Telling Noobs To Read The Faq:

Ive noticed a few ppl on this board, not metioning any names, that all they seem to post to noobs is.

Read the :rtfm:

and thats all they seem to post either in the guestroom, or in other threads where posts count.

Ive been here since october and must admit ive never once looked at the faq, ive learned everything from informative posts on this forum.

I think when i was a noob and if i asked about a problem i was having, and someone wrote a reply stating the above, i probably would of said "f**k you" and went to another forum to ask rather than read the faq.

If i know the answer to a noobs question i either try to find a thread on this forum that dealt with the problem/issue and post a link, or try to answer the querie myself.

Im getting pretty tired of opening threads where someone needs help, and all i see is :rtfm: as replys, and it seems to be the same few ppl that do this, now i would like to help this person out with a decent post but i dont know if A: They will ever come back after not getting much help at all B: they have read the faq and found the answer to the prob, if the latter then i would feel stupid posting a reply and he post back "i just read the FAQ and found it".

I think only mods should be allowed to use the :rtfm: in such threads as its just an easy way for ppl to become post whores.

It would be good to know of the few ppl who have posted these posts, how many they have done and how many total posts they have.

Not only is it a form of spamming, for post counts, when they are not acctually helping that person, but also it makes the threads in the forum look a mess.

i would like to hear what other members think of this whole topic, and post your suggestion`s as to either how to fix this prob, or keep it like it is.

thanx

stoi

We also use this :rtfaq: you know. We use :rtfm: on members, sometimes I forget and use them on guest or newbies :P . rtfm could mean "read the fabulous manual" :lol: They have to learn to read the FAQ though. ;)

yeah but you and shinagami seem to be the only ppl that do it to any extent.



Oops sorry, wasnt going to mention any names was i :P

and why DO they have to learn, ive never LEARNED to do it, its there if i want it, but i didnt need it because this board when i first joined seemed more friendly and personal, now it just seems like everyone couldnt give a F**K.

If you been like us, Shinigami and I have seen so many repeated questions that can easily be said in the faq. It gets very annoying typing the same thing over and over. ;) Thus, FAQ is a simplier solution and they can click the link on top of this forum. :) Not only that, they usually would look in the FAQ next time to see if their question is there. ;)

ok, valid point, but why not let one of the other members answer it for a change. as soon as i go to a new post that is asking for help you have already beat me to it with the above post, and i know its not just me its everyone, sometimes i woner if you just sit there waiting to catch a noob to get your post count up the easy way, shinigami used to be bad at this aswell untill he reaached the 2000 post mark and now it seems that he has calmed down now, lets just hope after 300+ more post from you you will let other members answer the noobs in a constructive way.

I dont mean to single shinagami and you out, there are others on this forum who do the same even if one of yous 2 have already told the noob to :rtfm:.

Sorry but its just getting on my nerves, and thought i would bring the subject up, but i wouldnt mind other members thoughts on this, along with the few regulars who do these posts, and the mods and amin to chip in as well.

To a certain extent I´m ambivalent about this subject. To a large degree it depends on the tone and the nature of the question. If someone comes here and in their first post they are aggresive or belligerent then they won´t get a reasonable response. However if they expalin their problem in a reasonable way and ask for help then they will get it. It´s just like real life in that way.

If I think it is a bogus post, e.g. someone not asking a genuine question, or pretending to be something they are not, then I have no time for them.

Of course sometimes people are just in a strange mood when they reply. I´s all part of life´s rich tapestry.

I agree here that if new members are greeted with this RTFM or such like replies they will be less inclined to be interested in seeking further help here...and most definetly try to persuade potential members in the other direction. Thus I think a good comprimise would be too have a general concensus within our forum and in amongst our regulars that if we bump into a noob we should help them to a greater extent, and show them what a cool environment they are coming into...thats what kept me here...and ultimately keeps me coming here.....besides the friendly banter! Also along similar lines, why not extend an arm to longer serving members if they are in need, Ive had a couple of pretty bad issues with the computer and posted in here...only to come back a couple of hours later and see 50+ views and no response but when i surf around the forum I see plenty useless posts flaming people who are miss-using the board and more....what do you think?

removed

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Originally posted by amphoteric88@18 March 2003 - 22:49
I have to say that i agree with stoi on this one. I am a noob, and although i haven't been guided to the faq myself, when i look at the forums i see a lot of this practice going on. I agree that if the person is been aggrivative and showing great ignorance then they should either be directed to the faq or told to keep a more civil tone. However, if the person is asking a genuine question and showing repsect to the other members then they should be treated politely or even have a member reply to their problem. If they are treated properly and in a civil manner, they may stay with this forum and contribute something valuable in the future. You have to remember that everyone on this member was once a noob themselves, a little repsect goes a long way in this debate.

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Good point, well made.

Welcome, I hope you have a positive experience. Right sort of chap and all that type of thing

I'm with stoi as well here, and well done to you for bringing up the point. If older members get fed up typing the same things over and over, then don't answer the question! There are plenty of members who are now able to answer any question that might be covered in the FAQ, and are actually willing to answer in sentences rather than quotes and smilies.

The Great Dude, you said the other day you don't do it for a job, but if thats the case you don't have to answer every question. Again not singling you out, you are one of the most knowledgeable and useful members of the board, but why not save some of your expertise for the more advanced questions, and give the newbie questions at least 5 minutes to let some of the junior members answer them?

OK, just another point to throw into the arena....If you respond with just a RTFM, then they may not have realised there was a FM, so maybe it'd be nice to also add "its at the top of the page" or even to make the smilie a hyperlink?

There was a debate about this already a short while ago, here.
I believe most members agreed on using :rtfaq: for guests and newbies, and :rtfm: for older members.
I could be wrong, but maybe some older members didn't see this debate? :-" :D :D


I agree with the previous posts that if you answer, do the trouble of posting something more than a smiley, and if it annoys you don't answer at all. B)

ok bender, i seen that post but never entered, because the title was "can anyone make" and as i cant make emoticons i never ventured in there. but i just think its getting out of hand now, soon all questions buy everyone will be replied with :rtfm: especially if it keeps getting added to with the subjects on this forum.

If this happens why have a forum, just have a faq page then noobs wont get shouted at, as that is what it sounds like to me, when someone uses the icon.

Ok, ive made my point, and i dont like the way its being implemented at the moment, all it is, is spamming the board, but instead of pointless post it acctually looks like they are helping, but they arnet they are just to lazy to reply properly.

and yeah ive seen loads of posts about the same topic/prob, but it seems that since the board changed around and you cant browse all the topics as they arnet on the board, well just if you do a search you can find them. 1 out of 20 might have some usefull information on though so post a link to that instead of just the icon.

ok im going to let this run for awhile see what sort of replies it gets.

stoi

I think you misunderstood me, stoi.

In my reply on your topic I was refering to other members, the ones who use the 'wrong' smiley all the time, I was not saying that you didn't read the other topic.

Maybe I should have been clearer on that, sorry. :)


edit: I have no problem with this topic, I think it's a good idea to remind those 'other' members not to misuse that smiley.

I personally like seeing :rtfm: & :rtfaq: posted to questions that are easily found in the FAQ. I always consult the FAQ before I ask questions about anything I don't know why others can't do it. Do they think there above doing that?

Its not hard to search for an answer in the FAQ before posting here. Although perhaps a link should be supplied when those are used.

Last people who did read the FAQ and couldn't find an answer should mention that in there post. Also people who claim to have read it and didn't are usually easily distinguished and should be beaten with a lead pipe.

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Originally posted by Krisman@19 March 2003 - 01:17
I personally like seeing :rtfm: & :rtfaq: posted to questions that are easily found in the FAQ. I always consult the FAQ before I ask questions about anything I don't know why others can't do it. Do they think there above doing that?

Its not hard to search for an answer in the FAQ before posting here. Although perhaps a link should be supplied when those are used.

Last people who did read the FAQ and couldn't find an answer should mention that in there post. Also people who claim to have read it and didn't are usually easily distinguished and should be beaten with a lead pipe.

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Bit Harsh, don't you think.

i know somebody else gave this answer but i can not think who it was but let us older newbies help out the real novices so encourge this ones to post and in turn help others... i too have posted some dumb questions as i am sure we are all guilty of this but hey if nobody posted for fear of getting the wrong answer back then this place will become very boring for all.
so you multi star people just chill and lets us eager ones that want to help,,,help if you feel that we still have answered it 100% say after 1-2days then feel free to do so

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Originally posted by Krisman@18 March 2003 - 19:17
Its not hard to search for an answer in the FAQ before posting here.

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No, its not hard. However people are lazy. You'll wear out your keyboard telling the newbies to use the damn search button. Any they still won't hear you. Its a losing battle. Don't stress it.--

Jibbler

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Originally posted by JmiF+18 March 2003 - 16:30--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (JmiF @ 18 March 2003 - 16:30)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

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Originally posted by -Krisman@19 March 2003 - 01:17
I personally like seeing&nbsp; :rtfm: & :rtfaq: posted to questions that are easily found in the FAQ. I always consult the FAQ before I ask questions about anything I don&#39;t know why others can&#39;t do it. Do they think there above doing that?

Its not hard to search for an answer in the FAQ before posting here. Although perhaps a link should be supplied when those are used.

Last people who did read the FAQ and couldn&#39;t find an answer should mention that in there post. Also people who claim to have read it and didn&#39;t are usually easily distinguished and should be beaten with a lead pipe.

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Bit Harsh, don&#39;t you think.[/b]

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Which part is harsh? The lead pipe because if you have a problem with that I may have to beat you with one too, I&#39;m not sure about that though I&#39;ll have to check what the Scorched Earth Party FAQ says.
Actually I&#39;m kidding about beating you and maybe I was a little harsh with the idea of beating those who don&#39;t read it and claim they did.

<!--QuoteBegin--Jibbler@18 March 2003 - 17:38
No, its not hard. However people are lazy. You&#39;ll wear out your keyboard telling the newbies to use the damn search button. Any they still won&#39;t hear you. Its a losing battle.[/quote]
Thats true I suppose.

Well, I sort of liked the rtfm smiley at first, but I do see it popping up more frequently than it should, but tell the truth, I&#39;ve NEVER read the faq. I&#39;ve read board messages, but I&#39;m more of the type to keep screwing with it until it works or I completely destroy it.

As for imploring the &#39;old timers&#39; to give some breathing room to the newer members so that they can help noobs that ask questions with simple answers, I don&#39;t think you&#39;re going to have much luck.

Despite all their protestations and complaints of post whores, they are striving toward that goal with reckless abandon.....made all that much simpler by....... :rtfm:

So, now just have to wait and see what happens.

Just an idea but maybe we should have the :rtfaq: smilie right next to" KaZaa Lite-FAQ" ..It would make finding it easier..