Ladies and Gentlemen, Boy and Girls!

It is with great pleasure (and relief) that I introduce your new and improved VANAGON LIST MODERATORS!

David Beierl and Ben Tan.

Both are long standing listmembers and have a sense of our history. I believe that they'll do a fine job.

They can be contacted at <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET> and <syncro@gmail.com> respectively.

Please give them your full cooperation.

Thank you.

Jim Arnott List Admin vanagon@gerry

PS: Unca Joel summed up the 'spirit' of this list quite eloquently. I've attached his post for your re-reading pleasure:

> from the onset, the vanagon list has always been much more than just a > tech list .. > > it's been a small cul-de-sac community of people. and people don't > always sit around, talking over coffee and beer, about tech things. > and some 'tech things' aren't really tech things ... do you like the > look of the round headlights versus the 86-91 rectangular ones? South > African headlights versus the other two types? are white-wall tires > really only for old american cars? which beer goes best after > repacking your cv joints? :) > > the volume of mail is usually set off by differences in opinions about > some subject, which often IS more techie than not ... like tires, > heat, rust, and headlights ... and by "oh, that happened to me, too!" > stories. all of which is vital to a community ... if we don't share > stories and i-did-that-this-way opinions, then it might as well be > every man/woman for themselves ..the human 'community' got ahead by > HELPING each other, not by hiding secrets from the rest of the > community. competition helps, too ... so we have more than one list > vendor to take care of that end ... you can buy parts from several > different places, even in canada! and germany, and belgium. nobody in > england or mexico yet, though. :( > > the Frydaye Follies are sort of a release valve for the rest of the > week ... like Friday afternoons or "casual fridays" at work ... > getting together at the nearby pub/bar/whatever for a beer with your > co-workers after a long week of putting up with the boss (in our case, > a much-discussed administrator/moderator) ... a day when tech talk > doesn't have to be so high on the must-do list. > > in other words, the list is a sort of reflection of our work lives and > our personal lives .. not just some committee meeting where technical > schedules and difficulties are hashed out or put off til "the next > meeting tomorrow at 2 o'clock". > > and i think this is a good thing. that this is the way it should be. > it certainly worked well way back when, in the beginnings of the list, > when most of us Vanagon owners needed a lot more than tech help ... we > needed a support group, a clan to tell us that we weren't stupid and > crazy for owning and loving these buses ... that it wasn't totally > illogical and we could show the wife/whatever that there WERE other > people out there and they were like me, and this is a good car and we > ought to keep it. > > people don't always see the future the same way, even when they > espouse the same ideals, or drive the same cars, or even live in the > same community ... and it takes discussion to work it out so we can > ALL be comfortable and secure and not worry about our sanity and > safety ... and this is most definitely NON-technical, at least not > technical about volkswagen vanagons. :) > > this is why i must strongly put in my own personal protest at making > THIS list a totally tech list, without any regard for the community > conversations most of us have enjoyed throughout the years. we've > developed friendships (albetit over email, but some of us have > actually MET other vanagon owners in person), and i don't think you > get much of that spread around the community if you go tech-only. i've > seen this happen on other lists, particularly the Type2 list, and i > don't like it ... it reminds me waay to much of those tech committe > meetings ... yes, they are necessary. yes, they contribute to the > running of the world we work in and live in. but no ... they should > NOT be the end-all be-all to life or this list. > >> So it seems kind of unfair to abuse their place on this list >> by sending them things they really didn't ask for. > > so how unfair is it to abuse the non-tech folks who did sign up for > 'support group' type discussions ... and just generally to hang around > with other folks driving the same type of car, and to gain > ammunition/information to use against the wife to keep the bus in the > family ... with all the high-tech .blather?? > do we really care about the 930 cv joints or putting a tiico or bostig > engine in some bus to gain horsepower and bragging rights? the great > majority of the list members will never have the money nor the > mechanical expertise nor even a local mechanic able to comprehend such > technical jobs ... for us, it's just coffee-table magazines and books, > like the picture books of Porsche 911s and Ferarris and Aston Martins > ... and Playboys: just window dressing; pipe dreams; something to peer > at through the dust of our dreary day-to-day lives. ;) > > and that's ok ... for those of us who actually do have the garage and > money and tools and mental agility to do such things, great .. go for > it! the rest of us will live our dull hum-drum lives vicariously > through you, just like we do with Richard Jones's trips through the > Rockiesk, and Frank Condelli's many trips from Canada to Mexico, and > all the other road trips we see not nearly enough of to suit me. ;) > are road trips to be banned from the list? they aren't technical at > all! all subjective and opinionated. > > and i think very very necessary. if your neighbor goes off on > vacation, and doesn't come over to harange you with tales of how bad > it was in Orlando with all the 'tourists' trying to get to Disney > World, a lot of us would feel a bit hurt ... it's kinda fun to watch > someone try and cram a week of insanity with wife, kids, dogs, cars, > traffic, hotels, restaurants, and all the other things that go with a > 'road trip' into a few minutes of conversation ... at least, i enjoy > it. and i think a lot of others on the list do, too. :) > > that's my opinion and you're welcome to it. > > unca joel