hi folks
there has been some drama in the forum lately. though it's not new - a little bit of drama makes life more interesting - the cause of it is.
i remember when i got my first bimmer, it was like getting to know someone new - all the idiosyncracies, the little habits good and bad, the funny traits, the likeable and unlikeable, etc.
my car was not new. it was a 9 year old E30 320. went like a bat out of hell (at least in my perception), reliable to a certain extent (she leaked oil periodically), but at least i had a set of wheels that gave me a newfound freedom - freedom to drive around for supper and not worry about the midnight surcharge; discover new food places off the beaten track; venture across the causeway for longer drives; etc. and nope, it didn't help me get any booty as my ride was not a shiny new car, but i loved her to death nevertheless.
when i had any questions or problems, i did my research before venturing to the workshop, so i would not get swindled of what little money i had left after paying off the monthly instalment. when i couldn't find anything even after doing my research, i would at least pretend to know something, so the workshop mechanics couldn't bring me for a proverbial ride.
most of the time, there would be a like-minded bunch of us hanging around the workshop, and we would chat, exchange numbers and have a coffee now and then. we would consult one another when we encountered issues with our rides and help find solutions (this was before the internet became popular and there was no bmw-sg).
all the knowledge we had about our cars was hard-earned - through collective mutual experiences, ol' skool research, and time and money invested at the workshops.
imagine what joy we felt when bmw-sg came into existence - we finally now share our joys (and commiserate our miseries) of BMW ownership with a larger group of like-minded people. we could have bigger kopi sessions, there would be more knowledge to share, more places to go. more people = bigger group buys = more savings.
there was, if any, little downside to this new arrangement as everyone contributed.
our cars were like our mistresses - love them and give them TLC and they will love you back; neglect them and they will surely make sure you suffer for it. Ok, mebbe not 'mistresses' per se, but you get the drift...
nowadays, we get people asking the mundane questions in the forum, answers which would have been found in the owners manual, if one bothers to read it, or if even bothered to google it.
there are even some inane questions, questions that i would be embarrassed to ask openly (mebbe just whisper into someone's ear discreetly).
but that was once upon a time...
not sure about the rest of the senior members of the forum, but i openly welcome new members, but i also have limited patience. i have tried to help the newer members, but i feel the same frustration when i see a waste of space and bandwidth. instead of rebutting, which i feel is a waste of time and effort, i bite my tongue and try to tune out.
the frustration is borne not out of arrogance, but of the frustration over the time and effort we have invested, typing out our posts and sharing our knowledge, only to have somebody ask the same question again.
the older members are all passionate bimmer lovers, but can we say the same about the newer ones? would you spend more effort getting to know a person better if you were interested in him/her? or would you ask openly? could it also be because the more senior members are older and therefore more sentimental and more romantic (pun intended)?
i was also wondering, if nobody answered, would the younger folks be forced to put more effort into finding the answers. i was hoping so, and that's why i have been lurking instead of replying, hoping that this would happen soon.
another thing the admin people could do is to 'screen' members - newbies would have to answer 3 questions before they could post (and perhaps prompt them to put in a bit more effort):-
- what does bmw stand for?
- what is a hoffmeister kink?
- what is vanos?
nothing ventured, nothing gained...
thanks for letting me rant. peace out...
