:sign_welcome: to the 8P A3/S3 forum, normally known as just '8P'.
In case you didn't know 8P is the chassis code of the second generation A3 built from 2003 onwards. Read this for more information:
The 8P forum is one of the busiest forums on audi-sport.net (ASN). As such it requires a lot more maintenance and moderating from the mod team. We'd really appreciate it if you'd take the time to read and digest this thread and try to make our lives a little easier.
Before Posting a Thread.
Everyone is welcome to post a thread, however as 8P gets very busy we find that good threads quickly move lower down the page and are forgotten about. To try and slow the board down and let threads run their natural course, ask yourself some questions before you press that button.
1. Has this question been asked before?
There are over 30,000 threads in 8P (Dec 2012), so you can bet that nearly every question has been asked before at some point. There are 2 ways to try and find that information from the forum. Below are three methods of finding a thread.
Check the FAQs thread
it has links to threads with the answers to the most common questions.
Site search
You can also find old threads is through the search tool. Click on the link at the top and select advanced search and it'll take you to this page:
From there, on the right, you can select to only search in the 8P forum. Now do a search for whatever you're after. If you don't find it straight away then maybe try again with different terms.
Site search on google
Start by typing in: site:audi-sport.net and then put in a space followed by what you want to know. Google will then only search for pages within the site.
You can also limit the search to the 8P forum: site:audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis
This also works with any other site or forum you are looking for information. as long as you start the search with the word "site:" and without leaving a space you type in the site name it will bring up the results from that site only. this method filters out the results very well as Google's search engine is very good. (thanks to Ash for the tip)
If you find a useful thread, fantastic! Once you've read through it please feel free to post in it if you need more information. Doing this does two things, firstly anyone who wants to help you can have a read through of that thread too to remind themselves of the subject and can see what you know already. The second thing is anyone who is new to the forum can have a read of the thread and learn something new. Perhaps something they had never even thought to look for! It all helps us to gain knowledge.
2. Is this the right forum?
Some people only seem to hang around in 8P and as such use it as a chat room for any subject. There are forums on the site for all these other topics so please try to use the right one. If it's a general car question (i.e. not 8P specific) then use the General Automotive Chat forum. If it's about detailing then use the Detailing forum, etc etc.
There are some topics such as Sat Nav and headunits that could be posted in here (as certain units are unique to the 8P) or could be in either the Sat Nav or I.C.E. forums. The general rule is if it's an OEM unit the information is normally here, if it's aftermarket advice then the other forums are the places to go.
If you post in the wrong place don't be surprised to find it's been moved.
3. Is the title correct?
Putting the right title can help you get the right help as it?ll spark interest from people interested in that subject. Also it helps to identify your thread from the 79 others on the page. Please don?t just say ?Help!?. If everyone did that we?d never know what the threads were about. Mods can change the names of threads so they may change it to something more pertinent.
4. Do you have another active thread?
Please try to keep your questions in one thread, especially if you're asking them at the same time.
If you want to update us on a situation or modification do it in the original thread then people can see all that led up to that point. Not everyone will have seen your previous posts.
5. Once you have posted your thread
Please allow more than 30 seconds before bumping it! As I said before the forum runs very fast and quite often a thread will get to the bottom before it's had a reply. Please don't bump it until it's at least gone off of the first page. If you haven't had an answer it could be that people don't know the answer so perhaps think about adding some more information to it to help.
Spelling and Grammar
There are a lot of forums out there where txt talk is the norm. Do not try using it here or you'll be treated like a chav. It only takes a little extra effort to make sure your posts are clear and understandable so please try. No one is expecting perfect English but "ritin lik dis" is not acceptable. If you make your posts difficult to understand you may find that people won't bother to read it and you could be losing out on some good advice.
Audi's are driven by all types of people young and old, from all backgrounds. ASN has members from all generations, backgrounds and different countries too. If we allowed everyone to write in txt talk, with no punctuation, we'd find that many members would have trouble following what's going on and they just wouldn't use the site.
We're not asking for a lot, just basic things like capitals in the right place and full stops where necessary. Breaking a post into separate chunks can make it a lot easier to digest and a quick proof read will help avoid spelling mistakes.
In case you didn?t know, both Firefox and Internet Explorer offer spell checkers. Information about them is at the end of this post.
Selling on the Forum
The rules have been a bit lax recently but they will be enforced from now on. Please use the Classifieds section for selling your bits on ASN. You are welcome to have a link in your signature but make sure it's short and within the rules. You may also post a link in the eBay sticky thread.
And the rest....
There are other features within 8P that are there to help you out such as the eBay and Servicing threads. Information about these is within those threads.
If you would like to post pictures on the forum please check out this thread:
Spell Checkers
Firefox
Firefox comes with a built in spell checker.
Firstly download and install Firefox (it's a better browser!):
Once installed open Firefox, load ASN and then left click in the message entry box:
Click 'Add Dictionaries...' and follow the instructions.
Once you restart Firefox you'll find that your spelling is checked as you type just like with Word:
If you type somewhere else and find that the function isn't working just left click and in the box and select 'Check Spelling':
It's a great little tool and works the same as the spell checker in Word.
Internet Explorer
Similarly if anyone is using a version of Microsoft Internet Explorer there is a free for personal use spell-checker that can be download from:
ieSpell - Download
Once loaded it puts an icon into IE and you just click it to get it to spell check your posts.
It's available for IE6, IE7 and IE8.
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