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Thread ID: 29398	2003-01-18 13:51:00	PressF1 frustrations - solution	Greg S (201)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
115032	2003-01-18 13:51:00	Hi. I've found recently that it's frustrating to respond to a request for help, then afterwards someone else denigrates you and/or your advice because you've not anticipated EVERY SINGLE possible scenario that may have contributed to the issue that the poster's problem. I've seen this lack of insight from follow-up contributors lead to quite a bit of "flaming" back and forth. Why can't F1 admin make it more clear about what info is critical to posters for us to be able to assist? Sheesh - there are other great examples of other service sites out there that REQUIRE the basic info before the submission can be put before the forum - is our NZ PressF1 forum a bit backward in this regard?	Greg S (201)
115033	2003-01-18 19:32:00	Good point Greg, the basic information such as operating system, browser version, modem model etc is often missing from posts or the problem is poorly described and it is not always clear what the poster is trying to do, or what they have already done. Another frustrating thing is when people post a problem and they don't bother to respond to any suggestions so it is never clear if the problem has been fixed or not. I would urge people who post problems to followup and advise the result of any suggestions as this helps build up a base of confirmed fixes for a particular problem.	Jim B (153)
115034	2003-01-18 20:05:00	Correct Greg This point has been made to the hosts before, for exactly the same reasons. A good crystal ball certainly helps, as does the ability to read text with no punctuation or sentence stucture and poor spelling. While everyday spelling errors are just fine, a whole sentence of them tends to distort the meaning of the problems.	godfather (25)
115035	2003-01-18 20:12:00	I think it is the responcibility of the original poster to get it right, however a reminder of some sort might be in order . As much as a compulsery form where you tick OS or what ever might be a good idea, there would be times when it is just plain irrelevant, or even misleading . imagine having to tick 0 windows 95-98 0 windows NT 0 windows 2000 0 windows ME 0 windows XP 0 windows other 0 Linix Redhat 0 Linix SuSE etc . . . . . . . . . . just to ask about multi boot or a website . Perhaps a little popup screen that ran first time a user makes a new post would be good? Failing that, why dont we, the people who use F1 lead by example and start catergerising our own questions in much the same way we usually do with "OT" posts . See my previous post as an example: (Linux) why do i have a system generated mail folder/message in my email client?? ( . pcworld . co . nz/thread . jsp?forum=1&thread=30306" target="_blank">pressf1 . pcworld . co . nz)	Clueless (181)
115036	2003-01-18 20:20:00	Suggested catagories: OT (most of us have already got the hang of that one, it means not very computer related) LINUX DOZE (+version?) MAC (yes they are out there, they're just vewy quiet) WWW Perhaps the using of caps as above would be good as has become standard for "OT" posts (see OT does have its use, it is establishing proticol) .Clueless	Clueless (181)
115037	2003-01-18 20:33:00	MAC (yes they are out there, they're just vewy quiet) Only because we don't have as many problems :D	Jim B (153)
115038	2003-01-18 23:40:00	Obliquely related to your post is the comment that it also has to be appreciated that a lot of people with problems don't have the know-how to precisely describe their problem, their computer is just a box :) If they did, then they would often be able to resolve the problem themselves, if only by doing a Google search. I do think though that someone who posts vaguely should be encouraged rather than deterred, and as you say, posters who try to help shouldn't be slagged if they dont quite get it right, or give a full answer. After all, no one knows everything, and we all have to start somewhere, learning all the while.	Terry Porritt (14)
115039	2003-01-18 23:55:00	>it also has to be appreciated that a lot of people with problems don't have the know-how to precisely describe their problem, So true Terry, As fustrating as it sometimes is, it will be up to those who answer to ask for information that the person needing help didn't know would be relevant Because windows users are so common, alot of questions fail to state that if the poster is using 'doze, let alone version. Indeed alot of stuck people dont realise the differences between versions. Lets lead by example. In responce to this i shall be making a consious effert to title, where relevent, any thread i start with the format "OS - question". Hopefully this sort of carry on will help guide newbies to do much the same. .Clueless	Clueless (181)
115040	2003-01-19 00:36:00	Well, I've got an idea that might help so I'll run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it: PF1 has a post counter, right? So, for the first say 5 posts by a newly registered user, when they click "post message" a box opens that either : (a) Requests their system, OS, and active (problem) program details to be supplied in the boxes provided then attaches the first two to their profile. They can modify that aspect of their profile later if they want to should they stick around and become a regular. or (b) Reminds them to provide that info if they want an informed reply to their question and provides a back button to take them back for editing their post if necessary. The second attempt to post the message would post as normal. It wouldn't work for all, and some just can't be helped because they don't even read their replies properly, but if they come back more than 10 times they are hooked on F1 and don't need any reminders. Cheers Billy 8-{) :D	Billy T (70)
115041	2003-01-19 01:50:00	Billy T, I'd be more in favour or the second approach, as the first is just a little too rigid, and would not work well in the case of people with multiple operating systems, or anything a little outside of the norm. I imagine a rigid system would also be downright confusing at times, example: Clueless, Chch, SuSE/98 i'm having a wee problem with a w2k machine...... I'll put my vote with a "first post" reminder/help system, although user profile info as to what we normally use wouldn't hurt. We could always put that in the profiles anyway, There are plenty of spaces such as "last name" that could be used for that. The second approach is of course assuming that IDG staff have the time to modify the scripts. :) .Clueless	Clueless (181)
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