A forum is not always the best vehicle
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2008-02-14 19:09:46 - Graham Ellis"Please try to give solution for dis problem asap." writes a contributor to our Opentalk forum - where we answer technical / programming questions on the subjects that we teach (link to Opentalk).
Opentalk was set up as a service for our course delegates - I really want to know what questions commonly arise after courses so that I can add those topics in to courses, and I really want to stay in touch with delegates too. But is has grown into more than that - I'll also answer other questions that are asked as, very often, the questions are excellent and the questioner is helping me build up a resource of answers that encourages more traffic to our site. Building the presence, if you like.
I posted a follow up, commenting that I always follow up as soon as I can, but that can't be instant. And there was a further follow up from the question poster.
"I am Sorry for stressing you for the solution." Ah, but I'm not stressed. I just feel that the forum sometimes produces unrealistic expectations - people feel that they can ask a question and, because we're an electronic medium, have answers at electronic speed. And they're then disappointed that they don't get an answer within five minutes, and that the person answering doesn't have all the time in the world to come up with that answer. It's fun answering most of the questions, so I wish I DID have the time.
There's also another false expectation that can be raised by a forum - the expectation that a newcomer can post a series of questions about a subject and, through a series of question and answer steps, learn all about the subject. But I don't believe it can be done, practically, that way. If you've not got the basics of how to write a book, quoting a paragraph from someone else's book and asking how to update it to reflect your own needs isn't going to help you structure your whole book.
Why am I writing this? To help - I hope - to explain to people why I'm not going ahead and writing long answers to each and every question asked, but rather suggesting when they get beyond a certain point that they should consider reading a book or attending a course. It's my intent to help them make effective use of their time, but there's a tendency for them to think I'm being greedy and it's my prime goal to get them to pay for a course. And, OK, I admit it - I do sometimes feel cheesed off at giving free support, without thanks or payment.