Here's what I said eight months ago...
J Ryan wrote:When we started this site, we always intended to NOT have a message board because of Gary’s http://www.BTTFParts.com. He had the market and the member base and we saw no reason to toy with something that wasn’t broken. Our goal was to fill the gap with a historical telling of the actual time machine’s design and construction while also showcasing our and others time machine replicas. That was... until today...
With the recent closing of “Parts” a door is opened for a new forum. A forum aimed @ discussion, brainstorming, even debate with the main goal being fun for all involved. A place where we can try and figure out what parts go where, or a place to just shoot the shit about the crazy guy @ the gas station who insists he saw our car crash land here 30 years ago.
This is supposed to be fun and for most of us, that’s still the goal. I personally have made a lot of friends thanks to the prop-building hobby and that’s what I care about. The people are important to me, not who’s car is the best. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished, but is our car the best one out there? Hell no! But, you know what? We had a blast building it and I love it... warts and all.
A lot of the headaches in this hobby have come from egos and bad blood stemming so far down the line it’s hard to trace anymore. None of that matters to us. We weren’t involved in it and we don’t care about it. It’s clean slate time. All sins are forgiven and all builders/fans are welcome. Content will not be edited, censored or dictated. The only rule is for everyone to have a good time and don’t take it too seriously... it’s supposed to be FUN!!!
With that... I hope you choose to sign up. Participation is encouraged but not mandatory.
Welcome aboard!
Now, here we are... 8 months later...
Some of what I said above still applies. Some is outdated. Some of the original concepts of this board were a success and some were failures. I'm okay with that. Everything in life is essentially an experiment and this humble board is no exception.
The main thing is... we're still here. Thanks to all of you who've contributed so handily, we have amassed an awesome database of information that continues to grow by the day. Because of this insane growth in such a short amount of time, we have to struggle to keep up with it on a daily basis. It's a lot of work and believe me it's only going to get worse. So, it's time to make a change...
Starting today, we're launching a new format that I think will work for everyone. We've come up with a tiered "level" system that will welcome newcomers as well as stimulate the already-established members. The point of this isn't to segregate or draw lines in the sand, it's to encourage participation and to give members something to work toward. The people who take a mild interest in this hobby vs the people who bleed for it. Anyone can move up... you just have to prove yourself and show what you can do in order to get there.
As of right now, there are 3 stages. Everyone starts in stage 1 and will likely be promoted to stage 2... and eventually, hopefully promoted to stage 3.
To be clear, you don't have to be building a car to climb the ranks, but you do have to be a member who shows genuine interest and contributes in some way, be it part identification and photo finding or just making people laugh and getting along well with everyone. One thing that has NOT changed throughout all this... the main goal is FUN. Say it with me... FUN!
Like everything, it's an imperfect system, and we will make changes from time to time, but with all of your help, I really think we can make it work. I'm looking forward to it!
J and the OFFTO55 Pit Crew
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