ULTGAR's Posts?

[imported_banzaitoyota]

Why are his posts all edited with the pics removed?

[Luckydevil]

You'll have to get an answer from him as to why he deleted them. No one here touched any of his posts.

[David D]

If you go to his website, he's removed most of the pics there too (at least the availability to the public). Not sure I agree with the way he has handled this transition. It comes across as arrogant. I'm not sure if he's trying to save money on bandwidth, or protecting his clients identity, but instead of teasing the public with links that lead to a message stating that pics are for paying clients only, he should just remove the links altogether. I've enjoyed visiting his website for several years, following the progress on his own garage/showcase, as I'm sure many others have. To all of a sudden tease with a "members only" type of message is rather offensive. Not that I expect him to care enough to change his thinking, just an observation. As I said, it just comes across as arrogant.


BTW, GREAT site! I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

[Kevin54]

Not the first time that has been done either.

Kevin

[ultgar]

If you go to his website, he's removed most of the pics there too (at least the availability to the public). Not sure I agree with the way he has handled this transition. It comes across as arrogant. I'm not sure if he's trying to save money on bandwidth, or protecting his clients identity, but instead of teasing the public with links that lead to a message stating that pics are for paying clients only, he should just remove the links altogether. I've enjoyed visiting his website for several years, following the progress on his own garage/showcase, as I'm sure many others have. To all of a sudden tease with a "members only" type of message is rather offensive. Not that I expect him to care enough to change his thinking, just an observation. As I said, it just comes across as arrogant.


BTW, GREAT site! I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

Ultimate Garage is a business. Many people have used it as a free resource for building and outfitting their own garages. Competitors also use it....some are bold enough to call me and ask for info and resources for their own client's projects. Does protecting my business interests make me arogant? (David....what have you contributed to this list other than this post calling me "arogant" and "offensive"???)

I contributed heavily to this forum in the beginning to help get it going and hoped some of the members would eventually become product customers. Judging from the response, I can only assume that I do not have the type of garage products the people on this list are interested in.

Luke...maybe an "Ultimate Garage Junkies" forum for the high end enthusiasts might be a better fit for my posts. SD

[GearHead_1]

Luke...maybe an "Ultimate Garage Junkies" forum for the high end enthusiasts might be a better fit for my posts. SD

Not sure a moderator should have his business in mind first and the forum second. That's a sponsor's position.

Not exactly sure what to make of "you people" in your comment.

Ahhh.... you've seen the error of your ways and changed that part of your comment. Good move. There still may be a customer or two for your business amongst the people on this board.

[Luckydevil]

Steve, I do my best to cater to everyone here no matter if they have a carport or a garage bigger than my house filled with Ferraris. I think it would help you with publicity more than anything having your work shown on here. There is such a wide spectrum of the car enthusiast world represented, I can't see it being bad for business.

For every one person that says something negative about your stuff, there are usually five others who love it. Myself being one of the ones who loves seeing your pictures.

By all means though, do what you have to do for the business. Let me know if you want me to remove you as a moderator. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do Steve. Take care.

[ultgar]

Please take me off the moderator list. SD

[sca037]

Steve, you have been an inspiration for many of us fledgling garage junkies......and your professional 'no-BS' approach has been quite refreshing. Having said that, I fully appreciate that none of that helps pay the bills!
Please do consider maintaining an association with this forum, even if that means less time spent on your end with the day-to-day operations.

One of your biggest fans :thumbup:
Brian

[David D]

Ultimate Garage is a business. Many people have used it as a free resource for building and outfitting their own garages. Competitors also use it....some are bold enough to call me and ask for info and resources for their own client's projects. Does protecting my business interests make me arogant? (David....what have you contributed to this list other than this post calling me "arogant" and "offensive"???)

I contributed heavily to this forum in the beginning to help get it going and hoped some of the members would eventually become product customers. Judging from the response, I can only assume that I do not have the type of garage products the people on this list are interested in.

Luke...maybe an "Ultimate Garage Junkies" forum for the high end enthusiasts might be a better fit for my posts. SD


Steve,

If you'll note, I didn't state that you were arrogant and offensive, merely that your actions come across that way. I belong to several other forums, including Pelican Parts (a very large Porsche, BMW based community) and have noted that your "contributions" seem limited to posts that may bring you business. There's nothing wrong at all with wanting to network and build rapport in order to grow your business. However, if you continually "contribute" with the expectation that you're going to get something in return, you're not creating a very strong foundation on which to build your relationships (business or otherwise).

I'm sure you must realize that just a very small percentage of people who see your website have the financial means to secure your products and services. I'm sure that your contributions here, or on any other forum are appreciated by those of us who may not have the money to build the types of garages that you design, but would enjoy hearing suggestions from an expert on how to make the best of what we can afford. Once in a while, you'll gain a client that does have enough money to build an expensive garage through such built relationships. That is the gamble you take. I haven't visited your website countless times over the years because I don't respect your expertise. On the contrary. I know of no one else that does what you do at the level that you do. For me personally, I wish that I had the means to secure your services. Unfortunately, I do not. I would speculate that most others here are in the same position as I am. If you choose to impart your expertise on us with that in mind, great! By all means share! I'd be very disappointed if you didn't.

All this is to say that I'm just offering an observation. I don't mean any slander or ill will, just "constructive critisism". Please don't take it offensively, but rather just an outsiders point of view. My apologies if I offended you.

David

[ultgar]

Steve,

If you'll note, I didn't state that you were arrogant and offensive, merely that your actions come across that way. I belong to several other forums, including Pelican Parts (a very large Porsche, BMW based community) and have noted that your "contributions" seem limited to posts that may bring you business.
David

David........first of all, the Pelican Forums are hosted by Pelican Parts and there's no way I'll go on their list trying to sell my products. Do a search on my user id, MovitNA, and you'll see 3 posts. All were pics or links to my site showcasing the work I do....the type of stuff that you and others go to my site to look at.

Since you're active with Pelican Parts.....ask Wayne why he stole this picture from my website WITHOUT my permission...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/lift2s.jpg

This is the type of BS that's driving me to pull a lot of pictures off of my website. SD

[imported_banzaitoyota]

ULTGAR:
Just a suggestion, why dont you invest in a watermark program if you are so woried about unauthorized use?

[ultgar]

ULTGAR:
Just a suggestion, why dont you invest in a watermark program if you are so woried about unauthorized use?

The point is I would have allowed him to use the photo if he'd asked, assuming he'd black out my license plate number (which he didn't).

It appears that anything posted on the internet must become public domain which makes it impossible for me to share some of the more private (high end) projects with online discussion groups. SD

[GearHead_1]

It appears that anything posted on the internet must become public domain


You've said a mouthful there and at least you realize it. Take a look at the original Napster or Kazaa. If it's on the internet people are going to use it whether we want them to or not.

The point is I would have allowed him to use the photo if he'd asked, assuming he'd black out my license plate number (which he didn't).

The only safety valve is that we take care of ourselves (you black the plate out) and as you've stated if that means not posting it so be it.

I think it's unfortunate for the rest of us that you've had to resort to this frame of mind to protect your business. On the other hand if WalMart didn't show pictures of what they have to offer they wouldn't sell nearly as much product. I'm not comparing you to WalMart, of course your products and work have few equals. I still believe however that you stand to pick up more business by posting your results than not to do so. Having said this I believe you will always have someone out there that doesn't use your photo/product/service the way you wish. I believe the secret here (especially on bulletin boards) is finding a way to be self/business serving and making the community think you are doing them a favor without them realizing your real intention. Never pat yourself on the back publicly, it's just like inviting the wolves to come out. I would also suggest you take the links to your competitors sites off of your site. Never give a prospective customer the chance to click off of your page and not come back (unless of course you are being paid to do so). If someone is really looking for your competitor they will find them soon enough.

Just my 2 cents.

[OI812]

Please stop,

It is his decision to pull his pics or whatever. Personally I will be sad to see him leave. What is nice about these forums is that we have the ability to see the low and high end on whatever topic is being discussed. In ultgar case it is high end garages. I like most people dream of one of them, but in reality will never have one. Most people won't.

So if ultgar wants to pull his post that is fine, lets respect that. If this topic continues to go sour or it seems like bashing, I'm sure Luke or myself will shut it down.

Thanks

[David D]

I agree with banzaitoyota's suggestion. In the "for what it's worth department", I think if you post pics on your website with the frame of mind that whatever you put up will be copied, used, abused, etc., you'll sleep much better at night. On the positive side, think of it as a form of flattery. If you watermark your pics (even just something subtle down in the corner, or a side) the more your pics get copied, re-posted, etc., it's free advertising! Your watermark would be very effective as a "copyright www.ultimategarage.com 2005" for example. It both protects your material AND is a source of advertising. Again, just throwing out some ideas.

David

[Satatic]

I contributed heavily to this forum in the beginning to help get it going and hoped some of the members would eventually become product customers. Judging from the response, I can only assume that I do not have the type of garage products the people on this list are interested in. I'd buy from you but i'm not very old and have very little money. :( Most of the stuff you sell is greater then my credit card limit.

[David D]

Hey! Just visited The Ultimate Garage webpage and it looks great! Steve has made some nice changes to the layout. Easier to navigate, more pics, etc. Looks like he's still working on some links, but overall, the site is much more appealing. Great work Steve!

David

[ultgar]

Hey! Just visited The Ultimate Garage webpage and it looks great! Steve has made some nice changes to the layout. Easier to navigate, more pics, etc. Looks like he's still working on some links, but overall, the site is much more appealing. Great work Steve!

David

Thanks....take a look at the latest project at http://www.ultimategarage.com/whatsnew.html . These pictures were from this morning. SD

[TOO Z MAXX]

Seems like free advertising to me. I am an electrcian and give out free advise all the time knowing that I could be loosing work, but I figure their is plenty of work out there for all of us, and have actually recieved a lot of refferals from people I gave out the free advice. If they attempt it on their own and screw it up, guess who they call.

[PeaceKeeper]

Steve,

I understand what and why you removed the photos. But I want to thank you for your help. That is, when I first saw the pictures of your garage it made me get off my tail and start working on mine. Mine you be nothing at all like your, but it will be much better than what the builder left me. Thank you Steve.

Gardiner