Incomplete Information

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Well, what if instead of griping we light a candle?

A sticky thread for "IF YOU NEED HELP"...
...with a list of semi-standard issues and some basic info to gather up-front for each one.

That would help folks where to go and what to start with.
Nothing fancy but location, prefered format, OS, reading software and/or device, are a good place to start in most cases. So let them know how to best help the would-be helpers.

Um... I don't think many people read the stickies at all.

[Glorfindel]

I read stickies! well... usually...

[JSWolf]

I know it's annoying to have no neary enough information when someone asks for help, but it's really annoying when others ask for more information and the OP doesn't come back for some time.

[theducks]

Many forums have to many stickies. Which leads to ignoring.
IMHO 3-4 should be the Limit

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Um... I don't think many people read the stickies at all.

You can only lead a horse to water...

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

You can only lead a horse to water...

In this case, you can only provide the water.

[4691mls]

What bugs me is the ones who can't even figure out the right forum to post in. It seems like every week several people post in the first forum they come to (usually News or General) when their question obviously belongs in a Calibre, Kindle or Kobo specific forum.

[Sirtel]

I'm not that bothered by insufficient information or the wrong subforum. What I'm bothered by is the vanishing act pulled by lots of new posters. I.e. they come, ask for help or advice (usually their first post here and also the last) and then vanish without a trace. No idea if they even read the answers to their question. I mean, why come and post at all if you can't be bothered to say anything beyond your initial post? Figure it out yourself, then. Grrr.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

What bugs me is the ones who can't even figure out the right forum to post in. It seems like every week several people post in the first forum they come to (usually News or General) when their question obviously belongs in a Calibre, Kindle or Kobo specific forum.

One thing that sometimes bugs me is when they post in the Sigil forum when it should be in the ePub forum.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One thing that sometimes bugs me is when they post in the Sigil forum when it should be in the ePub forum.

That is more from blaming the tool rather than understanding the medium being worked upon.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One thing that sometimes bugs me is when they post in the Sigil forum when it should be in the ePub forum.

To be fair... that's a huge gray area. Again; noobs of a non-technical nature cannot always be expected to understand the nuances of what might be epub-specific and what might be epub-editor-specific. In that situation, I feel making a new member follow their thread as it gets bounced around from "correct home" to correct home is more off-putting than just simply answering the question right where it was asked.

This place is confusing enough for new members. No need to add to their discomfort by making them figure out where their posts went, or expecting them to understand how everything works as well as a seasoned member right out of the gate. We learn as we go. None of us studied all the rules and etiquette for months before taking a MobileRead entrance exam.

Some people will stick around and some will be drive-bys. Why any of that has to affect how (or if) you choose to offer help is beyond me.

I offer answers because I know the answers (and because I'm in the mood to offer answers). I rarely give much thought to whether my contributions are read--much less appreciated.

[hobnail]

I'm more bothered by people answering their question specifically without thinking about what the question asker is trying to accomplish. My favorite example is someone trying to convert from some format to MOBI. The first thing I think should be asked is do you really need MOBI? And explain the few situations where they do need MOBI and suggest AZW3 instead if they don't fit those situations and why AZW3 is better.

[DiapDealer]

See; I find that can be presumptuous. Nothing is more annoying to me than someone getting so distracted by what they think someone's grand scheme should be that they forget to just answer the dang question. People learn by doing. And learning how to convert something to mobi won't hurt anyone a bit. In fact it might help with perspective. Let them learn for themselves why something else might be better.

I try to answer the question asked rather than answering the one I think they should have asked wherever possible. "Why" is not nearly as relevant as some helpers want to believe it is. When people ask "how," I assume they're looking for instructions, not advice.

[Barbara1955]

This happens in Real life also & Not just about Techy stuff. In Dec I gave my old mobility scooter to my neighbor. I told him since its Faster that the ones in the store get use to the speed & handling in the parking lot Before going to stores... being on the road. A few weeks later he asked me to go with him to one of the local stores. But when we got there the store was closed so I was going to return home. He himhalled around & insisted we go to another store. I asked him several time what he was wanting to buy. No answer. So I took him to Sheetz. I went one way in Sheetz he went another. I saw him carefully trying to buy bathroom tissue & hiding it from me!!!! I asked him on the way home why he didn't tell me what he needed to buy... then I told him he could have gotten bigger package more roll for the same price at Walgreens ....had I know. All because he was too embarrassed to tell me. sheesh

[Apache]

Originally Posted by theducks

Many forums have to many stickies. Which leads to ignoring.
IMHO 3-4 should be the Limit

Yes to many stickies and people start ignoring them.
Apache