A view from my garage on too many simple asks online

Most folks think ask anything places should welcome all posts, but I disagree. I run a small auto shop and see people come in with problems after following bad online advice for easy fixes. Things like checking tire pressure or changing a fuse, which are in the car manual. They waste time and sometimes cause more damage. In online groups, I notice the same thing. Pages fill up with posts that a fast internet search could answer. It pushes out the good talks about tricky issues or cool ideas. I feel this makes the community less helpful for everyone. Do you think setting a bar for basic research would help, or is that against the spirit of asking anything?

3 comments

3 Comments

jackson.sage2mo ago

In my car club's online group, we made a rule to check the manual first for basic stuff like oil changes... it cut down repeat posts by half. Now we actually get into talks about engine swaps or figuring out weird noises. A simple FAQ page for the most asked things can guide new people without shutting them out completely.

laurat262mo ago

Half? Too good to be true.

lindaw292mo ago

Yeah that sounds about right. Simple fixes work best sometimes.