[applogies for grammer]
Hey Guys,
So I have been using Garuda for the past 5-6 months... I love you guys to bits, and the distro is just awesome!
And the best part about Garuda is the hyperactive forum! You typically get a response within a couple of minutes to mostly an hour!
Such great job, guys! Highly appreciated!
But with that... I have sighted a couple of issues on the forum, and I want to provide a potential "cure for the itch."
Compared to other forums, Garuda does a great job with the placeholder text. Asking users to share info of attempted fixes for their problems, relevant system information, and the lots.
And when a user bypasses it and still asks a "dumb question," it can get really frustrating... I understand that!
However, Garuda and the Linux community as a whole are growing rapidly. This means that ppl who are used to Mac and Windows are migrating to Linux. If that is the case, they are used to the Mac and Windows ways.
They might have migrated OSes but they haven't migrated mindsets.
And let's face it! It is going to take some time!
Now, instead of lashing out at users (which I sadly see happening a lot of time), this is my alternate approach..
These ppl who you are angry with - they don't want static text! They feel it's "not human." They want to talk to someone.. (speaking from my experience as a copywriter and customer support)
As such, in spite of the placeholder (do keep it, it's a great idea) if a user still asks a dumb question, I propose we reply(cause we are reply if we choose to lash out) with something similar to the following text:
"
Your question didn't have sufficient data..
- show self-research you have done yourself
- tell us why you thought the problem you discussed was unhelpful
- use the search button on our site to see if similar question has been discussed
- refer to the related questions beside the writing area for well ... "related questions" that might solve your problem
- Provide data and information on your system
- Place your problem
We require you to do this research because we are a small team of members who help out as volunteers. We are not paid, and answering questions that have been previously tackled only eats up our time!
Help us by helping yourselves...
(The Linux way is not that of spoon-feeding and handholding, but for learning how computers work)
Thank you
"
Of course, I am not telling you to use this verbatim... It is open-source so fix it as you like and keep a draft default response...
Instead of saying things like "RTFM", "Garuda is not for you," etc, which can feel hurtful to some people.. using the corporate tongue which they are used to, and telling them the same thing- "do research" - might be an alternative!