11 replies to this topic

[bit]

I have recently seen many people complaining, in various forms, that nobody is answering their question(s). This is definitely a problem. For those of you who are doing the complaining though ... my solution(s) may surprise you.

First, give your question a descriptive subject line. Things like "HELP ME" and "I HAVE A PROBLEM" are not good subject lines. The reason? Many of us, do have other things to do. By glancing through the message subjects we can easily spot something that falls into our expertise.

By using a vague subject ... you run a higher risk of somebody who may know the answer just ignoring it because it doesn't seem to have anything to do with what they know. But they should read it anyway you say. Well, perhaps they should ... but it is their call. Remember you are the one who "desires" an answer. If it were me ... I would want to do everything I could to make sure that it got answered.

That brings me to my next point, being specific. Many of you ask an extremely vague question and expect a 10 page answer. It doesn't work that way ... sorry. If I wanted funding I wouldn't just ask everybody I met for some money. I would tell them why I needed it and exactly how much I needed. The same thing applies to asking questions here. People will often blow you off if your are not being specific enough.

Being specific is imperative to getting not only any answer, but also the correct one. If somebody wastes a page and a half, only for you to say that wasn't what you meant then there is a problem. Sometimes, the person answering the question made a major bumble. Yet, more often, it is the person who was asking the question being vague about what they wanted.

By being specific and using a good subject line you can give your question a higher chance of being answered. If it still isn't answered then perhaps nobody here knows the answer to your question. We are all very smart, yet we do not know everything.

My suggestion, if this is the case, is to search on the Internet for somebody who has done the same thing as your question and succeded. Then send them a nice eMail asking your question ... and hope for an answer. 9 times out of 10 you will get a response.

I hope that helps out you guys in getting your questions answered. I highly doubt anybody is deliberately ignoring you ... so give my suggestions a try if you are having troubles.

- Chris

[Turtle]

You should get that in a column. Listen to that it works much better I'll assure you.

[TITAN]

haha thats great!!! people should
definitely listen to that advice

[-=\)SilenuS(/=-]

I agree with you your fully corect!

listen to this one (DX and GIF/JPG?)
look a perfekt example what will be answered. A thing many here knows about a subject not telling exactly what the person asks. I mean the subjct not explains what are told inside the post. With other words are the subjet writing a perfect one to be answered!!!

[Dave Astle]

Nice post, Chris. I may take it and put it in the FAQ for this board.

[bit]

Feel free to do so Dave. Hopefully, it will help out the in-experienced Message posters.

- Chris

[Dave Astle]

I don't think it will help with first-time posters, because they aren't going to read it anyway. Just look at how many questions people ask that are answered elsewhere on this site or in another thread.

Not that there is anything wrong with that. People have to start somewhere, and I'd rather have them post an ill-phrased question than get frustrated not knowing where to start. I'd just like to see them figure out as soon as possible that we have a whole wealth of information here that will answer almost any question they might have, if they'll just take a minute to look around.

[bit]

Yeah .. you are probably right.

It just bothers me to see so many people getting frustrated/pissed over this stuff.

Too many people seem to take their question not being answered way too personally.

Maybe you could put in a warning after they post a new topic ...

"Warning: This post may or may not be answered. It depends on the whether anybody knows what you are asking about, whether you phrased your question properly, and of course, the phase of the moon we are in. At any rate, we thank you for your post and hope to see it answered soon."

What do you think?

Hmmm ... Have I been in front of the computer for too long today? Naw, never.

- Chris

[bit]

It is a great idea. That way instead of having to browse old posts to find what you need ... you have one place to look.

It is an idea that would help out everybody too. No more answering the same question 200 times ... well, maybe.

Something like that could be a great asset on a board such as this. I would be willing to take part.

- Chris

[Facehat]

If needed, I wouldn't mind helping either.

--TheGoop

[Turtle]

It would be really nice if such a faq could be made, and have a program automatically cross referance with new posts. I doubt this would be a simple thing to do, but I can try to build some code for it if you get a faq up and running.

Great Idea!

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Tell the truth and you will never fear someone will figure out you lied.
<<I'm sure I'm quoting someone out there, wish I knew who!>>
David Abresch