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As a longtime member, I have some information/suggestions to pass along to the masses to help us all provide a better service.
The object of posting here is to receive tech help, sell something, find something, ask a question et. al. I realize most of us are not English majors and some are not from the USA. Many simple spelling/grammatical apps are available to assist. They are generally free. Here's one---> (Grammarly).
To the point. Reading many posts can be time-consuming, hard to understand, and or follow. The reasons are many. I write bi-lingual SOPs and Work Instructions. They need to be simple to-the-point with good grammatical structure and not long in the tooth(I'm guilty of this one but I am a work in progress). I should be able to hand any layperson one of my SOPs/WIs and they should be able to perform the task with little effort knowing nothing about the subject.
To that here are some general posting suggestions and basic etiquette. (Sticky?):
1. List the basic information about your car: year, make, model, engine, and transmission. List any and all modifications or recent service work. How many miles on it? Include the VIN & Cowl firewall tag data.
2. A picture or video is worth 10,000 words.
3. DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS AND OR ALL BOLD. IT MEANS YOU'RE YELLING AND IT'S HARD TO READ!
4. Do not type one large paragraph. Split it up into sections. It's much easier for the brain to read when sectioned, spaced, or bulleted. You have plenty of room use it.
5. Stick with standard font sizes and styles. Calibri or Times New Roman sizes 11 or 12 or even 14 for us Oldsfarts who can’t see.
6. Proof-read your post to catch any obvious errors before hitting the Post Reply box, thou you can edit afterward if needed. If you are a registered member the Go Advanced box will allow you to preview your post to see what it will look like before it officially posts.
7. Make the post title direct to the point with few words. (helps the search engine).
8. Do a little upfront homework. If you don’t know what the doohickey kabobulator muffler bearing thingy is, do some Googling. Pop boom bang click slap tap thwack squeak are great expletives but are worthless without pics & vids.
9. Always conclude or follow up on your post when you find the problem. This will help the next person and prevent redundant post of the same problem.
10. Google is 1 to the 100th order more powerful than the search engine here. Google your question and 9 out of 10x it takes you directly to Classic Olds.
11. Read classified section rules. Look at for sale section before placing a want-ad. When parts or cars are sold mark them as such in your post. Don't delete it or remove the pricing. We need to preserve the history.
Primary effect: The easier your post is to read the more likely someone will be willing to read it and answer the question. So spoon-feed it. Laziness induces slow responses.
Secondary effect: All search engines will work better.
Tertiary effect: Lower frustration levels for our senior members and Oldsfarts tired of explaining the false nuclear 1/2 life legend of the 70-72 C/S engine offset for headers!
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
Steve
Last edited by droldsmorland; Jun 2, 2020 at 11:13 AM.
Reason: had to fix your to you're per Koda. This will be a work in progress
"IT MEANS YOUR YELLING AND ITS HARD TO READ!" That's 'you're'
Put "classicoldsmobile.com" in the google string to search just the site.
Put a link to the for sale ad rules. Perhaps emphasize location, setting a price, and not being condescending with "$5000 and NO LESS! I KNO WUT I GOT!"
"IT MEANS YOUR YELLING AND ITS HARD TO READ!" That's 'you're'
Good catch. Surprised Grammarly didn't catch this one? Hey its a 99.9% app. Thus, the reason I always employ someone else to proof before publishing. My eyes certainly glazed over.
Instead of adding a link to the classified rules, there should be a one-stop-shop that new users are directed to that gives all of this general info in one spot.
People are more likely to actually read it if it's in a single location and a quick simple read.
Another suggestion: before posting a want ad, read the for sale ads first.
Countless times I see a want ad for a part and a seller is selling one right next to it.
SOP = Standard Operating Procedure These may also be referred to as "MOP's," or Method of Operation
WIS = Work Instruction Set
These are clear and concise, often displayed in an "If This, Then This" tabular format. They include a Title Block of specific info about when the SOP is written, the intended Audience, required Preparatory work, Author info, required review/update period, etc.
1. "Do this," expect this result
2 "Do this," expect this (new) result
3. "Do this," expect this (new) result .
.
X. "You should see this end result."
(Done)
One sample
Last edited by BackInTheGame; May 28, 2020 at 07:35 PM.
It does not matter how, how many times, or where you post, there will always be someone that will not look, cannot comprehend, or thinks they are special.
So true Eric.
But if it was a requirement to read a condensed version of the above before being allowed to proceed with a new post it would/could go a long way.
Not sure how IT makes that magic work? I do know of a few sites that have these roadblocks which force it. It needs to be really basic and very short.
Part of the fun here is answering people, though it can be frustrating when basic etiquette and grammar are excluded.
It does not matter how, how many times, or where you post, there will always be someone that will not look, cannot comprehend, or thinks they are special.
On the flip side, every site has long standing members that think they are special.
Is there a way that when something is sold that the post can go to a sold section rather than still being active. Sometimes I have to go half way thru a post to see that is already sold.
And if this could be done for the wanted section as well.
Is there a way that when something is sold that the post can go to a sold section rather than still being active. Sometimes I have to go half way thru a post to see that is already sold.
And if this could be done for the wanted section as well.
No, because the classifieds are basically forum threads. People should update their threads mark parts sold to let others know they are no longer available. Do not edit out the descriptions and pricing, just mark them sold so we can keep a history.
