New Stickies Needed.

[kkbbcute]

Hey guys, I don't know if you guys notice it or not, but there really are a whole lot of people asking the same questions over and over again in the AS2/3 forums, things like how to attach/remove a MC (AS2), use arrays (AS2 and 3), or creating functions and handling them using listeners and handlers (AS3) and even scaleMode (AS2 and 3).

As such, I was thinking, why not create a FAQ sticky in each of those forums? This will provide support for those people who make up a quarter of all people who ask questions, so as to not clog up the forums with needless posts and letting everyone reply to the same questions ten times over.

This is how it will work, the person posting will state the FAQ in big bold letters, and then state the solution, and give a working source. For example:


scaleMode issues

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, .... etc etc etc... ... You solve the problem here by doing blah blah and more blah, thus in doing so, we can avoid the problems caused by blah that you are currently facing. if you are still having issues, you can refer to Adobe's livedocs at blah blah http://blah blah

(attachment here)

What do you guys think of such an idea?;)

[Paul Ferrie]

haha good thought but the information in most case's can be found by looking in the manual or a quick google.

The same questions are always going to be asked over and over.
Do you remember what it was like when there was the whole big issue about CLICK TO ACTIVATE.?

[kkbbcute]

The problem here: No one even Googles; they just post! In fact that's the point which I've always tried to put down, so if we make the sticky obvious enough, maybe we can try reducing the number of redundant posts, it's always worth a try;)

[ASWC]

That's what tutorials are for! Why don't you become an author here and publish a few tutorials on these subjects?

[maskedMan]

If people won't google for the answers, they probably won't bother reading the stickies either. I've seen plenty of instances where someone has asked a question, it's been answered and the thread is still on the front page when someone comes along and asks the exact same thing in their own thread. Part of the problem is that if they knew how to articulate what they're looking for they would know how to search for it or recognize a topic about it when they see it.

[CyanBlue]

I have spent some time to generate a list from my subscribed threads some time in 2003 which has been viewed over 140k times, yet I do see the questions that has been addressed in the thread...
http://www.actionscript.org/forums/showthread.php3?t=31471

I thought about doing another one some time ago, and I just did not have time to do so... and had some bad taste in my mouth as well...

The bottom line is that not many people search the forum nor google... But I think it is worth while to create one for those who do so... This is the place where people learn stuff and help who tries to learn... This sort of informational threads will be helpful for those who seek... We don't have to worry about those who do not... ;)

[ASWC]

I often post links to my tutorials instead of answering the same questions again and most of the time they check it out and get their answer.

[yell0wdart]

I often post links to my tutorials instead of answering the same questions again and most of the time they check it out and get their answer.

I think that's a fantastic approach. No need to repeat yourself. ;)

I've never found a question I haven't been able to answer by Gooogling. 9 times out of 10, I find the answer within 30 sec. Most people don't bother to do the research required, though. They want somebody else to do it for them.

/edit

That all feeds into the "Don't Make Me Think (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/0321344758/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239043541&sr=8-1)" mentality on the web. It spills over into nearly every aspect of web usability. The information can be super easy to get, but if it's not presented to the average user gift wrapped with a bow and a nice card, it'll ultimately be invisible to them.

This poses a problem for forums like ours. We don't want to have to answer the same questions over and over, so we make stickies and tutorials. Often times, though, our efforts go unnoticed and thankless, simply because of this quandary.

[ASWC]

The answer is one thing, the understanding is another. I think the difference between googling for a problem and posting questions on our forums is that, on the forums you get a contact, you speak to somebody and then maybe not only you'll get the answer but you might also understand it!

[Cota]

I agree, but the other problem is many people come through here and all they want is the answer. They dont care why, just how.

[ASWC]

I learned that by now, I was having troubles telling people to not write code inside MCs (that wasn't my only trouble) as it was poor coding and was making their application more complicated than they could handle but yeah, all they wanted was the answer and not any advice. Just give me the answer dude or back off! Now I know better and avoid getting into these useless talks (as best I can).

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... There are times when people are here to learn why you have to do things in a certain ways, and there are times when people are here just to get their job done... Their excuse being that they don't have time to learn stuff right now cuz they are in a crunch mode or whatever and they'll get back to the issue when they have time... Well... Not many of them actually get back to the issue and start from the beginning again when they get stuck with the same issue... It's simple matter of lacking the dedication to learn what they need to know and there is nothing we can do about it... :(

[maskedMan]

There's nothing we really 'need' to do, I think. Eventually people get tired of ramming their heads against a wall and one of three things happens:

1. They burn out and quit the business.

2. They make a solid career out of ramming their heads against walls and limit their opportunities to only the simpliest of applications (which can certainly earn you enough dough to make some bread).

3. They decide to stop ramming their heads against walls and learn how to climb the wall. Or walk around the wall. Or blow the wall up with Dynamite.


I'll happily take the larger jobs and the slack from people who can't hack it. :)

[yell0wdart]

I'll happily take the larger jobs and the slack from people who can't hack it. :)

Amen. The only problem is cleaning up their messes after they've been given the boot. :)

[CyanBlue]

Sometimes, it is whole lot faster to start from the scratch rather than trying to fix somebody else's mess... The only problem with that is the client asking why is it taking xyz hours when they have pretty much everything done by somebody else...

[kkbbcute]

That's what tutorials are for! Why don't you become an author here and publish a few tutorials on these subjects?

Erms, cause the Terms and Conditions say that you must be over 18 to do so:rolleyes:

Hey guys, so back on the topic on whether we should have new stickies, I assume the answer is no, since we can always post tutorials on it (darn, why can't I write one...)

[Paul Ferrie]

Just create a blog of your own tutorials then when your turn 18 submit whatever your done to AS.org

[kkbbcute]

That'll be 4 more years...:(

I don't see the rationale behind limiting the age of people who want to help out though.

[Cota]

Its more of a legal disclaimer, pretty standard. Up until now, we didnt know your age, so you could have gotten away with it.

[CyanBlue]

Nah... I knew his age... Amazing kid, eh??? What was I doing when I was in his age??? Gosh...

Blog sure is an option... Or, you could do what senocular or wvxvw or FrodoBaggins did if you choose to write that is... ;)

http://www.kirupa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=223798
http://www.actionscript.org/forums/showthread.php3?t=195916
http://www.actionscript.org/forums/showthread.php3?t=152151

[Cota]

Personally, if he wanted to be an author, I wouldnt have an issue with it. Jesus, when I was his age I was outisde playing football and getting into trouble.

[kkbbcute]

So I won't get banned in five seconds if I sign up? :)

[CyanBlue]

Well... I think you will give moral dilemma to Jesse cuz you revealed your age... :p

[kkbbcute]

Hey, just wanted to say that I just posted an author request anyway, so I'll just dump the moral dilemma with Jesse :p

Either way, hope you guys agree with it, but even if you don't it's still fine with me. :)

[UncleNinja]

That'll be 4 more years...:(

I don't see the rationale behind limiting the age of people who want to help out though.
I don't know enough to write a tutorial... wow you are very smart! I have 6 years to go... by that time I will know more anyway. ;)

[kkbbcute]

I don't know enough to write a tutorial... wow you are very smart! I have 6 years to go... by that time I will know more anyway. ;)

Oh well, still no reply on the author request yet...

[Paul Ferrie]

Oh well, still no reply on the author request yet...
You cant blog your own site?

[kkbbcute]

Nah, my own server is screwed up (I can't think of a better word). It runs slow with little server traffic and doesn't display well on many computers (they call a security error) for some reason.

[CyanBlue]

Because they know the secret... :p

[kkbbcute]

Because they know the secret... :p

Dang?

P.S. Did you see how the WOW gold farmer spammer had this long post of complete spam? Delete his posts off the threads please, it gets distracting while you are trying to help people and there in the middle lies a bunch of spam. Thanks. ;)

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... I deleted the posts and banned him... He offered me the certificates of his golds, but I had to refuse the offer... My last chance to get rich... :(

[kkbbcute]

Will emailing a cute face to Jesse count as a expression of "Please" :p (Just joking)