Re: where are answers?
From: Alun Jones (alun@texis.com)
Date: 03/18/03
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From: alun@texis.com (Alun Jones) Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 15:16:26 GMT
In article <0a7b01c2ecc6$a1d3b080$a401280a@phx.gbl>, <foofoo@excite.com>
wrote:
>There are few answers to any of these questions. Just the
>way Microsoft wants it.
Oh, puh-leez. Get a grip.
There are tons of answers. There are thousands of answers in the online
knowledge base, and there are thousands of answers in these newsgroups. A
question that isn't answered is a sign of at least one of many possible
things:
1. The question is too boring for most people to answer. We've seen hundreds
of "why is Outlook preventing me from opening attachments", probably a dozen
every week. A little simple research - a visit to
http://support.microsoft.com and a little searching - on the part of the
questioners will provide an answer in moments.
2. The question is too easy for most people. Whuh? Yes, that's right, easy
questions sometimes don't get an answer, because netiquette says that you
don't immediately answer the easy questions. This sounds counter-intuitive,
until you realise that the alternative is that hundreds of responses flood in.
Most experienced posters will hold back on answers to easy questions for a
couple of days, in the expectation that someone "eager" and unaware of
netiquette will post the answer.
3. Usenet is not, in any way, a reliable message-passing scheme. _Most_
messages reach _most_ people that are subscribed to the groups on which they
are posted. Some slip through the cracks, or are mistakenly flagged as likely
viruses/spam, or off-topic, and canceled. This is unlikely, but I include it
in a desperate attempt to provide full information.
4. Did you have a good subject line? I ignore a lot of posts that have
"Question" or "I need help" as their sole subject line - everyone here is
asking a question or in need of help, and I frankly don't have the time to
read through a post to find out if it's in my area of expertise. Usenet is
entirely a volunteer effort, and this is my personal time we're using - the
same goes even for the Microsoft employees that post here. Please don't waste
it.
5. Maybe the question is too hard. A really difficult question that requires
research and investigation into the user's system will generally not be
solvable on Usenet, and would best be served by a technical support person,
who can contact exactly the right person, rather than Usenet, where the right
person may not have the time to spend on non-paying jobs.
6. Maybe the question is too general - I've seen posts saying "how do I
program network applications?", and since entire books have been written on
the subject, it's really not something that Usenet can answer. Granted, a
response to the effect of "This is best answered in a book" might be
appropriate, but that tends to be greeted with irritation by the original
poster, who expects that the answer is a simple two-liner. So many people opt
not to answer that one and cause irritation.
7. Is the question comprehensible? If I see a question that makes no sense to
me, I may leave it, assuming that someone else will understand it.
8. Is this a homework question? Very often, questions will be asked in such a
way that it's fairly obvious that it's homework set by lecturers - in such
cases, it's usual to ignore the question, because Usenet is _not_ a homework
answering service.
Above all, remember that Usenet is not a paid support service. Everyone who
posts here does so in his or her own time - even the Microsoft staffies, and
the MVPs. They don't necessarily have all the answers, or time to research
every problem. Being polite and clear helps.
Alun.
~~~~
[Please don't email posters, if a Usenet response is appropriate.]
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