Newbies: Please Read Before Posting

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Newbies: Please Read Before Posting

This community welcomes newcomers and enjoys assisting “newbies” in resolving their BMW issues. We ask that you observe certain courtesies.

In your registration, please fill out all fields. Members of this board will be better able to assist you if they know the year and model of your car, the number of miles or kilometers, where you are located (some issues are country specific), and any prior modifications done to your car.

Before searching, please look in the archives and/or conduct a thread search. There are a number of problems that are very common and have been covered extensively. We have attempted to save high quality threads that most thoroughly explain these issues and their resolution. The best way to get to these archives is the archive link at the center top of the page. If you do not find your issue in the archived threads, the next step is to use the “search this forum” tool at the upper right to search for other threads that deal with your problem. Long time members tire of answering the same questions repeatedly for impatient newcomers who are too lazy to search the archives or the threads. If you commit this faux pas, you are not likely to get much of a response. On the other hand, we get excited about a new wrinkle to an old problem. If you have read and tried the solutions in the archives and they didn’t work, and you have done your own thread search with no luck, by all means, post a new thread. Please indicate in your thread that you have read the archives and what you tried and what happened.

Please include the problem in the thread title. You will get much more of a response to something specific like “My brother is locked in the car and can’t get out” or “How do I get a stuck spark plug out” than something like “Another newbie problem”.

Please be patient. This is an international community. The person who has the answer to your problem may be on the other side of the globe or may be a person who only checks in every couple of days. It is fairly typical for a thread to take a 3-7 days to run its course.

Consider posting a picture. If you are having trouble describing something, post a picture. Also we also welcome “Self-Introduction Posts” if you plan to be a member who wants to hang around and participate in the fun. Tell us stuff like how long your have had your car, what your cars issues are, etc. It is a good idea to try posting your picture in the test area, before going to the main board. The FAQs and the post on posting pictures both provide valuable information to make your first picture post a smooth experience.

This is a TECH related forum only. Off-topic posts belong in the Way Off-Topic area. Don't kill yourself over this, some work safe OT in the regular forum is OK. We just don't want it to turn into an all OT board.

Try to avoid the inflammatory issues. We love to joke here, but off hand comments made in fun about politics, guns, and other divisive topics can spark a back lash that take many a newbie by surprise. Old timers do it, but it is a dangerous activity for a newbie.

Develop a thick skin and don’t take things personally. We try to be really nice to newbies, but in a community this size, there is always someone having a bad day. If there is a factual error in a post, it is likely that a member will correct it so that the error is not perpetuated as truth. Don’t take it personally when it is your error being corrected.

Having read all of this, you are ready to begin posting. Remember that there are other helpful bits of information about this board in the FAQs in addition to the archives.

Now---WELCOME TO BIMMERNUT.COM AKA BIMMER.INFO Let’s talk bimmers!

A big thanks to Gayle, the Idea Gal, for providing this context.