I was just wondering if you guys would be open to having an ongoing Car of the Month contest. Nominations made by members, and a vote at the end of the month to see who wins. This could also act as a fund-raiser for TGO because all the winners could be put in a calendar and sold the next year. It could be put in the Appearance forum...

Additionally, the winner's car could be featured on the home page at the end of each month. This is on another board I'm a member of and it really promotes camaraderie and ownership among forum members.

It's just a thought...

 

This idea (similar) was considered before and was something I was sort of in favor of to help bring out the "best of the best" vehicles and showcase them. But such an idea comes with a lot of problems, which mainly are in regard to how users will react and how it could spill into the technical forums.

Camaraderie? I think that greatly depends on the audience and will vary. I can't quite agree with that one because we've had a similar situation and it didn't bring out the best side of people. When the Gallery section (the area outside of the forums) was being updated for each year and model, which only housed "best of the best", we'd get hate mail from users who were upset that their car was not included. Users take such personally. Some would even mock or criticize those who did make the cut. That type of behavior only causes conflicts between users, which WILL spill into our technical forums. People would submit thumbnail sized images (won't work), expect a primer painted, paint mismatch, fender dents, etc., car to be considered "best of the best". Sorry to say this, but this was an issue that we've dealt with before. People simply take it personally, and on this site, it has not been pretty.

Of course whenever you have any vote it's open to abuse. You get people rating for each other, possibly new accounts opened to simply to get an extra vote, etc. You get others rallying others to vote for them, etc. Votes aren't accurate when it can come down to the owner, and how many votes he can rally, or how popular the owner is. It can easily be an owner versus owner, rather than car versus car.

In the end, do we really need a contest? We already provide a forum for the sole purpose of people posting and showing off their ride, which people can leave comments and suggestions for. We haven't allowed rates there for the reasons listed above. Why does it have to be rated and turned into a contest? The calendar, today, can be done fairly easily by nearly anyone on their own. Since TGO is a for-profit business, you can scratch out the fund raiser part. That just leaves the front page, which brings all the above issues (my car hasn't ever been featured, my car is better than Joe's, people here are haters, etc.,).

Such an idea was something I was interested in before, but it comes with problems and possible "BS" because, unfortunately, every group has their share of people who can't behave responsible, mature and civil. Unfortunately, I think our share is a bit high, sadly, and I think it can distract or harm what TGO has always been about (tech-only resource). People take these things personally, and it can create conflicts. I had liked the idea in the past, and still somewhat do, but question it working. It greatly depends on the audience. What works on one site doesn't always work on another.

 

Oh, okay. I was thinking the cars could be nominated, but not by their owners...members-can't-nominate-themselves type of thing. But the way you explained it, I can see how it could turn into something not-so-pretty.

Like I said...it was just a thought, and you're the boss. Thanks for considering it, anyway.

 

On www.67-72chevytrucks.com they have a truck of the month contest.They have everything from best interior to the best beater.Every month is something different and all the trucks are nominated by members.The problem is that you would have to find one person to run the contest every month

 

Many websites have different features, etc. What works for website A doesn't always work for website B. Each website has different audiences, which is made up of different attitudes, different views, different opinions, etc.

I personally liked such an idea, as I stated above. However, it comes with a lot of problems as I also noted above. Getting a person to "run" the contest is really not the issue. If it is, it's the least of them.

Aside from voting abuse, which would be difficult to curb, if a user doesn't get the votes to be featured after X amount of time, they take it out on the community as a whole. I've seen it and dealt with it first hand.

I still don't quite see why there has to be a vote, which allows abuse of voting and can lead to hard feelings. That's also why we tend to keep ThirdGen.org "tech-only".

We already offer many avenues to allow users to "publish" their vehicle to show it off, get feedback, advise and suggestions. I don't think there is any No answer being given, but just that because it may work on one website, that really doesn't say or indicate it will here due to the fact each website has their own, unique, audience.

 

I would have to Agree with JT on this because there are way to many people on here that take things the wrong way or rude and to immature for this to work. Whether any one wants to believe it or not a very large part of the membership here are younger kids that aren't always the most mature people when it comes to having respect for one another's cars. It would never work within the TGO community.

Dan

 

I think there are just too many hot headed young people on this board, a friend of mine owns a '78 formula and he's a member on www.78ta.com (we've been referenced a couple times on there) and most of those members are, for lack of a better word, old. Most are retired men who've found passion in restoring (not hopping up and hot rodding like most of us) their cars. They have a car of the month, and the guys are real cool about who gets picked, they don't freak out and develop resentment toward each other.

But yeah, I just don't think it would work on here because there are alot of young guys (like me) that bought a good cheap car they could work on. Don't get me wrong, I love my car, I never want to lose it, it's not in great shape but I plan on keeping it forever, but it's a cheap car, it's not worth much at all, and it goes with the territory, you know?

 

I keep refering to 67-72chevytrucks.com

They have a truck of the month contest.All trucks are nominated and voted on by members.This website could have a car of the month contest,but the guy that runs it doesn't want to put in the effort to do so

 

Sorry, but to state the staff doesn't want to put in the effort to such a project is unfair and a bit ignorant. Because you indicated that you're not aware what is involved with administrating a website, I think you may also not be aware of the effort that the staff puts in, unpaid and volunteer based, to do so.

Please re-read the posts above. Others can understand that what works on website A does not necessarily work on website B due to the difference of audience.

I had previously stated that I thought the idea was interesting. I'm sure we all like to see nice examples of Third Gens. But I know the issues that voting/ranking brings and the mess it can create. We already have numerous avenues to allow users to display their rides - and get feedback if they desire. I don't know that we need a popularity contest and the issues involved with it.

I think there is no need for this thread to continue if the staff is going to be incorrectly faulted for not wanting to put the effort into something. Others can understand that the audience of each community is different/unique and that makes the difference. That's why it may not work on ThirdGen. It's that simple.