Okay, first, thank you all for the work that goes into both calibre and these forums. I think Kovid and the rest of you are geniuses. I got my Sony reader in May and found calibre and mobile reads in a random google search. I have been very glad I did. When I have had questions I have had no problems getting answers. That said, for what it's worth, here's my thoughts on this topic.
First of all, I am not computer illiterate but I am not a programmer. Programming language is like learning a new one to me so it takes some time. I did not even know at first that the Python everyone was talking about was a programing language. I looked at the User's Manual for calibre when I first installed the program and it was so intimidating that I haven't looked at it since. It was all about writing code. (I should look at it again but it really was scary
) I usually do every update and read the change log but most of the time do not have a clue what the changes are until I encounter them or need them. So that being my experience I am not likely to look first in the User's Manual for a solution to a question. If however I ask a question and the answer is
clearly stated in the User's Manual I do not have a problem with someone directing me back to it. When I started reading this thread people were talking about regex and I was completely lost. Even after someone gave it a name - regular expressions - and defined it I am not sure what it is. That kind of thing definitely requires some hand holding for a "newbie". I know that there are a lot of features which calibre has which I am not using. For example I do not have a clue what the catalog feature does or how to use it and am not even sure if the programmers mean the same thing I do when using the word catalog, and what in the world do recipes have to do with anything? I have found though that when people are patient with me things sometimes are easier than they seem at first glance. And yes sometimes it may mean rewording something in a slightly less techinical manner.
Second the forum itself and this mode of operating is completely new to me. I am not someone who is used to posting in forums and following discussions. I have found this discussion interesting but frankly didn't read the entire ten pages because it got to be over my head and a lot of the same ole same ole. I'm not always sure of the "correct" way to do posts or ask questions. I do however try to be as specific as possible when I have a question or issue because I know that none of you have esp.
( and if you do, you're probably like me and only use your psychic powers for good
) If there is information which you need in order to facilitate communication please do let us know. - Just saw the new posting guidelines - thank you. - Sometimes the sheer volume of discussion can be intimidating. If I have a question about a calibre issue and I don't immediately see a relevant thread I am not very likely to search through pages of discussion to find out if it's been done already. What if it was six months ago or longer? Some time in just a few days threads can expand to eight/ten pages. (this one a perfect example). Frankly I don't always have the time to do that. If I start a new thread though and the question has already been answered I do not have a problem with someone telling me where to look for my answer. For those of us new to this kind of commuication it requires giving us time to figure it out and/or making the tools easily accessible.
I have looked at the new structure of the forum and so far like it. It's clean and easy to follow. I think it will be easier for people like me to find answers to questions which we might have. I really appreciate the efforts of everyone working on this and apologize in advance for not quite getting it right sometimes.