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Symbioquine

Symbioquine

Solar Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 6, 2021
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428
This is a great forum where folks seem eager to help each other and share their learnings, experiences, etc. It is awesome to see such a mix of knowledgeable folks and beginners trying to learn...

However, we see the same questions (or minor variations thereof) super frequently. Often the questions are already answered very thoroughly in existing threads and in easily available resources - either those hosted here with the forum or common ones like Victron's Wiring Unlimited or Blue Sea's fuse/wiring selection charts.

I guess my meta question here is, what is the big picture end game? Does the database of historical threads grow indefinitely? Is it a good use of time for the knowledgeable folks (including those who've learned through this forum) to keep repeating the same information for the sake of providing a welcoming/encouraging experience (and maybe spoon-feeding beginners)?

Maybe it would make sense to bifurcate some of the purposes? i.e. Split:
  • Novel free-form discussion, show-and-tell, and community-related topics stay on the forum
  • Question-and-answer style topics get moved to something more like StackOverflow and aggressively groomed/deduplicated/gamified
Asking the question... :unsure: Obviously it's not terrible if everything just stays as-is, just perhaps not optimal...
 
Symbioquine said:
... Is it a good use of time for the knowledgeable folks (including those who've learned through this forum) to keep repeating the same information for the sake of providing a welcoming/encouraging experience (and maybe spoon-feeding beginners)?

...
Click to expand...
My time is free and I do not mind helping those willing to learn and help themselves. There are some questions that answers can get old with repetition. However sometimes a person just needs a boost on to the bicycle before they can go madly pedaling off. Perhaps some initiative on the part of those asking them should be done for truly simple information. Nothing makes me answer though if I decide not to.

Now when it seems that a person that asks one of the the bog standard questions is not willing to participate in his/her own Thread is where I get mildly annoyed. I expect people to act civilized and extend the same courtesy to me that I am willing to extend to them. I suffer fools not at all as my Dad used to say.
 
Symbioquine said:
This is a great forum where folks seem eager to help each other and share their learnings, experiences, etc. It is awesome to see such a mix of knowledgeable folks and beginners trying to learn...

However, we see the same questions (or minor variations thereof) super frequently. Often the questions are already answered very thoroughly in existing threads and in easily available resources - either those hosted here with the forum or common ones like Victron's Wiring Unlimited or Blue Sea's fuse/wiring selection charts.

I guess my meta question here is, what is the big picture end game? Does the database of historical threads grow indefinitely? Is it a good use of time for the knowledgeable folks (including those who've learned through this forum) to keep repeating the same information for the sake of providing a welcoming/encouraging experience (and maybe spoon-feeding beginners)?

Maybe it would make sense to bifurcate some of the purposes? i.e. Split:
  • Novel free-form discussion, show-and-tell, and community-related topics stay on the forum
  • Question-and-answer style topics get moved to something more like StackOverflow and aggressively groomed/deduplicated/gamified
Asking the question... :unsure: Obviously it's not terrible if everything just stays as-is, just perhaps not optimal...
Click to expand...
Newbies routinely ask the same thing, or they make obvious mistakes that just need skilled guidance to remedy.
Remember... they dont know what they dont know.
Some folks dont immediately wrap their head around subjects, and need spoonfeeding or even tweezer feeding to grasp enough to move forward and learn what to look up or ask.

The forum is a great welcoming area for stupid questions to be handled with grace.
 
If I know that a question has already been answered, and if I can find the thread or article in the resource section, I'll post a link to it in the new thread.

Yes, it would be nice if newbies searched a little harder. Sometimes I use Google to search this forum.
 
One of the first things I look for when I run across a forum be it this one or others is how new or even dumb questions are handled.

First things I look for are :

"Use the search its been answered before"

"Stop asking dumb questions like that its been covered"

"Quit bring up old threads"

"Your not smart/etc enough to do this so dont ask how or pay someone to do it."


If I see this I spend whatever time or effort is required to go somewhere else.

I see it a bunch on sites I host too. But Im being paid to host those sites and they can run them however they want its none of my business how they handle things but I dont post of them or visit much if they are like that.

I have found that most of the sites keep stickies at the time of each forum section covering common issues and have them locked to keep people from posting in them. That seems to help.

One of the unique things on this site which basically already does pretty much everything you can do with a site is the auto search it performs as your typing out the subject line for a thread your starting. The odds I imagine are VERY high someone will see the questions they are needing answered as they are typing them out. I really liked that when I noticed it typing out a question I was asking.

I think thats about as far as you can go to get around the repeat questions. If they wont take the time to use that then they are not going to search for it with the search feature:)

I really like how people take the time here to help people when you know its something thats been covered to death already just because of what they are asking. Each person is handled "fresh" and that really helps a site grow and prosper in my opinion.
 
I think it kills forums when you try to restrict discussion or put up walls for beginners. In my opinion it is precisely the wide open nature of this forum that right now makes it the most special place on the internet for this stuff.

Nobody is obligated to take part in answering repeat questions, but there is value in it especially as a practicing ground for intermediate users to hone their understanding by helping beginners, with advanced users around to keep them in check when they are mistaken.
 
RTFM got me put in the sin bin but it really should be the first port of call.
As someone else has said, it bothers me when people don't come back into their own thread or sometimes there are people that are looking for a specific answer and they get narky when they don't get it.
 
Strictly sticking to RTFM is how you create an official vendor support forum. Truly the worst places on the internet with 3 teacher's pets who run around telling everyone their idea is unsupported and referencing the manual bible.

"Storage 4:3, thou shall not consider any battery vendor other than these overpriced three, lest ye be forsaken with voided warranty."
 
but honestly I think a forum like this is well suited for both newcomers and those more seasoned.
I for one feel at home here because I can rant and ramble without the risk of being banned. (if I keep things cool that is)

One thing I do notice though is when things get a little detailed about certain aspects then it is hard to attract new foks to join the discussion.
 
Think Social!
Some people just like hanging out here with like-minded people.
For proof, note Dad Jokes forum, which obviously has nothing to do with solar.
 
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