Some forums are just awful!!

[Dos_Box]

Has anyone else encountered this? Where you lurk or join a forum which is supposed to specialise in a particular area you need information on and you slowly begin to realise that almost nobody there has any knowlege about the topic in question?

At all.

I'm now the proud owner of a Land Rover Discovery 2 (and very nice it is too!) and all I wanted was some basic information on how to do a few tasks etc. and when you ask you get told completely the wrong thing? I joined one and made a nice introductory post saying 'Hi' and that I have a just brought a Discovery only to be bombarded with PM's from members offering to sell me one!

My first question was quite a basic one, namely how do you take the headlights off to change the bulbs? The answers I got were many and varied often including the mass removal of other parts and unbolting of radiator grills amongst others. The real answer was to remove a plastic cover and then the HL just pops off. It takes less than a minute to do.

Most 'enthusiasts' machines also seem to require quire a bit of maintence and repairs. Strange that.

Generally over the many (many) LR forums 90% of members are 'enthusiasts' along the same vein that on some tech forums sees 'enthusiasts' recommend not using AV software because 'they slow your computer down'.

Getting helpful information shouldn't be this hard, it really shouldn't.

I've found a local independant LR specialist that is staffed by guys in their 50's who know what they are talking about and have spent their entire working lives underneath Land Rovers.

They're a bit like EduGeek in overalls.

So, have you ever joined a forum just to leave a little time later once you realise that absolutely no one there can help you?

Edited April 15, 2014 by Dos_Box

[featured_spectre]

Yes...Pistonheads in particular. I joined hoping to get some advice for a particular issue with my mrs old car, where there is a problem with the ECU producing a fault when its wet weather or just damp. Answers ranged from buy a new car, to scrap the car. Turns out the issue was with the seal around the ECU housing not being waterproof, so a bit of silicon sealer and an ECU from a scrapped model (which I then did the remap for) and job was done.

[Fleetwood]

Unfortunately the term 'enthusiasts' is loosely used these days, just like Hacking or 'Geniuses' in Apple stores. Pistonheads can be okay but it takes a while to learn which areas to avoid and realise that 90% of the membership are "POWERRRRRRRRRRR!!1!1!one" who use phrases like "'er indoors." You'll probably find most of those on the LR forums now (excluding the veteran users) simply drive the Chelsea Tractor models, judging by those answers you received.

 

Worst one for me was for my Corsa D after asking about a 'knocking' noise coming from the N/S front. Unfortunately since it's a car that's mainly driven by chavs the forum members reflected this statistic quite well, you can probably guesstimate some of the answers yourself.

 

I'd say no forum is perfect but never give up on them, have a good look around - I tend to find that the small/less-noticed forums are better than the 1st result on Google forums - you just have to do a bit of digging to eventually find people that aren't so narrow-minded or plainly idiotic

[Domino]

Land Discovery 2

 

...you mean eyes? They're handy for discovering land.

[Dos_Box]

...you mean eyes? They're handy for discovering land.

 

Hmm. Here's a forum just for you Mike: Pedants' corner | Grandparents forum - talk to other grandparents

[Domino]

Hmm. Here's a forum just for you Mike: Pedants' corner | Grandparents forum - talk to other grandparents

 

Oh, you want pedantic? How is owndership treating you?

 

 

I'm now the proud ownder

[Dos_Box]

I really must fix Chrome's spul chuck.

[Miscbrah]

Pontiac forum was the worst one. Lol, sensing a car theme.

 

Signed up to ask a question about a GM engine, found in a Pontiac, and the differences between that (turbo) and its nasp cousin.

 

Moderator closed my thread stating that, although it was not related to a specific Pontiac issue and wasn't troubleshooting a Pontiac, it qualified as "technical help with a Pontiac" and to get anyone to think about it I needed £30 for an annual club membership or something. For which I needed to buy and register a Pontiac.

[bondbill2k2]

Used several general car forums and brand/model specific ones including volkstorque, totalmini, british mini club, fiesta owners, ford owners, honda owners etc....

 

Some are terrible and will slate anything you post of argue over any figures such as a RR printout claiming its inacurate despite being at well known tuners, cant please everyone. On the otherhand some are great such as one of m cars was broken into a while back, posted on the forum about repairs and the next day someone came round fitted a new window they had spare for free! Another time someone rewired part of my 1970 beetle after some fuses blew and I had to put out some flames all for a few beers

[chrisg]

I find Landy Zone very helpful for Range Rover support, but for Disco 2 YMMV. A friend of mine recommended LRO for Disco 2 issues. I use Independent Land Rover Services for any repairs I cannot cope with, Noel is very knowledgeable about all things with a Green Oval.

[AMLinington]

LOL Isn't that largely the point of Forums though? People start a forum where like-minded people can meet and chat about mutual interests but it usually attracts novices looking for experienced people. Experienced people tend to steer clear of new forums so what ends up happening is a polarisation of people - experienced people on old established forums (often hidden behind subscriptions) and inexperienced people on the newer/free ones that muddle along by themselves. That is why I tend to lurk for ages before registering with a forum. If you can't see the posts without registering then steer clear. You should be able to browse some (if not all) of the forums as a guest to get a good idea of whether it will be helpful or not.

[Dos_Box]

I find Landy Zone very helpful for Range Rover support, but for Disco 2 YMMV. A friend of mine recommended LRO for Disco 2 issues. I use Independent Land Rover Services for any repairs I cannot cope with, Noel is very knowledgeable about all things with a Green Oval.

 

LOL!! That's the people I've been using on Brook Street, and very nice they are too