Interview: Jason Debler and Chris Frezza, CamaroZ28.com administrators

Created in 1997, the CamaroZ28.com forums is one of the oldest message boards on the web. It is also one of the most active forums dedicated to Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, featuring articles, highly technical forums, a marketplace and regional forums.

Visit CamaroZ28.com

The two founders and administrators of the site, Jason Debler and Chris Frezza, have kindly accepted to answer our questions.

A few details about the boards before we get to the interview:

Hardware config
Message Board is running on a Dual 1 Ghz IBM server with 2 Gigs or RAM, RAID 1 drives, running Red Hat Linux.

Creation date of the board
Christmas Eve, 1997

Number of moderators
A little over 30

About yourselves.

Please tell us about yourself and your life before being involved in CamaroZ28.com.

Jason: I am going to be 32 in May. I am in IT, mostly web design and project management. Married with one child and a huge dog. I was previously a conveyor engineer for 6 years before I got into the Internet. I got involved with Chris on the creation of CamaroZ28.Com due to me getting a 1996 Camaro SS. I now own my second Camaro SS, a 2002. I also have a lifted Jeep Cherokee as a daily driver. This can be seen at my personal web site, http://www.phantomss.com.
I had a LOT of free time before getting involved in CamaroZ28. I honestly don't know what I would do with my time if I didn't have the site to work on.

Chris: 32 years old. I am a Systems Administrator for a Cooperative of 29 Libraries in the Metro Detroit area. I've been doing this for 15 years now. I'm currently engaged to be Married May 8th of this year. I have 2 Camaros (95 Supercharged Z28 and a 2002 Camaro SS).
Before CamaroZ28.Com I helped run an ISP in Metro Detroit.

What are the daily task you have to perform on your site ?

Jason: Where to begin? Checking e-mails, going over the board several times daily to ensure that things are running smooth, looking for new advertisers, looking for ways to grow the site and just having fun interacting with the board members.

Chris: E-mails, e-mails, e-mails - fixing peoples accounts who have forgotten their passwords and have since changed their e-mail addresses. Addressing any server related issues (patches, server logs, updates, etc...).

"The best part of the job is meeting a lot of people and making new friends because of the site"

What are your best and your worst memories associated with CamaroZ28.com ?

Jason: The best is seeing us mentioned in magazines and meeting people that have been to the site and are a little excited to meet us as a result. It is also neat to see other sites started because of ours. The worst? Hard to say. I guess seeing people try to take advantage of the community without giving back to it or people using it as a "toy" or a popularity/attention contest.

Chris: The best part is meeting a lot of people and making new friends because of the site. The worst? Aside from the occasional Troll, nothing much.

After more than 8 years online, and close to a million posts, there must be something repetitive in taking care of the site. What keeps you motivated ?

Jason: Knowing that there are thousands of people that rely on the site as a resource and many out there appreciate it. We do it for the recognition and not fame.

Chris: All the Hot Camaro Chicks ;)

Are you a member of other online communities ?

Jason: I check out LS1tech.Com often. It is like ours but has a VERY good community for LS1 performance. We have an LS1 section as well, but that is only one of many different forums on our board.

Chris: I participate at Motownmuscle.com and Regalgs.org.