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MG TD TF 1500 - Use of the Archives

Contributors are often referred to the archives which I think we will all agree are an excellent resource. However I have seen advice given as "check the archives first" and I have been guilty of raising a query without consulting them. However they are now so comprehensive that if we all did this there would be no new posts for us to read! This thought occurred to me some time ago and I have checked the archives to see if I raised it then but a search for "archives" has listed every posts where a referral to the archives has been made!

Lets hope the sun shines so we can get our cars out over Easter

Jan T
J Targosz

A comment like "check the archives" isn't really all that helpful. If you know of a thread that is on point then I'd suggest that you identify that thread as this will be of immediate assistance to the enquirer. I've spent hours pouring through the archives looking for an answer to a specific question, often to no avail, after someone suggested that I "look in the archives". Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

i agree,, how about something like this,,

>>I checked the archives about your question, and found this; (attach the link to what was found in the archives) <<

Steve
Steve Wincze

My thoughts- When I have posted "check the archives" I recall that something was completely discussed in the past, often several times. That means I don't recall the details or different opinions/opinions or I would just answer. Between the ancient architecture of the BBS, semi-useless search function and different titles for topics, this can take a long time to find the threads, so let the questioner look. George
George Butz

George, of course the questioner should look first. But if the responder knows of the subject of an archive thread it would be very helpful to include it in the response. I've checked the archives and come up empty only to have someone tell me to look under a different subject line than what would seem logical. Honestly, just replying with, "check the archives" is not a very helpful response.

Tim
TD12524
TW Burchfield

If knew the exact thread title I would of course tell them or link or reactivate the thread. Guess one could suggest titles to search under which would be more helpful than just "search.." Maybe we should search the archives for this topic...haha! George
George Butz

Agreed, if all the information was in the archives then why have a forum at all? Does no one enjoy talking about cars?
Steve Simmons

Gents,
I agree with Peter. I usually, but not always check the archives first, but frequently can not find a thread addressing my question. Frequently, I have been directed to a good answer. Thanks again for the guidance. It has saved hours of fruitless search.

Best regards,

Jim Haskins 1953 TD
J M Haskins

Steve S the answer to your rhetorical is often that a particular problem may well appear to be unique. Failure to start may be just as simple as a loose HT lead or it could be a combination of any of a dozen other things. With guidance from experienced owners here the issue can almost always be solved. Apart from the albeit at times frustrating archive (now where did I put that bloody thing!), this is the aspect of this forum that I enjoy the most. I learn something new every day. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I'm in George's camp. If I recall that there has been discussion on a topic I may well suggest to som eone that they 'look in the archives'. In all likelihood the topic will show up in a number of threads. I think that the inquirer should show the initiative to bring up that list of threads and search through them. This can be especially frustrating when the actual topic is nowhere near the title of a thread. Bud
Bud Krueger

If you dont tick the "Thread Title Box" when you construct your search criteria I believe any of the search words/phrase contained within a post also appears.

I like the archive features the results of a search are listed in alphabetical order.
G Evans

I usually assume that someone has already searched the web for the answer. If I think maybe they don't know about the archives then I might suggest searching there, but if I'm going that far then I may as well also answer the question.

Discussing things ten times over a period of a few years may seem redundant to some, but each discussion seems to bring out some kind of new information or experience, and often from someone who wasn't involved in the previous threads.
Steve Simmons

What I was trying to say in my recent post was that I enjoy both the archive which shows how opinions can change as well as the new threads. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Agree with above! George
George Butz

I think everyone knows about the archives, so if one knows an answer to a question, what's the big deal about answering it. I've had this happen to me early in the game and looked and looked for the proper answer to my question, never found it, because I was a newbie to the forum and not wanting to be labeled as a pest, I went to another forum and got my answer. I know another fellow who's first post was a question, was directly told to check the archives with no explanation, he never came back! Knowing him, I talk to him every once in a while, hell of a nice fella, but thinks there are too many stuff shirts on this forum and doesn't want to be treated as an idiot, shame. You would never guess his profession, 140 IQ. Me, I'm just too damn old to care, either you talk to me or not, but others, well, that's their story. PJ
Paul161

This thread was discussed between 23/03/2016 and 24/03/2016

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