Why? Ego trip? I suppose there is a degree of cometitiveness. It's always nice to beat Speedy Jim with a reply but even better if I get it right! I think Jim actually *knows* all the stuff he responds with. That's why he's so damned speedy. Me - I often have to research it before I post cuz I simply cannot remember from one day to the next anymore, it seems! Then there are the times I hurry up and post - "OOh-ooh! I KNOW this one! I KNOW the ANSWER!..." and those times I end up making a typo or saying something that was out of a dream (nightmare) or somewhere besides reality! Somebody (usually JAN) comes along afterwards and points out that Busahaulic has his head up his ass ONCE AGAIN and is posting jibberish!
I try, though and when I see my stoopid misteaks I come back and try to make excuses.... I mean I apologize for giving wrong info.... Heck, I have hurriedly sent off e-mails to people I posted the wrong specs for, hoping that they will read their e-mail before RAMVA so they don't blow up their engine or sumpin!
But why bother? I guess there are a few people who just like to be helpful whenever and wherever they can. I'm always being chased away when I try to help at work... "Get outa here Dave - we've got it under control. Thanks, but we don't need your help..." meaning, of course, if you help, we're gonna end up re-doing the whole f'ing thing, so stay away and don't mess it up any worse! So I come here, pouting, and search for the questions to which I have the answers! Easy heroics 101.
It is always a real boost when the person I or Jim is helping cames back with a reply and tells us what they found and thanks us for our help. That makes for a *good day*.
I guess maybe I have forgotten some of my Usenet etiquette in my most recent reply. It's not all the time that you find a request for help from someone in your own neighborhood with the same make and model you have owned for years and know inside-out! I suggested e-mailing me so I could give him my phone number and we can get together and solve the problem. I forgot about paranoia and thought only about the fact that I've been around here forever (actually not as long as I thought - March of 1999 was the earliest sign of Busahaulic. I had some earlier posts, but they got flamed cuz they were the typical newbie posts about Berg Ent. and GEX and so on...) and that anybody that doesn't trust ME certainly hasn't done their homework! So I figure I have THE answer, the "Coupe DeVille" of all replies and it goes un-acknowledged.
Bummer.
Such is life in Usenet.
-BaH