> I understand that some of you have answered questions
> like this a million times and I am sure it gets old however
> doesn't this fall into the "just hit the delete key" category
> if you don't want to answer?
>
> Not trying to rag on you either Stan but I am befuddled as
> well. Why is it such a chore for some of the long time list
> members to answer some simple questions from us "newbies"?
> It certainly doesn't hurt you at all.

Jeff, you'll find that there are hundreds of people here who are more
than willing to help.  But most tend to be more inclined to help people
who at least make some effort to help themselves.  The harm in asking
questions that can easily be answered yourself is that if everybody did
it, we'd have an unworkable number of emails each day. Already the
e-mail volume is high enough that it scares away some poeople.  Imagine
what would happen if all 1000 or so listmembers asked every single
question to the whole list, instead of looking up the easy ones
themselves.  We'd all have calices on our "delete fingers" trying to
sort through all the clutter!

On the other hand, it would be unfair to single your email out. There is
plenty of unneccessary email posted to this list every day.  (With such
a large online community, that is not surprising.)  Some has absolutely
no Vanagon content whatsoever.  At least your email had a Vanagon
question in it! :-)

When you signed on to the list, I believe the welcome message explained
how to locate the searchable mailing list archives. If not, they are at
http://gerry.vanagon.com/archives/vanagon.html .  My site is also a good
reference for part numbers, pricing, and interchangeability (as are
others).  And you do need to buy a repair manual right away, even if
just to use as a reference.  The archives have plenty of info on the
merits of the various manuals.  Don't worry, there will still be plenty
of questions to pose to the list, archives or not, and plenty of people
here who are more than happy to answer them!

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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Toll-Free for Orders by PART # :  1-866-BUS-DEPOT