Advice to Thread Starters

dooglo said:

smarteyeball said:

As for Google, how do you think they get here to begin with

I realize that. But if people would take the time, have patience, and read through the results of a good google search or site search, they will no doubtedly come to an answer to their question with out the use of such headings.

But, I know people don't have patience and don't think. They just see the forum and jump right in with a question.

Sorry for stating obvious, but had to.

D.

Don't forget most of the time they are in a panic and doing something calm like searching is the last thing on their minds, the machine is not doing what they think it should, after all they are not IT Technician, so they find a forum that looks like it may be helpful and just blurt out their problem hoping for the best.

If I answer one of these and don't really know the answer I tend to throw out ideas that may jog their memory about something they did, I tell them if they can post back with more information there will be someone who can help them.
I find this tends to work more often than not and it gives the experts something to work on.

smarteyeball said:

I touched on this in another thread on a another forum:

Basically, "Help! - Urgent! " titles are hooks. Intentionally or naively, they grab your attention. Admit it, you see a title like that and you can't help but check it out.

The majority of the time, the poster is unaware that titles like this are a PITA.

However, for the most part, they simply do not know any better.

Since a lot of people 'stumble' across a forum in an effort to seek help for a particular issue, they are unaware of the 'etiquette' involved; since by and large, tech forums are a completely new experience for them.

Part of this ignorance is not knowing that system specs, or even which version of Windows they have, aren't even considered important when requiring others to help them.

The common mindset is "Computer not working! I want it fixed now! How?"


Unfortunately, entertaining the idea of magic and mind reading is not part of that mindset that is expected from tech sites.


The problem with initially succinctly and accurately explaining the issue involved with all the pertinent details is that it tends to 'scare' off any potential helpers who are unsure of how to offer any advice. This negates 'out of the box' thinking that can sometimes lead to the root of the problem.


My personal style when dealing with unknown problems is to ask seemingly vagueinfo mining questions in an effort to encourage and elicit further information that at the time may seem innocuous, but can often be an underlying factor in helping resolve the root of the problem.

This also has the added bonus of avoiding well meaning, but ultimately confusing and incorrect advice offered by others that only leads to further complicate the OP and confound the issue.


My method does not always work for a variety of reasons, but when it does - it can be very beneficial for all concerned. Even if I don't know the answer, somebody else who has picked up on my line of reasoning may have the key that solves it.


As for Google, how do you think they get here to begin with

Damn! That is probably the MOST logical and well stated post I've seen--no disrespect to anyone.

Your last sentence--that is how I found Vista Forums.