Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 17:12:14 -0500
Reply-To: Bulley-Hewlett & Associates <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Bulley-Hewlett & Associates <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Subject: Strong Dissent to the scarlet letter,
was: Plea for reducing the number of non-Vanagon content notes
I came to this list in the pursuit of knowledge about VW Vanagons. And
that, I have received.
The people of this list, and the information they provided through this
forum greatly influenced our buying decision, and the subsequent
maintenance of our van. This list has served to prevent many maladies that
could have been my misfortune had I not discovered some tidbit of torque,
or injection of information here. Thank you, if I haven't said so before.
Beyond the nuts and bolts of VW repair, though, there lies an unspoken and
mysterious fraternity that bonds VW owners. Ford doesn't have it. Honda
dreams of it. Toyota; get real.
By reading the earlier "Demographic" posts and recent "Location" posts you
come to discover WHO is the list: The Brit who writes about Pooh. Bill and
Sara who live in Arizona, the young daring four-wheelers in their Syncros,
the vendors, the Aussies, Norwegians, and our beloved, sniveling lurkers.
Their spirit, their thoughts, and their "off topic" opinions and
personalities are a part of my being a VW owner. I want to hear that
murmur. I want to taste that spice. As busy as I am, I want that
experience. This list is an experience of human interaction, with people
sharing a commonality, not a simply a technical Q & A.
I want to hear from people who are daring enough to "draft" their vans
behind big trucks. I want to hear about reasons why one should or should
not burn plastic in a campfire. I want to hear this blabber without the
writer having to cringe with the thought that his or her post is "off
topic", branding it as something less than interesting. This is a free
country. You are equipped with a DELETE button.
If you really came here only for technical advice in its purest form,
Bently, Haynes and a few others make fantastic manuals, with pictures. Use
those. There are no old war stories, suggestion on what to cook in your
Westy; no spice, no murmur, no fragrance.
Tell me a story. Tell me why you named your van. Tell me about your first
VW...without having to judge your writing as "correct" or "incorrect".
G. Matthew Bulley
Principal
Bulley-Hewlett & Associates
Communications for Organizational Development
www.bulley-hewlett.com
(888) 468-4880 toll free
|