flat rate.

[Michael Riebs]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ed Birch" <edwbirch at comcast.net>

> > I doubt anyone will help you further on this or any other problem.
> > Certainly stop posting until you've had a fairly large attitude check.
>
> With all due respect to those who do offer technical help: After wading
thru
> countless messages like "Waved at a silver S4 on main street yesterday,
> awsome car, is it anybody on this list", I find little valuable technical
> information on this list.

So do I, but the list often has interesting topics which are informative,
humorous, thought evoking, or in other ways fascinating, other than merely
helpful in technical terms. I much enjoyed the alternative fuel discussion
this past week, even though it had only little to do with Audis in the
original post - and that little bit completely disappeared toward the end of
the thread. Nevertheless it was interesting.

I do very little to my own car, but after reading all of the (to me
completely useless) information provided on the list, I am slowly but surely
beginning to do a few small things, and the technical stuff is starting to
make sense, and become useful.

I too get a little tired of the "I waved at ..... Lister?" posts, but that's
what the header - and the "Delete" button are for. Usually I scan my
Audifans posts by the header, and if the subject looks interesting, I pause
to read. Otherwise out it goes!

I'm not sure why I'm telling you this. I'm sure you have already thought of
it, and found it of little value to you, and you obviously are of the type
who's mind is already made up, and doesn't wish to be confused with the
facts, but perhaps Huw or Steve, or Brett might enjoy reading what enjoyment
I personally get from the list, and why I personally "endure" 100+ "little
valuable technical" E-mails every day, to sort out the 6 that are
enlightening to *me*, or that in some small way helps *me*. There just
doesn't seem to be any reason to put down someone who is just trying to
help!

In one of my first postings, I got an off-line response from - was it
Javad... - explaining that listers probably wouldn't like my "taunting" type
of response. (Still don't know what that word means, but I know what it
refers to...). Not only did I apologize privately to Javad, but indeed
publicly to the list "in the event I had offended someone inadvertently".

See, my wife sometimes gets through this thick German scull of mine, and
imparts some of her wisdom on me. It's not whether *you* believe that you've
done something or someone wrong - it's how the other person perceives it. A
"perceived wrong". You don't have to think you're wrong for someone else to
be hurt by your actions, and if they are hurt / upset / offended - an
apology is owed, whether or not you did something intentionally. Perhaps the
lesson I learned would now someday be valuable to someone else out there.

Oh, and BTW, I'm not offended - just amazed at the anger you must be
harboring, to be able to answer an attempt of kindness in that fashion. I'll
pray for you, Ed.

Michael Riebs
Grand Rapids, MI
'90 V8Q
'98 A6QA

www.1stchoicegranite.com