Forum name change

Message

Lobster · #1 Post by **Lobster** » Mon 24 Oct 2005, 13:40

the Howto section in the forum needs to be changed to Answers or solutions

a lot of people think it is a place to ask Howto rather than answer howto

- which is fair enough

#2 Post by **JohnMurga** » Mon 24 Oct 2005, 13:59

Hey

OK ... Lets have some feedback on this ...

I kinda think the current name is OK, but I am happy to change it.

Cheers
JohnM

rarsa · #3 Post by **rarsa** » Mon 24 Oct 2005, 14:32

Whatever name you use will be missinterpreted

The solutions I've seen in other forums that works a little better (not fool proof) are:

a) Have a sticky with bold saying 'READ ME BEFORE POSTING TO THIS FORUM". That post being just a parragraph long explaining what should be posted to the HOWTO forum. Very short, very direct so people actually read it.

b) Have the moderators move it to whatever forum they think it belongs. I realize it may be too much work.

c) Insult and outcast whoever dares to post questions to the HOWTO.

This only works in the sense that nobody would come again to post anything to that forum or any other. (you know I'm kidding, don't you?)

An alternative would be to give up on moderating that forum and move the real HOWTOS to the wiki.

#4 Post by **Flash** » Mon 24 Oct 2005, 15:11

rarsa wrote:Whatever name you use will be missinterpreted

Yeah, a frustrated Puppy is a desperate poster and can't be expected to read the instructions for the forum.

The solutions I've seen in other forums that works a little better (not fool proof) are:

a) Have a sticky with bold saying 'READ ME BEFORE POSTING TO THIS FORUM".

The How-To already has that, in the title, and still people don't see it or choose to ignore it. Maybe if it was RED?

b) Have the moderators move it to whatever forum they think it belongs. I realize it may be too much work.

I actually find that's pretty easy to do, requiring only a few moments to determine that the post does not belong there and then a few mouse clicks to transfer it where I think it belongs.

#5 Post by **Pizzasgood** » Mon 24 Oct 2005, 22:26

How To is a bit misleading, but I like it. I don't know why, but I get annoyed at stuff titled "Solutions." I think it's because so many things are marketed as solutions rather than.... uh.... something else

Hmm... Well, my reason for not liking "Solutions" is a bit flawed, I'll admit that.

Anyway, a better name would be "Tutorials" or "Walk-Thru" or something along those lines.

Another problem with "Solutions" is that it implies that you have a problem. I don't have a problem, I just want to know how to do something. That's curiosity, not a problem.

Guest · #6 Post by **Guest** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 02:43

Hope one day people won't need the forum to use Puppy.

#7 Post by **Flash** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 03:04

Anonymous wrote:Hope one day people won't need the forum to use Puppy.

They put instructions on shampoo bottles.

Not to worry though, the forum is like a backstop for people who need help using Puppy but don't realize how excellent is the help Barry included with Puppy.

~newbie · #8 Post by **~newbie** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 03:06

Anonymous wrote:Hope one day people won't need the forum to use Puppy.

Puppy users are still being born. You can't stop that!

jcagle · #9 Post by **jcagle** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 04:08

Well some people need help using Windows. I know...I have a web site design client who constantly needs help with it.

So basically I don't just do web site design for him, but teach (and re-teach) how to do things in Windows.

rarsa · #10 Post by **rarsa** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 04:20

Hope one day people won't need the forum to use Puppy.

And that the trees in the way to the office are made of chocolate.

I have had the same experience as jcagle. Users are not born knowing windows. It just happens that there is more people knowing how to use it that can help them set up.

I was there at the dawn of time and I had to send all my users to windows/word/excel training.

Without that training, they would have been calling me every 5 minutes to help them save a file.

Why do people expect to load linux and 'know' how to use it. Even for a new blender you read the instructions.

Lobster · #11 Post by **Lobster** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 04:58

In 1.0.5 there is an icon called "edit"
most people will (rightly) assume that it will open an editor
What might they have been expecting for the old icon which said "Beaver"?
There is an icon labled "packages", what might that be? Postal delivery service?
"Software" most people would have a reasonable understanding and expectation.
Console (can be associated with games) has some sort of meaning
The old icon was rxvt (which meant nothing intelligible)

Our desktop is a lot clearer and simpler in 1.0.5

The Help (which took me 3 months of using Puppy to get around to using and understanding how good it is) is not comparable to help in Windows which does NOT (in my experience) ever solve a problem but just give you something to do in your misery - therefore I thought Help would be useless . . . Help is VERY useful in Puppy

Just some thoughts and musings

Guest · #12 Post by **Guest** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 08:11

Some people are lazy

Those that are lazy should not be helped

Lazy people dilute the gene pool

If someone won't help themselves why should others ?

Lobster · #13 Post by **Lobster** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 09:05

Puppy originally used the "Slack" methodology (a lazy philosophy)
It is the "busy" who cause mischief. They have more to learn.
Or is that less?

This might make your life easier. Your choice.
http://nedwolf.com/Web-Applications.htm

jcagle · #14 Post by **jcagle** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 14:58

Some people are lazy

Those that are lazy should not be helped

Lazy people dilute the gene pool

If someone won't help themselves why should others ?

If you're talking about my client, actually you gotta give him a break. He's a senior citizen who runs a charitable organization, and he never started using computers until the last few years. Many senior citizens (not all) have a hard time understanding the computer and don't even want to touch it. At least he's not afraid to touch his computer. And it does get frustrating on my end sometimes to work with him going over stuff again and again, but it's well worth it. He's trying his best to understand it all. He's got some tasks down pretty well, like how to use a word processor or spreadsheet. When it comes to internet stuff, it's a bit more of a challenge for him.

#15 Post by **Pizzasgood** » Tue 25 Oct 2005, 23:18

It's not just the elderly who have problems with this type of stuff. I'm 17, and I've torn Puppy apart, put him back togeather, and written a script to do it for me, but I'm nearly helpless when it comes to cellphones or chat programs. I taught myself xHTML, CSS, and PHP with relative ease, but I still have trouble reading a recipie. "Put in butter until it's deep enough." "Use four big enough bananas." How the heck to I know what's deep enough or big enough? Translating the recipe from Spanish to English is easy enough. It's the recipe I have problems with. (FYI, that was a project in my Spanish III class. My ginger bananas did turn out okay in the end).

So, those are my thoughts on stuff.

rarsa · #16 Post by **rarsa** » Wed 26 Oct 2005, 03:03

hahahaha, I hapen to do a lot of cooking myself, and I always wonder 'what were they thinking?' when I get a recipe that says 'leave it in the oven until fully cooked but not to much or it will dry up' what????

As with shooting cannons from a schooner, you can only get it right the third time you try

Lobster · #17 Post by **Lobster** » Wed 26 Oct 2005, 03:35

So it is possible that changing Howto to "recipes" might help some people? Others (me mostly

) are so confused or confusing they think everyone should think in a sensible or crazy way that meets their expectations. Sorry about that

m m m . . .

I think if Flash is happy with the occasional moving and can change to the name he wants then everything is 'cooking'

#18 Post by **Flash** » Wed 26 Oct 2005, 05:52

'Recipes' sounds good to me, but that shouldn't matter. The question is, how will it look to someone who's new to the forum? I didn't have any problem understanding what the How-To forum was supposed to be for, but it's pretty clear that a lot of people who are new to the Puppy forum can't figure it out.

So as a matter of practicality, the name should be adjusted until it gets the desired results.

What does JohnM say?

#19 Post by **JohnMurga** » Wed 26 Oct 2005, 14:59

Flash wrote:What does JohnM say?

Leave it how it is ...

It is clear enough.

Cheers
JohnM

(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Forum name change

Forum name change

Our desktop is a lot clearer and simpler in 1.0.5