Guide to asking questions: How to get your car care question answered effectively by a detailer or fellow enthusiast

Since this forum is all about helping and encouraging other members within it; I just wanted to give a quick insight that might be helpful so anyone (even a first time forum poster) can ask a car care question that can be accurately and quickly answered by either a detailer or enthusiast. There are a lot of insightful and informative posts here, all one has to do is sort through them effectively to get paid off....

1] Search a site for the topic and READ the posts regarding it before asking.
Many common, and not so common, questions have been asked on this forum so; there is quite a LARGE detailing information resource here. By first searching for your topic you might find the answer or get a partial answer, that could lead to you focusing the scope of your particular question even further. IF you don't find the topic you are looking or are not satisfied with an answer go to #2.

2] Be SPECIFIC in the title. E.G. - How do i remove swirl marks from the door handle area?
This is how you gain interest in the subject matter. IF it sounds boring, chances are the title heading lacks appeal for anyone to respond. It makes the forum easier to read and search results are straight forward for anyone who has your same question in the future.

3] Include as much relevant info in the body of the question as possible.
I cant give all of the examples but since people are not there looking at the problem over your shoulder, try to list all variables that you might ask if someone came to you with a problem. The more you explain about the factors that are directly related to your problem; the better the quality and, most possibly, the amount of feedback you may receive. Also, the more information you provide the more you help others process the information and learn from your question.

4] Post pics if you can - pictures tell a lot more info than you think and also some other relevant factors you may not realize were important to the situation.

5] Be patient - not everyone signs onto forums at the same time. Some members are addicts [raises hand], some are casual and MANY are weekend warriors.... The community is made up of a diverse spectrum of people with greatly varying schedules, so people need time to come across your questions.

6] Be courteous and thank responders -
This goes a long ways and people feel you are accepting of everyone within the community. YOU are also more likely to be answered or responded to in the future if you are courteous and generally nice to those who take time out of their lives to help you.

7] Disregard the trolls -
People are people, offline and online.. if people act in a manner that is rude, attention needy, or just dumb ---- ignore it. In the end they will show their colors to everyone. But, by engaging in it you get pulled onto their ground and possibly labeled by engaging in "forum wars." This just muddles up the forums and wastes everyone's time who reads it.

There is a lot more that could be said, but i think this can cover the majority of things. Remember this is a place for those who love the hobby. Keep it that way and you never know what fun surprises may result.

Happy posting all

Great Advice! Thanks.

Nice advice chris!

I was thinking that perhaps the folks in charge of operations at AGO could make your thread-starter's OP:


A "sticky"...to go hand in hand with some of Mr. Phillips articles, like the one below.


A tip to help yourself get great answers when you start a thread



You never know!

Bob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FUNX725

I was thinking that perhaps the folks in charge of operations at AGO could make your thread-starter's OP:

A "sticky"...to go hand in hand with some of Mr. Phillips articles, like the one below.

A tip to help yourself get great answers when you start a thread



You never know!

Bob

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Those folks made it a sticky!

:dblthumb2:

cool deal! thanks all...

I figured the techniques and such that served me well could most definitely come in handy for others...

there are a lot of insightful and informative posts here, all one has to do is sort through them effectively to get paid off....

Im glad its useful :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Meghan

Those folks made it a sticky! :dblthumb2:

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You folks are, indeed: The Best!!

:)

Bob

I have a question with photos about my crummy wheels that I think anybody here can answer and don't feel it's worth the time of Mike Phillips on the "Ask the Expert featuring Mike Phillips" forum. Where should I post it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lime

I have a question with photos about my crummy wheels that I think anybody here can answer and don't feel it's worth the time of Mike Phillips on the "Ask the Expert featuring Mike Phillips" forum.

Where should I post it?

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Here's a good catch-all forum group for any question


Detailing 101


And I'm always happy to do my best to answer anyone's questions about anything....



:dblthumb2: