How To Database

[ukaudi]

Websites like these are great but there is a huge gap for someone to start complete how to and diagnostic sections.
With todays cars getting harder to work on and more expensive too there is a way we can help this situation by joining together and setting up a detailed how to section.
So people like myself can enjoy my audi rather than have it cause me stress and worries.
i have been looking for help with my running issues but there is a mountain of posts on here that i have read through but not many answers to help me.
maybe there could be a specific how to guide section for different parts of the car and a diagnostic section for when you need help to find answers.
i find my posts get lost in a section of more interesting posts so they dont get read.
I seem to never find what im looking for even though i spend alot of time searching.
whats your ideas?

 

[FactionOne]

I'm going to take it is a huge compliment to ASN that after a matter of a couple of weeks you're comfortable & keen enough in the community to be telling us what's what

For honesty's sake, "there is a way we can help this situation by joining together" stung a bit - we've just been wasting time, and have helped nobody up to now?

Anyway... A HOWTO section is a very good idea. It's such a good idea, that we've had one for ages

Linky: http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/forums/general-technical-how-to.105/

There are however, two large problems with it...

1) 99.9(rec)% of people don't differentiate between HOWTO and How to?; so that section is mostly full of people who operate the internet mostly by fluke, fresh of the boat from Google, asking "how to fill the washer bottle on an a3?" and similar.

2) While procedures might be similar across models/platforms, they're rarely identical, and I think that rather than dealing with that from the outset (suggesting similarities/differences), people are put off by it, and post their guides/HOWTOs/whatevers in the specific model sections. It's a bit of a shame, when there could be a section crammed-full of handy illustrated guides; but the simple fact is that nobody has specified where people MUST post, and where people MUST look, and that being the case there's an argument that wherever people are tending to put and look for the content is probably the best place for it.

And actually, while they're not signwritten as HOWTO sections, there are FAQ stickies in most if not all model sections which do index HOWTO type posts in those sections. [The internet's wanderers taking 'FAQ' to mean 'post another thread' is another issue]

Anyway, we are looking at ways to tidy up, re-focus and build-on the HOWTO section (I dare say I'll give it the proper *nix titling for starters) - there are a few ideas being explored, but they're going to take a little while to bring together, particularly as there remains quite a lot on our plates following the software migration.

For now, post in there, show people the way - and/or pester your section Moderator(s) to link it in the FAQ stickies.

All the best,

Rob.

 

[ukaudi]

Hi. Well yes a couple of weeks isnt long but ive member a other forums for years.
Its since i diverted to vag group i find im having issued gettings answers on how to fix problems with my cars.
The main issue is these cars are very complex and when you search you find alot of people who seem to be guessing what the problems are (myself included) in a desperate attempt to avoid huge repair bills.
For example my audi had a rattle / knock on idle and got worse when i lifted the clutch pedal. Everyone said flywheels gone. Garages too. Turned out it was the cush drive in the aircon pump pulley. I fixed it for free.
Id love to put that info in a specific section related to noises and save someone a whole lot of time and money.
If i put that in the forum at present it would go down the list and noone would ever find it. The search isnt that great and you end up with lots of info that you have to search through to get anywhere close to finding an answer. Hope you understand what im getting at. Mike

 

[FactionOne]

I understand absolutely what you're getting at, as I had hoped my fist reply would convey.

The biggest issue though, as above, is that my understanding what you're saying doesn't change the way thousands of people use the site every day. I agree with you entirely that done properly, HOWTOs are a brilliant resource, and pooling & organising them only helps them be that; but my agreeing doesn't change everyone else's behaviour either.

I'm not trying to shoot you down; I'm merely pointing out that while you and I might be able to demonstrate failrly simply that comprehensive & organised HOWTOs are a good thing, you and I sitting in a forum full of HOWTOs rather stiffs the other 80,000+ people who [consciously or otherwise] don't make use of them [or at least correctly].

Playing devil's advocate... Let's say that in light of this thread, we opened our long-established HOWTO section this morning. What [and this question isn't intended facetiously] would you suggest we can do to encourage people to use & contribute to them?

Mention of searches is interesting; because I think there's a lot to be said about them, and how the tier-1 search market has shaped the way people use the rest of the internet, but I think that while it's probably an interesting discussion which is at least partially relevant to the 'final' issue here, our discussing it won't change what happens in the Google search box; so for now will leave it at my question above.

All the best,

Rob.