Monte Carlo Forum: HISTORY ? ?
 

i got on the mcf today and i was just lookin through everything and i started wondering about the history and beginnigs of this awesome forum. all input appreciated :)

I showed up here a little over 2 years ago! I've heard many times about the forum getting shut down/infected/corrupted with a virus or something and there was a bunch of info/links/pics being lost. I haven't really heard the whole story though, maybe Taz (Lou, admin) could elaborate more? I've also heard that the forum was taken over by aliens who only like Monte Carlos......:eek:

that sucks. thats the bad part about computers. they can get viruses just like ppl lol. and aliens are so cool :P

i joined in 2009. it was a funny story. i was in school, and this was the only website that wasnt blocked so i joined it to learn more about my 5th gen. im glad i did. but sometimes i wonder how i only have like 164 posts in 2 years. >_<

I don't know about you guys, but I'm completely OK with an alien takeover.

Speaking of, why in the world do we not have an alien emoticon by now? :wtf:

Bunch newbs :D I havent been around long enough to know about the forum, but I have been around long enough to meet new members and to see a lot of the old members leave.

good question about the emoticon lol

btw ive wanted to know, enzo was your monte your first car?

Well, the forum obviously pre-dates my joining also. But here's some info on the forum.

Monte Carlo Forum was created on May 21, 2004, but went live to the public on July 27, 2004. The original owners were named Ralph and Amanda. They created MCF with the intention of giving all Monte Carlo enthusiasts, (all generations of Monte) a world wide forum to discuss all things Monte Carlo.

After a couple of successful years on MCF, the forum was sold to an internet company called Auto Forum Universe. In mid 2007, a company named Internet Brands acquired Auto Forum Universe's forums. The company that owns Internet Brands also owns the software company Jelsoft. Jelsoft is the company that creates the vBulletin forum operating system used by many forums across the internet. Internet Brands still owns MCF to this day.

In 2008, MCF was still using the same old forum software it started with 4 years earlier. Needless to say, it was very outdated and very vulnerable to new viruses and hackers. In June 2008, the server that MCF was being hosted on was successfully hacked and infected with a virus. Since MCF hadn't been switched to vBulletin's software yet, MCF took a massive hit. And suffered a lot of damage. The tech department had to rebuild the forum from the ground up. They saved as much of the info on the forum as they could. Including members accounts and threads. However, many of them were heavily damaged.

Some members had to abandon their original account, and create a new one. Legendary member "Spacerider" became "KidSpace". Many of the original threads were damaged beyond repair and had to be deleted. But every effort was made to save as many as we could. One casualty was the original members photo gallery. All the pictures from the original forum had gotten damaged by the virus, and had to be deleted from the server.

After almost a year of having to work with a badly damaged forum, in 2009 the "new" MCF suddenly appeared online during the overnight hours. Replacing the old forum.

The new forum was designed to look as much like the old forum as possible. The same colors (blue and purple). And the same forum logo at the top of the page. Below is a screen capture from the old forum before it got damaged. It's SpaceRider's original MOTM Winner's Gallery.

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/at...er-1-small-jpg

The old logo was purple with a black 2004 supercharged Monte. (common mis-conception was that it was an Intimidator edition. -- It wasn't! The picture was taken from the 2004 Monte Carlo dealership brochure. The silver badge on the side read "Supercharged" not "Intimidator" like most people thought!) But the logo had gotten damaged also, so half of the car was missing from the picture.

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/at...0394-small-jpg

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/at...0395-small-jpg

In 2010, after many discussions with "the powers that be", I managed to convince them that it was best to trash the broken logo from the old forum. Since it was just a constant reminder of a bad time in the forum's history. Also, since it only had a picture of a 6th gen, it gave the impression that only 6th gens were welcome here. Moderator JJ ("The Popcorn King" aka "JJsRYD") created a new logo with a sample from every generation of Monte. Which I submitted to the owners as a more accurate example of what the forum is supposed to represent.

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/at...-2-websize-jpg

After a long wait, the tech department unveiled a pleasant surprise. Our new forum logo. It contained three Montes. Gone was the broken picture of a black 6th gen. The new one contained a 1st gen, a 4th gen, a 6th gen, and a large "SS" badge. Also gone was the purple and blue colored logo. Instead, the new logo was black, grey, red, and white. With the words "Monte Carlo" being in a font very much like the font used on the 5th and 7th gens.

But the rest of the forum still had the same blue and purple theme to it. The last remnants of the old forum. Which now looked horrible next to our new logo. Again, after many conversations. In the spring of 2011, the tech department finally replaced the blue and purple theme with red, grey and black. The MCF was now "complete" with a look and feel that everyone could be proud of.

Thanks Space.

You deserve a lot more credit than you're willing to take too though.

Thank you for all you do also!

And can't forget all the members on MCF. Without great members, there wouldn't be an MCF.

I joined just after the large crash and it was a broken forum. IDK why but I stayed :P

Learned a ton about my car, and I have been contributing and helping rebuild all the articles as well as I could.

dangggg. thats a rough history. but im glad to see the mcf up and running smoothly. and i know not all of the members on here will read this but i wanna thank everyone on this forum for all the incredible help they have given me these past two years. if i hadnt of found this forum then my monte would probably have been sold long ago. but with everyones help and advice on here ive learned alot about my monte and many other gens. thanks for all the help and i hope to keep learning more and more about the mcf's history.

bama_z34, thank you for starting a great thread and I would also like to thank all the great members and administrators here as well for their continued support and knowledge.....:congrats:


Thank You MCF.........:thumbsup:

^^^x4

Ya great Idea and thanks to Lou for the explanation!

Thats a crazy history, heartwarming ending :D

Mike I didnt know I joined in the same month as you. Wheres my moderator invite ;)

And bama- My first was a 89 grand prix, still is.

I would like to know how Lou got involved with MCF

Clearly you aren't observant enough to even be a Mod :thumbsup:

I added some pictures to my post on the first page.

I joined the forum in August 2007. I was in the market to get rid of my money-pit, lemon of a 1999 Grand Am GT. And a Chevy dealership had a couple Dale Jr edition Montes. I thought they looked pretty darn cool. I had also heard that GM's 3.8 litre engine was a very reliable engine. Which is exactly what I was looking for. The fact that the junior edition had a supercharger was even better. :thumbsup:

I wanted to know if there were known issues with the 2004 Montes. Being a member on a grand am forum, I knew the place to go was a monte forum. So I google searched "monte carlo forum". This forum came up first in the list. I looked around, and found a lot of friendly helpful people. I learned from this site that I should have no major issues to worry about. So I bought the car and joined the site.

When the forum needed a new moderator, Space contacted Admin Patrick and suggested me since I was spending so much time on the forum. I gladly accepted the offer. But Admin Patrick, being the lead admin for many forums (over 50+) couldn't spend as much time on MCF as he liked. When the new MCF came online, Patrick asked me to be assistant admin. A site-specific admin. All of Internet Brands forums have site-specific admins. I'm the site-specific admin on MCF. So it's all Space's fault. :D

But I don't make all the decisions myself. I feel all the staff should be able to have a say in what happens here. I ask the rest of the moderators for their input before making decisions. I should add that none of the moderators or myself are employees of Internet Brands. We don't get paid for any of this. We're here for the same reason you are. :thumbsup:

Since we're not IB employees, the owners don't give us access to every part of the forum. Since the server hack of 2008, parts of the forum that need access to the forum's operating system or the server's file system are strictly protected. Only Internet Brands tech department has the access needed to make certain changes to the forum. Like the forum logo, color and layout of the forum, and some features.

That's why it takes a while to get certain things done. Anything I have access to can be done quickly. But if it needs to go through the tech department, it usually takes longer. Some ideas/wants just get flat out denied. As we're all aware.

LOL. That's funny! :D

:(

Im glad we have ya Lou!

^^x2 on that one.

Nice write up Lou. I always wondered about that whole spacerider/kidspace thing. I would also like to add we are very lucky to have all of our great volunteer staff that keep things neat and tidy around here. There is a totally different attitude on this site than there are on many other forums.

I remember and I survived the forum crash of '08 as I was here in '07.... I remember we had to stop using apostrophes as any post using one looked a like lot this if it used words like don''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''t or won''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''t.

It's a much different forum now than it was then. Back then, a guy called z34phoenix who's name was David knew a lot about the engines and building these cars... he was about the closest thing to bumpin96monte today. Then there was GPD, Solara Slayer, Grandpa Dave, who jokingly yet lovingly adopted KidSpace as his nephew, Garrett, godbot, was around. I know I'm missing a lot of them, and there were many great legendary members who have moved on in their lives and more legendary members in the making came along to replace them...


I went on a bit of a hiatus in '09 from the forum. I have seen many great members slowly being posting, and slowly go away. I was here long before the members blog run by Todd or any of that. Yet through it all, it has been a great forum. There was a brief patch in there in early '08 when we had two members who kind of got rowdy with one another, but hte moderating staff dealt with everything quickly, maturely, and efficiently. There have been very few members on this forum whom I didn't like or respect (refer to previous sentence and guess who the exceptions were)

It's a much different forum... the Montes are getting older. The owners are different and go about the cars a little different as a different group of people own them now... yet they have always been great members. Many have come and gone, yet through it all, Taz, RJ, Wayne, and myself have been holding this fort for a while.... it would be a sad day if the MCF were to be be shut down and this thing fades into oblivion.

But I don't focus on that. right now, the forum is a great place, we all like each other, and we still have many days left to share the web together.

Duane, thanks for your take on history. I think you forgot Space in your list of people holding up the fort. Especially during the crash of 08. There were a lot of days when MCF was only populated by Space and I.

2008 was a year I'd like to forget on the forum. The year started with a ton of drama from a few people who WILL remain nameless. Which lead into the server being hacked.

A lot of people thought the hack/virus attack was caused by the affore mentioned, nameless, banned members. One of them even tried to take credit for it. But I know for a fact that the virus attack originated from another forum that happened to be hosted on the same server. The successful hack helped the owners make the decision to bring all of their forums up to date with the latest software. The tech department had to re-build about 100 forums. :eek:

People come and go on forums for various reasons. That's just how forums are. Sometimes it was my fault for not acting soon enough. Sometimes I wasn't able to do anything. Which was the problem on the old forum.

The old forum software was very outdated and didn't allow moderators to do much of anything. Moderators could delete posts, delete threads, close threads, and move threads. That was about it. Moderators couldn't ban or do much of anything else. And the problem people knew that. Me being a moderator at the time, all us moderators could do was PM the lead admin. And wait until he checked his PM's.

That is a thing of the past now. On the new MCF, moderators have the abilities they need to immediately deal with problem people.


But another reason for people leaving forums (in general), is selling the car. Since I got rid of my Grand Am, I've only been back to visit GrandAmGT.com a couple times.

When MCF started in 2004, the people that were joining up were the original owners. The people who bought them new from the dealership. As these people sell them off, and get into other vehicles, they tend to leave the forum. Most people joining up now are not the original owners of the car. No matter what generation the Monte is.

With Monte Carlo's being discontinued, it's more important now than ever for all Monte enthusiasts to stick together and show GM that the Monte Carlo name deserves to be brought back!

It's really important to try to get out to meets, gatherings and shows. And get together with your fellow enthusiasts! There's plenty of regional clubs that have meets. Plus don't forget Monte Nationals. NMCOA does an excellent job of putting together meets every year. NMCOA is an international club for Monte owners. And I'd encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to get out to one of them if you can. If you're really into cars, it's well worth it! :thumbsup:

There's also the "Carlisle All GM Nationals" on June 24-26. You may have seen their featured ad here on the forum.

Remember, the Camaro got discontinued at one time also. The Camaro enthusiasts kept the pressure up to bring it back. And GM finally brought it back.

Now that GM has paid off their debt to the government. We Monte Carlo enthusiasts need to do everything we can to tell GM to bring the Monte Carlo name back. Again. :thumbsup:
Take pride in your Monte and show it off at meets as much as you can. You know what they say, "out of sight -- out of mind". Keep all generations of Monte Carlo in people's mind by showing pride in it, and showing it off as much as you can.

Wow. I kinda went off on a bit of a rant there, didn't I?

Sorry. :D

^^ I liked it :thumbsup:

I've been here a while. I also went on a hiatus for about a year but I came back and here is where I'll stay. If it wasn't for the Mustang forum that I joined I wouldn't have thought twice about joining a Monte forum. When I bought my 06 Mini Cooper I didn't bother joining a Mini fourm.

I think Taz should be warned for making a political banter trying to get people to go to Carlisle... ;)

And I thought I had mentioned Space... should have mentioned Amy too. Space is the true leader of the MCF, no matter what banner is under Taz's name.

Another problem in the forum crash days was when you'd type a nice, thoughtful post, hit "post", and it didn't go through and you got a message about a server error I believe it was... then you're whole post was gone. Those of us who stuck it out saved our posts on a notepad or something before posting them. The longer the post, the worse your chances were of it actually going through.

:rolleyes:
Hi `Duane,
I appreciate your words, but you are so wrong...I am not the leader of the MCF 4-Sure...I'm just part of the team.
If I were the Leader, EveryOne would get lost in Cyber `Space : )or end `up on some X-Rated site...:)

Lou is our Leader, my Leader & I have the utmost respect for him as a Leader & as my `friend. He is one of the main reasons why I'm still here & have not departed to another `space :). We are all very fortunate
to have him as our Leader on the MCF.

His knowledge & dedication to our forum is exemplary.
Our world would be a better place `if there were more people like him upon it.~>4-Real

I do make many posts or create many threads to create activity on our forum to give member's something to check out when they visit our forum.

There are so many member's/Mod's, past & present that kept our forum running smooth, but `Lou is the Leader I shall follow faithfully to the `End or new beginnings. :thumbsup:

`Duane, I respect your words, post(s) & opinions, but I strongly disagree with you on this one 4-Sure : )

Thanks everyone for your posts & contributions, but more importantly, I thank our Leader Administrator `Taz....aka `Lou...for his tireless dedication to constantly improve our forum & make it better for all members.


Peace/Happiness to the reader of my words.
`Space
The leader of the most crazy & weird posts/threads on the MCF 4 Real-Sure : )

Thanks Space. I appreciate your thoughts and dedication to the forum. :thumbsup:

I think what Duane may mean is the fact that you keep the forum supplied with fresh posts and threads for members to read. When you take time away, you're absence is definitely noticed.

Duane, call it politics if you want. But most of us here want to see a new Monte Carlo offered sooner, rather than later. I think if we have Monte's of all generations making a presence at shows and gatherings, GM would be more likely to bring the name back.

But I'm going off topic again. :offtopic:

Ah I am so glad the forum has moved on from the pre virus version and gotten better. The days of the virus were long and boring without MCF. I remember trying 10 times before I could even log in and then the site crashing. It was best to stay away during those times. Alot of people left but alot stayed as well. Lou you are our leader for sure but no one can doubt Space's dedication to the forum and his tens of thousands of posts between his two user names. Its too bad you had to switch s/n's after the attack, I would like to see what your overall post count would be. Easily into the 20 thousands I think.

The SpaceRider username has been repaired. Along with many other usernames that were damaged. Space uses KidSpace now. But occasionally the beachbums use the original SpaceRider name.

Every once in a while there is a reference to the MCF staff Yugo. This was a running joke on the old forum, involving a few of the moderators. Specifically Mickey, wiz kidd, and myself. And our constant references to the garage at the fictional MCF headquarters. The "MCF staff Yugo" was the car we supposedly used for parts runs and beer runs. The picture below is the picture we used in posts.

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/at...staff-yugo-jpg

The staff Yugo was retired (at least it was supposed to be) when a certain member borrowed it, and it ended up like this...

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/at...istory-yug-jpg

Occasionally there was references to each staff member's office, and the staff lounge at MCF headquarters. JJ always filled the offices with the smell of fresh popped popcorn. There is still the occasional reference to the moderators and I having discussions in the Staff Lounge. This is where the line between fiction and reality kind of blur. The "MCF Staff Lounge" is the name of the Moderator's Only section of the forum. In the picture below, you'll see it above the New Member Area. It's only visible to staff. So for most of you, this is your first look at what you're not seeing.

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/at...11-websize-jpg

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/at...istory-yug-jpg
:rolleyes: How many times do I have to say I'm `Sorry :(:)
You guys know that I get drunk on one beer : )
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks `Lou & Matt, a trip down memory lane...
I was driving the U-go & was out look'in 4 a Life & got distracted
by a pretty Sheep :eek: LOL & that's the truth (lie) 4-Sure : )

Don't worry about it Space dood. It's a Yugo. It spontaneously combusts at speeds over 30mph. :D

We had a dodge omni behind the shop for a year or two that was rattle canned steelers black n gold. I think it would have been a great replacement for the yugo but it has been cubed for a while now.

A guy a couple blocks away from me has an Omni O24 parked in his driveway. Looks like it's still in great shape too. All original. You'd never know it's almost 30 years old.

This is the video I always like to claim shows what happened to the Yugo as well....

YouTube - &#x202a;yugo&#x202c;&rlm;

Don't worry how it mysteriously was black, then yellow, then black again.... that's just the magic of KidSpace.

Since then, Space has insisted on using my Torino for beer runs.... maybe the longer wheel base suits his driving style better.

I think the GPD/Grandpa Dave and Craig/Black Attack/later Propitious all left over the forum crash. They claimed the board attacked their computers, and understandably, they stayed away after that for fear. Although Craig has returend every once in a blue moon and made a post, and I added him on Facebook, once you break a habit, it's hard to get back into it.

Craig was known for making signatures on the MCF. One day while he was off work, he made a bunch of them for members... I collected them and made a thank you post the day after he did it. These are the signatures he made that I still have...

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...cowboyss-2.jpg

That was mine...

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...onte/tazsm.jpg

This was Taz...

Grandpa Dave!, SolaraSlayer

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...laraslayer.jpg

Wayne, RocknSS04

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...ockss04sm1.jpg


The forum ladies man, RJ

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...Monte/rj-1.jpg

And no, this isn't present member 77GP Jerry's car... don't know that Revitupfaster still hangs around that mcuh anymore...

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...itupfaster.jpg


Seems like these things were made in like mid-late '07.


The old farts of the forum are all getting nostalgic here....

Yeah... I took a long hiatus turing the 'crash'

When I came back there were TONS of new faces, and of course as life goes, those who left/sold/moved on

This thread rocks! I'm still trying to put together a history still shrouded in mystery, but this is a key piece. This was neat.

I followed Duane here from the JGMonteCarloSS forum. It's always been a little more active here and I've learned a lot (especially from bumpin, but may others too) But KidSpace is the forum magic IMO. I' m still not convinced he's actually human. Or alien! He's more like some extra-terrestrial super-social computer. No human programming or sentient being really has the capacity to stimulate conversation or generate intriguing posts at such high volume