Newbie (n00b) 101 Pt. 2 -- Getting help

[ZabiGG]

GETTING HELP

Searching this forum

With the number of people on this site (Currently Active Users: 14076 (1002 members and 13074 guests)), chances are SOMEONE has already asked the question or experienced the problem you have.

Problem is, A LOT of people have questions. And a question asked merely 30 minutes before may already be pushed back to page 4 or 5 of the main thread window at the busiest times of the day.

Another tiny bit of a problem is that some people are not clear what their question or problem is and give their post a title like "Help!!!" which, if you're looking to solve a sound card problem, for instance, will not be a post you'll even look at

But maybe that person was the one who asked about the sound card you have, and the thread includes the exact reply you need?

On any given day, the same questions are asked every which way at least 5 times each (and I'm being very conservative here).

But why?

Lots of people don't take the 30 seconds necessary to search the forum before they post, because they don't know how to search efficiently!

Here is a starter tip for searching this forum

The Search box

(that elegantly discreet greyish field box at the top right of any page)

IS YOUR FRIEND -- tame it, love it.


Here's how: use quotes

Let's say you're looking for info about the NVDia card driver...
Instead of typing NVDia card driver in the Search box (your new best friend)
enter: "nvdia card driver" (notice the quotes, insert the quotes, love the quotes)

That way, you'll only get "hits" (search results) with those three words glued together. Instead of getting posts about how NVDia is great for GRAPHICS but the poster would rather buy and ATI but has no money for a new CARD you'll most probably find the ones about the current issues with the NVDia GRAPHICS CARD.

Get my point?

You will still get irrelevant hits, but much fewer ones, thus you will find what you need quicker!

There are also a host of self-explicative advanced search functions (you'll get access to those if you use the Search box). Try them on for size, you might actually find exactly what you're looking for without too much pain and eyestrain.


More help on the next post...


Z.

[ZabiGG]

Getting help FASTER ...

... when there REALLY is no answer and you NEED to post

(I insist)

1) Choose your thread title wisely -- i.e. be specific
"Need command line to copy App X to directory Y"

will get you help much faster than

"Don't know what to do???"

because the helpers who know their command lines can SEE that you need help with something they know (every helper has their own field of "expertise" or knowledge), and thus help you faster.

EDIT: Forum guidelines specify we should post any question in Absolute Beginners first. The advice below is merely my personal opinion on how help may be obtained much more efficiently, especially for beginners.

2) Post your thread in the relevant forum section
Absolute Beginners is a place to help newbies start out. But if it's filled to the brim with technical questions, the really new-new fresh and wide-eyed newbies cannot find the kind of help they need.

Even if you are part of the newbie tribe and thus qualify for using this section, you're better off benefiting from the advice of the people "specialized in your problem".

Post in the right section, but mention you're a newbie so that they will coach you through it instead of just spewing command lines and jargon at you.

Your question is about a sound card? Post it in the Hardware & Laptops section on the main forum page.
Your question is about this or that application? Post it in General Help.
You have a problem with a screensaver, theme or background? Desktop Effects & Customization is calling your name!

As simple as that. And much more efficient, too.

I already hear the nay-sayers say: "But I posted there and didn't get any help"...

[sudo rm -r politically_correct_filter]

It's your own darn fault!

Our poor helpers have no choice but to concentrate on Absolute Beginners, because the posters post everything and anything there!!!

As soon as we can all learn a bit of discipline and post -- again, I repeat -- in the RELEVANT (OR PROPER, OR RIGHT, OR MOST APPROPRIATE) section, the helpers will be able to focus on the ones where they can specifically help...

If you really have no idea which section your inquiry relates to, post in General Help.

[sudo kill rant_process]

List of forum sections and details

3) Mark your threads [SOLVED] when they are
That way, helpers can concentrate on the posts that remain unanswered. Just humour me and take a look at how many questions are open out there. It would take an army to get to them all, and helpers here are volunteers. They do the best they can.

Marking your [SOLVED] threads really, really helps. Please do your part.

And If you manage to solve your problem on your own, why not pay the community back in kind by posting how you solved it, then marking your thread.

Pretty please???

General forum posting tip

I'm proud of my n00b status. There's no shame in being a newbie. Be candid and honest about it. No one will laugh. Quite the contrary, they'll be more eager to help and make you feel welcome and at home.

Don't try to use the technospeak you don't understand to get help if you don't know what the words you are using mean (it may "look" cool, but it makes your post incomprehensible or confusing). State your problem or question in your own words, so it's easier to understand what you need.

Well, that was long-winded... sorry all

But that's it for today. I'm working on a 101 of the HOWTO section... stay tuned!

Cheers and love to you all

You are my

Z.

[ZabiGG]

And if you have more tips, it helps keep this thread alive and on top...

So they're much welcomed.


Cheers,

Z.

[Bodsda]

A brilliant source of documentation can be found on the wiki

comdocs -- https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UserDocumentation

The irc channel is also an excellent place to ask questions.

irc.freenode.net

help can be found in this channel #ubuntu
and beginners help can be found in #ubuntuforums-beginners or ##beginners-help

And although this is regarded as not a very nice statement, Google IS your friend. The best results are achieved by asking the question as simply as possible

grub error 22 ubuntu

is a great google search, and by putting ubuntu at the end of the search specific results are found easier.

Hope this helps

[ZabiGG]

That's perfect advice Bodsda!

Thank you so much.

Z.

[forestpixie]

I have found that for searching it can be a bit easier to use either google

search term site:ubuntuforums.org

or uboontu.com, you can get a firefox search plugin for that, I'm fairly sure it only searches ubuntu sites but is google - saves typing site:ubuntuforums.org

http://www.uboontu.com/

I use that one a lot - there is another one bu the name escapes me.

Edit - it returned - http://www.googlubuntu.com/