All the time people are having to ask for a poster's car details. And they're often only partially stated if at all even when requested. Having to ask is so stupid and just slows replies and diagnosis down. It's utterly crazy.

Can the forum software (vBulletin) be set so as to require these details be supplied? The forum requires other, frankly inessential, details yet not the very details you'd expect a CAR forum would require.

It wouldn't matter if they were required when joining/logging in or only if posting.

Not a bad idea, I fully support something like this.

It's not just a problem here either. People constantly have to ask on the P38 Rangie forum not only what year and engine you have (Bosch or GEMS), but also where in the world you are located, since there were some fairly large differences between the LH and RH drive models.

So location would be suggested as well. How many threads have you read where the poster asks "where can I get such and such" but doesn't say where they are.

Agreed. Good idea. Maybe make it more evident in the signature?

I agree

Most of the time I just ignore the post if there is no info!!!!
I might have the answer but I don't have enough of a question.

bob gauff

Me too, sometimes.

I'm not overly keen on the "enforce" idea but sometimes it's nice to just get things done.

We will just ridicule the person until they put the info in their sig.

OK so I just edited my signature but nothing shows up.

How about some instructions for everyone?

I can see it. Grn/Tan 2005 STR

OK I see what happened. The signature is only referenced at post time so if you change it it doesn't up[date your old messages? That or there's a bug.

Hi guys, your observations are dead-on, and I fully agree! I wish we could require it in a sig line, but alas, we have only instituted the mandatory completion of the LOCATION field and VEHICLE INFORMATION field in their profile, shows up under the About Me tab as shown here, from a willing participant in this thread



However, whether or not they place the words 'Planet Earth' and '10-speed bike' as a response, the software cannot make the distinction and will allow the registration to be approved.

I think I'll ask Jim to modify the welcome message for the newly registered members, see if he can state specifically that at least a country, or a state is even better if they member is a little paranoid about privacy...and the car information (year, model, engine size, and other details they would like to add...into their signature. I'll also amend the New Member - Must Read thread to request this too. It'll be seen by a few, I hope.

In the meantime, a simple reply to the offending OP by stating - 'If you would like the most accurate assistance, it is very helpful to place your vehicle information into your signature line, just look in your member control panel to set it up. Info like year, model, engine size, and other details like mileage can only aid in receiving more replies with the correct information'

^ feel free to paraphrase or verbatim, just try to keep it polite, that's all we ask.

it does update all old posts with your new sigline, just need to do a refresh to see it. good job staatsof!

Well it's not updating for me so there must be a bug somewhere.

Have a look here https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...&postcount=263

I think I know why staatsof. I went into the edit mode of that particular post you linked, in Advanced Mode, you'll see 'show signature' box is unchecked in that one. That may have been the default for you when you first set up your profile, and all those threads/posts you created before changing it in your user control panel (I assume today), cannot be retroactively changed unless you go back and change them individually in this advanced edit area.

Thanks for that, Matt!

I'm trying it.

No big deal just a bit weird. No, I'm not going to update all of my old posts

I WAS WONDERING IF MY CAR IS AN "INTERFERRANCE ENGINE"
AND MATT, WHAT IS CvTbl? constant velocity table???

It certainly is an interference engine if you drain your old oil, replace the oil pan drain bolt only finger-tight, then forget to crank it down with your socket wrench. Had a neighbor do this back in the mid-80s to his beloved 4Runner. Drove to his beach house that evening, dribbled most of his fresh oil all along the highway during the trip, and locked up his engine. He learned a very hard lesson that weekend....

Added into my Sig to show support

Now we're into clutter signatures? My god it's book!