Forum etiquette

Wondermike said:
gookah said:
In fact to quote the homepage: "Our ever growing BMW Z4 community has some very knowledgeable people so feel free to ask any questions you may have and you will usually get a rapid response!" unfortunately we usually know what that response will be.
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Sorry gookah but that is complete bollocks.

The phrase which SRH mentions above ie. "do a search" appears in 419 posts from 461,191 so just about one in a thousand posts.

The word "search" appears 4645 times but most of these times it is not in the same context. So maybe one in three or four hundred posts is telling people to use the search function. Not a lot really.
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and so is the above "complete bollocks.."
461,191 posts are not 461,191 questions.. they are posts, which include answers and general chit chat etc etc.
the problem is becoming so common, that a thread has started about it,
Just why do you think that is the case?

Its not my initial observation, but I go along with it....
 
gookah said:
and so is the above "complete bollocks.."
461,191 posts are not 461,191 questions.. they are posts, which include answers and general chit chat etc etc.
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Well - why don't you count how many questions have been posted then report back - then we'll know :wink:

gookah said:
the problem is becoming so common, that a thread has started about it,
Just why do you think that is the case?
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I think it's because we have had an influx of new members recently and more and more of the same questions are being asked over and over again.
 
Wondermike said:
gookah said:
the problem is becoming so common, that a thread has started about it,
Just why do you think that is the case?
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I think it's because we have had an influx of new members recently and more and more of the same questions are being asked over and over again.
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And this thread is about the answers given, not the questions..... :P

anyway. I just hope that now its brought to the forefront, people will be a little more receptive to questions being asked, after all 'there is no such thing as a stupid question' as the home page states.

I will always help if I can.
what anyone else does is up to them
 
Wondermike said:
The word "search" appears 4645 times but most of these times it is not in the same context. So maybe one in three or four hundred posts is telling people to use the search function. Not a lot really.
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I agree and a lot less that most other forums I suspect. Much less that a few other non-automotive forums that I visit from time to time for sure. IMO those of us that have been on this forum longer and are more experienced should set an example to either help a new member when they ask a question or say nothing. Use the opportunity to teach perhaps by not only providing the link needed to answer their question but then to show the search term(s) used to find the answer.
 
WLH said:
Wondermike said:
The word "search" appears 4645 times but most of these times it is not in the same context. So maybe one in three or four hundred posts is telling people to use the search function. Not a lot really.
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I agree and a lot less that most other forums I suspect. Much less that a few other non-automotive forums that I visit from time to time for sure. IMO those of us that have been on this forum longer and are more experienced should set an example to either help a new member when they ask a question or say nothing. Use the opportunity to teach perhaps by not only providing the link needed to answer their question but then to show the search term(s) used to find the answer.
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Here here!! :thumbsup:
 
I cant believe how helpful & polite this forum is compared to some others that I frequent. :thumbsup:
Sure the "use the search" answer is pretty pointless on its own - but on this forum its usually followed up by a more helpful member actually finding the required post.
 
having recently sold some forum stickers i'd like to just comment and say how honest and trustworthy i feel people are on this forum :thumbsup:
 
There's a couple problems in using the search function. If one uses the custom google search at the very top of the page, they are much less likely to find what they are looking for. I've found the forum search accessed from the menu bar to be fairly effective.

While the forum search is fairly effective at finding things, one may still have to wade through many pages of a thread full of banter, pokes, OT excursions, and misdirection, before finally finding the answer, if there even is one. It can take perseverance and patience to really find the right answer to more obscure issues.

The few times I've directed people to use search, I also gave them the answer in brief, so it was more of a "for more information" sort of suggestion. These occasions were all very obvious "search will give you the answer" sort of questions.

While using the + operator is good search engine advice in general, the forum's parser automatically places a + in front of every search term provided, unless already preceded by another operator. Check the "Search found XX matches:... " line at the top of the results pages.
 
Happy + to + learn + Something + new

I have to say I have used the search on this forum loads and do struggle to find answers to everything, I wish there was a search that showed photos, ala Google images, as a photograph often helps getting to the right topic a lot quicker.

I have to say that I find this forum to be really friendly and helpful, life's to short for friends to bicker.
 
this forum is much friendlier than most others, you'll always get the know-alls in life, but generally everyone is helpful..

predominantly as a result of boredom at work i must confess to getting into a couple of verbal tussles on pistonheads in the last few months, but there are a few oddballs on there...!!
 
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