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Re: PAC site question
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Home away from home
 
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FYI Howard the changes are covered in this month's news bulletin. Though I have yet to explore the new website.
I thought only the classifieds were member-number-walled.
Posted on: 1/4 11:52
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1955 400 | Registry | Project Blog
1955 Clipper Deluxe | Registry | Project Blog 1955 Clipper Super Panama | Registry Email (Parts/service inquiries only, please. Post all questions on the forum.) service@ultramatic.info |
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Re: PAC site question
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Home away from home
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PAC was members only in a few places when I was a member years back, so nothing new, except maybe expanded territory? Declining membership may be forcing some cuts, etc. It wasn't the $ so much as the lack of need/interest for me. I get 2 much info every day, why should I have to clean out someone else's barn?
We seem to have an aversion to "free" in the digital age. Don't give Big Kev any ideas! ha, HA, HAAAA. Microsoft is trying to claim that 'any' content developed on 'their' software and stored on the cloud is "theirs' to use under the "license". We have laws and copyrights in this country. Google recently got fined billions for clandestine use of users content so maybe someone will sue the billions off Microsoft next. We might get a few pennies after the Lawyers take the dollars. So much for the claims of safety and security with the cloud. It's always been a "don't go there zone" for me. I could smell it coming. The AI push is fueling this, since it needs "big data" to be effective. And guess who has that, all the MAANG* companies pushing AI. * - updated for Meta.
Posted on: 1/4 12:28
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Re: PAC site question
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Forum Ambassador
 
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Guess that explains it but to me seems short sighted. Could see restrictions being a good thing if placed on items with personal info such as membership and rosters but IMO, you would want to encourage as much traffic as possible to forums and maybe even classifieds.
I suspect there are probably far more Packard owners who are not members of PAC or any club than there are members. Like Fish'n Jim, I too am a former member but I don't remember PAC ever being restricted before other than by a webmaster that absolutely would not accept any post with the word modification in it. Non member expertise will be lost so time will tell if it was a good decision. Fortunately Packardinfo has many times the amount of content and forum traffic and as I recall it was started in large part because of restrictions placed on that other very popular forum which drove most of their posters away. Can't see a lot happening if the restriction is meant to boost PAC membership. If it is a way to cut down on bandwidth costs and spam, it will surely succeed.
Posted on: 1/4 12:33
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Howard
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Re: PAC site question
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Home away from home
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PAC is a club with paid membership so what would be the point of people paying if everything could be had for free? To me, it makes perfectly good sense although for things like the Classified Ads, it would be prudent to at least show them without contact information so that one could see what they're missing by not being a member.
Incidentally, I have not been to the PAC site for years but looking at it now it is 1000% better than it was when I last saw it. The old one was very dated and downright ugly although admittedly I am the one who created the background image that it was using which must have been well-over 20 years ago or at least near the very beginning of the Internet. Dating myself but the fellow who is now PAC's president is someone I've known since he was quite literally a little boy barely older than a toddler. His father was in PAC and the NorCal chapter where I was very active as a board member and officer of both.
Posted on: 1/4 14:00
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Re: PAC site question
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Home away from home
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The justification for hiding the classifieds was to reduce scammers reaching the ad posters. However all someone has to do is guess a valid member number to get in so who knows how well that will help in the long term.
I don't recall nor can think of a good reason for why the forums should require a member number, as they already require an account to post. It's kind of like a clubhouse that allows no visitors. Great for a secret society but not for a global hobby that is gently but persistently trying to attract new members. I will check out the site then perhaps write a letter to the editor.
Posted on: 1/4 14:07
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1955 400 | Registry | Project Blog
1955 Clipper Deluxe | Registry | Project Blog 1955 Clipper Super Panama | Registry Email (Parts/service inquiries only, please. Post all questions on the forum.) service@ultramatic.info |
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Re: PAC site question
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Not too shy to talk
 
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It was kind of a surprise to me. As a non-PAC member i had a forum account and would occasionally visit the site to see if there was any good threads with information I could use to keep my 47 running. I mostly frequent packardinfo but there were a few threads i had bookmarked on the PAC forum. I just wish they would have informed the general forum before the change. Its also kind of annoying that they setup their main page with tabs to the sections that they are making members only to just divert you to a page that tells you that they are members only. Why not put those tabs as a drop down under the members only tab to begin with. Its been a few years since i did any website administration with a php forums but they could have just made a members only section of the forum and kept the rest open to the public.
Posted on: 1/4 14:09
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Re: PAC site question
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Forum Ambassador
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Quote:
You have a point but other than a few tech articles written by very knowledgeable people and the decent AEA wiring diagrams there is very little else on the PAC site behind the members only firewall that is all that secret and certainly not worth paying for. I do think it is a good idea to keep membership and roster info private though. Aside from that, I believe some of the reference items in question are still in the clear but since Kev started this site it has always had more Packard documented literature and reference items. Your second sentence of about not visiting the site in years also says a lot and you are surely not alone. I suspect PAC traffic is fairly low. As to being a member, I was a paying member for over 40 years but 5 or 6 years back the renewal notice fell into the wrong stack in my stellar "whatever doesn't fall on the floor is filed" system and renewing was missed. Since it took me almost a year before realizing the literature was not coming anymore figured maybe I didn't miss or need it that much. Since PAC was never into repro parts, not really sure what the dues are for other than the magazine and maybe helping the annual meet or some of the store repro literature. Whatever the reason for the member only choice I wish them well but as long as Packardinfo is around in the current format doubt many will suffer that much. Too bad there is not a way to direct the people with Packard questions that made up the little outside forum traffic PAC did get to this site so they can get an answer and appreciate all Kev's work.
Posted on: 1/4 15:06
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Howard
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Re: PAC site question
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Home away from home
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Quote:
I'm a member of PAC, partly because I enjoy the literature and magazines that come out, and partly because I want to support probably the largest organization that is dedicated to preserving Packard cars and heritage. That being said I rarely go to their website because it was ancient and not all that helpful. Hopefully the new updates make it better. We'll see. I do nearly all of my research here at PackardInfo, and it is far more active on the forums than PAC. The resources here are pretty incredible when you really start digging into them. So out of the two websites, PackardInfo is by far the most helpful and organized. And the guys here are awesome. Which reminds me....it's about time for me to make another donation. -Kevin
Posted on: 1/4 17:23
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Re: PAC site question
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Forum Ambassador
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You have a good point about support. My point is there seems to be many new to Packard owners who may not have had a car long enough to join a club or even know if they want to. Those people do find the PAC site to ask a question about their car but for whatever reason they do not find the packardinfo forum. Cutting them off from the PAC forum without joining the club first seems counterproductive.
Posted on: 1/4 17:38
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Howard
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