Posted By: walter------------OU8Fb5sfMk1oKouq8fcl+K Date: 7/1/03 20:23 GMT

why the 1985 cutoff for this forum?------------OU8

i get the sense we're not really draconian when i comes to that cutoff, and i know that's when TAG took them over.

but i'm thinking that we're missing an opportunity to grow the happy heuer family. seriously...think about the casual watch buyer that owns a modern-day T-H...they start searching the web to learn more about their watch...stumble across onthedash.com...and see that it's not "officially" focused on the modern stuff.

i think we should welcome all discussions about heuer and T-H regardless of production date. and like i said earlier, it seems that these sorts of discussion go unfettered, but why not just drop the cutoff from the forum's header and make it official?

While I think the explanation in the Guidelines is pretty clear on the subject:

What about TAG and TAG-Heuer ?

Polite and constructive discussions about any watch in the Heuer family tree are always welcome here! Though you will likely find the participants' knowledge mainly focused on the 1985 and earlier Heuers, so do not be surprised if no one here is able to help with specific questions on current or recent TAG models.

While opinions on TAG products vary, we believe most people will agree that the TAG portion of the Heuer family tree is noticably different from the earlier Heuer heritage. The recent and current TAG products are the product of newer ownership driven by different focus, product line objectives and target markets.

So it is understandable that there is both overlap and friction between the enthusiasts of the classic Heuer and the modern TAG products. There sometimes is a fine line between politely explaining why one prefers a specific model and quibbling, griping, slaming or otherwise disparaging portions of a product line or the family tree. It's nearly always best to try to err on the side of civility and politeness.

But when one looks at the masthead we find: "For discussions on 1930-1985 Heuer wristwatches, chronographs and dash-mounted timepieces ... it does look, at least on the surface, like it's exclusionary. Especially if one doesn't "drill down" through to the guidelines. I think that if one looks to the very early messages in the forum, before we went public with the existance of the forum, you'll see that there has been serious consideration and discussion about TAG-Heuer discussion (read through the thread).

Posted By: jeff stein Date: 7/2/03 03:44 GMT

Cut-Off is not Really a Cut-Off, I Think??

In Response To: why the 1985 cutoff for this forum?------------OU8 (walter)

Walter:

thanks for the posting and the question / suggestion. here is my "take" on the subject, which is subject to correction or further comment by the other guys who helped put this forum together.

the organizers of this forum are primarily interested in the pre-TAG era. this is where our collections are focused; this is our knowledge-base, in terms of the history, movements, values, etc. so we are not really limiting the discussion to the pre-TAG era, but suggesting that this is the focus of the forum. in order to have a successful forum, you need to start it with a group of guys who will read / research / respond to questions, and in this instance this group was most interested in the pre-TAG watches. there is also the point that OnThe Dash is limited to the pre-TAG era, so this seemed like the right approach for the forum.

my own view is that we would welcome discussion of any of the Heuers -- Links, Kiriums, Alter Egos, etc . . . I don't even know the names. we just cannot assure our readers that we will have the knowledge-base or the interest / curiosity that will be required to contribute to the discussion.

. . . and then there is also the question of what to do with the "Classics" / re-issues. you will notice considerable interest in the new Autavia, with enthusiastic postings.

so my response on the question of the TAG-Heuers would be "bring it on", and we'll give it a try.

Jeff

So basically what we have is a situation where the masthead states one thing, which is on the surface pretty exclusionary, while the Guidelines and actually tone of the forum is much less exclusionary. Indeed, a great deal of discussion of the new Autavia has happened and the other "Classics" models have always provided good discussion/conversations.

I think perhaps it is time we should consider modifying the wording in the masthead... And I think Jeff hit upon the key word here "focused"...

Here is a possibility:

"Focused on discussions on pre-1985 Heuer wristwatches, chronographs and dash-mounted timepieces. While postings on later TAG-Heuer products are welcomed, answers to queries may be problematic as they are on the fringe of our interests, knowledge and resources."

Note I also eliminated the opening (1930) date at the same time. I like the first sentence a lot, I'm less happy about the second one. I'd like to find a much more concise way to state what I say in the "while postings on..." segment.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Alternate wording?

-- Chuck