If you don't KNOW the answer, don't GUESS

[Careless]

ouch.

 

heard about the lady who went in for a check on her leg or something and came out with a new anus?

[Clifton]

Jon, this is a great idea and even better that it is posted by a mod. It will be easier to quote this to the offender that coming across rude to them.

 

As far as keeping info. I don't know how this will be POLICED. I usually post if I can to help with those that need it, often with a pic if it will help. My PM box is always full of questions. But there are a few things that I will keep to my self. I know of others that do it too, it's part of life. Doesn't mean we/they aren't more than helpful.

[hughdogz]

This is a really interesting thread (the S12 part wasn't a bad aside either).

 

I agree with a lot of what has been said here (and in other threads before). HBZ is a give-and-take atmosphere.

 

My approach is to help others the best I can, and never make an educated guess without saying you're guessing. At any point, you can only help others that know less than you already do. At the same time, you want to avoid spoon-feeding if it's either obvious that they didn't search at all, or if they are mostly takers and don't give back. I figure if I have a question, I don't feel as bad asking for advice when I know I've done my part in helping others that aren't as savvy yet. If everyone took this approach, we would learn more is less time (in a perfect world) and the takers would have to learn the hard way either through experience (like others before them) or hardcore searching.

 

However, I see nothing wrong with people who choose not to share some choice info. Especially if that information was gained at high expense in either time & money or both.

 

I might be totally off base here, but I think that information is analogous to a part. Just because you upgraded doesn't mean that the old part still isn't worth anything to you. It's almost the same with information...

 

There are some old parts that I would be happy to give away, but others may be worth a lot more to me and I would have a hard time just giving it away This is especially true if it was someone who couldn't fully appreciate the effort expended to gain it since to them it was "free"

 

...I hope you guys will still answer my posts after reading this.

[Careless]

However, I see nothing wrong with people who choose not to share some choice info. Especially if that information was gained at high expense in either time & money or both.

 

I understand where you're going.

 

As for my original post, I didn't mean to say that we deserve the info. I'm just HOPING that those out there that are trolling the boards and have some good information, and gather good information FROM HZ would either register or actually post something if they feel they've been helped by this site , or a person in particular, at one point in time. (part of the reason why we donated, right?).

 

A couple of times I've seen a post sound pretty sour for reasons I can't explain or understand. What I'm trying to say is that saying nothing is better than saying something without substance... you know... along the lines of say.... "nah-nah nuh boo-boo!", perhaps. LOL

 

I used to work at a shop as a co-op student once. And the owner's brother was such an ass-crevice. He always said "move, you're doing it wrong". Every time. He wouldn't however, tell me HOW to do it right. Instead he wouldn't even show me, he'd just make me hold whatever he was doing until he finished doing my work. Even if it was for something small, he wouldn't offer a bit of info to let me know what I was doing wrong. I think that's pretty selfish. I'm just hoping ppl don't do that on HZ 'cause we're all just lookin for advice and support, realistically.

No one if being forced, but a little goes a long way...!

At least that's my opinion.

[Tony D]

One of the biggest problems on 'witheld' information is not from people on this forum. It's in the general industry where people simply don't talk to one another.

On an obsolete engine like the L-Gata, there is loads of information that has been learned, forgotten, and then relearned by someone else.

 

Read some of the Racer Brown Camshaft Articles from the early 70's, then realize that Ron Iskendarian relearned it in the mid 80's, and now Sunbelt is taking similar strides again.

 

The biggest thing about people thinking they have 'special proprietary information' is that they simply don't know enough about who has done what in the past...

 

There were single digit Z-Cars in Japan in the early 80's running carbs and distributors. Where did all that knowledge go? There was no easy way to 'share it'.

 

Chances are very great, it's been done by someone else, and simply forgotten, or discarded as old news when the next generation of engines came along.

[Careless]

Thats a good example, Tony.

 

I wasn't saying that people on HybridZ are the people who do this frequently, just saying that I've seen it on every forum, and I like HybridZ.

 

I donated to support HZ because I feel that if I help keep this site up (with the rest of the visitors and donators), we could all NOT have to relearn stuff by using some good info from everyone else and to essentially keep some irons in the fire on all the stuff that has trouble us, until we bring em to a nice shine.

 

Doesn't have to be super special info, but ya know

[Gollum]

:Raises Hand:

 

"Guilty as charged your honor"

 

Many of us have a habbit of guessing from time to time. I don't think edison made a light bulb without a few guesses along the way.

 

But I stand behind the point of this thread entirely. Guessing when someone else knows the answer just steers people in the wrong direction all day long. Our information needs to be as clear as possible so that it's as effective as it can be.

 

I for one tend to have a hard time lettings questions go unanswered. If I see a question, I'm inclined to share what I do know, even though sometimes it's very little. I also try to preface my posts with something like "I'm no expert" or "I think, but I'm not sure". Hopefully this has kept me from the wrath of the mods. I know the mods are busy, but if I was ever told to change my posting style or shut up more, I'm sure I could muster it.

 

But other message boards suffer from this much worse than we do usually. People just spewing out something they heard and calling it a fact. This should be a message board built out of proven fact, not mythical fact.

[BSD]

I will say that this forum for the most part has very accurate and indepth information from what I have found out and read on most automotive forums, which is pretty rare... unlike some other forums..

Most things can be found from the search function. *thumbs up*

 

Being new to these cars, I have learned alot in the small time i've been here.

Thanks for all the help so far guys!

[Guest 73LT1Z]

I for one tend to have a hard time lettings questions go unanswered. If I see a question, I'm inclined to share what I do know, even though sometimes it's very little. I also try to preface my posts with something like "I'm no expert" or "I think, but I'm not sure". Hopefully this has kept me from the wrath of the mods. I know the mods are busy, but if I was ever told to change my posting style or shut up more, I'm sure I could muster it.

 

I feel the same way, and appreciate those that will help out in this way. If it wasn't for this mindset, I would never have gotten the tach on my Supra working. I learned a lot here by searching/reading & also sharing what I can after I tried something (I have found it is beneficial to indicate what doesn't work even if you don't know what does). With 1.9 scratch built Chevy V8 swaps, I'm used to breaking new ground and figuring stuff out for myself. We are really fortunate to have all the support and info in a mature forum such as this one.

 

One thing I would add is not to condemn someone for posting relevant info in an "old" thread. I have often found answers to current issues (for me) with threads that were months or years old. Sometimes info/parts change, or there may be a "better" right answer for the specific application. Accordingly, if you post an obscure question (i.e. airspeed of a European swallow ), if you find out the answer somewhere else, return to your thread and post the answer for the rest of us.