Greetings all,
I wanted to make a brief post about some attitudes in the forums. Most often this shows up as a harsh post or two directed at a new or less experienced user when they ask a commonly-asked question without searching or request an app with a license that makes it legally impossible for us to package. Sometimes it shows up as some negative comments directed towards someone you disagree with when you're frustrated from having to deal with the former type of user. Other times it's just plain old "having a bad day and posting when you shouldn't".
I'm not looking to name any names as it's happened to quite a few of us over the years. I know I've certainly been guilty of all three in the past. But there were some incidents a couple months ago that made me want to at least say something about it publicly.
For anyone that's been on the receiving end of any of these posts or attitudes from anyone else here, especially me on a bad day, I'd like to offer my sincere apology. It's not fair and it's not something you should have experienced while on this site.
On a positive note, these types of posts and interactions have been far fewer and further between within the last couple months. I know I've been making a concerted effort to never "post angry", and it seems others have been as well. Some of our new moderators have also been doing an excellent job of helping keep the peace even when there's some tension in viewpoints. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them again for their continued hard work.
So, in closing, I'd like to remind everyone to:
- Be helpful to new users... even if the question has been asked 100 times. Offer up the answer, include a link to the solution on the app homepage, support page, FAQ or forums. And close with a polite suggestion to search ("And a quick suggestion for next time: you may find your answer more quickly if you use the handy search feature in the top right of the page. Many times, your question has already been asked and answered by another member of the site. So, if you do a search, you'll get your answer right away." or something along those lines.) Saying "SEARCH FIRST" is simply not acceptable.
- Always assume ignorance over malice. If someone's post could be taken one way or the other, give them the benefit of the doubt. 90% of communication is non-verbal, so we lose a lot in something like a forum.
- Never post angry. If a post upsets or annoys you, do not post until you've gotten over that anger/annoyance. If you can't help but be angry or annoyed at a certain post, please avoid responding to it entirely.
I'm sure there are some other suggestions that can be offered. And I'd love to hear from others on ideas for ensuring that all users, new and old, can feel welcome here at PortableApps.com and will want to stick around and contribute as we grow.
Thanks for reading.
Kind regards,
John
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Semantics rule
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
decided to ignore those posts...
Unless if they have something new in the question (like the guy who wants the USB Drive to block the PC, not the opposite...
)
If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
and the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
and the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
then the socket packet pocket has an error to report
agree completely. In my opinion if a post really annoys you so much that you can't post a decent reply, then just don't reply at all!
The way I see it is that this site relies a fair bit on marketing through word of mouth. This means if a nasty reply gets posted to a new user on the forums, not only will they probably stop using our stuff, but they'll go to their friends/family and say something about staying clear of this site because the users obviously couldn't care less about new users.
Finally with regards to searching I think that sometimes we all need to remember that it can be difficult as a new user to know what to search for, after all by definition they are new users, especially if English isn't their first language. I know from personal experiance on other sites that when people reply with a link to what you are looking for and the search terms that I could have used, or what the feature is really called, it gives me a really good opinion of the site.
Oh and sorry for not doing a lot of moderation recently, I have a coursework deadline on Friday, so I'm pretty busy at the moment.
Moderating here, or completing coursework??
^^^^^^^^^^^
To all the users that I yelled at: I am sorry. And I hope that you excuse me for my rudeness.
Don't worry, it won't happen again. (Since the Unofficial FAQ that answering to those question is funny, imagine that. Just a kid for having fun being nice to repetitive questions :D)
I thank your very much for that statement !
About a year ago, I was a newcomer to this forum, with all my naive and (I have to see that as well) annoying questions ... so I know, what you are talking about.
).
(To be honest, some of my questions are maybe still naive and annoying ....
But I was so fascinated by portable apps that giving up was never really an option for me .....
Now I am following that forum on a regular basis .... and well, with the knowledge I have now I often think, what annoying and stupid entries are made here ....
I am ashamed, but it's the truth 
I think we have to see, that portable apps are so very new to many people (as I can say from my personal experience when talking with friends of mine ...) that we can NOT assume a high konwledge about portable apps (or even about computing).
As well, we can NOT assume a certain knowledge on working in a forum (and what to do or not to do in a forum), that is still not very common to many people.
So I am very thankful about the statement above ....
... I would appreciate very much a lasting climate of tolerance and support for all interested people.
This looks like a good spot to repeat the five "rules" for the ClarkConnect forums of which I used to be a moderator for many years. (ClarkConnect is an Open Source firewall).
Rule #4 was the key for me. (Akin to "Don't post angry".)
Check out the very top of their forums over here. The rules are right at the top of a page so all users should see them when they enter the forums.
On another note... {Group Hug!}
Cancer Survivors -- Remember the fight, celebrate the victory!
Help control the rugrat population -- have yourself spayed or neutered!
On a few unfortunate occasions, I've reacted badly to posts in the past. Recently I was chastised by cipher for one of my posts, and I'm grateful for that - it helped me to take a second look at it, and to reply more appropriately.
We've got a rare environment here. We are participating in an important shift in the use of software, and JTH has set a strong, consistent tone of ethics and quality. We are trying to foster inclusiveness and participation.
I find myself feeling protective of the ideals we follow here. The posts that tend to hit the red flag for me are those that seem intent on exploiting or subverting those ideals.
I've learned that here, though, there are certain reactions that are counterproductive:
- Sarcasm just doesn't work.
- Many noobs don't understand terms that are common to the more experienced users.
- Short, vague blurbs in a long list of replies are confusing; it's hard to tell which reply is being commented on, and following the indents is not always clear.
- People that ask for help in doing something illegal should be assumed to be ignorant. If I feel I must reply, it's best to gently remind them of the danger to themselves and the people helping them; it's even better to wait for the moderators to do that.
While we have a lot of young people here, I'm one that remembers the era of the hippies - another age of idealism and open minds...
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
Thank you for this post. I have to say a few times I am sure my questions sound like I am completely oblivious...and well to be honest...I am! It really helps when someone takes the time to answer questions and I am completely grateful. Pay it forward...
My thought is we can respond either negative or positive and I just think it's a win-win when it's positive.
Thank you again and have a great day...
Thanks John and PortableApps.com co.
I'm new here and over the last week or so have learnt alot though as always this has come through making alot of mistakes an aking alot of dumb questions. I received only useful replies and I thank you all for it. Keep up the good work :o)
Ciao
Horusofoz
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