Do Your Calls For Help Ever End Well?

[regomodo]

It may be my way of wording things but it seems my queries get nowhere. I'm getting to the point where i can't be bothered to ask questions here as they don't get answered.

Anybody else feel the same or disagree completely?

[sorry for the grammar in the poll question]

[p_quarles]

Voted "yes," but would have voted "sometimes" if it had been an option.

I think I've successfully helped people more times than I've sought help, but I find that I usually can get good advice if my question isn't too arcane, and if I post in a problem-specific forum. I've found, for instance, that Servers & Security and x86-64 Bit Users are especially good places.

Of course, if your question fits into one of the higher traffic forums, then it can be kind of random whether you get help or not.

[dondad]

It may be my way of wording things but it seems my queries get nowhere. I'm getting to the point where i can't be bothered to ask questions here as they don't get answered.

Anybody else feel the same or disagree completely?

[sorry for the grammar in the poll question]

Some of the questions that I have asked got answered directly, some did not. I assume that the ones that did not get answered were either because the person with the answer did not happen to see the question or no one else had seen the problem and thus didn't have anything to say. In those cases where I got answers, they almost always solved the problem.

In those cases where I got no answer, I have been able to do searches, both here and elsewhere that eventually either gave me the answer I needed or pointed me to another question that was closer to the real problem that did get answered.

[regomodo]

Voted "yes," but would have voted "sometimes" if it had been an option.

yeah, i realised that afterwards.

Usually when i search or read a man page i figure it out but sometimes i have no idea where to go and spend hours googling for something and getting nowhere. I use here as the last port of call and sometimes in IRC but i'm getting tired of finding things that don't work.

[kelbizzle]

I don't ask many questions. But I answer lots. Usually the ones I have experienced on my own. Sometimes I will give what I think may be a logical troubleshooting step. Some questions will go unanswered just because I don't know the answer or because people don't see them.

[p_quarles]

Usually when i search or read a man page i figure it out but sometimes i have no idea where to go and spend hours googling for something and getting nowhere. I use here as the last port of call and sometimes in IRC but i'm getting tired of finding things that don't work.
Yeah, I'm pretty much the same. First the man page, then Google, then my Linux books, then here. It's not a last resort for me, though. It's actually surprising how many projects have active support forums of their own. Not as active as here, but good nonetheless.

(specifically, I was stunned to find that PHP mod_rewrite has a forum . . . and people who post there)

[mdsmedia]

I'd say about 90% or more of my questions have been answered. One sure way to get a response is to put in the topic that you're "going back to Windows" or words to that effect. It's worked for me ;)

Sometimes I don't know what I've said or haven't said that leads to no response, and sometimes I come back 2 days later to find a response, which may or may not solve the problem, then I'll thank them for the response and that bumps the message.

[FuturePilot]

I would say at least 90% of the time, my questions get answered.

[LaRoza]

My questions on the technical forum always end well. This has gone unanswered: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=617727

[ericartman]

My questions get answered here. I usually Google, then do some research to be sure my questions are phrased well. Sometimes upon rereading my questions the next day I am amazed how unclear they came out.

Cart

[Nessa]

Yep. I got my Linux working with the help of the people here. :)

[juxtaposed]

I've had questions answered fast, I've had questions answered slow, and I've had questions not answered at all.

I am thankful to everyone who helps others though :)

[TeaSwigger]

Yeah I've had a deal of help a number or times.

[regomodo]

looks like my luck follows me everywhere.
It's not as if i don't help anybody out. I spent a good few weeks where everyday i'd try to help out unresolved threads in the 1st page of the absolute beginners section, but it got a bit mundane. Now i just try to help any thread i now something about.

[pt123]

Awful poll needs more in between option.

[-grubby]

most of the time I get decently fast answers but one thread didn't get an answer for like 15 hours

[loell]

depends

i see to it that the questions i posted are commons routes for the fellow users, so users know what i'm asking about.

but if its too uncommon, then i'd rather google.

[Wiebelhaus]

My calls for help and there have been many in the last year have ALWAYS been answered and successful so maybe being polite , respectful , understanding and patient is what it takes to get help , I've seen many people demand help and demand it NOW! all caps and curse words , personal attacks or "ThIS DUpid uBuntasuck IZ ******* mEH OFF!!!!! HELP ME NOWZ OR ELSE" and those type of things will make you get ignored really quick , these people here are the nicest , funny and knowledgeable Linux users anywhere , there's a creed on this board to not act like an elitist ***** , saying your not satisfied with free help from hobbyists on the internets is astonishing to me.

[kevdog]

Here is what in posts:

1. NEED HELP IMMEDIATELY
2. EMERGENCY -- NEED HELP
3. IM GOING BACK TO WINDOWS IF....
4. IVE GOT 1 DAY TO FIGURE THIS OUT...


You ever notice that people who begin their posts like this have never actually ever done a search on the forums?? In fact about 99.9% of the time, there question has been answered multiple times over -- but they dont even recognize what their problem actually is, and what the solution is even though its been explicity enumerated in multiple threads!! I know it wouldn't be very nice, but I'd like to delete posts such as the above, and send the poster a personal IM telling them how much they displease me!

[Kingsley]

Half the questions in Absolute Beginner Talk and other sub forums are worded very stupidly so it's hard to help the poster diagnose/fix the problem. I do try to help in my spare time though.

[loell]

Half the questions in Absolute Beginner Talk and other sub forums are worded very stupidly so it's hard to help the poster diagnose/fix the problem.

that's a distasteful statement, did you ever thought that maybe half of the posters do not speak english natively?

[Irihapeti]

I've had calls for help answered straight away, and I've had questions not answered at all. I recently had one that wasn't answered for a couple of days, I think. It can be disappointing, but I remind myself that no one is obliged to answer me.

I like to answer questions if it's something I've actually had experience with. Maybe I could reply more often, but I don't like doing that if I'm feeling a bit out of my depth and could end up suggesting something unhelpful, even if my intentions are good.

I work as a counsellor, and I often meet people who can't think or express themselves very clearly because they are under stress. I suspect that's the case with quite a few new posters who've had something go bad on them. I think that these people could do themselves a favour by next time choosing to tinker with something new AFTER they've done a full backup and when they've got plenty of time to do it in i.e. not 2 hours before work or the day before a report or term paper is due. Sometimes of course things go wrong unexpectedly. (I could tell you about my son's experiences with Vista, but that belongs in another posting...)

I think the forums are a sample of what you find out in the world, i.e. all sorts, but it seems that there are an awful lot of helpful and supportive types on these forums.

Just my .005c worth

[KiwiNZ]

Half the questions in Absolute Beginner Talk and other sub forums are worded very stupidly so it's hard to help the poster diagnose/fix the problem. I do try to help in my spare time though.

This is the comments that does not help , and something we do not want to see on Ubuntu Forums.

So I am closing this before it worsens