Upon Registering to forum ?

[Blue Deuce]

I get aggravated seeing the same very basic questions rehashed over and over again by new members. Is it possible upon registering to be directed to a page that lists all the respective stickys and be told that they pose a wealth of knowledge and info ? If upon doing so they still dont have their ? answered being advised to then try using the search function. This might eliminate the " what lens do I need " questions and leave the forum to inquiries that might further the advancement and sharing of the members breadth of knowledge.

[tommykjensen]

This subject has been beaten to death and to give a specific example.

CDS have compiled a huge FAQ about extenders and has made it a sticky. Despite that questions about extenders - that are answered in the FAQ - pops up regularly.

So unfortunately thers is little that can be done. Forcing someone to a specific page when registering does not help much because when they register they may not have any questions and when they do they have forgotten all about the FAQs.

[Scottes]

And, ya know, I kinda find it funny that Blue Duece is complaining about newbies asking the same questions over and over, yet he doesn't realize that this complaining is almost as frequent...


Beyond that...
I've always thought that the SEARCH button should take up half the page until you reach 500 posts or something...
:-)

[tommykjensen]

And, ya know, I kinda find it funny that Blue Duece is complaining about newbies asking the same questions over and over, yet he doesn't realize that this complaining is almost as frequent...


Hehe and I am guilty as charged for 2 of the topics

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=59440&
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=84718&

[pcasciola]

I've always thought that the SEARCH button should take up half the page until you reach 500 posts or something...
:-)LOL. Thanks for starting my day with a laugh. :lol:

Seriously, though, it's not so easy to find the answers to some of these common questions using the search. I have problems finding threads I know exist, until I remember some less common words that certain people said.

I also don't undertsand how it aggravates people seeing the same qeustion asked over and over again. I just ignore it, or sometimes I'll even answer it for the 20th time. I think it bothers me way more when people say, "This has already been discussed, why don't you try a search", then when someone comes on and says, "What lens should I buy".

I do like the idea of new registration pointing people to several of the key FAQs here. I bet that would actually help quite a bit.

[Blue Deuce]

I knew I would probably catch heck for posting this and I should have chosen my words more carefully. I myself have probably asked a question or two that those with more knowledge rolled their eyes over. But, I do think having new members being alerted and directed to the stickys and search feature (whatever its shortcomings ) would help the casual hobbyist and cut down on repetitive clutter.

[MikeTrill]

I get aggravated seeing the same very basic questions rehashed over and over again by new members.

Hi, I am newish to this forum, and I think it is fantastic.

I've found that people here are generally eager and even waiting to help, compared to other (non photo) forums where newbies get flamed for poster reasonable questions, the photo forums are a dream!

As for FAQ's, I find them great, when I remember them, and know they are there. But a few weeks ago, I didn't KNOW I would need to read the FAQ on 'PS post processing'. So I had been told on sign where this FAQ was, it wouldn't of meant anything to me...

I was about going to post a query about ETTL yesterday, BUT I used search instead and found the answer in a flash (ged-it!). If I had of posted a query, then I'm sure one or two members would of pointed me in the right direction.

Anyway, here is my two pennies worth..

Why not have a topic called 'Newbies Corner' where people like me can post any question they want to. How many of the offending posts are made by newbies in their first few weeks?

I certainly would of gone there first. Just have one FAQ called 'PLEASE READ ME' which is a listing and guidelines on how to use/find the site/list FAQ's and the rest of it.

Anyone who is not new to this sort of stuff, would hopefully ignore this topic and dive off into the rest of the forum.

It wouldn't stop people posting questions that have been asked repeatably before, but it might get a percentage of them out of 'harms way'.

[guitarman]

There will always be a multitude of questions that are asked over and over again. I really don't think that there is anything you can do about it.
Take the "What lens/camera should I buy example". When I'm looking for a new lens/camera this is what I do. First I visit the online reviews by experts. Example bob Atkins, DCRP, Steves Digicam, etc. Then I will go to Fred Mirandas site where they have a nice section that users have posted ratings on different lenses. Or Steves site where they have readers opinions on cameras. Then I will still ask the question on this site that everyone hates to see. And I will take everything I've gathered and judge from there. Now if you don't want to read about it. I think it is much more effective to just skip that post. Because surely those that respond, don't mind. Some forums have just created a section that says "Post here for all those "What lens should I buy" questions. That way those of you, that find it an annoyance can just stay out of there. Makes more sense than trying to force feed all the new registrants to read through a plethora of FAQs.
Or maybe some just need something to complain about on a daily basis.

[Scottes]

There are some days I don't have time to read or answer the same old question, but other days I do so I will. When I don't have time I ignore it.

But sometimes - just sometimes - there is *something* that makes the post special and thus it's not exactly the same question.

Besides, sometimes people just don't know it's the same question. Some poor newbie may not even realize that many aspects of shooting race cars carry over to shooting windsurfers, thus they skip over the "Best lens for motorcars?" thread.

Even worse, imagine some American newbie who posts a "What lens to shoot car hoods" just an hour after the 38th post to a Brit's request for "What lens to shoot a car's bonnet?"

If you don't have the time or inclination, pass it by.



Now Blue, to really give you heck, with 225 posts how could you be upset about seeing so many repetitive questions. Hell, there's no doubt that MANY of us have ANSWERED that lens question 225 times. And your very first post - which I answered first, funny enough - was the age old "Why aren't my pictures sharp?" question.

As punishment for your faux paux, I'd say that ten "Hail Pekkas" are in order, and you must now answer 5 newbie's posts....
:-)

[Pekka]

There will be a categorized FAQ which is connected to accompanying forum posts. It will get done when software for it is found/done. It would have come sooner but I have evaluated some of the best PHP FAQ systems out there and they are either an overkill (possible CPU killers) or simply bad code and design and/or bad MySQL database design which both will be something I won't install here. So the only option seems to be a custom script which I'll write.

If we need it fast, one possibility is to make a FAQ forum with subforums to each category. That would be easy to set up but it may be tedious to browse and it has admin problems (forum admin system is not too flexible).

In any case - it is happening sooner or later.

[martook]

There will be a categorized FAQ which is connected to accompanying forum posts. It will get done when software for it is found/done. It would have come sooner but I have evaluated some of the best PHP FAQ systems out there and they are either an overkill (possible CPU killers) or simply bad code and design and/or bad MySQL database design which both will be something I won't install here. So the only option seems to be a custom script which I'll write.

If we need it fast, one possibility is to make a FAQ forum with subforums to each category. That would be easy to set up but it may be tedious to browse and it has admin problems (forum admin system is not too flexible).

In any case - it is happening sooner or later.

Oh, is that the reason I never got a response to my PM? I thought it was because you were so busy with all the noise around the glamour forum, and the server move... ;)
There was a new version of phpmyfaq released a few weeks back, haven't tried it out yet though. Maybe it's better? What was it you didn't like about it? It was the only app I found that was wort considering, the rest was crap in comparison, so if you don't like phpmyfaq, writing it yourself is the way to go. Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer for the new version of EE... :)

If you don't want it on your server, I can host it for now so the work with a FAQ can get started... then one will just have to move the information when a new system is found/made.

[tommykjensen]

There will be a categorized FAQ which is connected to accompanying forum posts. It will get done when software for it is found/done. It would have come sooner but I have evaluated some of the best PHP FAQ systems out there and they are either an overkill (possible CPU killers) or simply bad code and design and/or bad MySQL database design which both will be something I won't install here. So the only option seems to be a custom script which I'll write.


A long time ago I also looked for a FAQ for my own website and I also found that the existing FAQs where not meeting my requirements. So I also came to the conclusion that if I wanted something to meet my requirements I had to do it myself or get someone to do it. Unfortunately I did not find the resources to help me.

What are Your plans for the FAQ script? Would You release it like EE for other to use?

[Pekka]

EE will not be delayed because of the FAQ. First I'll finish EE, then I'll use much of that code for the FAQ.

http://photography-on-the.net/gallerydatabase/ can be also easily be turned into FAQ engine, much if it is based on EE code.

I have tested Phpmyfaq 1.5, but its database design is pretty bad and I did not get good impression of the basic structure of things either.