BillK
Dec 2nd, 99, 7:39 PM
Hi guys,
In order to make this tech forum even better than it already is, and to keep from confusing a lot of our members who might not be real mechanically inclined, I would like to suggest a few rules of the road for the tech forum.
1. Read the question COMPLETELY before you answer. Make sure you
understand the question. One recent example was a post for a Chevelle that would only move in first gear, but not in any other gear. There were two responses telling him to look at his "u" joints. If the car moved in first gear, the "u" joints could not possibly be the problem. The people making these suggestions only saw the heading "car wont move" and did not take the time to read the rest of the post. This wasted 2
answers and maybe even confused the guy into thinking the "u" joints could
be a problem.
Another example was on the Camaro tech site, someone asking for advice
as to how to clean a CLEAR POWDER COATED aluminum bracket. The first answer recommended bead blasting ! Duh...quick way to ruin the finish... Either the person reading the post did not pay attention to the crucial words "Powder Coated" or did not know any better.
That gets me to rule number 2.......
2. If you do not absolutely know that your answer is correct, keep it
to yourself, or research it until you have the correct answer. Bad, or
incorrect advice, is worse than none at all. If you want to offer a
guess, make sure you identify it as such, even though it would probably
be best not to say anything at all.
A lot of the individuals frequenting this site are very new to the world
of cars, especially older ones. They are trying to learn and do not need
bad information .
3. Try to describe the problem as much as possible. A post that states "my car wont start, what should I try ?" is a giant waste of time. Is the starter working ? Does it have fuel ? Is the key in the ignition ? Let us know more about the problem so we don't just have to guess at it or waste a bunch of time asking questions back and forth.
4. Do just a little bit of research on your own before using valuable
time and space on Chevelle tech. It seems like a lot of users want someone else to fix it for them without even trying themselves. A great percentage of the questions
asked here could be answered by a quick search on the internet, or
heaven forbid, a trip to the local book store to buy a service manual.
The reason I am making this post is that there are a lot of people on
Chevelle Tech, including myself, that really enjoy helping others, but it is very time
consuming. I have heard privately from several others that they are
really cutting back on the amount of time spent here because of all the
un-needed posts. I have found myself simply passing by the "Help me
-Help me" posts and trying to find the ones that have been well
researched before being posted. Lets try to keep the site a real quality
one by doing a little self examination before posting questions or
answers. It would be a shame if the people who really do know the
answers get so turned off that they stopped looking !
ALSO... please, if you need an answer and cannot figure it out, ask the question. In no way do I want to discourage anyone from using this wonderful resource that Al has provided for us. Even though I am a site moderator, these are my opinions only.
P.S. The two posts I used for examples above are fictitious ones. I was going to use a couple of real ones, but thought it better not to embarrass anyone.
------------------
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
1971 Heavy Chevy - original owner
Team Chevelle #100
In order to make this tech forum even better than it already is, and to keep from confusing a lot of our members who might not be real mechanically inclined, I would like to suggest a few rules of the road for the tech forum.
1. Read the question COMPLETELY before you answer. Make sure you
understand the question. One recent example was a post for a Chevelle that would only move in first gear, but not in any other gear. There were two responses telling him to look at his "u" joints. If the car moved in first gear, the "u" joints could not possibly be the problem. The people making these suggestions only saw the heading "car wont move" and did not take the time to read the rest of the post. This wasted 2
answers and maybe even confused the guy into thinking the "u" joints could
be a problem.
Another example was on the Camaro tech site, someone asking for advice
as to how to clean a CLEAR POWDER COATED aluminum bracket. The first answer recommended bead blasting ! Duh...quick way to ruin the finish... Either the person reading the post did not pay attention to the crucial words "Powder Coated" or did not know any better.
That gets me to rule number 2.......
2. If you do not absolutely know that your answer is correct, keep it
to yourself, or research it until you have the correct answer. Bad, or
incorrect advice, is worse than none at all. If you want to offer a
guess, make sure you identify it as such, even though it would probably
be best not to say anything at all.
A lot of the individuals frequenting this site are very new to the world
of cars, especially older ones. They are trying to learn and do not need
bad information .
3. Try to describe the problem as much as possible. A post that states "my car wont start, what should I try ?" is a giant waste of time. Is the starter working ? Does it have fuel ? Is the key in the ignition ? Let us know more about the problem so we don't just have to guess at it or waste a bunch of time asking questions back and forth.
4. Do just a little bit of research on your own before using valuable
time and space on Chevelle tech. It seems like a lot of users want someone else to fix it for them without even trying themselves. A great percentage of the questions
asked here could be answered by a quick search on the internet, or
heaven forbid, a trip to the local book store to buy a service manual.
The reason I am making this post is that there are a lot of people on
Chevelle Tech, including myself, that really enjoy helping others, but it is very time
consuming. I have heard privately from several others that they are
really cutting back on the amount of time spent here because of all the
un-needed posts. I have found myself simply passing by the "Help me
-Help me" posts and trying to find the ones that have been well
researched before being posted. Lets try to keep the site a real quality
one by doing a little self examination before posting questions or
answers. It would be a shame if the people who really do know the
answers get so turned off that they stopped looking !
ALSO... please, if you need an answer and cannot figure it out, ask the question. In no way do I want to discourage anyone from using this wonderful resource that Al has provided for us. Even though I am a site moderator, these are my opinions only.
P.S. The two posts I used for examples above are fictitious ones. I was going to use a couple of real ones, but thought it better not to embarrass anyone.
------------------
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
1971 Heavy Chevy - original owner
Team Chevelle #100