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Sending a New Message to the List
To send a question or message on a new topic, click the 'New Message', 'Create Mail',
or 'Write Mail' button, depending on your email program. Then fill in a subject line that
indicates the substance of your message, and address the list at:
Team3S@Team3S.com
OR
Team3S@Stealth-3000GT.st
Type your question in the message area, and sign it with at least your first name.
Then click the proper 'Send Message' button in your email program.
Replying to a Message on the "Live" List
Once you are a member of the Team3S List, you will be receiving messages posted
by the other owners. Most email programs will give you an option to either click
"Reply" (to ONLY the person who posted the message), or
"Reply to All" (to that person and the Team3S list).
To reply to one of the list messages, simply click the appropriate button in your email program,
depending on whether or not you want to make a private or public response.
A new message window will open, with the list address already in the "TO:"
addressee line. With most email programs, the message you are replying to
will appear in the new message box that pops up (you get to choose this in your "preferences" or"options" settings). If your program is like this and it 'quotes'
the original message, please delete unnecessary quoted material (lengthy signatures,
'headers' and 'footers' or email codes) that appear. Then add your message either
above or below that quoted material.
If the topic has changed, or if you are replying
to only a part of the message, please change the 'Subject' line accordingly.
When your message is complete, sign at least a first name, and click the proper
'Send Message' button in your email program.
Replying to a Message in the Digest
When you want to reply to a message in the Digest, if you just click reply,
the "TO:" field (the adressee) will be the Team3S mail system, or:
"team3s-digest@mail.stealth-3000gt.st"
This is NOT the Team3S list address, so if you don't change the "TO:"
line to the Team3S list address, your message will
"bounce" and will NOT be posted! Our list address is:
Team3S@Team3S.com
Also, please copy the subject line (of
the post in the Digest to which you are replying) to your
subject line, so folks know what you are referring to! (If the message you are replying to has a subject, "Team3S: Need advice on snow tires", your subject line should read,
"Re: Team3S: Need advice on snow tires".) Otherwise,
if you just hit 'reply' to the Digest, your subject line will default to
"Re: Team3S V1 #xxx", and other list members
will not know (and if we're in a hurry, will not care) what you want to discuss. A good subject line gets the most replies.
How to Get the Best Response(s) to Your Question(s)
There is no way of knowing how many people will respond to one of your questions,
but there are a few 'trends' that we've seen... Here are a few tips for how
and even when to ask questions that maximize the number of responses you get:
1. Ask your question during standard USA/CAN business hours.
Although we've had more than 1100 people (from 50 countries) sign up as members
of Team3S, about 75% of these owners reside in the US and Canada. This
can work to your advantage in certain cases - if you have an emergency question
in the middle of the night (US time) you may still receive an answer within the hour,
if someone on-line on the other side of the world is familiar with your problem.
Still, if you're in a hurry and ask a question at 10PM (EST), it's more likely that
you won't get an answer until morning. Posting on a holiday or summer
weekend won't get many replies before Monday either - hopefully, other
members are out driving around in the sunshine instead of checking their email.
If you have a choice, ask your questions on a weekday morning.
2. Be clear and concise in your subject line and your message.
First of all be sure to use a subject line! The wording you use,
both in the subject line and in your message request, will also make a huge difference
in the number of responses you get. People always read list mail
in a hurry, and upon seeing a list of subject headers, will most likely answer
the ones most familiar to them before they will even read a post with an indistinct
subject line. For example, a subject line that reads, "Newbie question
about Turbo Timers", will invariably be answered before one whose subject
is, "I have a question". Make it clear in your message which
model Stealth or 3000GT you have, and any modifications that may have an effect
on the answer. If you are asking about tire recommendations, for example,
mention the weather where you live, the size wheels you have, how you drive (and on
what kind of roads), and whether or not you will ever race the car at a track.
3. Be polite, and use complete,
punctuated sentences.
Having the right attitude helps...
If you're a wiseguy who writes a bunch of non-capitalized run-on sentences with a few
cusswords thrown in, you won't make any more friends on the internet than you do
in the real world. Using correct punctuation simply shows that you respect
the rest of us enough to take the time to compose a proper note. Since
Team3S has a world-wide membership, this is particularly important so we may better
communicate with those for whom English is a second language.
4. Don't be embarrassed about being a "Newbie".
People are generally most helpful to 'Newbies' - we were all newbies once,
and it wasn't that much fun. Don't be too embarrassed to
say that you haven't a clue what you're doing - folks that DO know what's going on
are always willing to share what they know. But please DO take the time to read a bit about how to use your computer, and how to use your web browser and email. A beginner who is SO new as to capitalize everything in his/her email (which is the internet equivalent to YELLING) will almost always generate a response of, "Stop
screaming at me"!
5. Do some research before you
ask your question.
Don't expect people on the list to "spoon-feed" you information. Do your homework
on the subject you are interested in FIRST, and then ask your "educated" question. We have close to 1600 pages of information on the Team3S website, so if you ask a question that we have already answered on one of our webpages, you will not be making new friends. Look on our homepage to see the various sections on our website, browse through our FAQ pages, and learn how our Search Page works - simply entering a single phrase will give you an idea of what's been answered before. If those answers are insufficient, then ask your question.
6. Ask specific questions,
rather than general ones.
For example, if your subject line is "What exhaust should I buy", response is often
not brisk. There's just so much info on so many kinds of exhausts,
another owner would have to ask you several questions before even answering you, such as:
"What kind of car - Turbo or NT?... Do you want to race?... Do you want noisy or quiet?...
What are your state laws?...", etc. On the other hand, if you post with a subject like,
'Borla or custom-made, which is better?', and your message reads, "The Borla is a bit
loud and the others I've seen are too expensive; should I consider getting a custom-made
set-up?", that probably will generate a number of helpful and detailed responses.
As they say on the 'net', we will "See You" on the list!
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