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Honest thought here: I find the "How do ...?" and "What are...?" kind of questions to not fit the format of the site. I'm still learning the site, but things that can be answered by searching are being asked. I answered one of such questions myself by copying a Wikipedia page. No extra content added. The answer was accepted. A similar question by the same user popped up and I almost did the same thing. However, I still searched the answer and found it on Wikipedia. This time, I summarized it a bit.

The site is motor vehicle repair and maintenance not how things work. I respect the fact that people have questions but its kind of getting a bit too much. Mind you, there are some questions that fall under this category that are very technical and require experience and knowledge to answer them and any questions that may arise from the initial answer. But most seem to be things that can be answered by searching.

What does the rest of the community think?

PS. I did not post links to the questions because I do not wish to single out anyone. This is not an issue with a fellow member.

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  • I understand you are speaking of the questions I asked. I will work harder to ask questions better. What I set out to do with those questions perhaps, wasn't presented in the best way. Apologies.
    – Jonathan Musso
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 22:04
  • @JonathanMusso - I don't think I'd be hard on yourself with this one ... I and most of the others who have been here for a while have been appreciating the tenacity of your questions. IMHO, any question on here deserves an answer. I don't care if they are "how do" or "what are" questions. These are valuable questions, giving a lot of people the chance to answer, not just those on here with a lot of knowledge. Keep up the great effort ... it's paying off for the entire site!
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Mod
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 23:07
  • @JonathanMusso It is not you. The who is not important. I simply saw a pattern and wanted to discuss it. Please don't apologize. :)
    – race fever
    Commented Jan 15, 2016 at 4:49

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First, when you cut and pasted the wiki article, did you give it reference? Go back and do that whenever you pull from another site. If it's a forum, give a link back to the forum. If it's Wikipedia, do the same. Give credit where credit is due, even if it's from your own source of knowledge or experience.

Second, I have talked to several people on here who have been trying to get this site rolling for a while. I'm going to speak for them when I say, I don't believe it's an issue to provide answers which are easily found by doing a search. The reason being is two-fold: a) it brings the information to Stack Exchange (provides a world wide information source, which is what SE is all about); b) it makes MVM&R.SE look better (building better MVM&R stats).

I've seen too many SE sites which give exactly that answer: Did you even do a search? To me, this is not keeping with the #1 rule of SE which is to be nice. These other SE sites get to the point of being obnoxious about it ... I mean down right rude. I'm hoping we can stay away from that and continue to provide the support we have been, not only to SE in general, but to the world at large. When you start asking the "search" question, you will be driving people away. That is the opposite of what we've been working on here.

I have no issue with the easy questions. I have no issue with the hard question. What I like to see is people giving complete questions. I like having all the information I need to formulate a great answer and help others throughout the world get their car fixed. I would hope everyone on MVM&R.SE feels the same.

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  • 1. Yes, the answers have attribution to Wikipedia. 2. I also don't want this site to be mean and obnoxious. The one thing I hate about stack overflow is the obnoxious moderation. 3. Is there a community leader or plan that addresses content itself ?(aside form the guidelines, which are good)
    – race fever
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 20:45
  • @racefever - I will say this, if a moderator isn't doing what their supposed to be doing, there are people who are watching. When it is noticed a moderator isn't doing what they are supposed to be, they are told to straighten up their act. If they don't straighten up their act, they will no longer be a moderator. If you are wondering, I have seen this done. Read this and this if you care.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Mod
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 23:02
  • Thanks for linking to those two posts. It has helped to make some things clear. I will simply focus on the answers. It makes sense.
    – race fever
    Commented Jan 15, 2016 at 4:52
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I have a few comments about the recent questions that have been asked.

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    Great points. The user base level of understanding point is an important part that I had not considered. Ive been working on machines for as long as I can remember and assume people have a given level of understanding. Which is wrong on my part because it does not give the newcomer an opportunity to learn and grow within the community. The question might look simple to me but it might make somebody else click. Now, we still want to make sure the content is still suitable. But maybe let old farts like me understand that this is not a forum for know-it-alls but for people who just want to know.
    – race fever
    Commented Jan 15, 2016 at 14:41

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