We were all newbies once....
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:09 pm
This is just a quick thread to remind us that at one point in time we all knew nothing and that we relied on the knowledge and experience of others to get to where we are today. So let's just remember why we like this forum so much; the people, the information and the open mindedness to which we approach the problems.
Let's also be fair to those who haven't been reading this forum pretty much everyday for 5 years! So just remember the following things:
You can't read every thread: some information is still in the forum but other good stuff isn't. There is a thread culling process and sadly we've lost some really good threads but if no-one reads it, it goes after about a year. The time period is much longer than the early days so it doesn't appear to be much of a problem but newbies might not have the luxury of reading some of the good stuff that we did.
The search isn't very good: unfortunately PHPBB's search isn't that cracking (or at least, my ability to configure it isn't!) and searches are only good if you know what you are looking for. This industry is riddled with confusing names and misused terminology and it's hard to pick out one line in 20 examples of 60,000 posts, some things are easy to miss. There should be a wiki coming soon when I find the time to realise the work of another member, so hopefully this will help newcomers in understanding where we are coming from. I get annoyed when I can't find what I need despite having read it numerous times before, so I ask the question.
If you are getting frustrated, don't reply: We are really lucky that the fountain of knowledge and understanding has grown from a handful of people to 10's of people over the years. So if the OP is winding you up, walk away. Someone else will pick it up and if they manage to annoy the entire group of people who can answer their question and they all walk away, that's the OP's loss, not ours.
This isn't intended to point fingers at anyone or any thread as I think we are all guilty at one point or another. It's just a polite reminder that I have considered writing for months, let us all remember why we like it here so much.
Now get back to removing the PL off your fingers...
Chris.
Let's also be fair to those who haven't been reading this forum pretty much everyday for 5 years! So just remember the following things:
You can't read every thread: some information is still in the forum but other good stuff isn't. There is a thread culling process and sadly we've lost some really good threads but if no-one reads it, it goes after about a year. The time period is much longer than the early days so it doesn't appear to be much of a problem but newbies might not have the luxury of reading some of the good stuff that we did.
The search isn't very good: unfortunately PHPBB's search isn't that cracking (or at least, my ability to configure it isn't!) and searches are only good if you know what you are looking for. This industry is riddled with confusing names and misused terminology and it's hard to pick out one line in 20 examples of 60,000 posts, some things are easy to miss. There should be a wiki coming soon when I find the time to realise the work of another member, so hopefully this will help newcomers in understanding where we are coming from. I get annoyed when I can't find what I need despite having read it numerous times before, so I ask the question.
If you are getting frustrated, don't reply: We are really lucky that the fountain of knowledge and understanding has grown from a handful of people to 10's of people over the years. So if the OP is winding you up, walk away. Someone else will pick it up and if they manage to annoy the entire group of people who can answer their question and they all walk away, that's the OP's loss, not ours.
This isn't intended to point fingers at anyone or any thread as I think we are all guilty at one point or another. It's just a polite reminder that I have considered writing for months, let us all remember why we like it here so much.
Now get back to removing the PL off your fingers...
Chris.
Been using forums for almost 3 decades before that was fidonet/usenet/bbs forums on dialup modems....... now that should date me!
