Handling topics that have been already covered

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landtank

Supporting Vendor
SILVER Star
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Messages
21,128
Location
Groveland MA
Website
landtankproducts.com
I personally don't always come here for the info. I don't mind that some topics are covered more than once and I do enjoy the banter and the fun gotten at others expense. I am however getting bord with the constant nagging of using the search function. I don't see anything wrong will periodically covering a topic again. A new member might join which could add some new info on the subject or things might have changed. There is a lot of info in here and someone who just got his/her truck might be a liitle to excited to sit down for 3 or 4 days reading thousands of pages of text to get up to speed on a particular subject.


Hitting a person within a few responses of his first post about doing a search first before asking a question seems a little harsh and not much of a welcome to our board. I'd rather see a general response and then point that person to a thread that covers it in more depth.
 
I would second Rick's message. And also an FYI if you havn't searched in a while...since the convertion none of the pictures in old posts show up....and none of the links (off and on site) work. That being said...


















This is a repost...some said the same thing last month!!!
Should have used the search! :flipoff2: :D
 
personally don't always come here for the info. I don't mind that some topics are covered more than once and I do enjoy the banter and the fun gotten at others expense. I am however getting bord with the constant nagging of using the search function. I don't see anything wrong will periodically covering a topic again. A new member might join which could add some new info on the subject or things might have changed. There is a lot of info in here and someone who just got his/her truck might be a liitle to excited to sit down for 3 or 4 days reading thousands of pages of text to get up to speed on a particular subject.


Hitting a person within a few responses of his first post about doing a search first before asking a question seems a little harsh and not much of a welcome to our board. I'd rather see a general response and then point that person to a thread that covers it in more depth.



Ditto
 
Ditto ,

Had you done a search , you would have realized that Landtank said almost exactly the same thing as you just did . And you don't want to piss him off ... I've heard he's 6'8" and walks around with a keg . And its the people he 'doesn't' like that get smashed !

:flipoff2:

TY
 
What I suggest as an answer to an inquiry of this type would be to post a short answer and then provide a link to reference posts so the new guy doesn't have to try to figure out the best ways to search. Most of the senior members will remember enough about the original topic to be able to find it much faster(Beo for example) than a new member would be able to. At that point a link can be quickly posted.


Searching for a newbie will work, albiet with some frustration, but for us to say "go search ya dough-head" is no different than "withholding information" :D


In essence we are saying "We know what you want to know and we are not going to tell you." :flipoff2:



You see, I know Beowulf's real name and I'm not gonna say....:flipoff2:
 
Hey . . . . . You know something I want to know and your not telling me? What is it?

I agree, I don't mind reposts, I have the option of skipping it. I also try Dan's approach in doing a search and providing a link. I remember what it was like to start with this stuff, and some kind individuals pointed me in the right direction everytime. I feel as part of the cruiser karma, I need to do the same thing. By helping others we will pull more into our hobby which is a good thing.

I was doing a search on scanners and read a post from 6 months ago were some certain moderator was flamming some one because he was tired of this topic coming up. There were a bunch of under $200 scanners on ebay, I was going to ask about that weren't in the search. Now . . . . . I'm scared! Not really, but it made me think twice about posting a question. It's kind of like being in one of the other sections on POR. I don't know yet if the answer to my question is in the search because I don't know enough about the different scanners. BUT, it did give me a lot of information to research. Sometimes, you just want the answer and don't want to do the reserach. I'm in no hurry and the research path is fine for me.

Thats my 2 cents!
 
One thing to keep in mind - a newbie may not be aware of the the terminology/keywords to use in order to get solid search results. There also may be some newbs out there that are not very computer savvy and don't realize how the search works. However, with the addition of the FAQ I haven't noticed many posts on the most commom newbie topics - tire size for instance. A continued improvement effort on the FAQ section would reduce the common re-posts even further. I personally don't mind answering the easy ones. Given my 1/2 banana mechanical skills the easy ones are about the only ones I can answer. Afterall - what does it really hurt? The cost of a post is very minimal.

In the end, if they own a Cruiser or are wanting to buy one, they're pretty damn smart folks anyway.
 
I agree about not being too harsh but at times it does get a little tiring having 50 threads on the same topic. Also by having multiple threads, the info database gets spread around too many threads. Would be better to have that info in one (or 5) places.

Regarding the banter... What I like to do is find an old thread that was close to the topic/question and then bump it up with my specific question or clarification. This keeps the info in one place, gets my question answered and perhaps gathers new info/ideas.

By saying search... I don't think the guys are saying don't post a question... just saying don't start a brand new thread everytime.
 
<Handling topics that have been already covered>

I thought this topic was going to be about how the 80 handles :( :)
 
I agree with Rick 100%. It's really a sad welcome to the board when our response to a newbie is nothing more than "search" or "this topic has been covered- learn to use the search". IMHO it is more useful to skip the posting instead of responding in this way- nobody is forcing anyone to read every post.

At least provide a short summary of what you know instead of what, as cd put it, is essentially witholding information,

Also, regardless of what others say, the search function is not very good. Yes, I know it is all we have and we need to make the best of it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is not a good search function- it is still hard to find topics even when you know the search terms to use. So newbies probably don't know the optimal way to search to find a topic, whereas others who have seen the topic before and/or have more experience with the search function might have a better idea of how to find the older threads.

So, in the future, if you see a newbie post about something that has been covered before and your first instinct is to reply "search" and nothing else, please try to do one (or preferably both) of the following to make a useful contribution instead of a completely useless post:

1. Summarize what you know / remember about the topic

2. Do the search *for* the newbie and post the links, also include the keywords and search settings you used to help the newbie learn to use the search
 
Which is better?
This?
  • What is the backspacing on my rim?
  • Can someone please post the part numbers I need for a front axle service?
  • Will these tires fit my truck?
  • How can I fix the water in the door sound?

or this?
  • I searched about backspacing on my rim, but I'm not sure I'm measuring it the correct way, can someone please help
  • I searched and saw several posts with different part listings for the front axle service, do I really need part number xxxxx-xxxxx, and what about ......
  • I read through some old posts and Christo's 35" tire article, but if I run 35's do I really have to replace the panhards?
  • I searched and read some posts about pulling the plugs out for water to come out of my doors, but I can't find the plugs, can someone post a pic?

Perhaps my question is not quite fair, but hopefully it makes a point. Just 2 weeks ago I PMed a few of you folks asking the exact same question. The response was mixed. Some thought the forum went from one extreme to the other, and neither extreme is preferred.

Here's my view, not that anyone cares :flipoff2:

By not searching or reading through any old posts and asking a question that has been asked 50 times before, the person is basically telling you and everyone on the forum that they don't care about your time, they just want their info. There are a lot of guys here that have spent countless hours writing up posts, collecting part numbers, scanning things, taking pics to document processes etc. By someone coming in and just posting, without first reading any old posts, can someone tell me how to overhaul my front axle and give me part numbers, they are basically spitting in the face of everyone that has dedicated time to the previous posts. Again, just my view, and we know how my views frequently get me :ban: other places. :flipoff2:

HOWEVER, I don't believe the forum has gone too far. For example, if someone posts a question that has only been covered once or twice before, or indicates they tried to search, or they read some posts and they just don't quite understand something, ... in these cases, I have not seen anyone post SEARCH you dumb monkey.

PERSONALLY, I would rather be able to direct someone to a FAQ with part numbers and a good tech write up with pics, but I can only assemble so many FAQs. I have been pushing folks now for awhile to please help. If we had 20 people take one more item and help create a solid FAQ for it, then that would go a long way. To this day, we have tons of great info in this forum on the front end service (one of the more frequently asked questions, and also the project that seems to serve as initiation into wrenchhood), yet no one has taken this information and consolidated it into a usefull collection for a good FAQ. That is a huge shame. Could I do it? I could. Problem is there are a few other things I've been doing around here too. I just asked Woody to find another moderator for the 100 section so I could devote more time to clean up and organize the FAQs for the 80's.

So what does this mean? Well :flipoff2: ya :princess: , no just kidding. The forum is what YOU make of it. If everyone says search, then everyone will search and no one will post. If no one says search then you will answer the same question time and time again or get fed up and leave.

:idea: It's up to you! :popcorn:
 
Some people just stop by for some answers or help and then leave. So what, they're out there and telling then to search won't change anything.

Then there are others who would fall into the enthusiast catagory who just got this great truck and want to talk about it with others who share their fondness for it. So they post a few questions to get a feel for the people here and kind of introduce themselves to everyone.

Stressing searches prior to posting won't effect the first group as they are short time leechers and could care less. But the second group is getting a less than warm welcome and who is coming here for what we are about or at least what I think we are about.

My take is it's like a group standing around a camp fire Bull s***ting about LandCruisers. In walks a new guy, introduces himself and asks a simple question. We promptly hand him a FSM and tell him to come back if it's not clear.


<<The forum is what YOU make of it>>

Exactly the purpose of this thread
 
OR - his truck is busted, he's gotta work in the morning, his wife is pissed, and we tell him, "sorry, that question is too dumb, come back later."
 
hmm, maybe if we disabled search and charged newbies for our advice we would be more welcoming of the same old posts (Those liking this suggestion can send $0.50 to semlin@paypal.com)
 
by the way, you are all blatantly padding, this should be in chat :flipoff2:
 
Junk said:
.... I just asked Woody to find another moderator for the 100 section so I could devote more time to clean up and organize the FAQs for the 80's.....

thought re: this....perhaps a 2nd moderator to assist with FAQ maintenance and a new mod for the 100 corner?

(asking, since 2 people are considering assisting....)
 
In addition to the obvious blatant pad... I'll add this:

If it weren't for the fact that someone new asks a question well known to most of us, what would we do for fun? :D Some are inclined to rabid and anal responses, while others just trudge along and provide an answer or guidance. Who cares? IMO, if you don't like the question, don't read the post. If you read the post and have an answer, it's up to you if you want to spend the time to answer it. Isn't that the way it's always worked?

Let's face it, we're all addicted to coming here, waiting for the next best mod, or for the next thing that can go wrong--just hoping we can get to it before it goes wrong on our truck. We pray that we're not the first to post on that topic... :rolleyes:

So what's wrong with that? It's FUN! :) OK...so I'm old and have nothing better to do... :flipoff2:
 
Scamper said:
Let's face it, we're all addicted to coming here, waiting for the next best mod, or for the next thing that can go wrong--just hoping we can get to it before it goes wrong on our truck. We pray that we're not the first to post on that topic... :rolleyes:

So what's wrong with that? It's FUN! :) OK...so I'm old and have nothing better to do... :flipoff2:


Spot on Scamper! Spot on. :bounce:
 
All I know is that as a newbie asking, I think, a fair question I got fairly racked over the coals. Some were smartasses , some were mean( at least it seemed to a newbie) and some were helpful followed by the smartasses and the mean respones again.

i.e. https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=23350

you know the one, 7 days, over 1,100 views and 109 posts.
Maybe it got a little out of hand. A little guidence or a direct responce might have been a better intro into this forum. But nooo....
Enough.
Russ :cool:
 

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