Harry P.

I agree. Too many categories just muddles things up. We need just enough categories to logically accommodate anything and everything, but no more than that. No need to split hairs (funny cars, rails, pro mods, pro street, super comp... that level of breakdown isn't necessary).

I'll put you down in the "yes" column then...

ok, my final offer... General (as it is now) Model Cars Showcase Stock/Street/Show/Custom Competition-Straight Line Competition-NASCAR/Circle Track/Road Course, etc. 1:1 Reference Photos Model Trucks Showcase Pickups/Street Trucks Competition-Drag/Track/Monster Truck, etc. Commercial/Fire/Emergency 1:1 Reference Photos Other Models (no category breakdown, just a catch-all for everything else) The Hobby Room Tips, Tricks and Tutorials News and Reviews Real or Model/Auto ID Quiz Resin Swap/Trade/Free/Wanted Auto Art Rants 'n' Raves Large Scale Dioramas Community Clubs Contests/Shows/Events Links/Advertisers/Web sites Model Car Racing

Stock/Street/Show/Custom... that covers show rods, hot rods, street rods and even lightning rods... I like the catch-all category. Cars (with sub-categories), Trucks (with sub-categories), then "ALL THE REST" or "OTHER MODELS" or something.

Makes sense.

You have to understand that whatever personal problems you have going on are just that–your own personal problems... they don't belong here. We all have stuff that aggravates us. Believe me, I have three kids, I could write a book on being aggravated! But I don't post that stuff here.

Looks cool, love the engine especially, and the headers extra-especially...

Now that's different!

My opinion: A modified diecast is a model car, no special category needed. People modify diecasts, they modify resin, they modify styrene... they're all model cars in my book, doesn't matter what the material is that's been modified. I'd rather see categories based on subject matter than based on the materials used. Don't want to fall into the "too many categories" trap.

Because it's not only about what works best for you... it's about what works best for everyone. And if we can come up with a site that makes logical sense and works pretty well for most people, that's what we'll do... even if it means some people will have to get used to a new layout.

It would be a huge help if people always used descriptive titles. For example, if in the Competition-NASCAR/Circle Track/Road Course, etc. category someone posted "Bobby Unser '68 Indy car WIP"... if people could be specific like that in their titles... it would make things easier, and also we wouldn't need a ton of separate categories, because the topic titles themselves would be what "categorizes" posts within a forum section.

The real trick is how to break down things into enough categories so that there's a place for everything, and everything in its place... but not so many categories that it gets cumbersome. I think I've come up with a good balance of categories without breaking things down too far (red cars, cars with fins, cars from the 20's, etc.) Too many separate categories gets a little silly. The "Showcase" category under Cars and Trucks would obviously be for finished models, while anything else, including WIPs, would go into its specific subject category. No need for a separate "On the Workbench" type breakdown.

General Model Cars Showcase Stock/Street/Show/Custom Competition-Straight Line Competition-NASCAR/Circle Track/Road Course, etc. 1:1 Reference Photos Model Trucks Showcase Pickups/Street Trucks Light Commercial/Heavy Commercial/Big Rigs 1:1 Reference Photos The Hobby Room Tips, Tricks and Tutorials News and Reviews Real or Model/Auto ID Quiz Resin Swap/Trade/Free/Wanted Auto Art Rants 'n' Raves Large Scale Dioramas Community Clubs Contests/Shows/Events Links, Advertisers and Web sites Model Car Racing

I get all sorts of complaints!

Guys, this post wasn't meant to cause a huge problem... it was meant to SOLVE a problem, as I have gotten PMs from people complaining about people posting in the wrong places. All I want you to do is use common sense and try to post in the right place. If you can't figure out what the right place is, post where you think it should go. This isn't a major big deal, just a suggestion to make things easier for people to find.

Like I said... there are cases where things are not clear cut. Use your best judgement. Nobody is going to get in trouble for posting in the wrong spot... I just want people to use common sense and post where it makes the most sense.

Right now "Under Glass" and "On the Workbench" are subsections of the MODEL CARS forum. We should also have those sections in the TRUCK category, but we don't. As I said, I didn't create the way the site is arranged, I'm just trying to work with what we currently have in place.

Like I said, I'd break down things differently... but I have to work with what's currently in place. If we have a TRUCKS section, seems to me that TRUCKS should be posted there. Ideally we would have TRUCKS broken down into Pickups/Light Commercial and Big Rigs/Heavy Commercial... but we don't.

I didn't create the site categories... I'm just trying to keep things running smoothly. I agree with you, there is no such thing as "NASCARS"... and I also agree that we shouldn't have a NASCAR category in the first place, but a "Circle Track" category... or maybe Circle Track/Road Racing or something along those lines, so that we would have both major types of competition cars covered–straight line (drag) and track/road course (NASCAR, F1, Rally, etc.) Hey, if it was up to me I'd break down the categories very differently...I would have a "Competition" category broken down into sub-sections including NASCAR and the rest. But no matter how you break it down there's always going to be overlap. All I ask is to use your best judgement and post accordingly, based on the categories we DO have in place.

Yours is one of those "gray areas"... your stuff could go in NASCAR (that's where it should go, after all, your models are NASCAR models!), but it also sort of fits in the GENERAL category, and even under AUTO ART, I guess. There are going to be cases where there is some overlap. But sometimes it's painfully obvious, like the model TRUCKS that people refuse to post in the MODEL TRUCKS section! Like I said, we segment the site to make it easy to find particular subjects. The whole point is to make it easier for you members to find what you're interested in, and if everyone ignores how the site is broken down and just posts wherever they feel like posting, we might as well forget the whole idea of order and run a crazy "stream of consciousness" mess like some other sites do.

Yes. A pickup truck is a pickup TRUCK, not a pickup CAR.

The section is called MODEL TRUCKS. Nowhere does it say BIG RIGS ONLY.

If you look at how the site is arranged, the Workbench and Under Glass are sub-sections of the MODEL CARS section. The forum is broken down into these main sections: MODEL CARS (obviously this section has the most sub-sections... after all this is the Model CARS site). MODEL NEWS ASK MODEL CARS CONTESTS AND SHOWS MODEL TRUCKS (WIPS, finished models, anything model truck or model truck related) LINKS, ADVERTISERS, WEB SITES MODEL CAR RACING.

I admit that sometimes a post could fit in more than one area. All I can say is use common sense. If what you're posting fits into a specific area, put it there. If your WIP is a drag car, seems to me it would go in the DRAG section... wouldn't it? And if the model kit you're posting about says TRUCK on the box cover in huge letters, like one of the posts I moved, that would be a clue that it should be posted in the TRUCK section. Nobody is going to get in trouble for posting in the wrong spot... I just want you guys to think a little before you post, so I don't have to constantly be moving stuff around and then getting PMs asking me why a post "disappeared."

Notice how the forum is broken down into specific sections? That's done for a reason... to make it easier to find certain topics. For example, NASCAR builds would go in the NASCAR section, large scale would go in the BIG BOYZ section, and so on. Seems awfully logical, right? But lately a lot of you guys have been posting trucks in the CAR section. Notice that we have a section called TRUCKS. If your post concerns model TRUCKS, please post in the TRUCK section. I would think that that's self-explanatory, but apparently it isn't registering with a lot of people. I've had to move several truck posts from CARS to TRUCKS. Let's pay a little more attention and try to post in the right area.