A concern

[endodoc]

I am a little concerned with a trend I see in the forum, that is to not answer a question, rather refer them to 'google it' or refer them to another link. I feel this sends the wrong message, remember that ALL of us were newbies at one time, and speaking for myself, have asked some 'dumb' questions or questions that may have been answered at another website. The forum in my opinion should be opened to all and all questions, no matter how trite, deserve an answer. My concern is that we are sending the wrong message and the tone of the forum in my opinion seems less than friendly
regards
ed

[maraxas]

If you give someone a fish they will be fed for the evening. If you teach them how to fish they will be fed for a lifetime.

If you expect people to spend some of their time typing a response to your question, isn't it fair for them to expect you to have done at least a minimal amount of research yourself?

If you were to post a question asking about a very specific topic that information was not readily available and no one answered because they were tied up answering questions like, "How do I grow my new VFT?" wouldn't you be upset? They could have found the answer to that anywhere.

We need to try to steer newbie questions to other places for certain questions; however we need to do it in a way that they still feel comfortable coming back for more specific questions after they have read on their own. The last thing we want to do is turn off a future potential CPer.

I agree that referring someone to just "Goggle it" is probably not the right way to go about things; however a link to a site with a comment after that a simple goggle search could have answered the question is fine.


There is absolutely nothing wrong with referring someone to a site that will answer their question in much more detail than you could go into in a small post.



A question like:

Does anyone have a picture of plant x?

Should certainly be referred to a site like Bob's photo finder.



A questions like:

What is a reverse osmosis machine?

Should be referred to a site explaining, in detail, a RO machine..


A question like:

What soil mix have you found to work with plant x?

Should be answered by forum members, unless of course there is a site out there that has a bunch of detailed information on soil mixtures that work for plant x.




Not attacking your post or anything, I do think some of the response on here have been harsher than they need to be sooner than was needed.

I was just pointing out that some people do need to be told to do a Little research on their own.

I wouldn't expect some one who never bothered to learn addition or subtraction to go up to a group of calculus experts and ask basic math questions.

[endodoc]

maraxas
thanks for the reply and point well taken, my only point was a kinder tone to the forum
I will watch the tone of my posts also
regards
ed

[matti]

Dose this have to do with my Byblis post?.

[endodoc]

Matti
No way, i may have touched a nerve here, i know as a newbie myself, i may ask a question that seems simple or maybe i have not done research, with so much 'bad info' on the web i was hoping a simple question could get a simple answer
regards
ed

[maraxas]

Of course it was, Matti you jerk, go finish your green house

JUST KIDDING but,

Honestly in the Byblis post you could have referred him to a source and then mentioned that you found that source with a google search for "blank".

Either way it wasn't that big of a deal, it becomes a big deal when every question gets answered with google it. That fortunately isn't the case yet.


I think the main problem is when people ask numerous questions in numerous threads that are all questions answered in the Sarra. FAQ and the same person has been linked there a couple of times before.

Endodoc: Maybe some people on both sides of this this problem will read this thread before anything gets out of hand!

[ICPS-bob]

maraxas, you make excellent points. Thank you!

In my view, it is perfectly acceptable to refer forum members with a link to a web page that contains a definitive and complete answer to their question. After all, it simply requires one click. I also agree that an abrupt response of "Go google it" is not at all helpful. However, it is not unreasonable to suggest that a very small effort to use Google or Wikipedia will often provide a great deal of useful information to the person. Ideally, I think the forum would be most useful as a place to add to or clarify information not readily available.

[endodoc]

bob
i think you are right that maraxas made some very good points, i say lets cyber shake hands and go on to better things, like growing cp's
regards
ed

[matti]

maraxas said:

Of course it was, Matti you jerk, go finish your green house

I would but I work 5 days a week and only get to work on it on saturdays, not that I feel like doing much on the weekend.

[RL7836]

While I haven't noticed any "harsh" responses, it may be that I'm really not looking.

I must complement maraxas on the well-worded reply to a potentially complex question. As endodoc correctly pointed out, we need to be aware that it is easy to be harsh to a newbie to the hobby. And it is important to remember that the new blood and enthusiasm the neophytes bring is critical to our hobby / obsession.

OTOH, the newcomers should accept some responsibility as maraxas again eloquently states:

maraxas said:

If you expect people to spend some of their time typing a response to your question, isn't it fair for them to expect you to have done at least a minimal amount of research yourself?

While no one wants the forum to be hostile to newcomers, very few people also would be long-term residents of a forum that only had the same questions / responses over & over & over again. Just as it's important to foster a sense of friendship & camaraderie for the new folks (& everyone else!), it's also important to maintain an intellectually (probably not the exact word I'm looking for) stimulating environment that will keep people who currently have an extensive amount of knowledge returning & contributing to the forum ....

There's a sort of yin & yang on both sides that helps to provide the environment that stands the test of time... On this note (sort of), I've got to admit to a certain level of skepticism regarding the 'need' for a third forum. However, I've been pleasantly surprised that the ICPS credentials have brought in a number of experienced folks with a wealth of knowledge who have previously avoided the other forums. Let's strive to make this a place where people with all levels of knowledge can find what they're looking for ..... [steps down off soapbox] ;D ;D ;D

[endodoc]

RL7836
Thanks for the post, i think you summarized both 'camps' in an excellent manner; i agree that new members are critical to any organization such as one as excellent as the ICPS
regards
ed

[brokken]

I believe that in the case of the individual in question, the person was actually asking a number of questions in different forums in a manner that suggested fishing for easy answers. I believe that in the case of CPs, a little more due-diligence is necessary to be successful in cultivation. Perhaps this will instill some work ethic into the individual.