Mountain Biking - what's the purpose of preload and

What's the purpose of preload and dampening and how do you use it? Only reason I ask is so I don't screw anything up lol. And I'm really curious about it. The fork I have is a dart 3. Not sure if that helps or not

Preload is how much it take for the fork to compress and damping is how fast the fork return to its un-compressed state,
turn the knobs untill you get it to where you like it.

I use preload to set sag.

Dampening is the act of saturating something with a liquid. Damping is the act of lessening an action by cushioning the push off or landing spot.

But what do I know?

I know my RST is all wet now.

You can't really screw very much up so long as you're not bottoming hard or exceeding the pressure limit on the fork (assuming pneumatic). I set both preload and damping purely by feel. Maybe that's not quite the right way to do it but I can get the bike feeling really nice... :)

There is a formula to setting preload but it can be messed with it has to do with the SAG or how much the fork sinks when you hop on. That is useful but is very general. I have a zip tie on my fork to see how much travel I actually use. If you don't use much travel lower you preload. If it looks like you are on the verge of bottoming over every drop then up the preload. Damping controls how fast the fork bounces back. If damping is to slow you get a pogo stick front. To much and the fork will stuff and bottom out easier. Hope that helps.