Timeline for Is superuser unfriendly to beginners? & How to help beginners understand
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
16 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Mar 20, 2017 at 10:18 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
replaced http://superuser.com/ with https://superuser.com/
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| Aug 20, 2015 at 21:34 | comment | added | Ramhound | @johnvkumpf - Which is the reason we remind people were are not a discussion forum. Everyone has a character flaw, to be part of a community, one has to adopt the culture though. Part of our culture is that were are not a discussion forum, so questions that lead to a discussion, and don't have specific answers are not allowed. | |
| Aug 13, 2015 at 15:47 | comment | added | john v kumpf | (1) To be blunt, I don't like being told I'm wrong. Ever. Character flaw, probably. I'm not the only one. Observation: it was easier to take when buttered up, eg people who said, "First, welcome to Super User!" then said "you made a mistake". (2) Thanks, yes. However, neither the blurb nor the FAQ says, explicitly "THIS IS NOT A DISCUSSION FORUM." And since that's what's so common on the net people come here with an implicit assumption that it will be. We have to shake that out of them, strongly. (3) Ok. I put it on my list. | |
| Aug 13, 2015 at 7:00 | comment | added | Scott - Слава Україні | (Cont’d) … to build a library of detailed answers to every question about computer software or hardware.” / “We’re a little bit different from other sites. Here’s how…” As fixer1234 said, site Help is accessible from the “Help” link at the top of every page. (3) I like your suggestions (especially the first one). Please consider posting them as feature requests (i.e., ask them as “questions” here on Meta, using the [feature request] tag). | |
| Aug 13, 2015 at 7:00 | comment | added | Scott - Слава Україні | (1) I’m a little puzzled why a beginner who came here to learn would be insulted by a polite statement that “that’s not the way we do things here.” (2) The “this is a question and answer site, not a discussion forum” statement that you’re remembering is probably the first page of the site’s “Tour”: “Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It’s built and run by you as part of the Stack Exchange network of Q&A sites. With your help, we’re working together … (Cont’d) | |
| Aug 11, 2015 at 0:26 | comment | added | john v kumpf | I removed my "worked for me" suggestion as it IS adequately covered by the upvote system. And I added the blurb from the front page of stackexchange.com which (tries to) list how SE is "different" | |
| Aug 11, 2015 at 0:24 | comment | added | john v kumpf | @Ramhound perhaps the banner is removed after a certain reputation level? Or perhaps the banner is only displayed when the (new) user tries to interact with the site--post a question or answer or try to comment or vote, etc. Such hooks are already integrated to make the reputation system work. | |
| Aug 11, 2015 at 0:19 | history | edited | john v kumpf | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Add link and image to blub trying to explain how SE is different on front page of stackexchange.com
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| Aug 10, 2015 at 23:34 | history | edited | john v kumpf | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
my 3rd suggestion is adequately covered by upvotes
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| Aug 5, 2015 at 1:14 | comment | added | Ramhound | " but a string of "this worked for me" is extremely helpful." - No it is just clutter. Yahoo answers does that. Please don't do this. | |
| Aug 5, 2015 at 1:02 | comment | added | Ramhound | @johnvkumpf - I would stop using this site if that banner started to appear. If people cannot take it follow the current instructions, and read the help center, then they won't read the banner. | |
| Aug 4, 2015 at 17:01 | comment | added | john v kumpf | @fixer1234 Good points. 1. A top banner that says "This is not a forum, it's a knowledgebase generation engine" or something I think would help set new users' expectations. It would have helped me. & saying up front ur question may be edited by others would also help. 3. Upvotes on answers-right-serves the same purpose & is 80% of what I'm looking for. Clutter is certainly an issue. But consider my Microsoft Update example. I have knowledge but I only have 33 rep and i can not improve that page. But the situation on that page is uncommon. The better answer is lower-voted because of a subtlety. | |
| Aug 4, 2015 at 16:41 | comment | added | john v kumpf | @fixer1234 Good points. | |
| Aug 4, 2015 at 3:02 | comment | added | fixer1234 | 3. A bunch of "this worked" answers (or comments, if that's all they convey), is clutter that makes it harder to find the actual solutions. That's what upvotes are for. Also, answers are intended to be definitive solutions; comments are for speculative suggestions. So there shouldn't be a lot of "solutions" that don't work. | |
| Aug 4, 2015 at 3:02 | comment | added | fixer1234 | You present some good thoughts. On your suggestions: 1. It's really a step farther than you describe. The site's objective is to build a knowledgebase. People contribute questions in exchange for potentially getting an answer themselves. Other users will also edit your questions (and answers), to improve them. (In fact it's one way for you to build rep.) That's totally different from a forum. 2. There is sort of a link like that, it just isn't as obvious as your suggestion. It's the Help link in the top border. Perhaps it would be useful to make it more obvious for new users. cont'd | |
| Aug 3, 2015 at 20:45 | history | answered | john v kumpf | CC BY-SA 3.0 |