open letter to James Potter

[RICH MUISE]

thanks!

[RICH MUISE]

James, pardon my attempt at humor. Seriously, Thanks for such a great website. I know you put a lot of time maintaining the site, and probably at your own expense, as you don't have dues or any sponsored links, so I was curious; I see several other members flagged as administrators, etc. Do these guys help you maintain it? If so, thanks to them also. That info may be buried in the archives someplace, but I couldn't find it. I don't know much about running a website, but as I mentioned, there must be costs involved, so it begs the question...is there an address or other way to send a donation to help offset expenses? I've never seen you ask so I'm doing it for you. There must be a number of guys who would be more than happy to chip in a few bucks now and then. One really neat thing about the fact that you don't have sponsored links, is that it is easier for members to give honest opinions on products and services they have used, without any financial repercussions, and with this in mind the only suggestion I have for a change, is I would like to see a separate category for members to give product referrals, good or bad. Once again thanks.

[JPotter57]

Thanks for the kind words, Rich.  The reasons you mentioned are the reasons I dont have sponsored links.  I wont be beholden to anyone with any assessments of products.  If I or any of our members give a good review, it's because they deserve t, and conversely, any negative reviews, are also because they deserve it.  I don't take ad dollars from anyone, because then you are required to view them in a positive light, regardless of the good or bad quality of their product.  For example, a few years ago, I bought every fiberglass item a company made for the Custom, except for the one-piece front end, as I had bought their separate fenders, hood, upper grille, splash pan and bumper.  This stuff was absolute junk, and I ended up selling the fenders for about half the cost of one of them.  I ended up using a pair of 40 year old AI fenders, but had to make the hood, bumpers and other stuff work.  I spent over 2400 + shipping for this stuff, and the manufacturer wouldnt make it right, so I bar-b-qued him and his company here, on the HAMB, an many of the other Ford sites I am on.  On the other hand, folks like Frank Rice, who makes many aluminum engine parts for the Y block, and Tom Drummond who sells a really nice rack and pinion kit, I have seen and held the parts in my hand, and they are really first rate stuff, and I would recommend it to anyone.  Your idea of a forum for user reviews is a good one, and I will add it to the site asap.  Look for it.  As far as donations go, they arent necessary, but if you want to, you can get the address from the main club site, in the newest newsletter downloads.  Of course, the newest newsletter is a year old now, and it is my aim to get back to at least a quarterly newsletter, but the addresses are current.  The main reason I keep this site up is that I love it.  I have met so many great people through this site and ownership of my `57 Fords, than I could ever have hoped to meet otherwise.  I missed it when I sold my last `57, and though I tried to get into other cars, the `57 drew me back and got me involved in my site again.  To be honest, I cant picture my life without it.  As long as folks continue to use it, I will keep it up.  We have a lot of knowledgeable members, and they never fail to contribute good material.  Again, thank you for using this site for its intended purpose, friendship/fellowship with other `57 owners, and preserving the `57s.

[JPotter57]

By the way, the other members designated as moderators help me with member registration, keeping rif-raf off the boards, and monitoring spam, porn links, other forum related issues.  These members have been around pretty much from the beginning, and I call myself lucky to have them as friends.  Bob Lee is the west coast moderator, and also handles all of the event issues on the west side of the country.  Tom Drummond is my MidWest guy, and he works the midwest events and shows.  Gerry Kenney is the Canada contact, but he is also in the northeast area of the country.  These guys are awesome, and I couldnt do it without them.  None of us receive any pay, as this site is done for love and satisfaction, not reward.

[RICH MUISE]

James, thanks for the explanation, and thanks to all the guys you mentioned.