Since Wikipedia won’t allow us to have a page I figured we will have a Wiki style thread where everybody can contribute to create a thread describing what exactly Shift518 is. This will help newcomers know what they are getting into as well. Get them upto speed sort of speak.
Shift518.com auto and motorcycle enthusiast forum targeted towards the large 518 area code of upstate NY.
Shift518 is a business that started as a black and white newspaper with Shift518.com serving as a place for the readers to discuss the articles and see the colored pictures of the event coverage and vehicles of the month, however with the rapid growth of the website and lack of funds towards the paper, Shift518.com became the concentration of the project making it the biggest and most successful forum for the area to date.
As an enthusiast community the forum has all the right elements including members who have experience with a large range of exotic super cars including Ariel Atom, Lamborghini Gallardo, Corvette Zr1, Ultima GTR, Nissan Skyline R33, R34, R35, Ruf Porsche, and countless unique modified cars with a large number of members having over 500 wheel horsepower machines. The most notable of which is a replica of infamous “Elanor” from Gone in 60 seconds. [http://shift518.com/showthread.php?t=15843]
What makes the site unique is unlike most other major automotive forums, most of the members of the site know each other personally which makes for some very unique rhetoric occurring including ball busting, inside jokes and cliquish behavior. New members tend to get “tested” by being hazed to see if they can take a joke which is one of the crucial aspects of being a member. Out of all the shenanigans caused on the site, the slogan “Shift518.com - where Shift happens” was naturally born.
Similar to other major forums, Shift518.com has a number of it’s own memes, the longest and most successful one being a meme of a member - PJB. PJB is seemingly is an average enthusiast with a day job, a truck and a modified Mustang, however his unique way to contributing to a discussion in a barely relating reply which tends to go entirely offtopic along with his enormous collection of Hotwheels cars has evolved into the PJB’ism meme, where people try to replicate his posts while replying, photoshop his photographs into different contexts, make a song towards him (http://shift518.com/showthread.php?t=13734) and have a running joke of him being a child molester and a fan of Adultworld adult shopping store. His personality is so amusing that members went a step further to leave random “presents” in the bed of his truck just to see how he would react. http://shift518.com/showthread.php?t=11129
Just so you know, every day is PJB’s birthday, so don’t forget to wish him accordingly.
For a local forum, Shift518 has managed to get a lot of national and even international attention, notably so because of some unique members that have signed up over time.
Notable mentions include: Travis, B16egracehatch and more? (further descriptions of Faivis’s events and B16racehatch’s are needed)
Travis
http://shift518.com/showthread.php?t=14217
RaceEGhatch
http://shift518.com/showthread.php?t=12376
- Reputation
Reputation - a standard part of vBulletin forum software displayed by green or red squares below the users avatar is taken very seriously by the community. Theoretically a quality post is rewarded by what is referred to as “plus rep”, while a stupid post generally created by a specific few members typically results in a “neg rep” or the subtraction of reputation points. Some of the least liked members can be seen by having an array of red squares under there name. The system also went through it’s paces of abuse with members over giving positive rep to their friends and giving negative rep to the random members that most likely didn’t deserve it. Recently an element of “Real life + rep” has come around where amusing acts that are caught in person are rewarded by either the appropriate comment or a gift of beer if location is applicable.
Neg rep abuse can be summarized by this image
Shift518.com does it’s part to help the auto enthusiast community of 518 by organizing meets, luncheons, cruises and being the place to go to describe local meeting spots, organizing other events.
Shift518 has been or is sponsored by the following
Govel’s welding.
JVG Motorsports
Albany Speed Shop
Peelessconception
IhateStickers.com
Thecomputerguy
Technology/computer services
All I got for now, feel free to copy and paste to edit and contribute. I’ll keep editing the main post to further reflect on the edits.
I’ll keep this more or less on topic, so knock yourselves out.
