Somehow force people to read the unoffical f.a.q. before asking

[foolish]

I know it sounds a bit harsh, but maybe we should somehow make people, or atleast make it easier for them, to read the f.a.q. before asking questions. Not that I don't love the easy questions, I know how to answer those, but it will make things simpler for all of us, including those seeking knowledge.

My suggestion is to but the unofficial f.a.q. somewhere on the site, as a big flashy link that everyone will spot as soon as the enter.

The unofficial f.a.q. is a wonderful resource, we should use the resources we already have instead of inventing the wheel over and over.

[ewdi]

yeah, i'm preparing that section as we speak, will take a while for the staffs to put everything in

[Ug]

I agree with making it very visible. But I disagree with forcing people to look at it, thats just not fair.

One way this could be done would be to put an Announcement post in all of the forums at the top pointing to the FAQ.

[Prometheus]

Or on the sign up page have a suggestion at the bottom sayin "{please read the "unnofficial FAQ" found here and post the link and encourage the new users to read it before the post a question, the FaQ would definately elimitate a lot of basic questions i think

[Ug]

It's now mirrored in the How-to forum.

[Avatraxiom]

I just have to say, I'm so happy that the FAQ is such a useful resource.

I'm planning to do some updates soon, just so you know. :-)

-M

[redhat71]

Originally posted by foolish
I know it sounds a bit harsh, but maybe we should somehow make people, or atleast make it easier for them, to read the f.a.q. before asking questions.

it does not sound harsh to me, but a little "over optimistic"

redhat has offered a GREAT serial of documents, if people read "Installation Guide" before they install, "Getting Started Guide" before they get started ... lots of questions have already been covered

FAQ is just another document, i doubt if you can force them to read even if you always give them "read the faq, read the fine manual, ..."

[mhelios]

One way this could be done would be to put an Announcement post in all of the forums at the top pointing to the FAQ.

I'm in favour of this idea. A sticky at the top of all forums should most likely more people will notice it.

[Avatraxiom]

In general, we might want to have something like the Trillian forums have:

http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=28

(See the "Announcement" at the top of that forum.)

Those forums are some of the busiest on the 'net, so they have a lot of experience in managing users.

[Jman]

Originally posted by Ug
It's now mirrored in the How-to forum.
The links didn't copy. The only ones that did are the repository ones. It would be really nice if they worked. By my count there are about 80 links to link up. Any volunteers?

[Avatraxiom]

A simple replace of <a href= to [url= and then some regex to get the rest of it would make it pretty easy.

Of course, you could also just use the FAQ page itself. :)

[Ug]

http://fedorafaq.org i believe.

[proffit]

I say I have to agree with ug that it seems alittle unfair to make people read the f.a.q. I just think that if people are asking the easy questions alot of the time it is because they are new to linux and feel insecure. I think talking to people specificly makes them feel more confident when they are starting out. I am still a newbie myself and am just trying to reflect how I felt. Anyways I can see the arguement from both sides so I guess I am saying don't take me seriously :)

Michael

[mars_hall]

Originally posted by proffit
I say I have to agree with ug that it seems alittle unfair to make people read the f.a.q. I just think that if people are asking the easy questions alot of the time it is because they are new to linux and feel insecure. I think talking to people specificly makes them feel more confident when they are starting out. I am still a newbie myself and am just trying to reflect how I felt. Anyways I can see the arguement from both sides so I guess I am saying don't take me seriously :)

Michael

I agree with proffit on this. When I was first starting out converting from WinDoze to Linux, it was a little overwelming. I didn't even know where to start. Sometimes people need a little encouragement when they are getting started.
marshall

[Ug]

Don't get me wrong I think the FAQ is very useful. I just don't think its nice to people to enforce it upon them. Sure, point people in the direction of it when they ask a question.

Its just not fair to make someone read it. When you start doing that you enforce a "RTFM" (Read The ****ing Manual) style culture upon the forum, and therefore lose the newbie friendly atmosphere which this forum has. Once you've lost that, you've lost the community.

[mars_hall]

Originally posted by Ug
Don't get me wrong I think the FAQ is very useful. I just don't think its nice to people to enforce it upon them. Sure, point people in the direction of it when they ask a question.

Its just not fair to make someone read it. When you start doing that you enforce a "RTFM" (Read The ****ing Manual) style culture upon the forum, and therefore lose the newbie friendly atmosphere which this forum has. Once you've lost that, you've lost the community.

Well Spoken, That is part of the reason it has taken me this long to really start using Linux. Though the manuals have gotten a LOT better in the past eight years!