Inliners International Forums General Discussion Bench racing Inliners Website and Bulletin Board

nln6pinto
And that takes over a year. Maybe we should have started the new page without the BB then added it when it was ready. It seems like only a few of us are still here anyway.
Excuse me I am just being grumpy as we have put a couple years work into this convention, You will even have the chance to when a rebuilt 250 this year, plus many other things. But when a person wishing to join or attend goes to our web site all they find is 2014 information. Many people think Inliners has folded up and no longer exists.

Very true Bill, not to mention the negative public image this presents to people seeing it. Also, when you start seeing people on other forums complain about what is not being done in a timely manner regarding approval for registrations on the forum here and other things, it really spreads quickly to many other forums and many other people as well. Managing a website and forum either as an Administrator or Webmaster is not a part time job or a hobby to do when you feel like it, its a 24/7 duty that is required to keep it constantly flowing and alive.

And granted, cleaning up the older usernames that are no longer valid or unused is needed maintenance, it isn't necessary to prolong or delay the new site because of it, it can be done after the new site is in place with no problem. It's just an added unnecessary delay that isn't required.

Like they say do bad to 1 person they tell 10 people do good to 1 person they tell 1 person

Gentleman,
Valid points taken, with that have you taken your concerns to the person that is overseeing the renovation of our website?If not that person then maybe our club President?

nln6pinto
I have talked to Will and Linda and as I understand it we have hired a professional company to get the new web site up and running, and I understood it would be done by now. But evidently they are having problems getting it done. Who are you talking about that is assigned by the club to be over seeing the conversion. I was told it would be up a year ago but that didn't happen and I feel it is harming our club. I am not trying to hurt anyone's feelings but this was and is not a job for an untrained hobbyist (such as me), it will take a trained pro to save all data and make it accessible to all. Hopefully this will be accomplished soon.

Im sure the president has seen the disappointment disgust about this matter for the 3+ years it has been ongoing, and possibly even gotten emails and phone calls regarding it. However, the person heading up this renovation hasn't really been identified clearly. I'm sure if they were and their contact info given they will surely be made aware of everyone's concerns.

CNC-Dude #5585
I my opinion they should be aware of our opinions if the are looking at this BB while trying to move it to a new system. Which I think would be necessary if they want to know what they are converting to the new site. Otherwise they should just have created a new BB, then created a searchable data base for the old BB information as a separate feature.

I agree Bill, the fact that this has taken close to 3 years to accomplish may give us insight on how this matter is really being handled. As you mentioned earlier, this is a job for a professional company to undertake and not a hobbyist. Similar matters I have been involved with personally on my own personal forum only took less than a day when handled by a professional company. So again, your right, maybe this company needs feedback from the masses to let them know our opinions in the way they are handling this task.

This issue is obviously not a priority to anyone who has the ability to do anything about it. The reason I am no longer a Member of Inliners International is because of the way I was treated after expressing my views on proposed changes to the website. After a scolding phone call from Linda Henry in which she pretty much told me to mind my own business she promised to get more information so I could post it here to help clarify some issues. That never happened. What I got was personal attacks from "41 coupe" claiming he was part of the solution and a member of the team who was working on the changes and telling me that because I was at the time a moderator here I should have no opinions. He was even critical of the Mark Twain quote in my signature. I realize that many of the are thankless jobs but they are not required. If you don't want to do the job don't take it! Over the years I have watched the number of users dwindle to just a few and the discussions of engines shrink to almost all posts being about 250-292 and 4.2. There is far more inline discussion on the H.A.M.B. and Stovebolt.

It is a shame that someone like Big Bill who is working so hard to put the convention together has had so little help getting the word out on the club's website and especially on the BB. We got a lot of help when we hosted the 2012 convention. Thankfully my contacts were mostly in our local and the Northern California Chapter. Bill If I can help you post any thing here please let me know. I'd be glad to post t-shirt info, event schedules, or what ever you want. Tom

Rich, Linda is not the one doing the website upgrading, it is being done by someone else. She even told me over 2 years ago that it would be just a few short months and it would be up and going. Any professional company doing this task only takes one or two days to do this, why has it taken over 2 years? From your own experience in all the times the Fordsix site has crashed and had its hiccups the longest it was down was only a week or less, and this type of job is much easier. So what that is seeming to be telling us is that what we are being told and what is actually being done are two different things. So after two years of it not being accomplished, I think it's time for this to be handed off to someone that can get it done.

Beater of the Pack
Thanks I have been trying to post the info both on chapter news and bench racing. We are down to less than 2 months as the convention starts July 11, 2016. They can get info and registration forms by e mailing Linda Henry at inliners.member@gmail.com. Any place you can post this info would be fantastic. We are holding it in a completely remodeled Hilton Double Tree Suites featuring two room suites plus a complete hot breakfast buffet for hotel guests for $99.00 a night plus tax. For reservations call 1-800-222-8733.

REMINDER HOTEL PRICES GO UP JUNE 10.
WE STILL HAVE ROOMS BLOCKED AT THE DISCOUNT RATE SO MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS TODAY.

BUMP
TIME IS RUNNING OUT. ONLY TWO MORE DAYS TO GET HOTEL ROOMS FOR CONVENTION. JUNE10 IS LAST DAY

It appears that the latest announcement about the "new website" is locked so I'll put my comment here. Caution: The new website at Classic Trucks is pretty and works nice for the advertisers but the forums are dead and buried. Many years if irreplaceable information is gone and so are the people who placed it there for us.
Clasic Trucks Forums

Just checking to see if anything is getting done with the upgraded website?

If anything has been done, we would be the last to know. Still cannot understand the reasoning behind the no news is good enough.
Must me my problem, it certainly does not seem to be theirs.

My biggest concern is that all of the really in depth and informative threads may be lost if it's not done properly!!

I've seen others express that same concern!!

I have yet to see a website go through a major modernization without loosing the "good old stuff". Hopefully that is what is taking so long.

I dropped my Inliners membership because of website problems..

Melon, a lot of forum members and contributors have left the site and club as well because of this issue. In the near 4 years since this became such a problem, many have unfortunately moved on to other forums while this one is still dwindling to almost no discussions like it once had. A new forum now would almost be a moot point, and won't bring back what has already been lost since so many have already gone on to other places.

To a few fellow Inliners -- Thank you for bringing attention to this subject, again. Questions about the new Website have been generated and regenerated for over 3 years. A new website design was commissioned in 2013. I was asked to be on the team doing the work. We made a presentation at the 2014 Convention, laying out our views on what it should look like and how it would operate. We assured those in attendance that it would be up and running in a short period of time, only to be blocked for well over a year and a half by the individual running the site, who refused to turn over complete control to Inliners International. The club finally got control, early last year. Once again, I was told things were moving along and it would be up soon. I continued to press for answers for a time line, only to be met with excuses, or lies, until I simply quit asking. To address topics raised by Beater and Blackwater, from what I know of how the current website was put together I seriously doubt that trying to preserve old information has anything to do with why it has not been replaced.
In the Spring of 2016, a group of Chapter Heads and past officers held a series of phone meetings. Our goal was to meet with the club president, separately, at last years Convention to discuss his poor handling of Inliners International affairs (refers to the Santucci matter, where not only did the club lose a Hall of Fame member, but the Florida Chapter collapsed , as well as, another Hall of Fame member Mike Kirby resigning from the club). The group also covered the serious decline in this organization during his tenure. We also brought to the table a list of ideas we felt would help advance the running of the club and improve communications between Chapters and club members. Our meeting lasted over 2 hours and although not all of our topics were agreed upon, a decision was made to move forward on a few. A Board Meeting was held the following day where we were asked to make some revisions, sending them to our president. Having made mine, I submitted the results. We exchanged a couple of emails. It has now been over 5 months and to this day there has been no action taken. Members of this group want
answers as to why these issues have not moved forward.
The lack of forthcoming information does not surprise me. There are four people that control how this club operates, all members of the same Chapter. Some have done admirable jobs, while others continually fail to provide the leadership needed to move Inliners International forward and keep it a viable club. Phone calls to officers sometimes go unreturned for weeks. We all know that Officer and Chapter Heads are voluntary positions, but COME ON MAN. Our membership continues to decline on a regular basis. Remember we need money to operate. Chapters have folded and Chapter Heads are resigning. Look at the inside cover of a 12 Port to see how many Chapter Head positions are vacant. Ask yourself what can be the motivation of individuals to withhold information from a group they represent, unless they are hiding something. It certainly can't be in the Best Interest of the Club.
Folks, Enough is Enough. How long are we going to sit around doing nothing? Until we find we can't open the website or the 12 Port doesn't come in the mail. This club is in serious trouble and who can we blame other than leadership. If something isn't done soon, we will all be sitting around reading old copies of the 12 Port and remembering what a great club this used to be. And guess who will be responsible? It's time for our membership to take action in demanding answers to questions regarding the running of this group. We need to start a campaign of emails and phone calls to these people demanding the release of information. Keep writing and phoning until we get their attention.
Melon, thank you for telling us your story. Please, if there are others viewing this board with similar stories post them. We need to hear from you.
This club is a lot bigger than four people. Many of us care deeply about it and how it operates. This is YOUR club and I hope you will join me in a concerted effort to make our voices heard.
I any of you have other ideas, please bring them to our attention.

41 Coupe, I knew and suspected from the beginning that the reasons for these problems and delays were as you mentioned. I want to be the first to say....THANK YOU....for removing the veil of secrecy that has for so long tried to stifle the growth and reputation of the club. I will admit myself, that when issues like this occur, I often say what I think with no filter so that it will provoke at least some defense on the parties involved. And when it doesn't, it only confirms the suspicions that much more. No moving forward, how can we fix it? Surely with all the collective talent and creativity still here we can do it.
Again, THANK YOU for all your efforts even though it seems to have fallen on deaf ears for so long.

Here is something else to think about, I had a good conversation with Gary Light today. In asking about the responses that he got from his recent survey he had in the 12port news out of the 1,139 current members per the most recent Membership Summary (Nov/Dec 2016) roughly only 5% of the Board of Directors replied and .27 % of the remaining registered membership replied. Several board members have sent out emails to fellow board members ( non Officers) and still only have had a few reply from 28 of our chapters! Some don't even open up their emails! My question is ...Does anyone care about the club anymore? If they do they need not be silent anyomre!!What worries me is that we are in the pre planning stages of the 2018 Convention and wondering if the club will be around in a year and a half? It may be more of a Reunion than a Convention. Yes there have been some recent issues that have hurt our club but WE need to work together to regroup and move forward.I know the Clubs demographics are changing and there are still a lot of things we can do and new people to bring in to revive the club.

Rich, the main complaints i've heard point to a lack of faith and trust in the clubs leadership. Many people really know what was going on behind the scenes and were blatantly lied to when asked about these issues not just once or twice, but going on 5 years now. So how can a club expect to grow when the members know they are being misled by their leaders. Over time, people just don't care anymore because they never get a straight answer and never see what is being promised come to fruition. The entire club can see its crumbling down around them and yet they are still being told all is fine and well when we know and see it isn't. Its no secret on the internet either, more than a half a dozen other forums have had and still have discussions about Inliners and what is going on here and yet the leadership thinks its keeping it all a secret and sending out smokescreens to hide the real facts. They are only fooling themselves and are a laughing stock in the eyes of these other forums and the thousands of readers that see and read those discussions worldwide. The last thing the club needs to worry about in this hour of dire need is another pointless Convention. How many people came to the last one....10? The club needs a complete rehab starting with a house cleaning at the top. I'll let you in on a secret, I was really recruited into the club by other officers to fill an officer role to help trim the dead wood out of the club. Some of the deadwood got removed, but many of the deadest still remain. Many of those several hundred members that have left the club in the last 2-3 years have done so in protest to poor decisions made by the leadership, and they were even told this would happen by these highly respected guys like Leo and Kirby, and yet they made these decisions anyway. So my advice is to get the rest of the deadwood out and try to regain the confidence of the remaining members and reconstruct the club from within.

As to the survey. I tried to answer it but couldn't get the thing to respond and post my reply. This too seems like it has been poorly handled.

I spent about an hour writing a response to these last four posts. Thanks to them for putting this on the line. I am no longer a member because of this issue and it put Larry and me at each other. I think that is different now.

I'll put this away from the other part so the above posters don't get caught up in it. If I get banned so be it. I think the Colorado Top Dogs own the demise of Inliners International and this website. I think they should all step down and see if someone else can save and rebuild the club. I am afraid it is too late. This is a shame.

Beater,
I was originally going to lock this thread after 41 Coupes post but have decided that this thread will be left alone. I am contemplating stepping down from Forum Admin. I have neglected some of my duties as a Chapter head and need to refocus on them.If I decide to do so I will let everyone know. Rich

I'm still a newbie here!! I'm not familiar with the politics at the top nor am I even up to speed on who IS at the top!!

It seems to me that there are some great individuals who want this forum and the club/clubs to continue and flourish. What are the bylaws or conventions that outline a change in leadership? Are there guidelines that establish an avenue for holding elections? Could there be a vote of "No confidence" to remove ineffective or non performing officers?

As others have said, there appear to be many people among the rank and file who have the talent and the willingness to do what needs to be done, either by performing the required tasks themselves, or by finding and enlisting people who can perform the needed changes!!

Rich, you doing a great job, so don't think any of these comments from myself or others are directed at you. They are directed at the one's at the helm prior to you and I coming onboard. So you are actually part of the rebuilding process that needs to continue if the club is to weather the storm. You and Beater both took on a challenge without knowing the underlying issues that were brewing. When I stepped into this, I knew it would also be a challenge, but those officers that drew me in knew the cause of the problem being deadwood in the clubs higher ups and were trying to take drastic measures to correct it. Hopefully it wasn't too little too late and it can still be fixed.

Yes ,Rich you are a breath of fresh air in all of this. Thank you for trying to get it working again. Not sure but I think '41 Coupe found himself in the same boat stepping up to help and finding little support. It seems that several of the locals are alive and well. Maybe those chapter heads can pull us together at that level. That is where the club lives.

Blackwater, yes there is a democratic system in place for Officers and sometimes Chapter Heads to vote on certain issues. Long story short, many of the Officer positions were occupied by people who only sat on their hands and didn't/wouldn't participate in the voting. So the club ended up having the same 2 or 3 people that did vote, continually bias the outcome of these voting topics. So I was recruited to take the place of one of these hand sitters, and then to become one more voter to increase the odds of better decision making. As more and more deadwood got replaced, the real agenda was to soon turn to replacing the deadwood at the top of the tree, now that all the vacancies for Officers were filled. The ordeal with Mike Kirby and Leo resigning their roles in the club and over 200 of their followers purposely reknownsing their membership and affiliation to the club is another matter, but again reflects very poor decision making and leadership at the top, because this matter was brought to them first before it became the last straw.

Scott!

I'm not an Inliners member. I joined the forum to gather info and make connections like I have with you. After hangin' out for these past several months, I've gathered that there is some serious conflict going on. As I said, I'm too new to know what is going on or to understand much of it. I've been on the board of directors of three different shooting clubs, and am a moderator on two other forums, so I understand friction and conflict.

When my wife retired last spring, she asked me to divest some of my responsibilities, so I dropped off of the board of directors of two of the clubs and stepped back to an honorary membership on the third. We travel a lot now and so I avoid taking too deep a role in clubs or organizations.

You and Beater have helped me immensely in my exploits with the 153, and I hope that I can help here a little. What club is nearest to me here in the Nashville, TN area? I don't know if one more vote, placed in the right direction, will be of any help, but I'll join and offer my ideas and experience if it will!!

No need to throw the towel in just yet, you just happened to arrive in the midst of a long overdue restructuring of sorts. Just keep in mind, its kinda' like our country, its the people in it that make it what it is, not the people that run it!

Beater & CNC,
Thanks guys much appreciated.I went to the convention full of fire and brimstone hoping to get some changes made but honestly felt more like a pup looking for a place to hide after being whipped afterwards. Which made me question my involvement as a member and board member in the club.Change is hard when a majority vote is needed to do so but only a portion of the board participates. I will say there were some lengthy and heated discussions at times at this years Convention and only a half dozen Chapter heads to discuss the issues and items brougt forward at those meetings with officers.Now granted it wasnt all rough as some good ideas were brought up.

Beater & CNC,
Thanks guys much appreciated.I went to the convention full of fire and brimstone hoping to get some changes made but honestly felt more like a pup looking for a place to hide after being whipped afterwards. Which made me question my involvement as a member and board member in the club.Change is hard when a majority vote is needed to do so but only a portion of the board parricipates. I will say there were some lengthy and heated discussions at times at this years Convention and only a half dozen Chapter heads to discuss the issues and items brougt forward at those meetings with officers.Now granted it wasnt all rough as some good ideas were brought up.

Several of our members went to the convention in Colorado and made the mistake of speaking at one of the meetings that was supposed to be open to members. They came home very disillusioned with the "big" club. I have felt the same way at Bonneville at the picnic and in the pits. I don't hang out with the Inliner group anymore. It is an eye opener to see and talk to racers with inline engines there who quit Inliners International.

Blackwater, You are exactly what we need more of here. This used to be a very active and fun site. Friendly too.

One of ya's point me to the nearest club? Like I said, I'm near Nashville, TN and I do know one other Inliners member but don't have his contact info. I don't think he's active. I'm not sure anyway.

I haven't encountered anyone less than cordial so far. I've come across a few who were a little to adamant about their own opinion/agenda, but even they were tolerable!

It just seems a shame that there's this cloud hanging over the membership, blocking needed progress that could, at least in my opinion, be the end of a good thing!!

Since the Florida Chapter folded, the only one close to you is in Georgia. I've never met the Chapter Head and I doubt that he knows much about what is going on. There are some members in Tenn., I met a very nice coupe at last years Convention. I am the Chapter Head in Houston. If you could post your contact info, I would be glad to give you their names and answer any questions you have. Thanks very much for your interest.

Thanks, 41!!

I'll get that info to you!

Blackwater, the one in Georgia would likely be the closest to you as 41 Coupe suggested. Its in the Atlanta area, and even though its the closest to me, its still to far to make any of their meetings because of the early daytime schedule on weeknights they are held. Definitely not conducive to the working mans schedule.