Date: Fri, 30 Jun 95 15:32:15 EDT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Richard <rapalmer@unity.ncsu.edu>
Subject: NEATO Article-here it is
Well gang, here it is, for your enjoyment. Hopefully this will appear in
the next OLD BUS REVIEW, the NEATO newsletter
Buses on the Internet
One of the reasons I love my '67 Standard Bus is because the
technology that makes it go is so simple. Having peered under the hood
of many of the newer vehicles on the road, including VW's, the mess of
hoses and wires is mind boggling. All the major functions are now
computer controlled. Because of this engine-computer phobia, and certain
evil computer class teachers, I used to avoid computers at all costs.
However, about a year or so ago, a friend was telling me of all these
nifty news groups on the internet, which were available free of charge
on my university computer system. He spoke of groups for everything
imnaginable, from music, to cooking, to various automobiles. This of
course sent me delving deep into the computer network news reader, where
I finally found what I was looking for, a group called Rec.autos.vw. I
subscribed to this, and found myself receiving perhaps 100 or so
messages a day, but was disappointed to discover that around 75% of
these articles, or posts, were about Jettas, Golfs, and other vehicles
with radiators.
After days of reading about leaking head gaskets, air conditioning,
and the like, I stumbled across someone posting the address for a group
specifically about Type II's. This was more like it, I thought, and
subscribed. Unlike a newsgroup, this was a mailing list, where members
mail a post to a central computer server, which distributes it to all
the members. The list was called Vanagon, but included all generations
of buses. As a "newbie", I gingerly posted a few questions I had, and
was amazed at the almost instant replies I got, from very knowledgable
folks. I was indeed impressed, as their suggestions worked!
As time wore on, I began to get a feel for this group. I read many
different groups for various subjects, but none had the same comraderie
as this one. Along with the Threads, or continuing discussions on the
same subject, on serious technical matters, there were also
light-hearted discussions on sillier aspects. Fridays are also funny
days, as people post bus-related poetry, jokes, and tease each other
over which generations of bus are better. I really grew to like this
place.
I came to find that the list was started by Gerry Skerbitz, a
Vanagon owner,at the prodding of Joel Walker, another vanagon owner over
1000 miles across the country. Started in April, 1994, it grew from 2 to
over 350 members in the first year, and now at only 14 months is around
400. As a near-charter member, I have watched many personalities come
out on the list. There are several members who regularly post articles.
There's a fellow in California, who keeps us up to date as he is
restoring his '56 Kombi. There are quite a few Eurovan owners, who
constantly defend the honor of their vehicles as being "real" buses. Every
Friday, Joel Walker posts a "who's-who" of the list, breaking down
membership by state and country. There are list members in Europe, Australia,
and South Africa, each of who offers a different view of how the VW scene
is across the world. The memberships are also shown by year of bus; this
week there are 62 splits, 143 late models, 173 Vanagons, 13 Eurovans,
and the rest are those either in the "wanabus" category, or those who
have not announced what year they drive. Also posted with the weekly
stats is the address for the FAQ, or file of Frequently Asked Questions,
and several peoples' web sites.
Yes, the World Wide Web, the final frontier. Soon, I became comfortable
enough with my computer skills to attempt "surfing" around the web,
which is sort of like an
electronic library that lets you view "pages" as set up by people or
large groups. These pages have a certain address, and once you get to
that address through your web-browser, you can read articles, see
amazingly clear pictures, hear sounds, and even watch brief movies, all
scanned into the computer. I soon found web pages on everything from
Westfalia tents, to neat bus pictures, to one fellow's complete photo
documentation of his Sunroof Deluxe major rust repair and restoration.
There are websites set up by VW dealers, on new models, and you can
also find sites dealing with different kinds of gasoline. These pages
all have links to other similar and related pages, so once you get
started, it's easy to sit for hours looking around. If you are
interested in almost any subject, chances are someone has set up a web
page about it.
Through the computer, I have "met" and corresponded with many
people across the country, and world, with similar interests as myself.
Not only can I send daily e-mail (electronic mail) to my family and
friends at other universities, but I can talk buses with people in
California, and the midwest. Through the Vanagon list, I was able to
sell my '67 Westfalia, have people offer me places to stay on long
roadtrips, meet someone who will hopefully be trading a nice single cab
for my Deluxe, and all this from the air-conditioned comfort of the
computer lab. Once I got past the initial computer-phobia, and learned
how to find my way around, (which is actually fairly easy) I have now
been fully sucked deep into the world of computers, and even deeper into the
world of Buses. If any of you have internet access, then I heartily
recommend using it to the fullest. If not, just go out and spend a
thousand or so dollars on a good computer with a modem, and subscribe to
an online service. You'll be glad you did!
Enjoy your Bus every day, and take advantage of this new
technology which allows you to enjoy the company of others like yourself
as well. For those of you already online, here are some website
addresses, as well as information on how to join the Vanagon newsgroup
(the best one on the internet!) Feel free to write me at
rapalmer@unity.ncsu.edu
FAQ and info available from:
gopher site: halfdan.med.umn.edu:/Miscellaneous/Vanagon
ftp site: lenti.med.umn.edu:/pub/vanagon
URL: gopher://halfdan.med.umn.edu:70/11/Miscellaneous/Vanagon
WWW/HTTP info available from:
http://www.teleport.com/~des/vw
http://www.automatrix.com/~skip/volkswagen
http://www.polaris.net/~jclark/vwstuff.html
http://www.alldata.tsb.com/
http://iraf.noao.edu/~lytle/lytle.html
http://query5.lycos.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/pursuit?vanagon
http://www.chaco.com/~coyote/vw.html
To subscribe to the list send E-Mail to listserv@lenti.med.umn.edu with
no subject and one line saying
SUBSCRIBE VANAGON Firstname Lastname
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