SterlingKitCars.com is designed around a classic "forum" format. There are many little buttons and links to various functions of the forum, but don't let these obscure the basic organization of the site. Overall,
the site is organized into three main areas -- all of which can be accessed through the main navigation bar at the top:
1) The
OWNERS' CAR SHOWCASE section is a very easy-to-use photo/comment gallery that allows you to show off your car or project, in an attractive format, without you having to invest a lot of time or effort. I've set it up so that you can almost effortlessly add pictures, information, and a description of you car to the site. Moreover, once your car is added to the showcase, other enthusiasts and you can use the COMMENTS feature to ask and answer further question about your car. The link to the Showcase shows up in the main Nav bar on the home page.
2) The
BUILDERS' JOURNALS section is essentially a blog that can be used as a diary of your project (or a continuing diary of stories or adventures for your finished car.) The journal is very easy to use and allows you to add photos, videos, etc. for your project as it evolves. It's fun. Try it out. It's much easier than maintaining your own site to ducument your project. Like the Owners' Car Showcase, the link to this shows up in the main Nav bar on the home page.
3) The actual
FORUM itself...which is what you see on the entire home page and which functions like any typical forum. The FORUM is divided into sections for:
- Introductions -- gives very basic background regarding the site and the Sterling family of cars in general.
- "Tutorials" -- provides links to pages I've created to help enthusiasts learn more about the Nova, Sterling, and all of their relatives. You can see a list of these tutorials on the main page as if they were actual forum posts. Instead of being true forums, though, they are just a way to navigate to those other pages of the site.
- Social Forum -- a variety of topics based on the Sterling community and the experience of owning one.
- Technical Forum -- a place to share ideas and troubleshoot problems.
- Site Forum -- a section regarding maintenance of the site, itself.
In any of the FORUM sections, free to read posts, ask questions, make comments, post answers, and become part of the community overall.
Any other buttons, menus, or links are to the basic functions of the underlying forum, like registration, user control panels, search boxes, FAQs, etc.
Overall... The idea is for you to register for the site/forum in general (which is quick, free, and painless) then either simply enjoy the forums or, better yet, add your car to the SHOWCASE, then go to the BUILDERS' JOURNALS section and start your own journal -- the software will automatically connect the showcase, you , and your journal.
If you are an owner of
any of the Nova derivatives -- a Sterling, Sebring, Cimbria, Nova, Eureka, Eagle, Eagle SS, Puma, Bernardi, Nereia, etc.,
please take the time, soon, to add your car to the Showcase and become part of the global "Who's Who" for all derivatives of the Nova.
Enjoy. :)
--W Daugherty aka farfegnubbin