Asking FAQ Is It a Bad Thing?

vintagetrk

vintagetrk

Well Oiled
Apr 28, 2018
1,138
NW Wyoming
First Name
nathan
Willys Model
  1. Pickup
Willys Year:
  1. 1958
I just had a thought while reading another post in regards to asking questions that have already been asked. The member's opening sentence was an apology for possibly asking a question that might have already been asked one or more times. I know where this fear comes from I've seen it on other sites. The good old " DID YOU EVEN DO A SEARCH" guy shows up and beats a guy assuming he is an expert at internet search and or knows enough about the topic to even do an effective search.

To me, a forum is not only for the information but for community interaction. We are talking about a specific group or interest ( Willys owners and fans ) with a broad sub-category of topics (every part, year, and model of Willy's vehicles.) If information and facts were all a forum was, soon after it's going live, it would become a static site with lookup only information.

In my humble opinion the forums that busted everyone's ( ba!!$) about asking a common question, went the way of the dodo once Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter showed up. Social media platforms force discussion and community (perceived) and few people research old Social Media posts.. unless they are looking to take down someone's election campaign... that's a different site/discussion. So every question is a new discussion if it hasn't been asked in the last 24-48 hrs.

Lookup sites are boring. Guys and gals come to this site not only for the information but the confidence a community brings with the information! Not to mention, the engineering on this site is exceptional. There were once old answers to known questions that have better ways because someone dared bring it up enough to have a better solution developed or they created it. Think ( clutch linkage mods for example.)

Not to mention those F.A.Q are a great icebreaker for the group. Everyone in this forum is exceptionally nice, especially those that are expert mechanics and fabricators to those that are not. Also, having a member who is at the same level of ability say.. "yeah I had that problem.. here is a link member sent me and these are the issues I had" is kind of nice. I've even had a member call me and walk me through fixing my fuel gauge.

Before I found this site I could change oil, air filter, tires on my jeep... the basics. After reading and talking about the basics and yes ( some research of older posts with a few Youtube videos) I pulled a motor, put one in, rebuilt transmission, installed transfer case, and even shimmed my overdrive to properly work on my truck ( that sucked by the way.) I have completely re-wired my truck from scratch ( trust me to listen to everyone and buy the kits.) Ha! It's not all been pretty. I've screwed up big a few times but that's learning. I mean.. I've done some real bonehead things. Even when guys on the site told me not to do those things.. sorry. Like my dad always says "if you're going to be stupid, you better be tough. "

Isn't it simple to just scroll by a question that annoys you? Let those that want to help, help. Don't take it that I've seen it as a problem here.. it is exactly the opposite and why I think this forum is far more active than most created around the same time. The only reason I bring it up is how often I see that opening ( Sorry if this has been asked) sentence and how unnecessary it should be, but that's just my opinion, maybe I'm wrong?
 
Nathan, couldn't agree more! I'm a self proclaimed "search-tard"; seems no matter what I type in to the little box it never produces what I'm looking for. Some folks though have a natural talent for it though (you know who you are and I know where you live ;) )
Can't say how many times I've dealt with the trepidation of asking a question I have a strong feeling has been asked before...
But I will say this, if I know where something is I'll gladly direct anyone in the direction. I've even bookmarked threads that I think I'll need in the future.
The key to the reason I spend so much time here is that everyone I've dealt with and met are above and beyond friendly and helpful. Wish I could say the same about the Sprinter forum...

Now Nathan; can you PLEASE post up pics of your Weber linkage? :) :)
 
Tralehead said:
Nathan, couldn't agree more! I'm a self proclaimed "search-tard"; seems no matter what I type in to the little box it never produces what I'm looking for. Some folks though have a natural talent for it though (you know who you are and I know where you live ;) )
Can't say how many times I've dealt with the trepidation of asking a question I have a strong feeling has been asked before...
But I will say this, if I know where something is I'll gladly direct anyone in the direction. I've even bookmarked threads that I think I'll need in the future.
The key to the reason I spend so much time here is that everyone I've dealt with and met are above and beyond friendly and helpful. Wish I could say the same about the Sprinter forum...

Now Nathan; can you PLEASE post up pics of your Weber linkage? :) :)
Click to expand...
Can do, will do. Posted on the weber 226 link
 
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I agree. Whenever I search for anything - be it on a forum or the web - I'm overwhelmed with info that may or may not be good info.

It's one of the things I enjoy about this forum. Everyone enjoys asking and answering questions. When a question has been answered previously, many times a responder will post a link and provide more detail about how well the solution worked in their particular situation.
 
I believe part of the problem is search engines are getting worse and worse as time goes by. For those old enough to remember Altavista, you probably also remember that search engines gave meaningful results. The week Google show up it was magical, just like Altavista but way faster. But then search engines discovered it was better financially to give results that pay as opposed to results that are meaningful and that was the beginning of the end of useful search engines. Part of the problem is what seems to have been the almost universal to consider that it's proper to search on all the individual words in the search and not either one the typed phrase or items that contain all the words. Sometimes adding quotes around search terms helps as it should limit the search engine to looking for the phrase instead of the word, but some don't seem to respect that any more.

It's one of my pet peeves! They should not be allowed to call themselves search engines any more, Google and Amazon being the worst offenders IMHO.

Ira
 
Vawinesnob said:
I agree. Whenever I search for anything - be it on a forum or the web - I'm overwhelmed with info that may or may not be good info.

It's one of the things I enjoy about this forum. Everyone enjoys asking and answering questions. When a question has been answered previously, many times a responder will post a link and provide more detail about how well the solution worked in their particular situation.
Click to expand...
Agreed, and the fact that more information is applied to the link means there was more to be said about the subject and ya made a friend even if they are not in person.. let's face it, any interaction these days is rare. Especially if it is constructive or positive and nonpolitical.
 
Searching for stuff on OWf and most other forums is often problematic. Lots of issues, like user titling threads with key words that don't have anything to do with the subject of the thread like asking a question about a transmission, but titling the thread somthing like "my 1960 wagon".

One of the things we will be working on over the coming months is trying to figure out a better organization system for common issues and tech reference material. Not sure how this is going to work, but working on it.

In the mean time, ask questions even if they have been asked many times before. As mentioned above, the group participation in working out issues is what the forum is about, not just a catalog of "answers" to frequently asked questions.

Pete
 
I'm good to go for asking questions although it gets overwelming to see 7 different thread for the same problem by the same poster.
 
Pete said:
Searching for stuff on OWf and most other forums is often problematic. Lots of issues, like user titling threads with key words that don't have anything to do with the subject of the thread like asking a question about a transmission, but titling the thread somthing like "my 1960 wagon".

One of the things we will be working on over the coming months is trying to figure out a better organization system for common issues and tech reference material. Not sure how this is going to work, but working on it.

In the mean time, ask questions even if they have been asked many times before. As mentioned above, the group participation in working out issues is what the forum is about, not just a catalog of "answers" to frequently asked questions.

Pete
Click to expand...

Pete,

Sounds interesting! It will be cool to see what you come up with.

Inter-site search in my humble opinion is going to be a manual process possibly. I'd say, the admin has to go in and apply search terms and proper titles because most don't even know-how? Possibly could create a link tree to related threads and you might have more than one to support the side conversations ( which are important parts of the discussion dynamic) I feel that's another area a lot of forums went wrong...killing the side conversations. Most of our side conversations end up solving a problem upstream that comes back down to a solution to the original problem. Or - dare I say it, the side conversation provides more content and interaction than the initial primary question.

In my opinion, the perfect inter-site search engine is developed around the way forums want to work. Not a rigid set of rules. I think there are a psychology and technology opportunity that is way out of my paygrade. LOL. Maybe Elon has this one covered.
 
I'm with you! Ask a question and if someone wants to either answer it OR steer you towards a prior post so be it. If you don't want to here it all again" then don't respond or even read it. For me personally, frequently I'll see a question regarding a subject area I might not have gotten around to or even considered.
 
FWIW - I find it easier to use google to do a search within a forum than the forum's search box....in addition to the topic you might be searching for, add the site name oldwillysforum.com to the topic and it brings up a decent starting point for searching....not perfect but its a start....
 
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vintagetrk said:
I just had a thought while reading another post in regards to asking questions that have already been asked. The member's opening sentence was an apology for possibly asking a question that might have already been asked one or more times. I know where this fear comes from I've seen it on other sites. The good old " DID YOU EVEN DO A SEARCH" guy shows up and beats a guy assuming he is an expert at internet search and or knows enough about the topic to even do an effective search.

To me, a forum is not only for the information but for community interaction. We are talking about a specific group or interest ( Willys owners and fans ) with a broad sub-category of topics (every part, year, and model of Willy's vehicles.) If information and facts were all a forum was, soon after it's going live, it would become a static site with lookup only information.

In my humble opinion the forums that busted everyone's ( ba!!$) about asking a common question, went the way of the dodo once Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter showed up. Social media platforms force discussion and community (perceived) and few people research old Social Media posts.. unless they are looking to take down someone's election campaign... that's a different site/discussion. So every question is a new discussion if it hasn't been asked in the last 24-48 hrs.

Lookup sites are boring. Guys and gals come to this site not only for the information but the confidence a community brings with the information! Not to mention, the engineering on this site is exceptional. There were once old answers to known questions that have better ways because someone dared bring it up enough to have a better solution developed or they created it. Think ( clutch linkage mods for example.)

Not to mention those F.A.Q are a great icebreaker for the group. Everyone in this forum is exceptionally nice, especially those that are expert mechanics and fabricators to those that are not. Also, having a member who is at the same level of ability say.. "yeah I had that problem.. here is a link member sent me and these are the issues I had" is kind of nice. I've even had a member call me and walk me through fixing my fuel gauge.

Before I found this site I could change oil, air filter, tires on my jeep... the basics. After reading and talking about the basics and yes ( some research of older posts with a few Youtube videos) I pulled a motor, put one in, rebuilt transmission, installed transfer case, and even shimmed my overdrive to properly work on my truck ( that sucked by the way.) I have completely re-wired my truck from scratch ( trust me to listen to everyone and buy the kits.) Ha! It's not all been pretty. I've screwed up big a few times but that's learning. I mean.. I've done some real bonehead things. Even when guys on the site told me not to do those things.. sorry. Like my dad always says "if you're going to be stupid, you better be tough. "

Isn't it simple to just scroll by a question that annoys you? Let those that want to help, help. Don't take it that I've seen it as a problem here.. it is exactly the opposite and why I think this forum is far more active than most created around the same time. The only reason I bring it up is how often I see that opening ( Sorry if this has been asked) sentence and how unnecessary it should be, but that's just my opinion, maybe I'm wrong?
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Well said.
 
Looking for DIY info is what searching is all about, that's about as obvious as it gets kinda statement. And no matter how you "search" on OWF, FAQ or a direct question, you will ALWAYS get a more civil answer than ANY of the other auto hobby forums I belong to. Once you've had that comparative experience, being "shy" about asking on OWF shouldn't be your concern.

As we all know, any system can use improvement but the inherent good nature this forum has needs no further improvement. Seems you reap what you sow.

(So @Pete , about that BIG discount...)

Chet
 
vintagetrk said:
I just had a thought while reading another post in regards to asking questions that have already been asked. The member's opening sentence was an apology for possibly asking a question that might have already been asked one or more times. I know where this fear comes from I've seen it on other sites. The good old " DID YOU EVEN DO A SEARCH" guy shows up and beats a guy assuming he is an expert at internet search and or knows enough about the topic to even do an effective search.

To me, a forum is not only for the information but for community interaction. We are talking about a specific group or interest ( Willys owners and fans ) with a broad sub-category of topics (every part, year, and model of Willy's vehicles.) If information and facts were all a forum was, soon after it's going live, it would become a static site with lookup only information.

In my humble opinion the forums that busted everyone's ( ba!!$) about asking a common question, went the way of the dodo once Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter showed up. Social media platforms force discussion and community (perceived) and few people research old Social Media posts.. unless they are looking to take down someone's election campaign... that's a different site/discussion. So every question is a new discussion if it hasn't been asked in the last 24-48 hrs.

Lookup sites are boring. Guys and gals come to this site not only for the information but the confidence a community brings with the information! Not to mention, the engineering on this site is exceptional. There were once old answers to known questions that have better ways because someone dared bring it up enough to have a better solution developed or they created it. Think ( clutch linkage mods for example.)

Not to mention those F.A.Q are a great icebreaker for the group. Everyone in this forum is exceptionally nice, especially those that are expert mechanics and fabricators to those that are not. Also, having a member who is at the same level of ability say.. "yeah I had that problem.. here is a link member sent me and these are the issues I had" is kind of nice. I've even had a member call me and walk me through fixing my fuel gauge.

Before I found this site I could change oil, air filter, tires on my jeep... the basics. After reading and talking about the basics and yes ( some research of older posts with a few Youtube videos) I pulled a motor, put one in, rebuilt transmission, installed transfer case, and even shimmed my overdrive to properly work on my truck ( that sucked by the way.) I have completely re-wired my truck from scratch ( trust me to listen to everyone and buy the kits.) Ha! It's not all been pretty. I've screwed up big a few times but that's learning. I mean.. I've done some real bonehead things. Even when guys on the site told me not to do those things.. sorry. Like my dad always says "if you're going to be stupid, you better be tough. "

Isn't it simple to just scroll by a question that annoys you? Let those that want to help, help. Don't take it that I've seen it as a problem here.. it is exactly the opposite and why I think this forum is far more active than most created around the same time. The only reason I bring it up is how often I see that opening ( Sorry if this has been asked) sentence and how unnecessary it should be, but that's just my opinion, maybe I'm wrong?
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Hey man,

I just wanted to say kudos for your posting. I'm on a couple of forums that are just terrible for exactly what you are talking about.

I restore little British cars and am on a couple of forums for that. They're guys on there that are just waiting to pounce on someone who maybe reiterates another thread or just didn't do a search for their topic and BAM, in come the vultures to chew them out. I have about quit using it because of that. I just sometimes feel so sorry for the guy that asked the question and got reprimanded for doing so.

It's sort of like these guys you see that are selling an item on craigslist or marketplace and the first thing they say is Don't ask me if this is still available. If you do I will not respond.

Anyway just wanted to say (thanks for the post)...
 
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PUWillys said:
Hey man,

I just wanted to say kudos for your posting. I'm on a couple of forums that are just terrible for exactly what you are talking about.

I restore little British cars and am on a couple of forums for that. They're guys on there that are just waiting to pounce on someone who maybe reiterates another thread or just didn't do a search for their topic and BAM, in come the vultures to chew them out. I have about quit using it because of that. I just sometimes feel so sorry for the guy that asked the question and got reprimanded for doing so.

It's sort of like these guys you see that are selling an item on craigslist or marketplace and the first thing they say is Don't ask me if this is still available. If you do I will not respond.

Anyway just wanted to say (thanks for the post)...
Click to expand...
Ya gotta take a stand on that site. There is a good chance the majority of people and the creators of the site are on your side.
 
I don't know if my post about using Google to search OWF inspired this thread, but after I re-read what I said,
"I just hate to post questions that I know have been answered before, or worse, many times before." I think maybe it did.

I don't think I said that very well. I agree 100% that this a unique community we have, welcoming, friendly, and tolerant of all levels of questions--no matter how many times they may have been answered. People here just enjoy sharing their knowledge and essentially mentoring those of us new to WIllys, or new to working on cars period.

What I meant, and this is just me, is that I like to know as much as I can about what has been shared before. The more I understand about the problem, the better I can ask the question, and the better I can understand the answers you give me. If I have a problem that turns out to be something simple, and a previous thread answers it, that's a win for all those who took the time to answer the question the first time.

I really appreciate what we have here, and sure didn't mean to imply anyone should ever, ever, ever, NOT ask a question for fear of being ridiculed.

Cheers to you all--Dave
 
bird said:
I'm with you! Ask a question and if someone wants to either answer it OR steer you towards a prior post so be it. If you don't want to here it all again" then don't respond or even read it. For me personally, frequently I'll see a question regarding a subject area I might not have gotten around to or even considered.
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That Sir, was very well stated!
 
Many years ago when I was teaching adult vo-ed classes I used to tell all my classes that there was no such thing as a dumb question if the person asking the question didn’t know the answer. I also would say that after the question was answered they may think that it was a dumb thing to ask but it may have helped someone else in the class.
 
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