two weeks later - how is the software?
 

It's been almost two weeks since we made the switch to vbulletin. I'd like to get feedback on the new layout so far. how is everyone liking or disliking it?

I love the new software, love the speed, like the layout but miss some stuff we used to have.

(Stuff I've already mentioned - like the car info beneath the avatar, with links to the user's garage.)

I think I'm going to add that sometime soon, once everything else is taken care of.

I wasn't around the old site long enough - I didn't notice any particular problems with it.

For the new site:

Colors: good, muted and unobtrusive
Spacing: everything is nicely "uncluttered" - lots of white space
Speed: pretty much instant
Layout: I hope you won't take offense at this, but if you've seen one forum on the net you've kind of seen them all

The only thing I would suggest (and I think I read that you were working on it) is a decent front page introducing the site. Something attractive that really explains that we are here because we work to acheive our fuel economy and that there is no magic liquid or piece of hardware that will suddenly gain you an extra 10 mpg.

Overall: Nice job - I know what kind of effort these things take

Making a nice front page is one of my next goals. If you (or anyone else) would like to contribute content for it please let me know. I'm looking for intro text, FAQ text, as well as articles about anything and everything.

I think the best 10 or 20 lines from this thread:

https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=823

should go on the front page

This may be a little long and wordy for intro text, but I think it explains what people can expect to find on the site (please edit at will):

Are you a gassaver?

When you think of saving fuel in your vehicle what comes to your mind?

Are you happy with a three mile per gallon increase? Do you think that your vehicle mileage is always consistent and never fluctuates? Do you believe that the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) fuel economy ratings are bloated and not realistic? Are you hoping to find a simple liquid additive or hardware device to dramatically decrease your fuel consumption?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions then gassavers.org is probably not the place for you.

At gassavers.org saving fuel in our vehicles is more than whimsy - it is a mindset, a desire, it is a lifestyle unto its own.

We recognize that driving technique generally has the greatest impact on fuel economy. Most of us tend to drive slowly and have developed some peculiar habits and/or methods to aid in squeezing every last drop of gasoline from the tank.

We are generally not satisfied with any set increase in fuel economy. We strive for more and more and more.

We realize that fuel economy fluctuates - sometimes wildly - depending on how you drive, environment, traffic conditions, and (of course) the vehicle you choose to drive.

We know for certain that the EPA's fuel economy ratings are underinflated and can be surpassed. Sometimes it takes effort to surpass it, sometimes it's easy. No matter what, the EPA numbers are the benchmark that we aim to hurdle.

There is NO magic bullet. As yet we have found no definitive proof there there is any liquid additive or hardware device that can dramatically increase your fuel economy. What we have discovered is that driving style and a number of vehicle modifications (some small, some large) will always yield the greatest results.

If you aren't afraid of changing how you drive, turning a wrench, swapping an engine/transmission, pumping your tires past the recommended maximum, or dramatically altering your vehicle's aerodynamics then gassavers.org may be the perfect place for you.

Excellent start Metro95. I'm not much of a writer so I will let those more talented than me offer advice.

Matt, I am very pleased with vBulletin. You da man!

Great stab at the "passionate pursuit" metro. I think there are a number of reasons why many of us are drawn to FE:

10. We love pinching pennys.
9. We hate conceding our income to the nasty ogres of BigOil.
8. It's an irresistable engineering challenge.
7. We want to do what we can to help the environment.
6. We want to reduce our contribution to the world petropolitical chaos.
5. We hate being addicted to oil.
4. We feel it's a better way of supporting our troops than displaying a magnet that was made in China (not that there's anything wrong with that).
3. We think hypermiling driving technique should be an Olympic event (like curling).
2. It's a trans-generational social avocation.
and finally...
1. Just because.

I like the new forums. I think the old gaslog was better. I Liked the graph (how it contained lifetime mpg and the mpg of the last tank).

Nice intro metro95!