Gentle suggestions for research

[drl]

Hi.

In one of today's threads there was a bit of friction.

I thought Thinker and Javasnob did the right thing by suggesting research before posting. You might argue with wording perhaps, but research is encouraged by the techieMoe's new reader thread.

So a gentle suggestion to read those links, especially the ones on Google and asking questions, seems appropriate and useful for everyone.

I think we have all seen questions that seem as if they could have answered by a quick google or by looking at a man page (I try to encourage that here as well as in classes I have taught because it gives the user independence as well as confidence). Some other questions become drawn out because of lack of critical information. I thought that techieMoe presented those links precisely to avoid those situations.

I do agree that if one is pressed for time, then one can move on.

I like challenges, but I try to avoid repetition, which leads to boredom.

How do you handle such situations? ... cheers, drl

[easuter]

spot on. i am partiularly anoyed when someone comes along and asks: "how do i install nvidia drivers?" , when a very complete how-to already exists on the forum.

i dont mind helping with "nvidia drivers installed, but the module wont load" kind of problem if you see what i mean.

[nature]

There are times when I tend to skip some threads for which google is the obvious answer.I prefer doing a research before posting a question on any forum,and I hope others do that as well.
There are people who are completely new to forums and I guess it would be ok for them to ask these questions...

[fingal]

A lot of answers to forum questions can be repetitious, and often it's better to signpost someone to existing threads. It can take a while for new users to realise that they can search the forums in this way.

I think most answers to forum questions - at least to start with - are pretty generic. It can take a few posts to a particular thread before you figure out what the real problem is and manage to nail some sort of answer down. Quite a few times, this never happens and you wonder if the person posting the thread really got anywhere.

I think I actually prefer it when several people chip in, as this can provide a more complete answer. In a way, someone's first few posts are like an introduction. A way of saying 'Here I am - what's it like here?'

[bigtomrodney]

I too prefer a colaboration. If anything it validates the information you're putting out or receiving. There are a lot of frustrating posts that come along too - "My graphics card doesn't work".

What card? What system? What did you try!

HOWTOs and Stickies are there to be read. It does seem odd to me that someone can find there way here (I'm figuring a google brought them here in the first place) cannot find there way to the 300+ posts on the same subject or countless other forums where this has been answered already.

It could be said that the forum is not a helpdesk, but at the same time often all that's needed is reassurance and handholding. It's all very well expecting a level of technical knowledge beforehand, but this is not 1996. Linux is at critical mass now and I have all sorts of people ask for help on a daily basis with linux installs. Joe soap is taking notice more, and tech sites like digg, slashdot, theregister and even mainstream media are making users aware of both linux and the potential hazards of the upcoming Microsoft OS.

Of course my favourite XGL has generated a lot of publicity too. I hate it when people say "Next year will be linux-on-the-desktop year", but I have a sneaky feeling...

[Cabhan]

I agree quite entirely with drl. I haven't actually posted a question myself in some time, because Google almost always has the answer for me (okay, so I posted a question yesterday, but just because I had no idea what to Google for "console location thingie"). I realize that Linux can be daunting at first, so I do somewhat sympathize, but when you have a problem with nVidia drivers, or installing software, it seems somewhat common sense to me that maybe someone else might have had a similar experience. But again, that may well be because I've seen those questions so many times.

There certainly is nothing wrong with asking questions, and I know that most, if not all of us, love to answer questions. But it would be nice if people would check many sources instead of just one before asking a question.

This is a great link on asking questions:
http://catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

[smp-freak]

Now where is that link.

http://www.linuxbench.org/Posting.html

[Cabhan]

Now where is that link.

http://www.linuxbench.org/Posting.html

I've seen that video before, and it sums up my feelings perfectly .

[d38dm8nw81k1ng]

the problem is that new people don't know what to google for. lots of questions are answered with google, but if you don't know how to word your question, you'll not get the right answer. as time goes on people learn how to "ask the right questions", until that time, i think that we should help teach people the right questions. remember, most people come in with the windows way of thinking and it takes time to adjust that. finally, if you consider a question beneath you and don't want to answer it, just ignore it. i sometimes find i can't be bothered to answer a question, so i don't. i don't go to the effort of flaming the user who doesn't deserve it. if you know an answer can be found on google, then help the guy by telling him what to search for (something i do regularly). they'll eventually get the idea.

[drl]

Hi, d38dm8nw81k1ng.

Yes. However, I think we can do a better job of pointing out the resources that exist to help new folks ask better questions more quickly.

There is an introductory article in this forum on searching using Google here with examples.

Another deals with how to ask a question, although it is a bit long, and a touch harsh.

But -- how do we get folks to read these?

I've modified my signature so that it contains a few links along with a gentle push in a certain direction ... cheers, drl

( edit 1: typo )