Where's the oil filter????
12-29-2010, 08:36 PM
#11
Audi Forum - Posts like an A4
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: South of Heaven
Posts: 117
Re: Where's the oil filter????
There are people that are addicted to forums and those that use them to answer a specific question so when common questions come up it gets kind of frustrating for the regulars. After a while these questions just sound like a kid asking if we are there yet which leads to another problem. When someone actually searches for a solution or answer they come up with 50,000 posts that are pretty much useless in a lot of cases because they are filled with crap. The idea is to turn forums such as this into information sources where you can search on any given topic and get really good information so you don't want to fill them with worthless posts or bad information. The last thing you want to do is give out bad information that costs someone a lot of money in the end or even hurts them.
I'm a searcher, I rarely ask questions because for every 1 thing that I need to find I usually find another 50 that I didn't but was happy to learn. Even posting replies like this in forums, many times I do the search for the details and reply when the other person could have done the same. It is an important skill to work on, the amount of information that is out there is mind blowing once you learn how to find it. Just do the following in forums and the Internet in general when you want an answer...
1) Search first, use Google and specific car forums (some people block search engines so it helps to go to specific forums and search as well).
2) Ask relevant questions about your findings and include as much detail as you can. If you don't add enough information then you may get all kinds of misleading information which is something you want to avoid. Other people will just ignore it because there is no info and then you may loose a really good source of information.
3) If you are posting on an English speaking board then use that language. Don't use your own coded language because it makes it harder to read and understand. If you suck at spelling you can get plug-ins for most browsers that help and if you suck at grammar then use Word or OpenOffice which both have grammar and spelling checkers. If English is not your native tongue then write it properly in your own language and use something like Google Translate as it does an okay job if you are using simple words.
4) Reply back with the solution of the problems so others can learn because this is important. If someone took the time to help you or even if you posted and didn't get the help you needed please post back what fixed it for you to help others.
5) If you really have no idea and want someone to answer your question with non-technical answers then just let them know ahead of time you have no idea. Hopefully people would be kind enough to take this at face value and be gentle.
We are all in this for the same thing so it is better to be a community and help each other out than waste band-width and each others time but not following simple etiquette.
I'm a searcher, I rarely ask questions because for every 1 thing that I need to find I usually find another 50 that I didn't but was happy to learn. Even posting replies like this in forums, many times I do the search for the details and reply when the other person could have done the same. It is an important skill to work on, the amount of information that is out there is mind blowing once you learn how to find it. Just do the following in forums and the Internet in general when you want an answer...
1) Search first, use Google and specific car forums (some people block search engines so it helps to go to specific forums and search as well).
2) Ask relevant questions about your findings and include as much detail as you can. If you don't add enough information then you may get all kinds of misleading information which is something you want to avoid. Other people will just ignore it because there is no info and then you may loose a really good source of information.
3) If you are posting on an English speaking board then use that language. Don't use your own coded language because it makes it harder to read and understand. If you suck at spelling you can get plug-ins for most browsers that help and if you suck at grammar then use Word or OpenOffice which both have grammar and spelling checkers. If English is not your native tongue then write it properly in your own language and use something like Google Translate as it does an okay job if you are using simple words.
4) Reply back with the solution of the problems so others can learn because this is important. If someone took the time to help you or even if you posted and didn't get the help you needed please post back what fixed it for you to help others.
5) If you really have no idea and want someone to answer your question with non-technical answers then just let them know ahead of time you have no idea. Hopefully people would be kind enough to take this at face value and be gentle.
We are all in this for the same thing so it is better to be a community and help each other out than waste band-width and each others time but not following simple etiquette.
12-29-2010, 11:33 PM
#14
Audi Forum - Posts like an A5
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Republic of B.C.!
Posts: 382
Re: Where's the oil filter????
Originally Posted by READ BEFORE POSTING: How To Ask Smart Questions
...Write in Clear, Grammatical, Correctly-Spelled Language
Most of us have found by experience that people who are careless and sloppy writers are usually (there are exceptions) careless and sloppy at thinking and working on cars. Answering questions for careless and sloppy thinkers is not rewarding; we'd rather spend our time elsewhere.
So expressing your question clearly and well is important. If you can't be bothered to do that, we can't be bothered to pay attention. Spend the extra effort to polish your language. It doesn't have to be stiff or formal in fact, the car culture values informal, slangy and humorous language used with precision. But it has to be precise; there has to be some indication that you're thinking and paying attention.
Spell, punctuate, and capitalize correctly. Don't confuse "its" with "it's", "loose" with "lose", or "they're" with "there". Don't TYPE IN ALL CAPS; this is read as shouting and considered rude. (All lowercase is only slightly less annoying, as it's difficult to read.)...
Last edited by mksu19; 12-29-2010 at 11:39 PM.
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