I first started looking for help here last year when I bought my 2001 SW2. It had the famous coolant leak and your threads led me to find the repair kit. I don't usually comment on the car repair forums much unless I need some help. Last Saturday I did the front brakes on it. I don't usually require assistance to perform tasks like that.

 

This site does have some great tips and advice I have found, and people willing to respond to questions, more so then other forums I have been on with other cars I have owned

 

I've had pretty good luck with the Buick forum for my '95 Regal and the Ford forum for my '98 Escort. It's actually rare that I have to post to a car forum to find an answer for these older cars. Someone else has already had the same problem so all I usually have to do is search a bit to find an answer. This place has a 10 post rule so I complied so I wouldn't have to start a new account to get another question answered in 6 months.

 

Sounds like you have some experience working on cars. You should stick around on the forums you visit and CONTRIBUTE every once in a while. Maybe you could help someone else out. People that come just seeking advice and never contributing, don't last long on the car forums I belong to. It's called paying it forward and being appreciative to those who help you out. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Every so often when I'm bored out of my skull and there are no more paint chips to eat off the wall, I go through the active user list and check for multiple usernames registered from the same or similar IPs. It might take me a while, but you'd get tracked down and banned for multiple usernames. I suppose I should go check yours now.

I think what Rube means is that it's people with extensive automotive experience in hand that are in short supply on the forums these days, whether due to age, technological changes, lack of computer savviness. So you are an untapped asset to any forum you belong to if you're not answering others' questions. I'm not saying you do not -- I'm just trying to make a point.

Part of the 10 post rule comes in part from disgust w the one n done syndrome. There are other places to go to post Saturn questions. We try to help every poster---we just don't want to have a site with 14K members who have 1 or 2 posts. Where is the discussion?

Discussion. If you can't come up with 10 points of discussion or informed opinion in 10 days + the amount of time passed till I got around to sending the PM, chances are you're not predisposed to forum style interactions. Proven by example. The number of people complaining about being inactivated after receiving notice of said policy: 0.

The above and the required forum activity keeps the forum going. And that is the goal.

 

Eloquently put, derf! You should run for some political office!

 

I like the policy. I've been on other forums and it's like pulling teeth to get any interactions from members, where it be advice or even general conversation about what ever. And those that want advice, when you give it or try and find out more info to correctly help so often goes unanswered, so you wonder what the point of setting up and account and asking if your not going to even follow through with your own queries.