To all those with zero-reply threads...

[aysiu]

Every now and then, I scour the forums to see what the zero-reply threads are that are out there--there are many. The sad thing is that many of those will remain zero-reply threads. This is an open "letter" to those who have threads that will always be zero-reply threads:

Dear Frustrated User,

Please don't feel ignored. Someone was probably looking. She may not have actually looked at your thread, but she may have looked at the title. Someone cared or wanted to care. Your thread wasn't ignored--it just wasn't answered.

People here are very supportive and helpful when they can be. I'll tell you that 99% of the time when threads remain unanswered it's because no one knows the answer. Either your problem is too obscure, your hardware is too obscure, or the program you're having problems with is too obscure.

In rare cases, it may be a problem everyone has but doesn't know how to solve. When that occurs, someone (maybe it should be you) usually files a bug report at https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bugs.

You have a few options if your posts remain unanswered:

1. Search for the answer yourself. The Ubuntu forums are quite comprehensive in terms of what they cover, but sometimes a Google search would better serve you. I've found Googling the exact text of errors is a good way to find how to fix those errors.

2. Wait. I had a couple of unanswered threads that got me down for a little bit. Randomly, they got answered weeks later (I'm not kidding).

3. Give up. If it's a non-essential program, maybe just don't deal with that program for now. If your entire installation doesn't work, maybe Ubuntu isn't for your hardware.

4. Rephrase your post. Sometimes if you give too little information or too much information (especially with no paragraph breaks), people just don't want to spend the extra time to understand what you're saying. Meet people half-way, and they'll more than likely meet you half-way and go beyond that half-way mark.

5. Bump your thread every twenty-four hours or so (not more than three or four times, though). Sometimes threads just get lost in the shuffle and need to appear at the top of the new threads search again.

Please don't feel ignored, though. If I thought it would, in any way, be productive to answer zero-reply threads and just say, "Hey, I can't answer your question, but I care about your problem," I would, but I think that'd just give people false hope when they see that someone's replied ("maybe that one response could be the answer to my problem...").

Also, remember that everyone (including forum staff) is a volunteer here. No one's obligated to help you. People will try to help as best they can, but please don't feel entitled to receive help. If you get it, great, and you probably will get some help, but if you don't get it, sorry--we're not Ubuntu gods here (I've seen some Ubuntu angels, though).

--aysiu

P.S. I'm not speaking on behalf of the forum administration. I'm speaking for me.

[blastus]

I actually do that (look for posts with no replies) sometimes too but my knowledge is extremely limited. But the stuff I do know I can help out. Sometimes the posts go by too fast because the forums are very active.

[matthew]

Well said, ayisu. The only thing you didn't mention is the case where a question doesn't get answered because it is phrased so poorly that no one can figure out what is being asked. It's kind of like #4 in your list, but less common and not exactly the same.

[aysiu]

Well said, ayisu. The only thing you didn't mention is the case where a question doesn't get answered because it is phrased so poorly that no one can figure out what is being asked. It's kind of like #4 in your list, but less common and not exactly the same. Thanks for mentioning it. Usually for those, I at least reply and ask those folks to rephrase the question more clearly. Not all forum members are native English speakers, so I try to be sensitive to that, but I do encourage folks to rephrase things if I think it's a problem I can solve.

[Pathogenix]

Was anybody else disappointed that this thread garnered responses? Don't you people have a sense of irony?

[manicka]

Was anybody else disappointed that this thread garnered responses?
No, it proves aysiu's point that community is active and alert to all posts.

[matthew]

Was anybody else disappointed that this thread garnered responses? Don't you people have a sense of irony?
I love irony...ayisu's post didn't fit within the appropriate categories to warrant being unanswered.

[Kapre]

Amen to this Aysiu..Ooops you did it Again!! :) Should we post (sticky) something like this in the beginners forum so as to let every poster (new and old alike) will not feel frustrated with their unanswered posts.

K

[herrpoon]

I have to say these are the best ever forums I've visited! So much so there is not one single problem I have with my ubuntu install at the moment, and that's just not because ubuntu is, well seems, to be almost problem free but because there are so many people out there willing to help :D

[mlomker]

Awesome post. Threads that I can't answer **** me off. ;)

[aysiu]

Amen to this Aysiu..Ooops you did it Again!! :) Should we post (sticky) something like this in the beginners forum so as to let every poster (new and old alike) will not feel frustrated with their unanswered posts.

K I have the ability to make sticky posts, but I hardly think it's appropriate to sticky one's own thread.

[23meg]

Here are a few places I resort to when a question of mine goes unanswered or not answered satisfactorily here or in #ubuntu* on IRC:

http://www.debianhelp.org/
http://forums.gentoo.org/
http://www.linuxforums.org/
http://www.linuxquestions.org

[Xian]

I have the ability to make sticky posts, but I hardly think it's appropriate to sticky one's own thread.
Fine, we'll just do this nomination style and ease your mind. :)

I motion that this thread should be a sticky.
Is there a second?

=D>

Is there a quick link anymore to search zero-reply threads?

[mlomker]

Is there a quick link anymore to search zero-reply threads?

It's under Search at the very bottom.

I actually can't think of an appropriate place to sticky the post, but I sure wouldn't mind if everyone read it.

[XDevHald]

Great post aysiu :)

I myself have been busy for the past month with personal deals, and haven't been active like I used to be, but I will be picking that up again.

Also, herrpoon: no need to sticky all good posts, only ones that ARE of use to the forums, such as tech support, backports help, etc. :)

[Xian]

It's under Search at the very bottom.
Heh. Well, that's not exactly obvious.

[mlomker]

Heh. Well, that's not exactly obvious.

I think that's intentional. The zero post search is more processor intense on the server and ubuntu-geek doesn't want the machine slowed down...even though it's a useful feature.

[manicka]

I motion that this thread should be a sticky.
Is there a second?

seconded

[Kapre]

seconded

Can I say, I third to that motion? :)

Seriously, I am for that.

K

[white_tiger_daniel]

Great thread. I go around trying to help the people with zero-reply threads even though my knowledge is limted. I just want to help people out around here. It's fun and sometimes I will learn something new.
I 'fourth' this being a sticky.

Peace Out

D

[AndrewCaul]

Unfortunately, not all "zero-reply" threads can be found using the "Get Unanswered Posts feature.
Some people reply to their own threads asking "Hello? Can anyone help me?", which bumps the thread once before disappearing, never to be seen again.

[glotz]

Nice point Andrew! Maybe the forum software should include those posts in 'unanswered posts'.

[Resurrection]

Sticky this please in Absolute Beginner.

[benplaut]

yup... request for a sticky...

[ncappel1]

I also think this would be good to sticky, it's good info!

[mstlyevil]

Stuck like glue.

[elamericano]

I don't think the forum can easily distinguish which questions received an acceptable answer or have been abandoned. It bugs me too when someone replies with a comment that does not try to answer you question, and thus erases your zero-reply status. For example, you ask, "How do I abc", and someone says "You shouldn't want to do that, because xyz." (Bad example, maybe, because people here generally share info freely.)

Anyway, the questioner can always ask the question again after an appropriate amount of time.

[qpackard]

It would help enormously if the poster would write an informative title, not "I have a stupid question", guaranteed to be ignored, I mean, who want's to respond to stupidity, or ambiguous titles such as "how come it doesn't work". I try to phrase my titles with concise information, such as, 5.10 won't sync at boot w/ntp.ubuntulinux.org, or something that gets to the heart of the matter. I know that having computers and programs that don't work as hoped for is very frustrating and leads to many sleepless nights, but please don't make the responder search for your problem, help them out as best you can. Remember, this is free software and free support and suprizingly the system works extremely well. After all, you could pay Monstersoft many hundreds of dollars and be cheerfully ignored.

[gummylindz]

can i find staff in here???????????

i wanna complain about this user.......... i've already opened a post saying "attention ubuntu staff" but of course, its one of those zero-replies threads.... had to be..... lol

well anyway, this is to say that if you wanna know my problem, i'm sick of telling it over and over, so you cna go to the thread!!!! :D hehehehehehe

(a solution to the zero-replies threads, come here and re-direct people to them :P)

[elamericano]

Caramba, lindz. Give it a few hours, you got like twelve replies to that other thread. No reason to post randomly.

[stig]

I can't remember if it was in Ubuntu Forums or some other Linux forum but I remember there was someone who made a policy of regularly responding to an unanswered thread - like one every day. Even if s/he could not answer the problem they would give some moral support.

I hope s/he is still out there!

[gummylindz]

I can't remember if it was in Ubuntu Forums or some other Linux forum but I remember there was someone who made a policy of regularly responding to an unanswered thread - like one every day. Even if s/he could not answer the problem they would give some moral support.

I hope s/he is still out there!

hint, hint ;)

[DiscoKiller]

Was anybody else disappointed that this thread garnered responses? Don't you people have a sense of irony?


that just made me laugh out loud......fair point, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

[chakra_dude]

sometimes patience is all we need

[ProjectGod]

in regards to the zero reply threads... i honestly don't think that a majority of people who ask questions actively use the "search" option to immediately locate their threads...

i know i was manually looking for my threads prior to using "search".

so getting frustrated with manual search i bet they just let it slip and stop bothering to. :-k

[u04f061]

I love irony...ayisu's post didn't fit within the appropriate categories to warrant being unanswered.

i don't agree u bcoz i think this post is exactly at same place,no matter someone's post remained unanwered or not.

i don't think so that this post is just to heal the pain of poster but it also throws light on fact that why posts remain un-answered .like some people may post post too small and the other may post too large .both are i think not good and this was what the poster said.

i think what we can do is,we should try to figure out how to help new comers in posting understandable posts.i think the purpose of the starter of the post was also this
thn and sorry if u feel hurt

[isotonic]

.

[isotonic]

.

[isotonic]

.

[isotonic]

how about gathering all zero threads into one place in a sub-forum of unanswered support calls..?

i know you could do something similar with a search, but it might be easier for those who don't search much.

[aysiu]

how about gathering all zero threads into one place in a sub-forum of unanswered support calls..?

i know you could do something similar with a search, but it might be easier for those who don't search much. Well, the search for it is actually faster than clicking to another sub-forum...

[mdsmedia]

Great post aysiu. I'm sure it wasn't sticky when I was getting all those (well not so many) zero reply questions, but I'd seen the support, and had support myself, and generally very quickly. So I looked at my posts, I looked at the topics, I clarified a couple. Still no response LOL.

But I certainly never blamed the people who offer support here. Nobody could fault the support offered here.

I've been spending a few days in the Cafe, and haven't been in Absolute Beginners for a while, and I've got to say one of the major reasons I love Ubuntu is the maturity with which these forums are conducted. I've seen some "troll-like" threads TOTALLY ignored, even when I felt like replying myself.

To anyone who thinks they're not getting a response to your question.... think about the way your question has been asked. Overall, think about your topic, because that's what everyone sees first....first impressions and all. But ultimately, don't think that you're not getting the help you think you should be getting. If people can help you on here, THEY WILL.

[axiomata]

I know I have had a couple "zero reply threads" that I was able to solve myself using methods mentioned in this thread. Usually it involves searching for my problem and combining bits and pieces of solutions from a bunch of threads until it works.

One suggestion that I have for those who have started "zero reply threads" only to solve their problem later on is that they go back to that thread and make a post detailing what you did to solve the problem. That way, when another person comes along with the same probem and they come across your thread they don't see a "zero reply thread" from which they assume their problem is unsolvable ... rather they see your solution. Just a thought.

[justinflavin]

I know I have had a couple "zero reply threads" that I was able to solve myself using methods mentioned in this thread. Usually it involves searching for my problem and combining bits and pieces of solutions from a bunch of threads until it works.

One suggestion that I have for those who have started "zero reply threads" only to solve their problem later on is that they go back to that thread and make a post detailing what you did to solve the problem. That way, when another person comes along with the same probem and they come across your thread they don't see a "zero reply thread" from which they assume their problem is unsolvable ... rather they see your solution. Just a thought.

good idea. but to make it more obvious for people, it might be a good idea to have a "zero reply thread" widget on the forum homepage that lists the zero reply threads.

if you make the zero replies more obvious, then people might dip in and respond to them.

have a date criteria - a zero reply would be an "official" zero reply if there is no response for a week.

[white_tiger_daniel]

Hey Aysiu glad this made it to sticky thread status.

You're godlike... ;)

Dan

[nameiwantistaken]

It is very nice of you to make a thread like this. That said, there are some things that could be done to improve things. My first suggestion would be to consolidate the distribution to one supported front end. Yes, it would **** off a lot of people, but you would cut the number of different issues by a huge amount and it would be easier for people to get answers. I realize that's not going to happen though.

In the realm of doability, increase the number of items that show up on each forum. Not many people will start scrolling back for things to read. It seems that this site displays a smaller number of items in say the general hardware forum than other tech sites do in their forums. With so many different issues coming in, each post has very little time in the first thread. Also, increase the number of items seen per page when viewing a thread. It will make navigating things and reading threads much easier. Yes, I know it is more of hit on serving hardware, but it will make the site much better and lower the number of non-read items.

[seshomaru samma]

Not all unanswered posts have zero replies
I suggest adding a "solved" icon to posts , this will alow both helpers and potential answer seekers to better asses the post . Perhaps the person who originaly posted it will have the ability to add the "solved" icon to his/her post and maybe the moderators as well.

[aysiu]

It's been proposed before:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=202068

I think the staff is just thinking of the best way to implement it.

[jonrkc]

I agree that the "Solved" tag would be a tremendous help to those of us who try to find unanswered, or at least unsolved, problems that we might be able to help with. Also, it works the other way: Recently I was on a forum and saw a question related to my problem, and it said "Solved," and by reading it I immediately got my solution--much time saved!

The most basic suggestion that should be made to posters, I think, is not to ask questions like "What's wrong here?" or to exclaim, "Please help!" I know pretty well how these people feel, from my own experience, but that is definitely not the way to get help. I will never, ever, read a post that doesn't give a clue as to its content in the title. I spend literally hours a day on forums, and even if I had time to read those, I wouldn't. There are too many clear-cut problems begging for solutions.

This is a great thread, and thanks, aysiu, for thinking of it.

[fulltilt]

I'm sitting on the fence on this one ....

- the community is awesome from what I've seen
- I have a pet zero reply thread (official one too, no replies in a week)
- I don't want to bump it because I haven't seen any other bumps and then there has been a reply BUT bumping might improve the visibility
- I understand what people are saying about bad titles, wierd questions and searching but I think I've done all that as well.
- finally, I've (sort of) solved the problem but need assistance on my next step but I haven't got the time to search and I don't think it's fair (at any time) if I post before searching.

:)

[jonrkc]

I'm sitting on the fence on this one ....

- the community is awesome from what I've seen
- I have a pet zero reply thread (official one too, no replies in a week)
- I don't want to bump it because I haven't seen any other bumps and then there has been a reply BUT bumping might improve the visibility
- I understand what people are saying about bad titles, wierd questions and searching but I think I've done all that as well.
- finally, I've (sort of) solved the problem but need assistance on my next step but I haven't got the time to search and I don't think it's fair (at any time) if I post before searching.

:)That might as well be me writing. I go through the same pondering and soul-searching about "to bump or not to bump" and I also feel I need to make a reasonable effort with search engines before I even post. If I get a hit on a forum that leads me to a fifty-page thread dealing (at least in part) with my problem, I simply cannot read fifty pages before deciding if I should post.

I think a person just has to make as balanced a decision as possible. Very rarely, I've decided it was best just not to post and hope for the best. More often, after an hour or three or four of searching with no results, I post anyway and hope a moderator having a bad day doesn't jump on me. It hasn't happened yet, but I always hit the submit button with some trepidation.

That's one reason my pet peeve about forums is rude behavior, of the "RTFM" sort. Very fortunately, Ubuntu Forums are almost totally free of that, and it's also condemned in the guidelines. Bravo to that.

Beginners often have no idea where to turn; in the meantime, they may need their computers for homework, business use, or some other good reason. They also don't know how to give pertinent details (I'm not good at that, either, after three years). So it makes me happy to see experienced users patiently explain things they've patiently explained a dozen times before.

[Brunellus]

we can, however, be very curt with people... I've never told anyone to RTFM, but I tend to link to the relevant version of TFM when the question comes up. Whether they read it...well....

[jonrkc]

we can, however, be very curt with people... I've never told anyone to RTFM, but I tend to link to the relevant version of TFM when the question comes up. Whether they read it...well....
A link to the relevant manual page is helpful. (Usually. The content of some man pages is so arcane that no ordinary user is ever going to understand a bit of it. I've seen very experienced users complain about the density of some manual pages. But most pages are fairly easy to understand after three or four readings, and some, after just one.)

Regarding curtness--when I'm in a bad mood I steer clear of forums, or at least I don't write in them. But moderators have no choice, I understand that.

I've had two rebukes, both on LinuxQuestions. One via email from a moderator asking me not to respond to double posts. (The problem there is: How do you know an item is double-posted, out of 36,000 threads?)
The other, when I initiated an exchange in Spanish, forgetting that the rule is to stick to English. The moderator was very tactful about it but I felt really embarrassed. I apologized.

[paradj]

In rare cases, it may be a problem everyone has but doesn't know how to solve. When that occurs, someone (maybe it should be you) usually files a bug report at https://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/.

this site seems to require a login...
how does one just view this?

this old geek is not too happy with ANY OS lately...

[aysiu]

this site seems to require a login...
how does one just view this?

this old geek is not too happy with ANY OS lately...
You can view them here:
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bugs

[FredSambo]

{o,o}
|)__)
-"-"-
O RLY?

[ubuntu_demon]

You can view them here:
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bugs
Can you please change your first post to update bugzilla to launchpad ?

Thank you very much

[aysiu]

Can you please change your first post to update bugzilla to launchpad ?

Thank you very much
Done. Thanks for the reminder.

[houseisland]

Hi,

What is the etiquette here regarding the periodic bumping of unanswered posts back up to the top of the heap?

Thanks.

[aysiu]

Hi,

What is the etiquette here regarding the periodic bumping of unanswered posts back up to the top of the heap?

Thanks.
I don't know if there's a predefined one, but I'd say bumping every 24 to 48 hours is acceptable.

[ubuntu_demon]

Done. Thanks for the reminder.
You are welcome.

[ubuntu_demon]

Hi,

What is the etiquette here regarding the periodic bumping of unanswered posts back up to the top of the heap?

Thanks.
There is no formal rule. Just be nice. Don't bump a thread too much and too soon. Wait at least a day before bumping. If you bump a thread do it like :

*bump*

instead of :

"hey why isn't anyone helping me? I need help but nobody is listening. This forum is messed up!"

[Eddy Gordo from Tekken]

Two threads, both of them yielded me "not much". the first time i was pissed til i was directed here. the second time i'm annoyed. not angry or upset...annoyed at being o for 2. the latest one i tried to bump a few times. real subtle like, by posting my own efforts with new info and things that i'd been trying. nada...maybe next time right?

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=234072
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=203782

[DarkPCTroll]

aysiu wrote:
Dear Frustrated User,

LMAO!

That sentence reminds me myself. Sometimes I post a question and nobody answers it (but not here... in anothert forum). But you know what? It's not that bad at all. It gives you three options:

1.- You can dig into the problem and Google it up. (Giving you experience, searching skills and you almost never forget what you do on your own and It moved you to analyze and make an extra effort)

2.- You can wait, wait, wait. (It improves your patience, and this is a must If you're new to something: Linux, computers, arts, everything).

3.- You can look for another option. (Maybe you don't need a solution, perhaps you only need another point of view)

This is what I think... :rolleyes:

PS: If I make any mistake, send me the message. I'll appreciate it, because I'm not a native speaker.:-D

DarkPCTroll

[lefty_lou]

well maybe this one fits in this category a post wich has been up for about 2 weeks and no answer to it or at least a we saw it and will let you know and i believe the question was well written, why? i did a search for my problem and pointed me right to it here's the link to the post : http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=257790
i don't need the help any longer ( decided to try edgy and boy got in to another problem but i'll look it up to see if i can fix it) but there's 2 more people who seem to still have it, would be nice if anyone kinda let's us know that at least someone cares about it, i'm new to UBUNTU but just 1 question breezy was just that a breeze to install and nothing messed up, why dapper and edgy do? why hasn't the problem been resolved? is a very common one about the partition getting all screwed up, my point being if something worked why change it to something not tested and keep using it after so many problems? hmm makes me wonder if... someone paid by another source to maybe and just maybe derail UBUNTU's reach to windows users? win people like nice and easy stuff if u make it fustrating enough to install can instantly make any one stay on Win wich i hate but it's my only option at the time.
Loved UBUNTU 5.10 wich seems to be most stable one yet to me guess will install it again and hope 4 some stable edgy problem free install one ( crossing fingers ) well just wanted to express a little of what i feel since i'm one of those unanswered posters. thanks and good luck to all and the UBUNTU team hope edgy turns out fine and fixes all those install problems so i can go back to my group of 25 kids and keep teaching them how to use computers and about the best open source alternative OS UBUNTU.

[teaker1s]

One thing that I have noticed is you get two types of poster, one that is very pleasant and polite and understanding-enjoyable to be able to help:guitar:
Second type that they take their annoyance out on whoever replies and fail to see that a problem is frustrating, but being terse/rude does nothing to encourage people to reply and use their free time to assist in helping. ](*,)

[RomeReactor]

I think this thread should be made sticky. I'm not very knowledgeable regarding Ubuntu or linux in general, but i try to help in those threads where i believe i can; sometimes i click the "View Unanswered Posts" button precisely because i believe no post should go unanswered (even though most unanswered posts remain so because the problem is just too difficult or escaped the notice of a user who actually knows the answer, but the post itself fell to the 3rd or 4rth page, or even deeper).

Just my opinion.

[Rhubarb]

IMO some unanswered posts are either too complex a problem to solve, too off topic, or the author of the thread is a help vampire.

Help vampire definition:
http://www.slash7.com/articles/2006/12/22/vampires

[mon_m]

IMO some unanswered posts are either too complex a problem to solve, too off topic, or the author of the thread is a help vampire.

Help vampire definition:
http://www.slash7.com/articles/2006/12/22/vampires


Hahaha

But hey, aren't there some people who just aren't savvy enough to be able to troubleshoot on their own, which is why they suck the lifeforce out of you? And would you have the heart to tell someone right off the bat that they suck too much, so they should stop trying and you will stop helping?

After all, Poofyhairguy did say, "This particular forum is for people who are new to Linux or new to computers in general."

[Cpennyspal]

I actually do that (look for posts with no replies) sometimes too but my knowledge is extremely limited. But the stuff I do know I can help out. Sometimes the posts go by too fast because the forums are very active.

Can you help me? I had Ubuntu 6.1 installed and could not get it to play DVDs or watch streaming videos on
news sites (abcnews.com, foxnews.com, etc. I posted a question on the forum and received a reply
that fixed the problem and I was able to watch DVDs and streaming news videos. The problem is I
upgraded to Ubuntu 7.04 and now I cannot view DVDs or streaming news videos again. I don't know
how to use the forums to find my original question that resolved this problem. In case you haven't guessed,
I'm new to Ubuntu. I cannot seem to master the skills of using Ubuntu forums. I am able to log in and then
I'm lost. I cannot search for posted questions or access the questions I have asked in the past.

I do not mean to bother you, but I do not want to go back to using Windows XP. Any help would be
greatly appriciated.

Thank You,

Ed (Cpennyspal@msn.com)

[nixclusive]

Please don't feel ignored, though. If I thought it would, in any way, be productive to answer zero-reply threads and just say, "Hey, I can't answer your question, but I care about your problem," I would, but I think that'd just give people false hope when they see that someone's replied ("maybe that one response could be the answer to my problem..."). And that would also effectively knock off an unanswered thread from the 'unanswered threads' list that is given when we click that button. Good thinking... :-)

[kkanalz]

Very well stated, Aiysu! You might have added that correct SPELLING also helps a lot when trying to solve others' problems.

[arbulus]

This is a great post, aysiu. Thanks a lot!

The first post I ever made in the forums was a frustrated one. I had spent all day and well into a night working a few things that I simply couldn't get my head around at the time, and I was so frustrated before I came in. I honestly should have just walked away for a while and calmed down before I posted. However, the responses to my post were kind and very helpful, so even though I started off incredilby frustrated, everyone was kind in return, and I was really grateful for that and apologized profusely for being so harsh in the beginning, and still even now feel pretty bad for being so harsh.

The forums here are a great place with a lot of people who are willing to help in anyway they can, and I'm really thankful that we have such a great place to help each other out. I try to roam around the Beginner forum and offer an answer for at least one question every day (though sometimes I'm not able to).

[boblevien]

Thanks for that Aysiu - could you just expand on:
"5. Bump your thread every twenty-four hours or so (not more than three or four times, though). Sometimes threads just get lost in the shuffle and need to appear at the top of the new threads search again."

How do I do that without simply reposting it and clogging everything up?

Bob...

[John.Michael.Kane]

Thanks for that Aysiu - could you just expand on:
"5. Bump your thread every twenty-four hours or so (not more than three or four times, though). Sometimes threads just get lost in the shuffle and need to appear at the top of the new threads search again."

How do I do that without simply reposting it and clogging everything up?

Bob...

You would simply post to that same thread. saying "Bump". Or posting to the same thread and possibly adding more info with your post.

[Duranxl]

Most of my threads/question remain a 0-replier.
Thing is, i don't understand that after only 1 week of linux-usage, people don't know the answer to my questions.
I mean i expected ubuntu-geeks here and also expected my questions to be noob-questions..

:confused:

[Joeb454]

I'll take a look :)

Edit: None of your threads have 0 replies ;)

[Duranxl]

I'll take a look :)

Edit: None of your threads have 0 replies ;)

no because i bumbed them myself:P..
Just some recent ones..

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=865206
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5438424
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5423493#post5423493
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5441256#post5441256 (the one who replied just split the thread)

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5441194 (solved this one myself..)

[christianxxx]

I kind of have the same problem. I usually takes a long time to get any replies. I don't know if the moderators/admins have a way of finding these 0-threads, or if we have to bump.
If bumping is the only way, this is a game of chance...

I have one thread now with 13 views and not a single reply. At the verge of bumping...
In the beginning, I found alle the help I needed in older threads, but as I grew more skilled thus digging myself into deeper problems, I have experienced this lack of feedback.

[forestpiskie]

I don't know if the unanswered team have the ability to look further back but I have found that using the get unanswered threads tools only goes back 250 - so if you have one further thna that then most users won't see it :(

I have one myself - it could actually be a bug, not a deal breaking one, but as no-one else has answered it I wouldn't know if it was a bug needing reporting.

As you rightly point out if you bump it then no longer is it unanswered and then you are at the mercy of whoever happens to be online while it sits on the front page.

Back to my - we need a forum to post non-answered threads in, like a waiting room - which will never happen, especially if a forum for xbox users can magically happen even though there is no room.

[overdrank]

Threads started by me that have no answers

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=536997

Has one answer.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=806226
Thats 2 out of 5 threads that I have started in this forums.

:)

[forestpiskie]

I don't doubt that you do :) - I still have one or two from my old account that will NEVER get answered now :lol:

I personally think the problem lies with not being able to get at them through searches as it falls foul of the 250 result thing - :(

It's never going to be perfect due to the sheer quantity of threads -= which leads to unanswered threads falling off the end even sooner.

In 3 months I would guess it will get worse again once intrepid hits the street.

Seems that the best thing people can do is hope that they never have an exotic problem because it will just end up being a thorn.

[overdrank]

I don't doubt that you do :) - I still have one or two from my old account that will NEVER get answered now :lol:

I personally think the problem lies with not being able to get at them through searches as it falls foul of the 250 result thing - :(

It's never going to be perfect due to the sheer quantity of threads -= which leads to unanswered threads falling off the end even sooner.

In 3 months I would guess it will get worse again once intrepid hits the street.

Seems that the best thing people can do is hope that they never have an exotic problem because it will just end up being a thorn.

Hi forestpixie and I am sure we all have unanswered threads on the forums. That is the point I was trying to make. You have to be patient and persistent in searching for answers. :)

[forestpiskie]

Overdrank you are getting the wrong end of the stick here - I'm not moaning about threads I haven't had answers to anymore than you are.

I'm saying that if you can minimise the urge to bump a thread and leave it as unanswered - it will always be so because searches only seem to get 250 results - so you could have a thread that will forever remain unanswered unless you either gain the knowledge to revist it yourslef or the gods shine on you and someone happens across it when searching for something else.

I will say again - not here though as I've it said elsewhere, that the forum needs somewhere to put threads so that they can be seen.

I had to go here for a friend - http://forums.spybot.info/ they have a waiting room - http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=37 - good idea I think - although they have a 4 day limit - it would completely impractical to have such a low limit on a forum this size, but I still think and likely always will that there could be somewhere to refernce a thread that is getting no movement at all.

AS it happens the thread I have with no answers isn't a problem for me - but a possible bug - which I don't want to report as such to launchpad as they have more than enough to do; but without soemone looking and at least proving it themsemves one way or the other it is likely to always waitng until it gets archived next time around.

Bit of a long post - trying to put my point across :D

[cyberdork33]

no because i bumbed them myself:P..
Just some recent ones..

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=865206
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5438424
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5423493#post5423493
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5441256#post5441256 (the one who replied just split the thread)

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5441194 (solved this one myself..)
From what I can tell, they are not all that old, and you bump way too much.

You do seem to have some very specific problems, and people do not answer if they do not know. Questions about specific software (AWN / Compiz) are probably better answered by those that develop those applications. They may even have this information on their respective sites.

The only one that I would guess on is the wma one, and that one probably doesn't get a lot of replies because most people here are likely using an open format rather than wma...

And on the one that you solved, you didn't say how you fixed it / what the actual problem was.

[Duranxl]

From what I can tell, they are not all that old, and you bump way too much.

You do seem to have some very specific problems, and people do not answer if they do not know. Questions about specific software (AWN / Compiz) are probably better answered by those that develop those applications. They may even have this information on their respective sites.

The only one that I would guess on is the wma one, and that one probably doesn't get a lot of replies because most people here are likely using an open format rather than wma...

And on the one that you solved, you didn't say how you fixed it / what the actual problem was.
they're not old, no..but even the threads that i bumped 12hours ago are already on page 4...meaning it's not gonna get an answer. I tried to bump every 15h-24h which i dont think is too soon on these boards..

[cutterjohn]

Actually you forgot to mention a very important and potentially limitlessly useful resource, IRC CHAT!

If you have a relatively important problem, but aren't getting response to your post, it may be that no one reading the forums knows anything abot what you're trying to do. OTOH if you try the IRC channel, you can usually find someone who knows something about just about everything to do with Ubuntu. Even if they don't have the specific answer that you want/need they usually can give you enough info to either fix it yourself, track down someone who can help you fix it, or enough info to tell you that you probably should give up on whatever you're trying to do. (It's also a good idea to check through bugs on launchpad while doing your other seaarches, but even if you find a bug entry but not much else useful you can try checking on one of the IRC channels armed with your brand new bug report or an existing one, although as far as filing bug reports go I tend to check around on IRC and elsewhere before bothering to open a bug report.)

Myself, if I have anything reasonably tricky and searching for a solution on my own hasn't turned up anything useful, I try IRC. OTOH if it's a mildly annoying/irritating bug or behavior I'll post a comment/question mainly trying to find out if it's specific to me or endemic to the release. (Mostly happens when upgrading from one release to the next.)

[dmizer]

they're not old, no..but even the threads that i bumped 12hours ago are already on page 4...meaning it's not gonna get an answer. I tried to bump every 15h-24h which i dont think is too soon on these boards..

I regularly start on page 5 and work my way forward. I know I'm not the only one, and I know that many knowledgeable people start much farther back than that.

When I start on page 5 I generally only look for zero reply threads. They're easy to find in a quick scan. If I see one or two replies, I generally ignore it unless I happen to notice that the reply is from the same account as the OP. But it's way more difficult to see bumps than zero replies in a quick scan of the forum.

Despite the fact that you may feel that page 5, 6, 7, or even 10 is too far down the way to get any attention, you're still better off leaving it zero replies as long as possible simply because people DO look for zero replies, and these people live all over the world and reply at different times of the day. Thus, our suggestion is to wait 24 hours before bumping.

[aysiu]

Despite the fact that you may feel that page 5, 6, 7, or even 10 is too far down the way to get any attention, you're still better off leaving it zero replies as long as possible simply because people DO look for zero replies, and these people live all over the world and reply at different times of the day. Thus, our suggestion is to wait 24 hours before bumping. dmizer's right. I actually regularly do searches for zero-reply threads specifically. So bumped threads are off my radar generally.

Constantly bumping is also parasitic behavior. By being afraid of being on page 5 and bumping so that someone else's thread is on page 5, you are thus saying "My problem is more important than other people's problems." No. Your problem is important. But it is no more important than other people's problems.

All zero-reply threads I've seen get at least 5 or 6 views if not 25 or 50. Not being seen is not a problem. If you don't believe me, find an old zero-reply thread has never been viewed. Find one. Seriously. I've been on the forums for over four years and have never found a zero-reply thread that hasn't been viewed.

You know what also helps? Report non-technical-support posts that are posted in technical support subforums. Those will help push legitimate threads to page 5 unnecessarily. "What laptop do you recommend?" should be in Community Cafe. "Ubuntu is awful. I'm going back to Windows" should be in Ubuntu Testimonials and Experiences. "This is why Ubuntu should get rid of Mono" should be in Recurring Discussions.

[lisati]

dmizer's right. I actually regularly do searches for zero-reply threads specifically. So bumped threads are off my radar generally.
I check for unanswered posts from time to time as well. I don't often find something I can comment on, but do manage an answer every now and again.

[Tamlynmac]

aysiu (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=21941)

Well Done - as always. I tend to agree with the sticky. Unfortunately, I doubt many people will pay attention, as they are often ignored.

Zero response thread posters may wish to enhance their search options to include individual software sites that may offer a forum or even to some extent limited online support. For example, both Firefox (http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=38) and Open Office (http://www.oooforum.org/)have forums.

Might I suggest the forum consider posting a list of alternative sites that may provide additional assistance for specific software problems. This list could be updated regularly and shouldn't necessarily promote other sites, but possibly direct struggling users to alternate locations for potential solutions.

Good Job aysiu (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=21941).

[rahilm]

I've had some zero-post experiences...i don't feel bad about them..although once it forced me to write a bad testimonial

[cariboo907]

I have several zero reply threads, but the questions were so esoteric, that it took me long enough to find the answers, that the questions seem to have fallen off of the forum completely.

[lisati]

Zero response thread posters may wish to enhance their search options to include individual software sites that may offer a forum or even to some extent limited online support. For example, both Firefox (http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=38) and Open Office (http://www.oooforum.org/)have forums.



AVG (http://free.grisoft.com) has its own forum (http://forums.avg.com/) too. Some of the discussions I've seen about the Ubuntu-friendly versions could have been avoided if the users had visited the forum or read the documentation, hence the now-obsolete thread I started here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=889552).

[corrytonapple]

It may be a little late to respond, but....
When you get a answer to your thread, be sure to post back. Check your thread every other day or even every week for responses. Just my input...

[NFblaze]

Well, sometimes I look at threads and they are so plain and generic, severely lacking of information. Or I see a question that has been asked a million times within the last 30 minutes. I think those are prime candidates for zero-reply.

[athenaa]

Hi,

I'm new and I don't know how the "New Posts" work, but I posted something and it doesn't appear in the new posts. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks

[AlphaLexman]

Hi,

I'm new and I don't know how the "New Posts" work, but I posted something and it doesn't appear in the new posts. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks
'New Posts' means posts YOU haven't read it yet. Since you wrote the post the forum assumes you've read it, so you won't see it in New Posts, but other's who haven't read it, will. It all about cookies.

[athenaa]

Thanks :)