About to post a Question? SEARCH the threads first!!!

JadeFalcon

Founding Member
Mar 28, 2002
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Arlington, TX
We've always been loose here at stangnet about reposting, but I've noticed that its not really interesting to browse the forums when it seems like they have been in a non-stop loop for the past 2 years! Before you post, PLEASE search the forums for your questions, most of the experienced people that could help you will not post because they just answered the question a few weeks earlier! So please, before you post, make sure the question has not been answered, searching has never been easier with the new layout.
 
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Yup,before I became a member here(before I was aloud to post) I would read every page of all the threads,and the reply's to the threads.Most of my questions were answered just by taking the time to read the post's!!
 
"Which mufflers should I get?" Jeeeese....
Seems like the reposting thing has gotten worse lately, too. Same topics over and over. And it's true..... if there's something that I just typed half a page about a few days before, I'm not going to want to do it again. There still are, however, topics I have replied about over and over. Sometimes I'll see a thread aout something I have experience with, but just say "oh, I can't type about that again!"
I use the search feature daily for topics I'm interested in, or for questions I have about something. It's very helpful! :nice:
 
But these are th most popular topics! How can you tell someone to stop posting what they like. Without these popular topics to post there would probably be nothing to post..for then stangnet would not exist! I say let it be ..Its good to refreshin up a topic and to here different opinions and views.
 
joe, people come to the tech section to get their questions answered, 99% of those questions have already been answered, now its time to leave way for other quesitons that are not so run of the mill. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of telling people how to fix a broken tach every week!
 
JadeFalcon said:
We've always been loose here at stangnet about reposting, but I've noticed that its not really interesting to browse the forums when it seems like they have been in a non-stop loop for the past 2 years! Before you post, PLEASE search the forums for your questions, most of the experienced people that could help you will not post because they just answered the question a few weeks earlier! So please, before you post, make sure the question has not been answered, searching has never been easier with the new layout... ...joe, people come to the tech section to get their questions answered, 99% of those questions have already been answered, now its time to leave way for other quesitons that are not so run of the mill. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of telling people how to fix a broken tach every week!
Jade, as much time as I've spent roaming around in here, I never saw one of these! Please tell me- how do I fix my broken tach?

I do agree though, to an extent- it get's old seeing the same things over and over again. However, I see where Joe is coming from too: I have noticed that it's not really interesting to browse the forums when nothing is happening because nobody is on. How many questions are there to be asked about this car? There's only so much material to cover, and I notice some of the most knowledgeable folks like Ed Curtis, Michael Yount, Thumper and Matt90GT -to name a few- just keep coming back for more in the same subject threads over and over again, for thousands of posts because those are the areas they're good in. I'll admit, I'm tired of allowing myself to be sucked in to the "Tri-Ax vs PowerTower" arguments (I can't help it!) but on the other hand, I still love seeing "Steeda vs MM?" on the list and still jump in with the same enthusiasm as when I joined. I'm not going to search the forums for threads I already posted in and beat the dead horse by opening them up again and repeating myself because nobody is posting new threads; and eventually the knowledgeable people will leave because they aren't needed anymore- it's all been answered already. I notice they, at least, don't come here to get questions answered because they never ask any. If only 1% of the questions on this car are left unanswered, these smart guys are almost out of work, and we aren't going to see them anymore pretty soon. I don't think there's a perfect solution to this, but forbidding reposting my cause more harm than good. I may be wrong about that, but I don't mind not knowing for sure because I'd hate to find out the hard way that I was right.
 
If the search actually worked propperly, people might use it more. I don't know about looking for topics, but if you search for a members name you may get 10% of his or her actual posts. I have given up searching on my name to try to see what's going on in threads of posted in. When I do, I get three or four threads for the last three months, instead of the fifty or so that I have participated in.

Cliff
 
Also if you try to search for something common like TPS, it says its under the character limit. I did a search on coil-overs recently, and got a bunch of junk that was not related. Alot of these simple questions could be answered by a $15 repair manual. I tell folks that all the time, if you are gonna fix your own car get a manual. If you are still stumped, I will be happy to answer you question to the best of my ability.

Off topic, but whats going on with the attachments, they are not showing up for me. Is that just because I posted them?
 
If "veteran" members or any members don't like answering the same ole question then don't answer them!...its that simple...

Stangnet would not be what it is or have near as many posts without "newbie" questions...

Some people (not all), including myself like a "recent" confirmation rather than getting one that was posted 3 weeks or 3 months earlier...

In short, if you don't like repeating the same answer or thread then don't.... :shrug:

David
 
I don't know..lots of posts is good, but when you start getting 2 or 3 "smog pump removal" posts ON THE FIRST PAGE then it gets a little annoying. I think if the search function worked better (i.e. no minimum and maximum character limits, and no "you can't do 2 searches in 45 sec" or whatever crap) then we'd still have some good posts but wouldn't need to deal so much with the little things.

just my $0.02
 
^-----I kinda tend to agree with that. One of the reasons I post here is to try and help out others who may not know about some of the old stuff. It is nice to pass on knowledge.
Let's look at this:
This new kid is 18 years old. By some miracle, he does not buy a Honda, but an '89 GT, and knows nothing about it. Nor does he know much about computers, and if you don't, you ain't gonna get far on the search feature, or maybe even know it is there.

Why not help these guys out? Sometimes the simplest questions are the most fun to answer, just because you have delt with it several times on your own cars. It is nice being able to provide answers sometimes.

If you don't wanna, that is the other nice thing about the forums here or anywhere, you can ignore it and move on, or just create your own.

At the same time, you can't fault Jade for posting this, because it is another question that has also been gone over. Every time someone asks an old question, and someone else says "Duh, use the search feature", someone speaks up and says everything that has been said here. They are all valid points. :nice:
 
I think a more constructive suggestion than "use the search" would be be specific with your thread topic. When you're cruising down the thread list and you see how much power will this combo make? you can skip right over it if those threads aren't your bag, and shame on you if it pisses you off that it's there, prick. But I think what usually pisses off the real Ford gurus in here is when they see one like
(A) pics with my new hood, whadoo u guys think? in tech, not talk; and
(B) big problems! help me ASAP! (which could be about anything) and so they click on it, only to find "I have an '88 GT, 302 with the AOD, I decided to change my transmission fluid today, and I can't find the fill hole..." This numbnutz could have titled his thread Where is the fill hole on a '88 AOD? instead and then one person would see it, say "I know where that is..." and tell him, instead of 20 people jumping in thinking his engine may be grenading and he doesn't know why or something, and then feel like their intelligence was just insulted. At least give us an idea what your topic is, instead of stealing bumps because we have to look to find out if we even know anything about your problem.
 
stangbear427 said:
I think a more constructive suggestion than "use the search" would be be specific with your thread topic. When you're cruising down the thread list and you see how much power will this combo make? you can skip right over it if those threads aren't your bag, and shame on you if it pisses you off that it's there, prick. But I think what usually pisses off the real Ford gurus in here is when they see one like
(A) pics with my new hood, whadoo u guys think? in tech, not talk; and
(B) big problems! help me ASAP! (which could be about anything) and so they click on it, only to find "I have an '88 GT, 302 with the AOD, I decided to change my transmission fluid today, and I can't find the fill hole..." This numbnutz could have titled his thread Where is the fill hole on a '88 AOD? instead and then one person would see it, say "I know where that is..." and tell him, instead of 20 people jumping in thinking his engine may be grenading and he doesn't know why or something, and then feel like their intelligence was just insulted. At least give us an idea what your topic is, instead of stealing bumps because we have to look to find out if we even know anything about your problem.

I agree...but I just put my "cursor" over the subject line and it fits most of it in this little box so you can kind of review it before clicking it...I dont' know if that made sense... :shrug:

David
 
I understand what you guys are sayin about not reading the posts you don't want to answer, but still...I think people need to at least look on the first page or two of the forums and they'll usually find the answers to their questions. like a week ago or so, there were like 3 smog pump removal threads on the first page...that's dumb, all people need to do is look at a few titles before they post. (even though I replied to most of them cause that's one thing I know all about :) )

maybe there could be a few stickies at the top of the forum with info on a couple of the most common dead horses we beat regularly. i.e. a smog pump removal sticky covering removing, plugging hoses/holes, and belt length, etc.; and maybe a gear comparison sticky..3.77 vs 3.55 vs 4.10 or whatever.

I don't think we would need a lot of stickies, maybe like 3 or 4 of the MOST common ones, and it might help. I know we have the FAQ sticky, but that doesn't seem to make a difference really. if someone sees "SMOG PUMP REMOVAL INFO" they might give it a read before posting...

just my $0.02