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Is it time for an FAQ page ?

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Topic Index > Car Questions > Is it time for an FAQ page ?

Is it time for an FAQ page ?

I perceive a little frustration on the forum with a few (and they are very few) postings, though the subjects or concepts are frequent fliers. Does anyone think it’s time for an FAQ / How to phrase a question page ?

A few candidates I can think of…..

Can I run my car on water, composted grass cuttings or old unused acrylic paint ?

What about the price of gas (take it to the global commerce forum).

I know nothing about cars and don’t have a workshop manual for the Jaguar V12 I’ve just purchased, can anyone tell me how to completely rebuild my engine ?

I have a blue car with a strange knocking sound, can you tell me what the problem is ?

How do I phrase an intelligent sentence, use punctuation or use my caps lock key ?

And of course the classic : Why are my followers falling off my Mercury ?

Posted by: Scudder

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Excellent idea, Scudder. And, your examples of frustratingly silly questions are also really good!

I would add to your list: "How do I repair the XXXXXX on my Citroen Saxo?"--a question that comes up every couple of months. Hell--nobody in Europe seems to know how to repair them, so how someone in the US could answer that question is beyond me.

It might actually be a good idea to mention on the home page that this is a US-based forum, and perhaps a list of the European makes that are not sold in the US could be posted, thus leading to less frustration for those in Europe who are asking for help with cars that nobody is familiar with.

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hehe....I don't think Saxo's are designed to be fixed, they're injection moulded at the Sevelnord plant. The Europeans don't know how to fix them, posting to this forum is the final stages of frustration.

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after the last two months or so i an really wondering why the most inane irrelevant questions AND answers are getting both posted and every one riled up.

maybe since we are in a recession more people are looking for the magical wrench, and are getting angry not finding it for free in this website!

but then again, some of the 'help' from apparently the same person (masquerading under different screen names) is making it harder to get the OP to follow the posts with info and the ability to get help.

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So what is better for your car . . . dino oil or synthetic? Rocketman

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And the ever-popular "How often should I change oil/perform X maintenance procedure?"

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..and "What's the best oil filter to use"

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The responders could cooperate in developing the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). This could be a useful, helpful, adjunct to the Search feature. Now, how do we get the attention, and cooperation, of the Website manager(s) to implement this?

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HELLOOOOOOOOOOO

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If the regulars do want to do this one can easily build their own Wiki (as in a Wikipedia). Its a type of website that is easily set up and can be edited by anyone with "editor" privileges - though I'm pretty sure it can be left to open editing by anyone. Editing can mean adding a new entry (e.g. Spark plugs, oil filters, water for fuel, gas mileage, etc.) and/or editing any existing entry. Of course, the best Wikis will likely have a junk patrol since, as you know, bad info is all over. That means it would be most useful if it was regularly patrolled and edited for bad info.

If anyone is interested, the following site hosts free Wikis:

http://www.wikidot.com/

though there are others that host these for free.

Updated: 05/10/2008 01:48:32 PM

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The big problem with this is that no one even uses the search function on this site. How can we expect them to click on a link to another site?

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Well that certainly is a problem isn't it? Its probably time to just ask that a big letter flashing message gets posted at the top after login - something that says something like:

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS? YOU MIGHT GET THEM FASTER BY SEARCHING FOR EXISTING DISCUSSIONS - YOU IDIOT!

ok the last part could be left off.

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ok the last part could be left off.

Like this?

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS? YOU IDIOT!

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I agree regarding peoples inability to use Search. But if the forum did have an FAQ, irritating questions like "Can I drive my car on water" could just be directed to the FAQ comments and answers "No, generally cars don't float unles you own a Schwimmvagen".

I don't really mind answering that stuff but twice a week starts to get a little repetitious. Plus the posters seem to really want to hear that it works. No chance.

Other than that we could provide some advice "How to pose a question : Make, model, year, engine, transmission type" would be a good start.

..and finally, how to say "Thanks for your help that worked / didn't work (delete one)"

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Perhaps they could make it part of the question filling out part of the thread title before they even make the post. Like little drop down menus for year, make, model, mileage, etc.

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I agree. The ones about water into gas just really irritate the devil out of me and the one about followers falling off the Mercury was a real hoot. The latter never made any sense to me at all.

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Nice, but you're addressing a symptom not the problem and are simply rechurning the same discussion that occurs twice a week. If you search for 'water' or 'hydrogen' on this forum there are plenty of threads to expound your view.

This thread is related to whether or not the forum should continue to address those questions directly, not the question itself.

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My point was that it is possible to argue with someone without questioning their motives, intelligence or by being outright accusatory.

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A FAQ section is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY overdue.

The search link on this site doesn't work at all. Why?

I typed in 'tires', nothing. I typed in 'intake manifold gaskets', nothing. I typed in 'sway bars', nothing.

The typed word(s) just stare back at you. Anyone else get it to work and for how long?

It worked on the old forum reasonably well, although it wouldn't go back a full year and in some cases it would be nice.

One other thing I would like to see is a section relating to different vehicles by year/make and model and whether interference or noninterference engines.

One thing for sure is to have a troll wacker.

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i have some spare three phase here, if i could just get it to the offending key board! just a little ZAP once in a while!

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I posted an enquiry to the webmaster, I guess we'll see have to wait and see what reception it gets. As Amateur stated earlier a Wiki type of site would be ideal since it's colaborative, topically driven and needs minimal admin.

If you guys really want this, email the enquiries email under Help.

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