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More generally, if you write like a semi-literate boob you will very likely be ignored. Writing like a l33t script kiddie hax0r or a gangsta from the ghetto is the absolute kiss of death with us and guarantees you will receive nothing but stony silence (or, at best, a heaping helping of scorn and sarcasm) in return.

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RTFM and Search! - or - How To Tell You've Seriously Screwed Up

There is an ancient and hallowed tradition: if you get a reply that reads "RTFM", the person who sent it thinks you should have Read The #### Manual. He or she is almost certainly right. Go read it.

RTFM has a younger relative. If you get a reply that reads Search!, the person who sent it thinks you should have searched the site. He or she is almost certainly right. Go search it. (The milder version of this is when you are told "Google is your friend!" In fact, someone may even be so kind as to provide a pointer to the previous thread where this problem was solved. But do not rely on this consideration; do your searching before asking.

Often, the person telling you to do a search has the manual or the web page with the information you need open, and is looking at it as he or she types. These replies mean that he thinks (a) the information you need is easy to find, and (b) you will learn more if you seek out the information than if you have it spoon-fed to you.

You shouldn't be offended by this; by our standards, your respondent is showing you a rough kind of respect simply by not ignoring you. You should instead be thankful for this grandmotherly kindness.

Sometimes an answer will be "TSRM EM-53" - this means your question is answered in the TSRM in the Engine Mechanical section on page 53" - if you don't have a TSRM buy one. (There are TSRM's online, but we'd rather see you pay for that copyrighted material to encourage our manufacturer to keep printing the manuals.

If you don't understand...

If you don't understand the answer, do not immediately bounce back a demand for clarification. Use the same tools that you used to try and answer your original question (The TSRM, FAQs, the Web, skilled friends) to understand the answer. Then, if you still need to ask for clarification, exhibit what you have learned.

For example, suppose I tell you: "It sounds like you've got a stuck wastegate; you'll need to free it up" Then: here's a bad followup question: "What's a Wastegate?" Here's a good followup question: "OK, I read the manual and page and I found the wastegate, but the the manual doesn't say anything about freeing it up. Am I missing something here?"

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Questions Not To Ask

Here are some classic stupid questions, and what we are thinking when we don't answer them.

Q: Where can I find the list of ECU error codes?
A: The same place I'd find it, fool - at the other end of a search. Doesn't everybody know how to use the damned search feature yet?

Q: Where do I find the wiring diagram for the APEXi S-AFCII?
A: If you're smart enough to ask this question, you're smart enough to RTFM and find out yourself.

Q: How can I set my boost controller?
A: If you're smart enough to ask this question, you're smart enough to RTFM and find out yourself.

Q: My car doesn't work
A: This is not a question, and I'm not interested in playing Twenty Questions to pry your actual question out of you - I have better things to do. On seeing something like this, my reaction is normally "Damn, that's too bad, I hope you get it fixed.."

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