Speaking of always coming away with something useful, I volunteered to toss
a bit of coin to whomever is appropriate for the repair/replacement of Gerry
a few months ago, and no one has passed a basket under my nose.

I know Gerry was down for a while, and the repair may have been made while I
was out of town, but I never did see a post asking for donations.

I'll gladly mail out a check to whoever took it in the shorts to get things
right again.  Just let me know who and where.

Thanks,

Karl Wolz
----- Original Message -----
From: William Wedenoja <waw105f@MAIL.SMSU.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 1999 12:53 PM
Subject: Re: Where From?--ConsumerSearch seed funding; begins hiring
editors, others

> The service you describe would be a useful one.  And it would be easy I
> suppose to simply extract this info from the list and post it on a FAQs
> page.  Would save time, be more efficient, etc.  But I don't think
specific
> info is the only reason people are on the list.  It'is probably what gets
> them here.  But not why they stay.  There seems to be a real sense of
> community, which is an age-old need, being realized in new ways today.
> Isn't it ironic that this community may be easier to find on the net than
it
> is around us?  Also, diagnosing a problem--overheating, for example--is
more
> complicated than deciding which tire to buy or where one can find an
awning.
> And reading other people's (mechanical) problems--before we experience
> them--helps us anticipate them, know them when we see them, and respond
more
> quickly when we begin to experience them.  It's kinda like going to the
> library (or a hardware store) just to browse; I always come away with
> something new and useful.
>
> Notwithstanding, it is a serious commitment of time to keep up with the
> list, given the volume of messages!
>
> My two cents, and then some.
> (probably will generate some idle chat!)
> Bill
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Derek Drew <drew@INTERPORT.NET>
>
> > I was on the list the first day it began on 4/2/94, and as is the usual
> > course, posted a lot for about two years and now post sparingly. This is
a
> > disease that afflicts old timers in which they post less and less, even
> > though they know the answers to things, because they are horrified at
the
> > amount of idle chat, and are nervous that their posts might be
> contributing
> > to the noise level.
> > .....
> > If we had launched this project into the Vanagon world, we would keep
> track
> > of all the postings that advise vanagon list members about which
> antifreeze
> > to use and then keep this information current and updated. Right now, it
> > might take me hours of reading through vanagon list postings to
determine
> > the answers to simple questions: what is the best awning to buy for a
> > Westy, what is the best u-joints for rebuilding syncro driveshafts, what
> > consensus is there about the best aftermarket source of a motor.
>