta. I would be really interested in helping out on a project to archive all the knowledge on those types of sites.
- subway 8y ago
  An "Internet Archive" of sorts?
Samon 8y ago
Totally this. Most of the car forums I 'grew up on' 10 years ago are pretty much just wastelands these days. Where they were once a buzz with fantastic knowledge, insightful comments and advice, etc, they're now mostly filled with image-less posts (ImageShack, PhotoBucket, etc), spammy posts, and crickets. The missing images is the biggest shame... "The issue is the hose circled in red"... no pic.
phito 8y ago
Internet content went from small forum where people were actively talking about a subject, asking questions and answering them, gathering knowledge together, to facebook pages where you just absorb content (usually memes). People have become passive on the internet
- skinnymuch 8y ago
  But sister reply by Samon is saying even the same forums are basically how you described Facebook or they are dead.
roflchoppa 8y ago
Im constantly amazed by the information that people have collected over on classiczcars.com for the anything Nissan/Datsun Z related. Even before that over on SOHC4, I ended up finding threads where an individual was testing out the characteristics of brake caliper grease, by conducting thermal tests to indicate what performed the best. On /r/datsun all you really get is memes, and half-thought troubleshooting. Old-car people inspire me to have a dedication to work-ethic, but also to thinking about the dynamics of how everything is operating. Its a whole different level.
TimTheTinker 8y ago
A lot of car how-tos are being posted on YouTube. If you need to replace your alternator, for example, look no further.
- King-Aaron 8y ago
  I've found that when you're working along to a tutorial etc (and are covered in oil), a forum post that can be left on a certain diagram/image is far more convenient than youtube videos.

defterGoose 8y ago

I think my brother getting me into cars and my subsequent delve into bimmerforums in the late-naughts is probably one of the big reasons my interest in Facebook started to wane around the same time. My interactions there were largely based on technical questions, but the humanity and humor contained in those interactions were so much more genuine, and indeed, kind, than anything I've seen on FB/tw/insta. I would be really interested in helping out on a project to archive all the knowledge on those types of sites.

subway 8y ago
An "Internet Archive" of sorts?

Samon 8y ago

Totally this. Most of the car forums I 'grew up on' 10 years ago are pretty much just wastelands these days. Where they were once a buzz with fantastic knowledge, insightful comments and advice, etc, they're now mostly filled with image-less posts (ImageShack, PhotoBucket, etc), spammy posts, and crickets. The missing images is the biggest shame... "The issue is the hose circled in red"... no pic.

phito 8y ago

Internet content went from small forum where people were actively talking about a subject, asking questions and answering them, gathering knowledge together, to facebook pages where you just absorb content (usually memes). People have become passive on the internet

skinnymuch 8y ago
But sister reply by Samon is saying even the same forums are basically how you described Facebook or they are dead.

roflchoppa 8y ago

Im constantly amazed by the information that people have collected over on classiczcars.com for the anything Nissan/Datsun Z related. Even before that over on SOHC4, I ended up finding threads where an individual was testing out the characteristics of brake caliper grease, by conducting thermal tests to indicate what performed the best. On /r/datsun all you really get is memes, and half-thought troubleshooting. Old-car people inspire me to have a dedication to work-ethic, but also to thinking about the dynamics of how everything is operating. Its a whole different level.

TimTheTinker 8y ago

A lot of car how-tos are being posted on YouTube. If you need to replace your alternator, for example, look no further.

King-Aaron 8y ago
I've found that when you're working along to a tutorial etc (and are covered in oil), a forum post that can be left on a certain diagram/image is far more convenient than youtube videos.