Welcome....<p>Just thought I would relate some of the best ways to obtain the information you want about researching the Audi A4, purchasing the A4, or servicing the A4. As many know I have been around here a while and have picked up a few suggestions along the way. They are:<p>1) When you post make an attempt to check the archives (do a search in the archived forums from past weeks, months, and years). Sometimes your search will not give you what information you need, so feel free to post any question here about the A4. A suggestion would be to state you are new to this place and that you have checked the archives. The old timers will be much more helpful. I personally have tried to find stuff in the archives that I was sure was there...but I couldn't see to find it. If I can't find it, you most likely will not either.<p>2) If you want alot of detail on a response to your question, it might, I said might, be better to take it off line and email the parties involved. That is why I suggest you leave your email address on the post. Some people feel REAL strongly about being anonymous, and that is fine. They do not leave their email ever. It is your choice. Most of the regulars to this board, and there are alot, respond better when you identify yourself in the same manner each time you post, and with an email address. It is kind of like saying "I'm here to help". However, that is not to say that others that use aliases and do not post email addresses are unhelpful. Most of them are too.<p>3) Please refrain from getting personal on any issues. There are tons of personalities here...of all types. Read your post over before you hit that "post message" button to make sure you are not going to offend anyone. This makes for a much better interaction between visitors to this forum. As Jason says on the home page, profanity is not allowed here.<p>4) Please post questions and statements in the appropriate forum. There are six of them, the busiest being the General A4 Discussion. To keep the main forum from getting "wiggy" we try to keep the General A4 forum for real A4 discussions. Other Audi stuff should be in the Other Audi forum, and autocross and audi racing stuff should be kept in the A4 Racing Forum. The non-automotive discussion is a catch all for anything else you want to discuss. It is really automotive, but mostly about non-Audi items.<p>5) The visitors to this forum have, collectively, a ton of knowledge. And for the most part are very helpful and courteous. Please feel free to ask any question you like, that is one of the best reasons for having an open forum. It is suggested that you also try to keep spelling errors to a minimum, but we understand when that damn keyboard doesn't want to work correctly. We have people from all walks of life here...high technology experts, lawyers, doctors, students, other professionals...they can help in alot of ways.<p>6) The forums archive as time permits...usually the General A4 forum will archive every 2-3 days..the other forums less frequently. Forums that are archived are accessible as far back as about 1 year ago. Some weeks are missing due to server and software problems.<p>7) People that visit this forum tend to be car enthusiasts that happen to be web literate. The FAQ (frequently asked questions) section has alot of questions already answered. Check that section out some time...it is great. The Gallery section has alot of pics of some very nice cars (hey, mine is in there too).<p>8) The sponsors of this site are found in the Product Guide section. I have personally bought stuff from most of them. While most people have good experiences with the advertisers here, occasionally someone will not, this is just human nature. I would weigh the comments of the average A4 owner when deciding which vendor to do business with.<p>9) The Registry section is a very valuable tool. It list a number of people, some with pictures, that have Audis. This can be used to help you find someone with a modification or part you have considered. Use the search capability of the Registry to find people. It works good.<p>10) The Classifieds is a place where you can buy and sell A4s or A4 parts. I personally have bought a nice set of new tires off someone that advertised in the classifieds. If you ever need to modify or delete something in the classifieds, contact Neil McGarry.<p>11) A4.org Store - Jason and Matt have developed a number of items (hats, shirts, and stickers) that allow this site to stay operational. Pls check out this section and buy something if you can. In addition, if you want to donate a small amount to Jason or Matt please do so...this site is paid for by them and the advertisers.<p>12) Club Section - Many A4 owners throughout the US and elsewhere have developed local clubs. Sean Griffin and I started the Northern California one (http://www.ns.net/~seang). We get a bunch of A4 owners, and prospective owners together to do fun functions. Some are informative, but all of them are a blast. Check in your area for a club, and go out a meet other A4 owners. Its pretty good.<p>13) Links - The links section contains alot of hyperlinks to site you may find interesting, including vendors for A4 aftermarket parts. NordicAudi site is very nice, DonP's Audizone site is nice as well....and Sean's A4 Page, of course.<p>Well, I think it is time for me to get off the podium now....I hope someone finds this helpful. I sure would have liked to see this kinda information when I first got here.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM

The stickers are all sold out. But license plate frames will be replacing them in a week or two.<p>Matt

Well, I'm one of them. It's not because I wish to remain anonymous, but because e-mail addresses left on publicly accessible web pages are a common way for spammers to collect e-mail lists. Personally, I'm sick of spam, and I'm extra careful not to leave my e-mail address accessible via http (and I still get about 5-10 junk messages per day -- go figure). If anyone has a solution that neutralizes the spam threat, I'm willing to put my e-mail address in!<p>-- serdar "at" rpal.rockwell.com

but kinda wordy

To foil the spambots some folks insert extra letters, e.g., "x", in their e-mail addresses and then note this in their signatures. These "anti-spam" letters create a ficticious address resulting in a bounceback to the spam mailserver. <p>It's quite effective; you just have to remember to alert your e-mail recipients or you'll not receive any replies!<p>HTH,<br>Jim

Couldn't resist :)

Point your browser at lpwa.com. Lucent Personalized Web Assistant is an anonymizing proxy server (firewall protected) that will generate an alias username, password, and e-mail address for you to use at sites like this one. I work at Lucent Technology's Bell Labs facility in Denver, CO, so I know this is on the up-and-up. (It collects absolutely no data about you whatsover.) If you post to newsgroups or e-mail individuals directly, you might still want to take Jim Simone's advice and also alter your "identity" information/preferences in those software programs, but for HTTP-based web-surfing at so-called "personalized" sites, nothing beats LPWA!<p>-- David F.<br>1.8TqMS<br>E30 325is

I don't want spam, and I don't really want to get e-mails at work (since that is where I am surfing from). And my e-mail contains my company name, which is not good to have out there.<p>Doesn't mean our posts have less meaning. Alex B. on the BMW board gets livid when he can't figure out who's tellin him he's an idiot. I'd just as soon he not know my address.<br>

you're on someone's list and it takes a life of its own in propagating to other lists. Especially true for Usenet. I never got junk email until I mistakenly posted to a newsgroup a few times 4 yrs ago. I haven't posted with my real email address since then, but the junk emails still come.<p>Mike C.2<br>1.8tqms <- a4 content<br>