Hand-painted Bezels
The 'Policy' 



The Backstory…. 

To the best of our knowledge, Carpokes is the only forum that offers its members unique, hand-crafted Porsche parts -- for free. Indeed, we’re giving away more than ever, thanks to the recent influx of new Carpokeans.  We do it because we’re diehard Porsche fans and love making cool parts.  We do it to give back to those contributing to our new community. We do it, frankly, in hopes of convincing you that Carpokes is more worthy of your time than most of the big commercial forums.  You’re not a revenue metric on Carpokes. You’re not a click-bait target or a data mine.  You are one of us.  Porsche diehards, and nothing but.



The Challenge….  

With the recent growth in new members asking for hand-painted bezels and other parts, it is important that we optimize our time and limited resources.  Wait times are getting longer and longer, and we’re nearing the limit on how quickly we can make these hand-painted parts.  (We have an awesome new forum to run after all.)  That said, we want to give back to the Carpokes community in a big way.  Call us crazy, but we have no plans to stop now and are continually looking for ways to make more parts and give back even more.  But we need to make sure we’re giving back to people who are genuinely part of the Carpokes community.   



The Bottom Line….  

As we’ve always said, free parts are intended for active Carpokeans – people who post about topics of interest, typically have avatars and/or signatures, refer their friends, give and receive “thanks,” and generally help grow the community. Until now, the term active has been a blurry line, which has caused some confusion and inconsistencies. To avoid that going forward and create more clarity for everyone (ourselves included), we have decided to formalize a policy to help everyone understand what it means to be ‘active’ for purposes of free, hand-painted parts.  In general, we send hand-parts when:        

>>You have been registered on Carpokes for at least two weeks and have set up an avatar, and 

>>You have at least 10 genuine posts, in a variety of threads, and

>>You have started at least one topic/thread of your own, and

>>If you want more than one part, you have proportionately more posts/time on the forum



992 Tachometer Bezels…. 

These bezels take a long time to make and paint, and have been contributing greatly to the back-log of parts requests.  In order to increase our output of the smaller, more popular bezels (e.g., Drive Mode Dials and Sports Chrono bezels), we are going to limit production of this part to Carpokeans who have gone above and beyond to help the community (e.g., 35 or more posts, recruiting others, linking to Carpokes on your own site, posting meaningful DIYs or other downloads, etc.).   



  Frequently asked questions….    

Q:  I don’t want to bother with all that.  Can I just give you money instead and just buy what I want?     
A:  No, sorry, that’s not the spirit of these parts.  That would be like selling Boy Scout badges.      


Q:  Can I pay you for the parts you are making? 
A:  We do ask people to reimburse for shipping costs, and require pre-payment of shipping for those outside the US, but otherwise no payments are necessary.  Exceptions apply in special circumstances such as unusual paint colors we agree to purchase for your parts.  The very best way to say thanks – by a country mile – is to post interesting things on Carpokes, post links to Carpokes on other sites, tell your friends, etc.   For the time being, shipping costs can be sent via PayPal only, to [email protected]


Q:  Can I speed up the process by sending unsolicited money?
A:  No.  Sending unsolicited money in hopes of speeding up the process is not in the spirit of these parts (and won't work). 


Q:  How do I send you my shipping address?
A:  Please PM your shipping address to Tom if your name is on a list for these parts.  Please do not email your address, or send via text, Facebook messenger, or any other channel.  It is virtually impossible for me to find addresses if they are coming in from all over like that. PM only please. 


Q:  Do I need to be 'active' for everything Carpokes gives away? 
A:  No.  Carpokes has offered a number of other free items (Mode Dial center dots, Carpokes stickers, etc.) which do not require as much time and attention as the hand-painted bezels.  These items will continue to be offered to brand new members with little or no activity on the forum. 


Q:  Can I print my own bezels using your .STL files? 
A:  Absolutely.  We’ve posted the .STL files for all of our hand-painted bezels, under a Creative Commons license for your own personal use.  For best results, they need to be printed on a high-resolution resin printer (we use a Formlabs Form 3 printer at 50 microns), and lightly sanded with 600 grit sandpaper before painting.  While we use a variety of paint systems depending on the color and part, some of our very best looking bezels are painted with good old Rust-Oleum Gloss Enamel spray paint.   
  

Q:  What if I’m willing to paint my own parts but just need Carpokes to 3D-print them for me? 
A:  Unpainted parts require much less time and effort, so when time permits, we may be able to accommodate requests for unpainted parts even for those who are not yet active enough for painted parts. Those decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, with a view towards accommodating those who are most likely to contribute to the community over time. 


Q:  What about other parts I’ve seen on Carpokes, like the Track Nanny GPS Exhaust Controller, and the no-drill license plates? 
A: Those are not affected by this policy and are available for sale to all registered Carpokeans.  Contact us at [email protected] to order.   


Q:  Are there any exciting legal disclaimers I should know about?
A:  Yes, all parts are offered in Carpokes' sole discretion, with no warranties, express or implied. To the fullest extent allowed under applicable law, Carpokes (and its owners and agents) shall have no liability under any theory of law in connection with free parts.  All free parts are subject to the Terms of Service linked on the front page of the forum.  Neither this policy, nor any statement, is intended to create or evidence any agreement or obligation to offer free parts to anyone, and no such agreement exists.  Carpokes may stop offering free parts at any time, for any or no reason.  

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