Bimmer Tech Group - BMW Technician's Resource Group:
The Bimmer Tech Group is an international (email / list-server
based) discussion/resource group made up of professional BMW technicians
from around the world. As a technical resource group, we are dedicated
to pooling our expertise, and seeking to enhance our technical
knowledge, skills, professionalism, and competence in regards
to the repair, maintenance and diagnosis of BMW automobiles. Discussions
related to BMW technical problems, BMW repair trends, diagnostic
techniques, and other BMW related topics are welcome. To join
the Bimmer Tech Group, you must be a professional BMW service
specialist with at least four years of BMW experience and/or BMW
factory training. There are two other requirements: a
yearly membership fee (paid to BIMRS) and a commitment to participate and contribute
to group discussions. If you feel you meet this criteria, please
send an e-mail message to: rggroh@EMsport.com . You must include
your BMW experience and qualifications, the name of the Independent
BMW specialty shop or the BMW dealer that you work for, your daytime
(work) phone number, and your e-mail address. This is a private
professional group, not sponsored by or affiliated with BMWNA
or BMWAG.
Group Membership Conditions and Posting Rules:
1) All messages posted to this group should be considered
private and are to remain exclusively within the group. No message
or part of any message is meant for distribution outside of the
group unless explicit permission has been received from the author
of the individual posting. Postings that have quotes included
must also receive explicit permission from the quoted author.
The contents of posts made to the group shall retain all copyrights
under current Internet copyright/publishing standards.
2) Please make sure that anything you post to the group is BMW
"tech" related or BMW service related in some way, that
it is of general interest to the group (e.g., not a "personal"
message -- see items #9 and #10 below), that it is not offensive,
and that it follows the general rules of netiquette (e.g., no
spamming, no foul language, no flaming, etc.). Don't send "test" posts (email "check" posts) to the group. Any form of advertising
or solicitation to members of the Bimmer Tech Group is strictly
forbidden. If you have a non-BMW related topic or question, you
should direct it to the i-ATN (International Automotive Technician's
Network). Information about the i-ATN and how to join can be found
at: http://www.iatn.net/. If
you are looking to locate, buy or sell a BMW part (especially
a used part), you should join one of the BMW-specific parts digests.
3) If you need to refer a customer to another BMW shop, you should
search the archives instead of posting to the group.
Shop referral topics (and their follow-up threads) tend to waste
bandwidth and archive storage space. Explicit instructions for
performing archive searches and also for posting to the Group
with a web-based interface can be found at the Group
Archive page (you can also use the "Go to the Group"
button at the top of this page). You will need to be a current
Group member and set up your own personal password to access the
archives.
4) The contents of any individual post are solely the responsibility
of the author of that post. The Bimmer Tech Group, or any other
individual member of the group, can not be held responsible for
any violations of law, or for any libelous or slanderous statements
that another individual author makes. Any member that violates
any of these rules, conditions or terms will be removed from the
Bimmer Tech Group. This is a private professional group and is
not sponsored by, or affiliated with BMWNA or BMWAG in any way..
5) Please ensure that the "Subject" header of your post
is descriptive and applicable to your post's content. This makes
it much easier to follow subject "threads". When you
use the "Reply" function of your email editor, be aware
that the "Subject" title will remain the same as that
of the post that you are replying to. If you change the subject
of your post, you also need to edit the "Subject" line
in the message header area.
6) If you feel that it is helpful or necessary to quote the previous
post into your message, please insert the quote after the body
of your message. This will make your post easier to read, but
will still include the reference message (if the reader even needs
it...). After you insert the quoted text into your reply, move
your cursor back to the top of your message and type your text
in there. Also, please edit and remove any unneeded information
from the quoted text (the bottom banner/copyright statement and
the quoted author's address, etc.) -- delete all but the most
essential lines of the quote. Any extra clutter in your post will
only make it harder to read, and will take up archive file storage
space. You will find it extremely useful to learn how to use your
computer's "cut", "copy" and "paste"
editing functions -- it's actually very easy, and you'll wonder
why you never took the five minutes to learn these shortcuts before.
7) You should include your full name, your company name and your
location (or a "signature file") with every post that
you make to the group.
8) If you post a technical question to the group that involves
a problem vehicle or unusual condition, you will most likely receive
replies that are directed and posted to the entire group (preferred
method), on the other hand, someone might find it more appropriate
to reply to you directly (to your email address only) if their
response is not of general interest to the group.
You may want to include the text "please reply to me personally, off-list" if appropriate to your post. After you have resolved a problem or question that you posted
to the group, it is extremely important that you follow up by
posting the final solution or outcome to the group. This is how
a technical resource group works together successfully. Understand
that it is this feedback that helps the group's collective knowledge.
9) If you would like to thank an individual Bimmer Tech Group
member for responding to your post and/or for helping you, please
direct your personal message only to that member and not to the
whole group. This person (or these persons) took some of their
time, and maybe even some research effort, to try to help you.
10) Please keep in mind that when you use your reply button while
you are viewing a Bimmer Tech Group post, your message will be
addressed to, and then sent to the entire group. If your message
is not meant for the entire group, then you must edit your "To"
address header. The Bimmer Tech Group forum and archives are not
meant for personal messages that are not of general interest to
the group. Administrative requests, such as changing your email
address or unsubscribing, should be directed to me (rggroh@EMsport.com),
not posted to the group.
11) Discussion of retail pricing (e.g., what to charge for a given
job or service) or suggestions related to retail pricing is also
forbidden, as this could constitute a violation of the "anti-trust"
laws of some countries. To mention what the BMW suggested list
price is for a part, or your cost on a part, is acceptable. But,
as an example, to suggest what you think the retail charge for
an Inspection II service should be, is not acceptable.
12) The above rules need to be primarily enforced by all of the
members of this group. If a member breaks any of the posting rules,
please feel free to contact/email that person privately (and as
tactfully as possible) -- don't direct your message to the entire
group. If you have any suggestions for revising, deleting or adding
to the above rules, please feel free to contact me (rggroh@EMsport.com).
With your support, and with your help in guiding members with
the posting rules, this discussion forum can remain a useful,
interesting and focused resource.
Important Information Regarding the Group Archives:
All group postings are automatically archived (saved
and compiled) on a weekly basis. Please refer to the instructions
found in the "new member added" notification (see below)
from the list server to retrieve any of these weekly archive files.
When you download an archive, you will receive all of the posts
made during any calendar week, combined into one file.
All postings meant for general distribution to the
Bimmer Tech Group should be emailed to:
bimmertech@peach.ease.lsoft.com
To navigate, search and view the Bimmer Tech Group
Archives with a simple Web based interface: "Go
to the Group".
When a new member has been added to the list, they
will automatically receive an email message from the Bimmer Tech
Group listserver that will explain how to set and adjust certain
personal account parameters and functions if needed. That message
should be retained for future reference or if you need to unsubscribe
from the list.
